BBC Local Radio and The British Plaque Trust have unveiled a new BBC Music Day Blue Plaque in honour of David Bowie outside the former home of Trident Studios in London.

Bowie recorded the albums Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust at the studios in St Anne’s Court, Soho in the early 1970s.

The move was made as part of BBC Music Day on Thursday 15 June, a UK-wide annual celebration of music that aims to unite communities and generations through their love of music.

Bowie’s plaque – one of 47 new ones to commemorate people or places that have influenced the musical landscape across the country – was unveiled by singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and Bowie’s lifelong friend, painter and designer George Underwood, who was behind some of the star’s album covers.

“David Bowie was the greatest of the London boys that came out of the ’60s. In 1971 he turned into something strange and curious – Ziggy Stardust. It’s great to commemorate this spot with a blue plaque, so that everyone who loves these records can gaze up in wonder at Trident Studios,” said Bragg.

Underwood added: “I remember going in and out of Trident Studios when David was recording, as he often liked company in the studio. Knowing David he would be pleased about the plaque, but he would also make a witty remark about it! I’m sure he’d be very chuffed.”

Other individuals and locations to receive a blue plaque for BBC Music Day 2017 include the late broadcaster John Peel, electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, the flat in West Didsbury, Manchester where Factory Records (Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays) was founded and the Brighton venue where Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.

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Allen & Heath’s dLive S Class and ME mixing systems were used to manage FOH and monitors for an orchestral arrangement of David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, which has completed a series of sold-out concerts in Gothenburg Concert Hall and Stockholm’s Berwald Hall.

Arranged by Swedish conductor and composer, Hans Ek, and performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and choir Zero 8, the technical production was managed by FOH engineer Hans “Surte” Norin from Musikalisk Ljudteknink with Peter Fredriksson from PF Ljuddesign on monitors.

Mixing a total of 126 channels, the dLive system comprised two MADI-enabled S5000 Surfaces and DM64 MixRacks connected by GigaAce, with an additional DX32 Expander for monitors, an IP8 Controller for FOH remote control, and ME-1 personal monitoring mixers for the orchestra. A Waves V3 network card was also fitted at FOH for recording/Virtual soundcheck, and a broadcast feed was sent to Swedish Radio via MADI.

“This is a big production, with over 100 people in the orchestra, band and choir to manage,” explained Surte Norin. “With superior processing power and ample channel capacity, dLive easily handled the production, and the results sounded wonderfully rich and natural.”

The production is set to embark on an extensive European tour this year with the same setup.

http://www.allen-heath.com/

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For the fourth time in his career, Paul Epworth received the top accolade at last night’s Music Producers Guild (MPG) Awards, in association with Prism Sound, by carrying off the Producer of the Year Award for 2017, while RAK Studios also joined the list of multiple winners by coming top in the Studio of the Year category.

Epworth, who previously won the same award in 2010, 2013 and 2015, was nominated this year for his work with Adele, The Stone Roses and Usher.

The MPG Awards 2017, which took place at Grosvenor House, London, also saw American producer Tony Visconti honoured with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music. Sponsored by PPL, this award recognised the enormous impact Visconti has had on the UK music scene over many years thanks to his groundbreaking work with artists such as David Bowie, Marc Bolan and T.Rex, The Moody Blues, The Seahorses, Angélique Kidjo, The Manic Street Preachers and Morrissey.

Visconti also received the MPG’s 2017 gong for International Producer of the Year for his work on Bowie’s last album, Blackstar – itself a winner in the UK Album of the Year category.

This year’s Awards also honoured Roni Size with the Inspiration Award, before the producer and DJ then took to the stage to deliver a special performance in front the event’s 350-plus guests.

Introduced in 2009 to recognise the enormous contribution made by recording professionals to the success of the UK’s music industry, the MPG Awards regularly attracts a high turnout of music industry VIPs and celebrities.

Tony Platt, MPG Awards managing director, said: "Every year it becomes more and more difficult to find superlatives to describe the fantastic array of talent honoured during our Awards event. It is impossible to overstate the contribution these people make to our industry. The next few years will present many new challenges but with this level of creativity and inspiration to call on, we are well placed to face them.”

For a full list of 2016 MPG Award winners and sponsors, please see the list below:

UK Producer of the Year, sponsored by Prism Sound
Paul Epworth

Outstanding Contribution to UK Music, sponsored by PPL
Tony Visconti

Recording Engineer of the Year, sponsored by AMS Neve
Richard Woodcraft

Mix Engineer of the Year, sponsored by Solid State Logic
Tom Elmhirst

Mastering Engineer of the Year, sponsored by SADiE
Mandy Parnell

UK Album of the Year, sponsored by Universal Audio
David Bowie – Blackstar

UK Single Song Release of the Year, sponsored by Shure
Radiohead – Burn The Witch

Re-mixer of the Year, sponsored by Kazbar Systems
Matthew Herbert

Breakthrough Producer of the Year, sponsored by Novation
Andrew Hunt

Breakthrough Engineer of the Year, sponsored by Genelec
Manon Grandjean

International Producer of the Year, sponsored British Grove Studios
Tony Visconti

Self Producing Artist of the Year, sponsored by Spitfire Audio
Tarek Musa (Spring King)

Studio of the Year, sponsored by G-Technology and Jigsaw24
RAK Studios

The A&R Award, sponsored by AIM
Toby L and Tim Dellow (Transgressive Records)

The MPG Award for Inspiration, sponsored by Audio Note
Roni Size

Special Recognition Award, sponsored by Rupert Neve Designs
Rupert Neve

Additional sponsorship was provided by BPI and MQA (judge tables), PMC Speakers (reception drinks) and Avid (nominee seats).

http://www.mpg.org.uk/mpg-awards

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Kingston University’s new Visconti Studio has installed an Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition just in time for its 2017 Winter School, which has been taking place this week, led by Grammy and MPG Award-winning Tony Visconti himself.

The brand new studio at the University’s Kingston Hill campus opened in September last year, and is part of a large-scale research and teaching project in partnership with the British Library and the Science Museum, called "The Heritage and Future of Analogue Recording and Production". This involves the influential producer not only lending his name but also his expertise, working with students and staff of Kingston University – as well as invited artists – to produce records.

The new Audient Heritage desk – like the original ASP8024 analogue design with added enhancements and features – is in good company in the studio, working alongside vintage and rare recording equipment, all of which come together to help achieve the project’s mission: to preserve the sounds and practices of the analogue past for the digital future. The Visconti Studio also features a rather unique collection of instruments including a Mellotron, a Hammond organ and Steinway concert grand piano, and is based around a 300m2 octagonal live room.

Music technician at Visconti Studios, Ebby Acquah, believes the Audient desk is a perfect fit for the new studio. “Audient have clearly listened to their users when developing the Heritage desk. Its intuitive layout, combined with even better legending make it straightforward for our students to use,” he explained. “I particularly love the improvements to the master section: the new meter and bass expansion function on the compressor, and the retro transformers which can be switched in and out are both great additions to the mix bus. The stand-out new feature for us is the integrated DLC, which can be used either in DAW mode or as VCA’s for the groups.”

Jon Pringle, Kingston University’s technical production manager added, “This upgrade offers great quality, long term value for money and peace of mind,” and said that the “continuing relationship with Tony Visconti and ongoing development of the Visconti Studio is key to the future direction of the Music department, including the launch of our new B.A Popular Music and B.A Music Technology courses.’’

This month, Tony Visconti bagged two Grammy Awards for David Bowie’s Blackstar as Best Engineered Album (non-Classical) and Best Alternative Music Album, and was also presented with the 2017 Music Producers’ Guild Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music at the annual ceremony in London last night.

Visconti Studio hosts public events and runs occasional short courses, in addition to being available for commercial hire.

https://audient.com/ 

www.visconti-studio.co.uk

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Tony Visconti, one of the most important and influential producers in the history of Rock and Pop, is to receive a top accolade at the 2017 Music Producers Guild Awards when he is presented with the PPL-sponsored Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music.

The MPG is awarding Visconti in recognition of his exceptional body of work that spans nearly 50 years and has made a significant contribution to the success of the music recording industry.

Alongside his Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music, Visconti is nominated in two other MPG 2017 Awards categories – International Producer of the Year and UK Album of the Year for Blackstar. He is also nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award in the category of Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Blackstar, which he co-produced with David Bowie and co-mixed with David Bowie and Tom Elmhirst. Visconti has collaborated with a number of successful artists over the years, but it is his long-term collaboration with David Bowie that has delivered the most memorable music.

Now based in New York, Visconti’s recent projects include co-producing Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Esperanza Spalding’s gem entitled Emily’s D+Evolution; producing and mixing Daphne Guinness’ 2017 release and co-producing and mixing Kristeen Young’s 2017 Live at the Witch’s Tit CD release.

Visconti was also a judge and voiceover commentator on the Sky Arts TV show, Guitar Star and had a key role in the New York City episode of HBO’s Sonic Highways, an American documentary mini-series directed by Dave Grohl and written by Mark Monroe. In that episode, he wrote and conducted a string arrangement for the Foo Fighter’s song The River.

Other notable projects include serving as the Music Keynote Speaker at both SXSW and CMW; acting as a Music Judge at the Reeperbahn Festival; performing on bass and vocals with his band, Holy Holy, writing a successful autobiography entitled Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy, and receiving an honorary Doctor of Arts from Kingston University in London.

Furthermore, Kingston University recently named their new music studio The Visconti Studio.

As sponsors of the MPG Outstanding Contribution to UK Music Award, industry organisation PPL says it is delighted that Tony Visconti has been chosen as the 2017 recipient.

Tony Platt, MPG Awards group managing director, said: "Tony Visconti is a perfect example of the influence music producers have had on the development and success of the music industry in the last 40 years. From his contribution as a musician and arranger to his ability to support and enable the artists he has worked with, he has been – and continues to be – truly outstanding. We are delighted to honour and recognise this achievement.”

Tony Visconti will be presented with his award at the MPG’s 2017 Awards Ceremony, which takes place on 16 February, 2017, at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.

https://www.mpg.org.uk/

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Tony Visconti, Josh Homme, Fraser T. Smith and Nigel Godrich are among a host of internationally acclaimed producers in contention for a 2017 Music Producers Guild Awards.

Announced today, the 2017 Shortlist was fiercely contested with a record number of MPG Full Members casting votes. This has resulted in a wide variety of candidates reflecting a wealth of creative talent across many different genres. Final judging will take place on 5 December and the winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony on 16 February at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.

The newly introduced Self-Producing Artist category was particularly hard fought, with James Blake, Jeff Lynne and Tarek Musa of Spring King making it through to the final three. Other notable entries include David Bowie’s Black Star, Michael Kiwanuka’s Love and Hate and Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool, all of which are up for UK Album of the Year.

Now in its ninth year, the Music Producers Guild Awards will feature 16 awards categories with the aim of recognising the best and brightest names in music production. Previous award winners have included Sir George Martin CBE, Youth, FKA Twigs, Brian Eno, Catherine Marks, Trevor Horn and Dave Stewart.

Tony Platt, MPG Awards group director, says: “The MPG Awards are totally unique because they reflect the UK music industry’s incredible wealth of creative talent and also the respect we all have for our colleagues. The roles of producers and engineers are now universally recognised and we can pat ourselves on the back for championing that recognition. The support and encouragement that these production teams give to artists is priceless and should be shouted about at every opportunity.”

The shortlists for each of the MPG 2017 Awards categories (in no particular order) are as follows:

UK Producer Of The Year

• Paul Epworth
• Nigel Godrich
• Fraser T. Smith

International Producer Of The Year, sponsored by Prism Sound

• Josh Homme
• Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee
• Tony Visconti

Breakthrough Producer Of The Year, sponsored by Novation

• Brett Cox
• Andrew Hunt
• Joel Laslett Pott

Self Producing Artist of the Year, sponsored by Spitfire Audio

• James Blake
• Jeff Lynne
• Tarek Musa (Spring King)

Recording Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by AMS Neve

• Guy Massey
• Mark Rankin
• Richard Woodcraft

Breakthrough Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by Genelec

• Manon Grandjean
• Andrew Hunt
• Jack Ruston

Mix Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by Solid State Logic

• Tom Elmhirst
• Mark ‘Spike’ Stent
• Cenzo Townshend

Mastering Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by Prism Sound

• John Davis
• Barry Grint
• Mandy Parnell

Re-Mixer of the Year

• Disclosure (Howard & Guy Lawrence)
• Matthew Herbert
• Wideboys

UK Album Of The Year

• Black Star – David Bowie
• Love and Hate – Michael Kiwanuka
• A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead

UK Single Song Release Of The Year, sponsored by Shure

• This Is What Your Came For – Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna
• Burn The Witch – Radiohead
• Pillowtalk – ZAYN

Studio Of The Year

• Abbey Road Studios
• British Grove Studios
• RAK Studios

The A&R Award

• Toby L & Tim Dellow (Transgressive Records)
• Bart McDonagh (Domino Records)
• Nigel Reeve (Warner Music International)

The winner of the Outstanding Contribution to UK Music Award, sponsored by PPL, will be announced soon, while the MPG Inspiration Award and the Special Recognition Award will be announced at the ceremony in February. All three of these are in the gift of the MPG.

http://www.mpg.org.uk/mpg-awards

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Kingston Uni’s partnership with a certain star producer turned a few heads recently, including the one belonging to Adam Savage, who went along to see the finished result of the new Visconti Studio.

Having been one not so long ago myself, I know how difficult it can be to keep students motivated. Inspiring a room full of people who would rather be downing jägerbombs than sitting through another lecture must be a tough thing to have to do every day, but somehow I think the new visiting professor at London’s Kingston University isn’t going to struggle to get his students’ attention. That’s because in this case it’s legendary – and this time we do mean legendary – producer Tony Visconti.

That’s right, after spending the past five decades working with some of the biggest names in rock and pop such as U2, Morrissey, Marc Bolan and of course David Bowie, Visconti has come on board for a new research and teaching project at the University, ‘The Heritage and Future of Analogue Recording’. The role will see him recording with students and staff, as well as invited guest artists, in a newly upgraded studio facility on the Kingston Hill Campus now known as Visconti Studio. The partnership also involves the British Library and Science Museum.

Based around an unusual 300sqm octagonal live room – one of the largest in the country – and stocked with a varied selection of analogue and digital recording equipment as well as a unique collection of instruments including a Hammond organ, Steinway grand piano and best of all a Mellotron – famously used by Sir Paul McCartney to produce the flute-like sound in the introduction to Strawberry Fields Forever – the studio represents a chance for Visconti to pass on his vast knowledge of recording with analogue equipment and help keep these methods alive.

“I’m interested in giving the students a flavour of what the real world is like in a recording studio,” says Visconti. “I came from an education where you started as the person who made the tea and worked your way up the ranks and that system doesn’t exist anymore. I’d like to impart that experience while I’m with the students. Kingston University wanted a state-of-the-art analogue studio and I feel I have to do this – I must be with the student body and show them the traditional ways of recording music.”

Although it’s clear that Visconti’s preferred approach is to do things the old way – and I’m certainly not going to disagree with him on anything to do with recording – a quick glance at the gear list (see below) shows there are plenty of digital options available in the new-look control room too.

Striking a balance

Ebby Acquah, technology officer for the Visconti Studio and former in-house engineer at Mute Studios, where he rubbed shoulders with producers such as Flood, Ben Hillier and Gareth Jones, explains how it was vital to provide a variety of options even if the facility is being hailed more for its analogue offering.

“Going in there you can have digital recording with state-of-the-art plug-ins, full analogue path recording – so you can track on analogue tape and master on analogue tape – or you can have a hybrid of the two,” reveals Acquah. “A good workflow would be to track to analogue tape and maybe put it on to a computer for editing and then bounce it back down to analogue tape for your mastering. There are so many combinations of ways that you can work in that studio.”

The building has been used for recording for many years, but several enhancements have been made not just in the control room – which has been heavily upgraded – but the live space as well.

“It’s always been a studio and live room and we’ve improved the inside in terms of we’ve installed a drum isolation booth, which is linked to the control room. We’re going to build another one [iso booth] as soon as budget permits and we’ve also got some Abbey Road-spec gobos from the ‘60s, which we had manufactured so we’re able to isolate sound in the room,” notes Acquah.

“ADG [Acoustics Design Group] designed the control room, which has totally changed. They completely redesigned the space. It was very difficult to focus on frequencies before because it was almost like it was constantly changing and so John Flynn [ADG owner], who’s a top studio designer, came in and we’re over the moon with the result.”

The lucky few

Undergrads and postgrads as well as masters and doctoral research students will have access to the Visconti Studio, and there are also plans in place to make it available for commercial hire. Taking around a year to complete from the initial conversations to the finished result, the space is a worthy flagship when lined up alongside the University’s other audio facilities, which are pretty well equipped too.

“That control room is for use by Level 6 and 7 students, so third year undergraduates and postgraduates, and we’ve also got three smaller project studios for Levels 4 and 5 (first and second year undergrads), one of which has just been installed with an SSL XL Super Analogue desk,” Acquah continues. “So there are a few facilities here but we’re just looking to build them up and improve them at all levels. We’ve also got a 24-seat computer suite and an MA surround sound editing suite.”

There’s also a d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system in the octagonal room comprising Ci7 tops and C7 subs for when the Visconti Studio team want to turn it into a performance space. “It’s a really top PA and we had it installed two years ago. We’re running an Allen & Heath GLD-80 desk in there and HK monitor wedges so it’s a good system,” Acquah says.

Its effectiveness as a place for small concerts was demonstrated at the official launch on 19 September, where singer-songwriter Mary Epworth – and sister of Paul, in case you’re wondering – performed a couple of tracks to bring the event to a close. Visconti was also officially made an Honorary Doctor of Arts in a ceremony – complete with gowns and silly hats all round – on the night. Earlier in the evening though, visitors were played new material for Epworth produced by students under the guidance of Visconti, and were also introduced to the rest of the studio team, which includes director Isabella Van Elferen, project leader Leah Kardos, education officer Alex Evans and enterprise officer Philip Chambon.

The demonstration marked only the start of the upcoming opportunities for students to work closely with the producer – for example, the Visconti Studio Winter School will take place in the week commencing 13 February 2017. The five-day intensive programme led by Visconti will see participants record a track with an invited artist while engaging in activities such as operating and maintaining tape machines, analogue multi-track recording/mixing and microphone techniques, with a particular focus on recording in the octagonal live room.

“This is a fantastic, unique opportunity for me as I barely made it out of high school and my university education was 50 years in the recording studio. Working here with students at the Visconti Studio – which has the potential to be a first class facility – is going to be a magical time for me,” states Visconti. “I say to the students here at Kingston University, go out and make analogue recordings. It’s the way music should be heard and it’s a beautiful thing.”

Equipment List

Console
Audient ASP8024

Recording and Software
Apogee Symphony I/O
Pro Tools HD3
Logic Pro X
Sibelius 7
Waves and Sony Oxford plug-in bundles
Studer A827 2in 24-track tape machine
Studer A80 0.25in two-track tape machine
Tascam DA-30mkII DAT
MOTU MIDI Express

Monitoring
ATC SCM25A PR
Yamaha NS10M
Digital Audio Labs Livemix Analog Bundle
10x Beyerdynamic DT150 and 4x beyerdynamic DT102 headphones

Processing
Drawmer DS201 dual gate
Drawmer DL241 compressor
Universal Audio 2-610 tube preamp
Neve 1073DPA preamp
Neve 1073 Mono Module – Mic Pre, 3 Band EQ
Avalon VT737 preamp
Joe Meek Twin Q preamp
API 3124 preamp
Neve 1073/1084
2x Empirical Labs Distressor
2x UA 1176LN limiting amplifier

Effects
Lexicon PCM70
Eventide H3000SE Ultra Harmoniser
Roland RE201 tape echo
EMT 140/240 Plate Reverb
Yamaha SPX2000

Microphones
ACMH String mic set (quartet)
AKG C214 stereo pair
4x AKG C414
AKG D12
AKG D12VR
AKG D112
Audix drum mic set
2x AKG C1000
2x B&K 4006
beyerdynamic Opus drum mic sets
DPA SMK4061
2x EV RE20
2x Neumann KMC104
4x Neumann U87
2x Neumann KM184 stereo pair
Rode NT1 stereo pair
2x Rode NT5 stereo pair
Rode NTG2 shotgun
2x Royer R-122 ribbon
Royer SF-12 stereo ribbon
SE Electronics Titan
2x SE Electronics SE2200A
4x Sennheiser MD421
2x Sennheiser MKH40
12x Shure SM57

http://www.visconti-studio.co.uk

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Singer and producer John Newman has come a long way since his humble beginnings in the house scene. Currently operating out of London’s Tileyard Studios, the Yorkshireman was keen to tell Colby Ramsey how he wants to be known for more than just his vocal talents when he dropped in for a chat…

Since releasing his second album Revolve late last year, singer/musician/producer John Newman has refocused his ideas and has some big plans for the rest of 2016.

Phase one of these plans is a new base of operations located at Tileyard Studios in London, where he has been working hard since the New Year. A successful recording artist and producer in both a collaborative and solo capacity, Newman speaks candidly about his influences, ambitions and habits in and out the studio.

How did you initially get into music production?

I started off producing hip-hop as a kid – taking old samples and putting hip-hop beats under them in fruity loops. The house scene was just getting big then and it’s just continued to grow since. I started mixing and then eventually went into producing house music, which I did for a while. My first single Love Me Again was the point when I stopped producing music as a side project and basically learnt then that it was what I wanted to do as my main project.

What perhaps isn’t widely known is that you’ve done a lot of your own production on the first two albums. How have your skills developed over this time?

One thing I’ve learnt is that you shouldn’t get too excited by the space you’re in, and should just use it for what it’s good for. Inside the box is just as important as outside the box – it’s not just about using every plug-in you can; it’s about reaching a compromise – that 50/50 meet in the middle.

When I make music I produce at the same time as writing. I think you’re wasting your time making demos and then pumping loads of money into producing it and totally rewriting it. I made loads of demos with a certain person for my first record and then they turned around and claimed they owned the rights to all the sounds. They wouldn’t give us access to any stems or anything so we had to remake the record, which kind of threw me off liking it as much as I think I would have in the first place. With the second record I made sure that wasn’t going to happen so I was always producing towards the final thing.

While I was preparing to do Revolve, the second album, I realised that it’s often quicker to get the idea down simply with Logic on a laptop and a microphone. I tend to have a full vision of the sound as a whole and it’s quicker to just record everything on an SM57 and then put it straight into an interface, which is what I do on the road quite a lot. When you want to sit and think about that sound you can just replay your voice but on an instrument. It’s definitely the oldest technique but it’s also the closest technique to being able to put exactly what is in your head straight out as an idea.

Could you talk about your current setup at Tileyard and what you set out to achieve with the studio?

For this studio, we actually took loads of inspiration from [producer] Greg Kurstin, especially with the guitar and synth stacks – they were custom made by Studio Creations.

I was working with Greg a lot on my second record and he does the whole outboard/on computer thing so well. That definitely inspired this studio. Having all your instruments and outboard set up so easily and permanently wired makes it feel like it’s in your computer. The instruments are just a plug-in but you’re getting the true sound and it feels digital because it’s so quick. You’re not having to put like five plug-ins after your instrument sounds to give it any warmth or organic-ness.

I produce from the off really so that’s why everything in the studio’s set up for sheer speed. We have all mics in the live room sent through to our outboard on these little 500 series lunchboxes. Drums and piano are ready to go at all times and I think we’re now slowly discovering what we want our sound to be; it’s difficult though because I need a drum sound that fits with almost any style of music. I’m about to set everything up as presets on my pedals so I can just fly through tones both for synths and for guitars.

We’re not trying to do anything too breakthrough, just trying to take what we know and what I’ve gathered along the way and do something with it. It’s about discovering things along the way to then finally having a base like this where I can put all these weird and wonderful things along with the standards – and then it’s the ear that creates the sound.

What kind of equipment are you running at the moment and do you have any particular favourites?

I’ve used the PMC twotwo.6 active monitors in various studios but they’re a new addition to this one. This sounds ridiculous because it’s the music that makes the music, not the speakers, but they deliver something that’s very clear and spot on, with a little bit of excitement thrown in. Some other brands just give you too much whereas these are very true to the sound.

The speakers were in here for about three weeks on their own, then they integrated the twotwo sub 2 active sub and you still don’t know it’s there wherever you’re sat in the room. It takes the load off the speakers so the mid/low-mids get 20-30% more power and then that deals with the rest.

I’ve got this Akai 4000D tape recorder that I bought for about 30 quid from an old charity shop when I was living in Stroud Green. When you get lazy if you’re working into the early hours of the morning it’s really cool. You’d only run little elements through it like guitars and synths, which sound great. The Cocktail X100 is also great, as is the EDP Wasp synth – I used that loads on my first record on a song called Losing Sleep. I also like nuking things on my distressors.

In terms of mics, we’ve got a copy of the Flea 47, as well as a Peluso 22 251 and a new BX44 – a classic massive-ribbon vocal mic which we use as a room mic and lots of other applications on drums and such.

Nearly all of the synths in here are getting MIDI from the computer, so you can switch between any synth in the analogue world while it’s still running on the same inputs in Pro Tools. This way, the workflow’s just continuous – you don’t have to stop the music and you can just jump between sounds to really hone in on what you want. I’ve been trying to do it for a while in the best way possible and it’s easier to just have everything permanently ready to go.

How does collaborating with other producers compare to working alone?

I always work with people. David Bowie would never do everything himself – he would have a vision and then dedicate talented people to do those jobs – like a brilliant dictator in a certain sort of way. I’m constantly looking to find people that I can get the best out of and who understand what I’m trying to do. I’ve always sat and worked at home by myself but having this studio means I can work with other artists a lot more and really start to push that. I’ve always been quite persistent and I’ll always listen to people, but I’ll never work with someone who is telling me what to do because they don’t have to release the record and put their name on it. It’s nice having the freedom to sit and do the job alone. It’s also nice for me to take on an engineer, to have more space and more equipment, and to put all my toys in one place, all being operated right. It kind of gives you better focus and lets you be a bit more experimental.

I co-produced my first and second album, and have been heavily involved in the work I did with Rudimental and Calvin [Harris]. It has always been a big thing to be a respected producer and I’ve always taken it seriously, so I always hope that my production will be taken seriously and continue to do so. I have a lot of love and respect for making music and I will always have a heavy creative involvement in any of the work I do. While the new studio is a very nice place and has lots of toys, none of it makes the music.

What do you have planned for the future? We understand you’re even looking into launching a record label?

I’ve been working with Sigala and Nile Rodgers on a new single called Give Me Your Love which is out on 17 June and I’ve been working with Calvin loads. I’ve got five, maybe six singles coming this year and I’ve been working on this band idea but this is going to be my base. It’s exciting because I feel like the studio’s allowed me to open up a bit more. I like the idea because I travel a lot and do a lot of work on my laptop, so it’s quite nice knowing that every time I’m sending something through I’ve got Pete Hutchings and the PMCs ready to check it sounds alright.

In the future I’m going to start a publishing company depending on how the label develops, how many records we make, and how many talented people I get on board. I want to find an old warehouse – somewhere with charm that feels like home and family to everyone who’s involved. That’s going to take time. As soon as we had the idea for a record label, me and Tom Willers (who’s going to be running it with me) wanted the biggest and the best, looking at massive office spaces etc. I think what we’ve done here is right though because everything’s got to progress organically and find its own, which is what it’s doing here.

We’ve been making records here for two or three months now and I’m making a home studio in Kent at some point. It’s going to be a room in a converted barn and I think that’s just so I can relax, sit and do my own thing. Sometimes it’s nice to just get away and not rely on anyone. I’m trying to build an empire – an empire of music!

http://www.pmc-speakers.com

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PSNPresents will return to the Soho Hotel next week with three legends from the pro-audio industry in attendance.

The first half of the evening will see widely renowned producer Youth, recording engineer Phill Brown, and Tileyard boss Nick Keynes discuss their creative experiences – which altogether span six decades – with pro-audio writer and commentator Phil Ward.

Youth – who recently won the 2016 Music Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music – has had a hand in musical output from a staggering selection of artists including Pink Floyd, The Verve, Crowded House, The Orb, Sir Paul McCartney and The Charlatans to name a few.

In Are We Still Rolling?: Studios, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll – One Man’s Journey Recording Classic Albums, Phill Brown will recount the highs and lows of engineering life at Olympic Studios, which saw him working on sessions with artists such as Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley.

Completing the first lineup is Tileyard’s Nick Keynes, who has been key in transforming the King’s Cross space into one of London’s premier hubs of creative musical activity.

After the break, the focus will turn to theatre sound design with Simon Baker, Ben Harrison and Gareth Fry in conversation with PSNEurope editor Dave Robinson. These are the men behind the audio for shows including Lord of the Rings, Matilda, Return to the Forbidden Planet and the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

PSNPresents will take place from 7pm on Thursday 10 March and entry is free as usual thanks to sponsors Roland UK and Focusrite. Those wishing to attend must register beforehand and can do so here.

Main pic: PSNPresents 2015, with sound engineers Robb Allan (Massive Attack), Ben Hammond (Deaf Havana), Dave McDonald (Kanye West) and Chicky Reeves (Prince).

The post Third PSNPresents takes place this week appeared first on Audio Media International.

Sennheiser became one of the stars of the show at the 2016 Brit Awards by helping to make the first nominee announcement from space a reality.

Held on 24 February 2016 at London’s O2 Arena and broadcast live nationwide to an audience of over two million, the Brits saw Sennheiser’s Phil Cummings (artist relations) and Andy Lillywhite (customer development and application engineer) working together to support the event’s artists and technical production company Britannia Row Productions.

Sennheiser’s wireless microphones and wireless monitoring systems were used by all eight performing acts, presenters Ant and Dec, for all the acceptance speeches… and from space, making it the 14th consecutive year that Sennheiser has supported the event.

The latter was a pre-recorded nominations listing read by British astronaut Tim Peake from aboard the International Space Station. For this he used a wired Sennheiser E835 microphone with SKP 500 plug-on transmitter. Lorde – backed by David Bowie’s backing band – performed Life On Mars using Sennheiser 2000 series IEMs.

In total, 22 channels of 2000 series IEMs were in use by all the performing artists. Award winners’ acceptance speeches were delivered via Sennheiser’s Digital 9000 series wireless microphone with ME 5004 capsule.

Adele won four awards on the night and performed using her new SKM 9000 handheld with MD 9235 capsule. Other artists to use Sennheiser microphones were Little Mix (five SKM 5200 with MD 5235 heads), Jess Glynne (SKM 2000), and The Weeknd – SKM 5200 with MD 5235 capsule.

“We use a 2000 Series mic for Jess,” said Duncan Wild, Jess Glynne’s monitor engineer. “In a live situation such as the Brits, it’s great to know that the kit on its own does what it needs to do; the RF side of it is great and Sennheiser’s support is always fantastic, from servicing to sorting things out in tight time frames. Sometimes the look for the mic can be as important as what it sounds and when we needed to have the mic chromed, Sennheiser did that for us at very short notice.”

“The show was a complete success, with all the Sennheiser equipment working flawlessly,” Cummings added. “It was great to see Adele win four awards and her performance was perfection. It made for a perfect start to her sold out world tour, which began a few days later and features the Digital 9000 system.

“It was also fantastic to see Tim Peake using the E835 wired microphone too from the ISS. Although we have supported the Brits for 14 years, there are always new challenges to overcome and new boundaries to break. The fact that Sennheiser helped Britain’s first astronaut to read nominations from ‘the final frontier’ was a real privilege.”

http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/

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