Headliner USA Issue 9 by Headliner Magazine

ISSUE 09 / MARCH 2022 HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET UK £3.95 / USA $6.95 / CANADA $7.95

SUPPORTING THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY

MAGAZINE / 09

CROSSING THE TIPPING POINT

TEARS FOR FEARS THE ANCHORESS

GOODBOYS

JIMMY WEBB

ON LATEST RECORD THE ART OF LOSING

GRAMMY-NOMINATED DUO TALK NEW MUSIC

LEGENDARY SONGWRITER PREPARES TO HIT THE ROAD

“Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind.” — Mick Jagger

©2020 QSC, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. Play Out Loud is a trademark of QSC, LLC. Artist: Printz Board. Photo by Mikel Darling.

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SUP P

IV E C EAT O CR

ING THE T R O

NITY MU M HEADLINER USA

09 Here at Headliner, we are fortunate to be able to speak on a regular basis with some of the most talented individuals from across the creative community. Whether it be record producers, recording engineers, live sound technicians, industry pioneers, artists or songwriters, it is a privilege to find out first-hand about their approach to their craft and the paths they have trodden to wind up where they are today. And in this issue, as you’ll note from this month’s Headliner USA cover stars, we have had the honor of spending some quality time with some of the finest songwriters in the business.

Yes, returning with their first new album in 17 years, The Tipping Point, the iconic Tears For Fears are back with one of the most revered records in their storied 40-plus year history. As you’ll discover in our interview with the band’s Curt Smith, and as its lengthy gestation period would suggest, it is a record that represents songwriting and musical artistry in its purest form. Indeed, such was the commitment to making precisely the record they wanted to make, that the band not only scrapped sessions that had been recorded with some of today’s most successful ‘hit makers’, they actually bought the recordings back from their previous record label to ensure that what was released was the true, undiluted vision shared by Smith and fellow Tears For Fears singer and songwriter Roland Orzabal. It’s a remarkable feat and one that solidifies their status as one of pop’s most enduring and innovative acts. Furthermore, we also had the honor of speaking to the great Jimmy Webb.

Responsible for some of the best loved entries to the Great American Songbook, Webb has written hits for some of the biggest names in music, from Glen Campbell and Art Garfunkel to Richard Harris and The Supremes. In our in-depth interview, Webb opens up on the songwriting relationships that defined his career and the journey that took him from pianist at his local church to one of the most in-demand talents in the US. However, it’s not all about songwriters who established themselves in decades gone by. In this issue we also sit down with some of the most exciting new talent shaping the future of pop and rock, from revered selfproducing artist The Anchoress, to alt rock Oregon outfit Maita. There has been plenty of cause for optimism on the live music front so far this year, as concerts, festivals and tours begin to pick up pace after two years off. And thankfully, there’s still plenty to be inspired and excited by on the recorded music front, too.

Daniel Gumble Head of Music, Headliner HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

14 / JAY MAAS 08 / MAITA

18/ TEARS FOR FEARS 26 / EMMA BUTT

30/ JIMMY WEBB

38/ RUPERT COULSON

34 / LIVE SOUND

42 / IMMERSIVE AUDIO 46 / KEVIN GLENDINNING

60 / NICK BROPHY

50/ TECHNOLOGY

54 / THE ANCHORESS

70 / MAURICIO GARGEL 64 / IN THE STUDIO 74 / TIM PALMER

84 / AUDIO PRODUCTION

78 / GOODBOYS

88 / LIVE EVENTS

92 / BUSINESS

104 / SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS

96 / LIGHTING

100 / RECORDING GUITARS

116 / LUCAS VIDAL

120 / YUNG BAE

124 / ROBOT KOCH

MAITA

Wild Life

Photographer: Tristan Paiige

HEADLINER USA

Y DAN sb rd

MBLE GU

ASPIRING HEADLINER

WILD LIFE

MARIA MAITA -KEPPELER Maria Maita-Keppeler, singer and creative engine of Portland, Oregon-based indie rock outfit Maita, may have achieved something of a first among artists in the age of Covid. While many have seen their output scuppered over the past two years, with release schedules scrapped, revised, and in some cases scrapped again on account of the uncertainty cast across the industry, Maita have just released their second album since the pandemic struck.

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MAITA

Wild Life

Photographer: Tristan Paiige

Released last month, I Just Want To Be Wild For You is the followup to the band’s 2020 debut Best Wishes. Building on its predecessor’s homespun blend of alt rock and power pop, their latest outing takes each of the threads that made it such a compelling listen and tugs them taut. Boasting slightly more polished production, I Just Want To Be Wild For You’s quieter, melancholy moments, such as opener Loneliness, feel more intimate, even brittle at times, while guitar-heavy, overdriven stompers like You Sure Can Kill A Sunday, Part II and Honey, Have I Lost It All? are possessed of a power and confidence that feels ready to conquer arenas. For a record to exude such youthful exuberance with a storytelling prowess far beyond that of a band who less than two years ago hadn’t even released a record, is little short of remarkable. “We always envisioned we would put these two albums out quite close together,” Maita-Keppeler tells Headliner via Zoom from her home in Portland, her manner cool HEADLINER USA

and calm whilst simultaneously warm and affable in conversation. “I imagined they’d be even closer together, but because of the pandemic we ended up separating things a bit. I’m constantly in a state of writing songs, so I just kept on writing after we finished the last album. We actually recorded some basic demos for this album even before Best Wishes was out because we wanted it to be a onetwo punch. We felt that as we had the songs we should record them as quickly as possible, because we wanted them to stay fresh and we wanted to stay inspired by them.” Though the songwriting process for I Just Want To Be Wild For You flowed seamlessly on from Best Wishes, the recording process differed significantly. Not only was the band better prepared for what they wanted to achieve sonically, the recording location also left its fingerprints on the sound of the record. “We recorded the last record at this 100-year-old theater in a tiny town called Enterprise in Oregon, and this record we did in a basement

studio in a church in Portland. With this record we knew better what we were getting into. We knew as a band we’d sound more ‘rock’ and have louder moments in addition to the quieter, more sensitive moments. With the last record we didn’t really know what we were going to sound like until we got into the studio. So, having a better understanding of our sonicscape made this feel like an easier, smoother recording process because there were no surprises. “The studio we recorded this album in is unaffiliated with the church,” she continues, “but they were happy for us to use it and we were able to track our grand piano sounds in the sanctuary, which is this giant room with huge ceilings. The basement itself was just a regular basement, nothing romantic about it, but the huge sound from the sanctuary was pretty special.”

Photographer: Tristan Paiige

ASPIRING HEADLINER

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

MAITA

Wild Life

“I LIKE TO LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN, AS IT’S ALSO GOOD TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS BASED ON FEEL AND WHAT THE EMOTIONS OF THE SONGS REQUIRE.”

Despite the clearer vision the band had for the sonics that would underpin I Just Want To Be Wild For You, MaitaKeppeler explains that her approach was very much about putting a guide in place as opposed to a rigid set of rules for how sessions should unfold in the studio.

songwriting. But it was a very shy, slow, quiet start. I did a lot of it very privately until I started coming out of my shell on the open mic scene and slowly gained confidence that I had something I could continue to pursue and enjoy. And I started to feel like I had a place in that world.”

“I always finish my songs before we get to the studio, so well before we went into record I had finished all the songs and I had a loose idea of what I wanted them to sound like,” she says. “But I like to leave the door open, as it’s also good to make some of those decisions based on feel and what the emotions of the songs require. I want the band to have room to experiment, as sometimes what they come up with is way cooler than what I had in mind.

According to Maita-Keppeler, her prose writing has had more of a subconscious influence on her songwriting than a direct impact, something that only revealed itself to her in recent years.

“I was never super technical when it came to music, so when I thought about production it was never from a particularly informed standpoint, although I’m getting better at that,” she elaborates. “When I was first listening to and falling in love with music, things like snare sounds weren’t on my radar. I was into things like Bright Eyes, and what I liked about those records was that they would sometimes jump around a lot in terms of production. So, you’d have a folk song, a rock song, a country song, but they would all somehow fit into the same record, which was a huge inspiration for me, because I was concerned about how a lot of my songs would fit together, as they jump around a lot in sound and genre. Those records were a great blueprint – you don’t have to produce an album in a way that every song sounds like it was made with the same sonic template in mind. You can be creative and jump around.” Among the other influences she cites from those formative years are Elliott Smith, Death Cab For Cutie, José González and Regina Spektor, to name just a few. So, what was it that first inspired her to pick up a guitar and start writing her own songs?

“Writing fiction and writing songs have always felt separate, but when I think about it, I sometimes write really wordy songs, and that was to do with my fiction writing. Earlier on I tended to not write songs in the poetry vein; there was very much a prose feel to what I was saying, even though things would rhyme and be melodic. More recently I’ve tried to be more economic with my lyrics. Part of that is insecurity, like, if I say enough the song will be strong, because there are chances for me to get a good line in and people will be satisfied. But there is a lot to be said for writing in a very economical way.” With a series of shows planned across the US over the coming weeks, Maita aren’t taking anything for granted on the touring front. Though the Covid situation has – for now at least – improved for touring artists compared to this time last year, the band are rightly cautious about lining up too many shows in far off places. “We’re really excited about playing shows again and having so many new songs to perform for the first time,” says Maita-Keppeler. “We’d really like to play in Europe. If the opportunity presented itself and it felt safe, we’d love to.” Here’s hoping we won’t be waiting too long. SPONSORED BY

“I‘ve always been pretty creative, and at first it was more visual art,” she recalls. “And I also really loved writing fiction and reading books, so I would write my own stories. My natural inclination is that when I start to fall in love with a particular medium, I just want to be able to create it myself. That’s just where my mind goes, and it was the same with HEADLINER USA

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JAY MAAS

HEADLINER USA

Sonic Specialist

PRODUCER

ds by or C W

BY RAMS E OL

SONIC SPECIALIST

JAYMAAS Boston-based producer, audio engineer and songwriter Jason Maas gets candid about his music production process, his experiences on the live touring circuit, and his love of oeksound plugins…

What projects have you been involved with recently? I’m constantly mixing and mastering stuff. I work with an artist called Aryia who’s blowing up right now, and I’m actually taking on managing him as well. We’ve been doing a single a month; he co-writes with my assistant here at Jay Maas Recording, and I master everything. I just finished a new full length record for a band

called Silent Drive, who are on Equal Vision Records and comprises members of this legendary hardcore band from the Boston area called Bane. I’m also doing a record with another band called The Darling Fire. I’m entrenched in records at the moment!

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JAY MAAS

Sonic Specialist

“I TRY TO BE AN ARTISTIC MIXING ENGINEER, BRINGING TOGETHER MY TECHNICAL PROWESS AND MY OWN PERSONAL CREATIVE VISION.”

When was the last time you were touring and performing in a band yourself? I wrote the first record for a band called Defeater which came out around 2008, and I toured with them all the way through the end of 2015. At that point I was in my mid 30s; I’d been touring since I was 17 and I wanted to have a kid. I was a full time producer here at the studio, and when you’re gone for eight, nine weeks at a time, it’s tough on your social relationships. It’s an incredible and positive experience, and it’s one that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Before that I never understood how much travelling and being immersed in different cultures could help you grow as a human and overall good person. Tell us about your music production process. I know what it feels like for an artist to put so much time and energy into writing something. My contribution to the band is like being the sixth member. I’m not bashful when I mix; you might get your mix back and there might be harmonies and shit that you had no idea were going to be there, but I would always rather do too much than too little. HEADLINER USA

I try to be an artistic mixing engineer, bringing together my technical prowess and my own personal creative vision. I think the marriage of producer and artist is a unique result; no matter what, the producer’s sonic signature is going to be entangled in those songs, which may have been originally conceived completely unrelated to the producer. I do have a bunch of outboard gear, because I’m typically trying to embed the character that I want to hear into the signal on the way in. These days however I mix in the box entirely, and I’d say I’m probably doing the best mixes in my life. They’re just so much more convenient! Can you tell us how you use oeksound soothe2 in your workflow? What soothe2 does is exceptionally useful in so many different scenarios. I think a lot of people use it on cymbals, which are harmonically complex and are played very dynamically. Combining a harsh sounding symbol with a not so great capsule in an imperfect room is all too common. So there might be frequencies in the ride cymbal that only pop up when the ride’s being played. They’re at 12k, they’re kind of piercing, and we wish

they didn’t exist, but applying with traditional EQ and then notching a bit of 12k and automating that is a nightmare and a lot of work. With soothe, when that little peak of 12k pops up, it’s like having a buddy that was just looking out for it and can adjust it on the fly. It doesn’t have to be a full notch either – it could just be bringing things down slightly and chilling them out. It’s a tool with which I can literally just pinpoint the actual frequencies that I want to attenuate. What else have you got planned for this year? We just quietly launched what I believe to be the best sounding AI mastering platform, called maastr. io. Our mission statement is to be your home base for everything after the export button. It’s essentially my hyper obsessive, workflow efficient brain created into a product that’s designed to help other people stay super organized, and give them phenomenal sonic results at the same time. JAYMAAS.COM MAASTR.IO OEKSOUND.COM

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TEARS FOR FEARS

Over The Tipping Point

Photographer: Frank Ockenfels

TEARS FOR

HEADLINER USA

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COVER STORY

OVERTHE TIPPING POINT Curt Smith, one half of Tears For Fears, sits down for an in-depth conversation with Headliner about the band’s new album The Tipping Point, the complex nature of his relationship with bandmate Roland Orzabal and the events that lead them to return to making music after 17 years…

It’s September 21, 2021, and Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, are making their way to the stage of the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane to collect the Outstanding Song Collection Award at the Ivor Novello Awards. The Tears For Fears duo have been honored with the ceremony’s top honour, and while the significance of the occasion isn’t lost on either, the moment is about so much more than the gong they are about to be presented with. The duality that exists between them, and which has often revealed itself through the band’s stellar catalog, is

currently laid bare for all to see. The standing ovation in the room, packed with many of the most celebrated songwriters and performers of the past 50 years, seems to be neverending, the applause and cheering deafening. And while Orzabal, looking rightly triumphant and in celebratory mood, does much of the talking once the eruption of noise eventually subsides, Smith stands to the side with an expression pinched with emotion, clearly fighting back tears.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

TEARS FOR FEARS

Over The Tipping Point

The fractious relationship between the pair has been well documented, and in the 17 years that have passed since the release of their last record Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, they have endured some of the biggest challenges of their professional and personal lives. There have been rows, scrapped records, changes of management, but more profoundly, the death of Orzabal’s wife in 2017 after a protracted battle with alcoholism and depression, as well as Orzabal’s own serious health issues and a spell in rehab. This was not just a celebration of their music; it was a celebration of their survival. Of their ability not only to endure ruptures that would have ripped many bands apart decades earlier, but to continue making career defining music. “It was such an emotional moment,” Smith recalls of that September day, HEADLINER USA

joining us via Zoom from his L.A home. “It brought both of us to the verge of tears. There was that realization that we’d never have gotten there without each other. And we’re both aware of that. We can have ups and downs, which we’ve had during our careers, but we realize that our best is when we’re functioning as a pair. As I said on the day, there’s really two people I need to thank for this, and that’s myself and Roland.” Which brings us neatly to The Tipping Point. Already being lauded by fans and critics as a career high point, it is an album that sees Smith and Orzabal baring their souls in a fashion not been seen since their 1983 debut The Hurting, which openly explored themes of mental illness and gender fluidity at a time when such themes were far scarcer in popular music than they are today. From the previously mentioned personal

circumstances, to the febrile political landscape on both sides of the pond, Smith says there was always going to be a wealth of meaty subject matter to dig into, but it would take a failed attempt at working with modern-day ‘hit makers’ and a split from their previous label and management before they mined it to the fullest. “Initially, our label and management at the time said we should be writing with more modern songwriters and doing more modern sounding records, and we went along with it,” Smith explains, candid yet gently spoken with a hint of fragility in his voice. “It was an interesting exercise, but it became apparent to me pretty early on that it felt slightly dishonest. Most of the sessions were half-hearted attempts at a modern hit single, and there really was no substantive matter to me in the songs, which comes from your own feelings and emotions.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

TEARS FOR FEARS

Over The Tipping Point

NO OUTSIDE INFLUENCE “It just sounded like an attempt to be modern, which... I don’t think anyone wants to listen to a 60-year-old be modern,” he laughs, “although, I’ve been proved wrong as far as success goes, but I don’t like any of those records. I don’t want to be involved in that. And during that period, Roland was going through a personal crisis. I don’t think he knew what he wanted; I think he was using it as an escape from his everyday life, which unfortunately, at that point, was watching his then wife slowly deteriorate to the point where she eventually passed away. And because of that, completely understandably, he wasn’t capable of really focusing.

direction, Smith and Orzabal decided to put their creative potency to the test, taking to Smith’s living room with nought but a couple of acoustic guitars. They quickly hit upon an idea that would become not only the opening track of The Tipping Point, but one of the purest distillations of Tears For Fears at their emotive and rousing best.

“Later on, we revisited the work we’d done and, because we weren’t happy with it, it didn’t get released. We actually bought what we had done off of the record company, because we didn’t want to be with them. And we’d also lost our management. It was just the two of us left. So, in late 2019, we had dinner and discussed whether there was a way forward, and should we even be doing this if we’re not happy, as he had come to the same conclusion that this wasn’t truly representative of us and didn’t have the depth of Tears For Fears.”

“We thought the only way we’re going to get this done is if the two of us sit down and work out what we want to do,” says Smith. “And with that in mind, we decided to go back to a place which we hadn’t visited since The Hurting, which was sitting in a room with two acoustic guitars and seeing what comes. And if anything came, then we’d know we have something. And we sat down in my house and wrote No Small Thing. When we had that song, we realized we had something to say.

Free from outside influences trying to nudge their sound in a certain HEADLINER USA

Entitled No Small Thing, the song opens with a melancholy acoustic guitar line and a road worn vocal from Orzabal that builds towards a towering crescendo, blending sadness with hope in classic Tears For Fears fashion. There was no chance this wouldn’t be the jumping off point for the record.

“And to be honest, so much had gone on in Roland’s personal life and in the world up to that point in time that if we

didn’t have enough subject matter to mine, then we really had no business being songwriters. Apart from Roland’s wife passing away, we’d been through four years of Trump in America, the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements, the climate change crisis. There was so much going on that it became easy, once the two of us sat down and realized what we want to do. We’re both very aware that there’s some magic that happens when we’re on the same page. It’s getting on the same page that’s sometimes a struggle! We both love this record from start to finish - I don’t think that’s happened since The Hurting, and that’s because this started the same way as The Hurting. It’s the most personal album we’ve done since then, to the extent that there is no outside influence. It really is myself and Roland sitting down and deciding on the bits we can agree on. The fact we both appreciate the strengths we bring to the partnership is something we haven’t embraced for a long time.”

COVER STORY

“SO MUCH HAD GONE ON IN ROLAND’S PERSONAL LIFE AND IN THE WORLD UP TO THAT POINT IN TIME THAT IF WE DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH SUBJECT MATTER TO MINE, THEN WE REALLY HAD NO BUSINESS BEING SONGWRITERS.”

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

TEARS FOR FEARS

Over The Tipping Point

“MUSIC IS PRECIOUS TO US. AND ONCE YOU LOSE THAT AND IT BECOMES JUST A JOB, THEN IT’S A POINTLESS EXERCISE.”

It is this singular vision and commitment to doing only what works for them as artists that has ensured Tears For Fears’ longevity over the past four decades. Despite some lengthy spells of inactivity in the studio – they have remained a major draw on the live circuit – they continue not only to inspire fans and contemporaries from their early days, but also to draw new fans and influence the music of the time. From Gary Jules’s cover of Mad World (a Christmas No.1 single in the UK) to the likes of Kanye West, Lorde, The 1975 and others namechecking them as an inspiration, their work has endured. According to Smith, their willingness to say no when not in the right head space to record is what has served them so well. “That approach has been crucial to our success, without question,” he states. “We’re both pretty sure of what we want. And I don’t think I want to start, in this stage of my life, doing HEADLINER USA

things I don’t enjoy. We’ve got to be completely happy with something for us to put our names on it.” In addition to a series of live dates in the UK and the US, Tears For Fears recently performed a three-song set as part of BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room Month, delivering piano and orchestral renditions of their music. For Smith, the opportunity reinterpret the band’s work is always something he enjoys. “It was a joy,” he smiles. “It’s like when we listen to certain cover versions, like Gary Jules, Mad World and Lorde’s Everybody Wants To Rule The World, where those arrangements of our songs seem a little more in tune with the lyric, strangely enough, because they are darker. We tend to catch those things and do something slightly more upbeat and bright. These are definitely darker, interesting versions of the songs, which we found quite fascinating.”

Whether it’s another 17 months or 17 years until Tears For Fears set foot inside a studio together again is something nobody, least of all Smith and Orzabal, can accurately predict. One thing they can be sure of is that their bond and their belief in one another is as strong as it’s ever been. Whatever the future holds, it’ll be on their terms and theirs only. “This is just the way we are,” Smith concludes. “I don’t think we’ve ever been in search of fame or money. I mean, the money side comes in useful and is quite nice, I’m not knocking it, [he laughs] but music is precious to us. And once you lose that and it becomes just a job, then it’s a pointless exercise. The whole joy of being a musician, and a successful one, is you’re actually making a living out of something you love doing. And that’s a joy.” TEARSFORFEARS.COM

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EMMA BUTT

Secrets of an ADR recordist

by ALIC E ds

SECRETS OF AN ADR RECORDIST

EMMABUTT

HEADLINER USA

STAFSO N GU

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Freelance mixer and ADR recordist Emma Butt reveals what it was like to work on Game of Thrones, and shares what makes a good ADR session. At the heart of her studio setup are her trusted Genelec monitors; she reveals why the brand has become a go-to for her.

Photographer: Helen Sloan

RECORDING

How did you get into ADR (Additional Dialogue Replacement) work? I’ve been in London for six years now, but I’m from Dublin; I started applying to every single music or post production studio in Dublin. At the time, Screen Scene was looking for runners. The industry back home is so small, so all of us had to know how to do everything. So you have to know how to be a dialogue editor, a sound effects editor, a mixer, and do ADR. I started recording all of the voices of the characters for kids’ animations, so they started teaching me about ADR. They started getting me to do more and more sessions, and they would sit behind me and make sure that I was okay. Eventually they started leaving me to it and I took on clients myself and it grew organically from there. I got the opportunity to do Game of Thrones, and did that for five seasons, which was incredible. I learned so much from that. And then Vikings was at the same time. There were two ADR supervisors: Tim Hands for Game of Thrones and Dale Sheldrake on Vikings. I credit the two of them for teaching me so much about how to interact and make actors feel comfortable to get the best performance out of them. They’ve been godsends. What did your ADR work on Game of Thrones involve, and were you a fan when you started working on it? Not many people know this, but all of the post production in season one

was done at Screen Scene. I worked with many of the Irish actors when they were in Dublin, like Little Finger [Aidan Gillen], Joffrey [Jack Gleeson], Davos [Liam Cunningham], and quite a few of the others. Working with Liam was amazing fun; he used to always come into Screen Scene anyway to do voice overs for commercials.

With all of the sophisticated onlocation recording tech available these days, is it common practice for TV shows and films to do ADR on all scenes regardless, or is most audio captured on the shoot? What usually happens is, with something like Game of Thrones, a lot of the interior scenes will be absolutely fine, but the exterior HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

EMMA BUTT

Secrets of an ADR recordist

Photographer: Helen Sloan

scenes, especially if they’re shooting in Northern Ireland where the weather is absolutely shite…Through one season in particular, one of the Irish actors was doing a scene on top of the mountain, and there is wind everywhere, and it just meant that no matter how good the location recordist was, they were fecked. They were battling against the elements. So that was something that had to be done in ADR. Or there’s other issues, like there might be generators in the background that create a buzz that you just HEADLINER USA

cannot get rid of in post production, so we need to cover dialogue for that. Sometimes it’s additional lines that they feel need to be added to the script to help the story, so they’ll come in and re-record them in ADR afterwards. But you always try and preserve the location sound, because trying to get an actor back into the headspace of their character and get them back into the voice of their character – if they’ve got an accent on – is so difficult to do. You have to give the actors time. You have to have a really slow paced

ADR session. Some actors can just do it like a flick of a switch where they get back into that headspace and accent straight away, and then with others, it just takes them a little while. You always want to try and keep what they’ve done originally and do the bare minimum in ADR, but if you’re battling against the elements, it’s unavoidable.

RECORDING

“I KNOW WHAT MY MIX IS GONNA SOUND LIKE ON TV IF THERE’S A PAIR OF GENELECS IN THE STUDIO; I DON’T THINK THERE’S ANYTHING THAT COMPARES TO THEM.”

What makes a good ADR session? There’s a couple of things that come into play. You have to record in a good studio. Firstly, the room can’t be too small, because you got too many reflections, but it can’t be too big, because you don’t want it to sound like there’s too much room. The mic position is really, really important. They need to be on-mic. It’s okay if they move off-mic slightly, if they’re walking and you want to put a bit of movement in it, but most of the time, you need to be bang on-mic, and you need to make sure your lav mic position is correct as well. Then it comes down to performance; the actor needs to get the right projection. I can guarantee you that every actor that comes into a studio to do ADR doesn’t project enough, because they’re now in a controlled environment where they’re not battling against any other sounds. Even for interior scenes, they’re not battling against other people, and they’re not battling against generators, noise or the buzz of lights. It’s a very dead room, so they automatically speak quieter. So it’s trying to get them to project again like they would have done on set. Trying to get them to get their pitch of voice and their tone right is really tricky. Plus they’re trying to get their speed right. Nearly every actor that comes in will listen to a line of dialogue that we’re re-recording, and they’ll turn around after they’ve

listened to it and be like, ‘Why the hell did I choose that rhythm on the day? Why did I say that line like that? Why did I put that pause there?’ And they have to try and replicate that in the studio. What kit do you rely on to do your job in your home studio? I have been using Genelecs for 15 years. When I started at Screen Scene, all they used was Genelecs, and when I was in uni, all we had was Genelecs. So I hate it now when I go into a studio and they don’t have them, because I’m so used to the sound! I love them so much because I know what my mix is gonna sound like on TV if there’s a pair of Genelecs in the studio. I have a pair of 8030s at home and I just don’t think there’s anything that compares to them.

It’s so important as a freelancer that’s going into different studios constantly and mixing in different rooms, to be able to trust that what you’re doing is going to translate well when it goes on air. It’s a really big deal because it means that my ear adjusts to the room that little bit quicker, and that means that I can start being more confident in the decisions I’m making and the work that I’m doing before a client arrives. GENELEC.COM EMMABUTTSOUND.COM

If I’m doing ADR it has to be in a studio – it can’t be at home. If I’m at home, I’m usually doing dialogue editing, sound effects editing or pre-mixing. I always try and final mix in the studio with the client. But all sound editing, dialogue, editing and pre-mixing I can do at home. I’ve got a nice little setup. Everything that I’ve done has gone out on air, and it sounded great. What I’m doing at home translates really well back in the studio. If I go into a studio and it’s not Genelec, I find that it takes me the guts of a day to get used to the sound of the studio. HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

JIMMY WEBB

Still On The Line

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JIMMY WEBB

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From Glen Campbell’s Galveston, By The Time I Get To Phoenix and Wichita Lineman, to Richard Harris’s MacArthur Park and numerous hits for the likes of Art Garfunkel, The Supremes, Michael Feinstein and many others, Jimmy Webb has written some of the most beloved entries to the Great American Songbook. Now, as he prepares to tour for the first time since the pandemic, he sits down for a chat with Headliner about his journey from local church pianist to becoming one of the greatest songwriters of the past century… “Any day above ground is a good day,” Jimmy Webb chuckles as we greet him over Zoom at his home in Long Island. The legendary songwriter is in good spirits and clearly looking forward to performing again, with numerous dates confirmed on both sides of the pond. “America is my home but I get homesick for England,” he says, “I’m an Anglophile and have always thought of it as my second home.” With an arsenal of hits at his disposal that would take most hit songwriters several lifetimes over to amass, it’s little wonder he’s looking forward to getting back in the saddle. Name any iconic American rock or pop act from the past 60-plus years and Webb has likely had some involvement in their oeuvre. He could perform a different set every night of the tour and every single one would still be a cast iron crowd-pleaser. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his prodigious musical talent began to reveal itself at a very young age, becoming the pianist for his local church at the age of 12, where his dad was a Baptist minister, before quickly having his head turned by the allure of Elvis Presley and rock ‘n’ roll. This collision of worlds was pivotal in inspiring the young Webb not just to write songs, but to pursue it as a calling.

“Astronomically, the odds of me meeting Glen Campbell at that time in my life was a zillion to nothing. It wasn’t going to happen, but somehow it did happen. And I found out my songs had a wonderful fit with his voice.”

“Around that time I wrote a song called It’s Someone Else, and a couple of decades later that song was recorded by Art Garfunkel – I was already on my game by the time I was 12 years old.” Webb’s big break would come in the form of a partnership that would in many ways define his career. While working with singer songwriter Johnny Rivers, a song that he had written wound up in the hands of one of America’s most revered musicians and country music stars. The song was By The Time I Get To Phoenix and the artist was a certain Glen Campbell. “That’s when the phone started ringing,” Webb laughs. “Once you’ve tasted that you’re not going back to playing the piano at the church on a Sunday.” According to Webb, the origins of his relationship with Campbell reach beyond the landing of By the Time I Get To Phoenix in his lap and extend almost into the realm of the mystical.

“I was in Oklahoma plowing the fields, listening to my transistor radio and one of the records that came on was this beautiful ballad called Turn Around, Look At Me and the guy singing had the purest voice,” says Webb. “I said to myself ‘that’s the guy I want to be writing for’. Then his name was announced, and it was one of his early recordings. It was the first record I ever bought. I borrowed a dollar from my dad, and I bought this 45” and I wore it out…[pauses] I was writing for Glen Campbell from then on. “Astronomically, the odds of me meeting Glen Campbell at that time in my life was a zillion to nothing. It wasn’t going to happen, but somehow it did happen. And I found out my songs had a wonderful fit with his voice. Part of the reason for that was because I’d been writing songs for him for years. I know that sounds insane, it’s like a fairy tale.”

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JIMMY WEBB

Still On The Line

One of the best loved songs Webb ever wrote for Campbell was the 1968 classic Wichita Lineman. The song would go on to be one of the most important songs he would ever write. “He was looking for a follow up for By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” he explains. “I had an image of the prairie, which is where I was born and raised. I’d drive along with my father and watch the telephone poles go by, and every now and again there would be a man working on a telephone pole. Sometimes you’d look up and see they had a little phone they were speaking on. HEADLINER USA

There was a mystery about these guys and the fact they were always out there in the wind and the storms. I thought this could be a character that would work with Glen. It’s about this blue-collar guy who kind of became my hero. Nobody paid much attention to them and here was a song that was about them, about a guy doing a job. “When we were kids, we would go up to these telephone wires and they actually sang,” he continues. “The sound was like a pinging noise. It was an electronic sound, and it was singing. So, the line ‘I hear you singing in the wires’, is a reference to

that. Glen was calling me every hour from the studio saying ‘is it finished yet’? I got tired of it about 5pm that afternoon and I sent it to him with a note saying ‘it isn’t finished but let me know what you think’. And they recorded it right then and there. I thought, Oh my God, it’s not finished. I thought there would be a third verse, but he took the third verse and put that big fat bass guitar solo in there. It seemed born to be that way. It turned out to be one of the most important records I was ever associated with.”

ARTIST

Before we know it, our time with Webb is almost at an end. We could spend days in conversation and still struggle to scratch the surface of the tales his storied career has to tell, but as we say our goodbyes he quickly refers us to another collaborator he holds close to his heart. “I had a special relationship with Richard Harris,” he says. “He was a domineering personality and in his shadow I was really a kid. He was in his 40s, I was in my 20s and innocent as a lamb, believe it or not! He set about correcting that immediately! I had my first black velvet with Richard Harris – but for him, his Guinness would be half Guinness, half champagne. After a few of these we would go down to the recording studio and he would take a pitcher of Pimms with him, and we’d start recording vocals, and we weren’t finished until the Pimms was finished. We would go rollicking back to his apartment at 2am. Then he’d start on the brandy and start taking off his clothes, and pretty soon he’s just sitting there in his underwear telling me stories. Absolutely outrageously funny.

Road in his underwear and was giving a concert! Years and years of fun and we managed to somehow knock off this unbelievable record MacArthur Park.” You can listen to an extended version of this interview at Headliner Radio. JIMMYWEBB.COM

“One night I went upstairs because it looked like he’d fallen asleep, so I went to go to sleep and was awakened by the doorbell. I go to the front door and there is a cabbie who has him by the shoulders and he says ‘is this where Mr Harris lives’? I said yeah, and he told me he just found him in the middle of the King’s

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JEAN-MICHEL JARRE

HEADLINER USA

Hyper Active

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HYPER ACTIVE

JEANMICHEL JARRE Electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre recently performed Oxymore, his new show paying tribute to fellow electro icon Pierre Henry, in a series of headline sets at the first edition of Radio France’s innovative Hyper Weekend Festival in Paris.

Staged in the round at Radio France HQ, la Maison de la Radio, surrounded by a seated live audience while also being broadcast and live VR streamed to tens of thousands of viewers, the show featured L-Acoustics L-ISA technology, specified by sound design engineer, Hervé Déjardin, to deliver an immersive experience. “I was involved with Jean-Michel Jarre’s epic virtual concert Welcome to the Other Side last year, during which Jean-Michel and I spent a lot

of time discussing how to best present his compositions,” Déjardin explained. “We agreed that the most important thing is to compose for space, and having seen the technology available, he approached me several months ago with the newly completed Oxymore. We began work on a new show concept embracing the incredible immersive audio possibilities. Coincidentally around the same time, Radio France started to plan the exciting new Hyper Weekend festival, and happily the two projects came together.” HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE

Hyper Active

Déjardin brought previous experience of staging immersive concerts with L-ISA technology from his work with French electronic artist, Molécule, with whom he devised a concert series based around a 360-degree spatialized sound experience where the audience listens in the round in complete darkness. “I was free to choose the system for the show, and naturally I opted for L-ISA,” said Déjardin. “This was the first time Jean-Michel had worked with the system but not the first time he’s worked in immersive. In the 1950s and ‘60s he was a student with composer Pierre Schaeffer, and in the 1990s and 2000s, he produced several DVDs using 5.1 but the technology just wasn’t ready. New technology over the past four or five years has given us the benefit of accuracy, and for me, L-Acoustics L-ISA has reached the pinnacle of that technology.” Déjardin started his immersive mix using L-ISA Studio software with a 12-loudspeaker setup and a Nuendo DAW. “Jean-Michel’s music is naturally spatial, and although he works in stereo, he thinks in terms of space,” he continued. “He organized different stems for me during the mastering process and sent me the multitracks so I could start the spatialization design, which we spent two solid weeks finalizing together. It’s so easy to work with him because the

material is so logical. My job was just to reinforce the emotion and story in space.” The performance was set for Maison de la Radio’s Agorastage, a round outdoor/indoor hybrid space enclosed with a glass ceiling. System engineer Christophe Dupin specified an oval of 17 Syva cabinets, plus Syva Low and some extra SB21, provided by Magnum. Jarre was positioned at the ‘top’ of the oval on an elevated stage, to artistically achieve a zerodegree reference point for the audience who were seated around him facing the stage. Audiences were limited to 200 people at each of seven concerts over the three-day festival due to social distancing measures. Simultaneously, the live festival performances were broadcast via radio and streamed in 6DoF binaural format to the virtual platforms, VRChat by VRrOOm. “The Agora stage really worked for this performance because the circular shape is so relevant to the music,” said Déjardin. “At traditional live events, there is a sense of separation between the musicians and the audience, enforcing the feeling of being a spectator. As a 360-degree sound system, installed in a round performance space, L-ISA completely embodies immersive. It is very effective at drawing the audience together so that they are inside the sound, sharing the same experience as the musicians and fellow audience

goers. The limited audience numbers inspired Jean-Michel to produce an intimate immersive experience and he was very motivated to focus on space and the music.” Déjardin used a small mixer with 48 inputs, loaded with tracks from Jarre. He set up several stereo groups in L-ISA, and applied L-ISA’s four positioning parameters (pan, width, distance) to create the spatial mix. This ensured that recordings would be compatible with 5.1 to enable DVD production at a later date. Part of the spatialization was written on Nuendo, which contained about 400 lines of automation for the movements in space. “It was easy to work with L-ISA because the technology is so forward-thinking and effortless,” Déjardin added. “With stereo, you are forced to use compression, filtering, and temporal effects, but with 360 you don’t have this problem. If I use compression or filters, it’s an active aesthetic choice. The technology reproduces sound in a more natural way of hearing and this new sense of space also becomes part of the creative process, as the artist can decide which components to distribute where in the room. This is why it’s great to work with an artist like Jean-Michel who is so involved in creating music using new technologies. Our next ambition is an immersive tour.” “I could not have achieved this project without L-Acoustics,” concluded Jarre. “Its vision and pioneering approach always impress me and, once more, we are opening doors on virgin acoustic territories together.” L-ACOUSTICS.COM

HEADLINER USA

Case Study

FOCUSRITE PRO IN WAYSTATION STUDIOS GRAMMY®-winning producer/engineer Dave Way's resume runs across all genres, spanning pop, rock, R&B and more, and his credits include such acclaimed artists as Christina Aguilera, Fiona Apple, Ziggy Marley, Macy Gray, Michael Jackson, “Weird Al" Yankovic, Phoebe Bridgers, Ringo Starr and dozens of others, in addition to the acclaimed soundtrack to Echo in the Canyon. His most recent GRAMMY nomination was for “Best Immersive Audio Album," for his work as immersive audio co-producer on the 2019 album The Savior by A Bad Think.

Learn more at pro.focusrite.com or scan the QR code below

Like many working in the world of immersive audio, Way's attention has turned to the Dolby Atmos® format, and in 2020 he took the leap and upgraded his personal facility, Waystation Studio, to be able to mix in Atmos. Since last year, he has been settling in with the new setup, mixing several projects and even recording an entire album specifically to be mixed in Atmos – helped in no small part by his arsenal of interfaces and a RedNet R1 controller from Focusrite Pro.

RUPERT COULSON

HEADLINER USA

Pulling the Strings

by ALIC E ds

PULLING THE STRINGS

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ENGINEER

RUPERT COULSON Sound engineer and producer Rupert Coulson is one of the few engineers to have experienced all three incarnations of London’s AIR Studios, having started out at AIR’s legendary Oxford Street studio in 1987, then moving to AIR Montserrat, finally settling at AIR Studios Lyndhurst. Ironically on the day Headliner speaks to him over zoom, he’s in a different studio entirely.

“I’m in a little pre-production room at Max Richter’s studio in rural Oxfordshire,” he says, explaining that the composer built the facility in May 2021, trasforming a huge barn into a substantial studio space with room enough to accommodate a 24-piece string section in its live room. “It’s a fairly impressive undertaking! Some people would say if you’re going to build a recording studio

in this day and age you must be completely mad, but it’s worked out really well. It’s got a full 7.1.4 system and the control room has ATC monitoring everywhere and a modular Neve 5088 console, so he hasn’t done it by halves! Coulson recently mixed Richter’s new take of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons on the studio’s 5088, and made use of the space to accommodate an orchestra.

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RUPERT COULSON

Pulling the Strings

“It’s pretty spectacular,” he enthuses, circling back to the 5088. “The idea is that you can have as big or small a one as you want and you don’t have to buy the whole channel strip – you can have various parts of it. Not all of your inputs will have EQ attached, so the idea is that you can just come out of the mic pre, straight into the recorder to Pro Tools or tape, or wherever you want. Then you can use the EQ on the monitor section or you can go through the EQ to tape, which is useful for doing drums or things like that. It’s quite fluid and flexible as it will also talk to Pro Tools when you’re mixing, so you can have all the faders working, which is quite handy.” On experiencing all three incarnations of AIR, Coulson explains that the studio has evolved from specialising in mainly rock bands and artists you’d find in the charts, to suddenly adapting to film work. “When I started it was mainly various pop and rock bands – bands like Duran Duran or INXS, so if there was a big string section coming in, it was a really big deal and everyone would

Photographer: Paul Leonard-Morgan - from the recording of My Psychadelic Love

HEADLINER USA

be running around headless chickens! When the studio moved to Lyndhurst, George Martin said he’d always hankered after doing orchestral film music because he was an oboe player originally, and he was a great string arranger and orchestral arranger. He was always on the lookout for a bigger room where he could do more orchestral recordings and projects. When he found Lyndhurst – the main hall – he just thought, ‘Yeah, this is gonna work!’ But at the time, all the people that worked at AIR were doing rock albums, so we had to learn pretty quickly how to move into the film business. “It’s such a different discipline than making an album,” he shares. “It’s vastly different. Especially recording a score, you’re doing different bits of music, but they usually inhabit the same kind of sonic landscape. It’s a very different discipline when doing a record, which is where you concentrate on one song for ages and then you’ll move on to another song doing guitars on several pieces, or doing drums on the whole album. So it took a lot of getting used to adjusting

to doing film scores, because you’re looking to proceed the whole time; you’ll finish one bit, then onto the next bit. It’s a perpetual motion thing where you’ve got to keep moving forward. Whereas doing records, there’s a lot of experimentation and more time to try things.” During his time at AIR, Coulson has worked with some of the world’s finest producers, composers and artists including Sir George Martin, The Rolling Stones, Craig Armstrong and Danny Elfman. His experience spans from full orchestral recordings, to working on film scores on movies including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Blood Diamond, Transformers, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Annihilation, Rocketman, The Invisible Man, and No Time To Die – and that’s just cherry-picking a few. Coulson did the score recording and mixing for 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and has fond memories of working with the film’s director Terry Gilliam, who was very involved in the score. “He was very involved,” he remembers, nodding. “And that was great because if you’ve got the director on side with the music, that’s a strong thing to have. Whereas if you’re working remotely or if there’s some stuff that the directors are not aware of which then gets presented later, you get questions like, ‘What’s that funny noise there?’ And then instead of finding out what the sound is they’re not happy with, they’ll just turn all the music down a lot of the time. Getting the director on side is great because then they can then push the music forward.” A more recent film Coulson worked on was recording the music for The Invisible Man, starring Elizabeth Moss. The composer, Benjamin Wallfisch opted to make use of the film’s use of silence – making the viewer feel the absence of music in key scenes, whilst ensuring the score felt extremely tense and confrontational.

ENGINEER

Photographer: Paul Leonard-Morgan - from the recording of My Psychadelic Love

“SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY IF YOU’RE GOING TO BUILD A RECORDING STUDIO IN THIS DAY AND AGE YOU MUST BE COMPLETELY MAD!”

“Ben’s great fun and has a lot of energy in the control room,” he smiles. “He’s very forthright and knows what he wants, which is good. Ben asked for some extra ambience mics which we put above the orchestra, and we had a lot of joy experimenting with them, and also with some ceiling mics for Dolby Atmos. That worked really well for the quiet and silent moments where we messed around with the binaural space, so those mics were a good shout.”

This took place in AIR’s Lyndhurst Hall, which has been used for film scoring, orchestral recordings and live performances since Sir George Martin opened it in 1992. It’s home to a 96-channel Neve 88R console boasting 48 channels of Neve AIR Montserrat remote mic preamps, so it’s no surprise that it’s Coulson’s desk of choice for score recording work.

got people in booths, the orchestra out there, people up in the galleries, and you might have a singer in a booth or someone smashing the three shades of shit out of a drum kit,” he laughs. “The flexibility of each channel being able to route various EQ and processing is really useful.” AMS-NEVE.COM RUPERTCOULSON.COM

“It’s great for scoring because it’s very flexible, which is really useful if you’ve HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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Immersive Evolution

IMMERSIVE EVOLUTION GUMBLE

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IMMERSIVE AUDIO

Pro audio giants d&b audiotechnik and DiGiCo recently entered a new partnership to ‘advance the accessibility and ease of use’ of the former’s immersive audio Soundscape system. Headliner hears from d&b product manager Georg Stummer to find out what this new partnership means for audiences and FOH engineers. The new partnership will see a dedicated Soundscape User Interface fully integrated into the surface of all DiGiCo SD and Quantum consoles, offering FOH engineers the ability to control Soundscape object parameters on the DS100 on the consoles. “At d&b, we work in constant collaboration and consultation with our users and partners in the industry,” said Stummer. “Because of the fast adoption of Soundscape by the creative community, we have seen tremendous growth across all areas of live entertainment and corporate events. “Seeing the ways that the systems are used in the field, it has become quite clear to us that with immersive applications in particular, the established boundaries between different workflows, assigned responsibilities, and the operation of individual devices along the audio signal chain are blurring. That means that intuitive operation and flexible, easy access to parameters of the entire audio system are becoming essential for engineers and creatives. “This collaboration with DiGiCo has allowed us to develop a new kind of user interface that provides the front of house engineer with direct and intuitive access, including the operation of positioning the parameters of Soundscape’s sound objects within the DiGiCo SD and Quantum consoles workflow.”

The partnership has made it possible to replace the generic OSC control for the DS100 on DiGiCo consoles with a Soundscape control interface, integrating new features such as free assignment of DS100 sound objects and different mapping areas for each channel strip of the console. All parameters and assignments of the Soundscape User Interface can be stored and recalled with the console Snapshot memory. Furthermore, this integration can be expanded for bi-directional communication between the console and DS100, via the d&b software bridge (Remote Protocol Bridge) while also supporting setup with two DS100s

by controlling two DS100s in sync within a redundancy setup or up to 128 sound objects on two different DS100 from one console. “This partnership makes the advanced immersive capabilities of Soundscape more accessible and enables FOH engineers to work in their preferred mixing and automation environment,” Stummer continued, highlighting the key benefits now available to customers. “Through this console integration, Soundscape can become an intuitive part of their creative work and design repertoire, and can be operated and automated in the DiGiCo workflow in the same way that channel-based application parameters can.”

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Immersive Evolution

“We are quite confident that in the near future immersive will not just be a standard application for top end productions, but will become a focus for all types and sizes of events and venues.”

He also elaborated on the new opportunities the partnership will open up in the market. “It is important to us at d&b to make the transition between the different system concepts, channel-based and object-based, as smooth and simple as possible. This integration makes it even easier for existing productions to take advantage of the creative opportunities that Soundscape offers and to integrate Soundscape into the production setup.” So what does the coming together of these two pro audio giants say about the increased demand for immersive technologies in live events? “We are seeing a shift in technology and system concepts to an extent that could not have been imagined a short time ago,” said Stummer. ”I don’t just mean the change from HEADLINER USA

L/R to five arrays in front - but the paradigm shift that is taking place: the focus is now firmly on creating meaningful experiences instead of just broadcasting/transmitting sound. “This shift is being powered by new algorithm-based processing, network-based system topology, software-forced workstreams, etc. This evolution of expectations is not just about high-end productions, which have already embraced the new technology, adapted ways of working and expect exceptional sound. We see the trend that Soundscape is becoming increasingly relevant for everyone else. We are quite confident that in the near future immersive will not just be a standard application for top end productions, but will become a focus for all types and sizes of events and venues. We see the

adoption of immersive systems as the new standard.” “At DiGiCo we recognize that immersive sound technology is gaining rapid industry acceptance and represents an exciting future for our industry. We want to ensure that FoH engineers and sound designers can access this technology at their fingertips as a normal part of their workflow,” commented Austin Freshwater, MD at DiGiCo. “We are proud to partner with d&b to provide a seamless and efficient way to integrate Soundscape into show programming and operation with our consoles.” DBAUDIO.COM DIGICO.BIZ

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KEVIN GLENDINNING

In The Round

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KEVIN GLENDINNING

HEADLINER USA

ENGINEER

Accomplished monitor engineer Kevin Glendinning has worked with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, and many more big musical acts during his two decade-spanning career, as well as being an artist consultant for live sound specialist JH audio. Here he catches up with Headliner to reflect on his time behind the mixing desk, and reveals how the company is getting back on track as live events make a return. “I know it sounds hokey, but it feels so good to be back,” says Glendinning when questioned about the return of live shows post-pandemic. At the time of interview, he’s underway doing rehearsals with Miley Cyrus in Southern California before heading further south for the Latin American leg of her tour. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Glendinning started out touring locally in a punk band, and quickly developed an obsession with pro audio gear. “Growing up, I was a big Metallica fan and I wore out their VHS tape A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, which was a tour documentary,” Glendinning recalls. “At the very end, it said ‘concert sound provided by DB Sound, Des Plaines, Illinois’ – literally down the road from where I grew up and about five or six doors down from where my dad worked at United Airlines. “I figured out how to contact them and long story short, I ended up sweeping the floor at DB sound. It was like walking into the hall of fame for the first time and I helped out in any way that I possibly could.” A number of months later, Metallica themselves had put out a substantially-sized A and B leapfrog rig system, meaning they needed two lots of crew, two lots of cabinets – two of everything. Glendinning ended

“BEING BACK AT IT POSTPANDEMIC, IT’S REALLY BEEN ABOUT RE-EVALUATING AND FALLING IN LOVE WITH OUR CRAFT AGAIN.”

up being selected as the final crew member; he found himself out on the road for the first time working with the likes of Big Mick Hughes and Paul Owen, who are “still dear friends to this day,” he says. After three tours with the band, he went on to work with AC/ DC and then The Rolling Stones. Talk about baptism by fire. After a couple of years as the number one mix engineer for Deftones, Glendinning decided it was time to go independent, moving to California where he met the likes of Dave Rat of Rat Sound, and Dave Shadoan of Sound Image. His time as an independent sound mixer subsequently saw him land tours with No Doubt and Gwen Stefani, Weezer, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, following which he received what he describes as a “covert phone call” about another gig, which turned out to be for newly-turned solo artist Justin Timberlake.

“Justin was terrific and we had an awesome run,” he remembers fondly. “It was challenging, it was loud, it was in the round. It was my first gig of a non-rock genre in the pop world, and that opened a lot of doors for me. I met Alicia Keys and Adam Levine at one of Justin’s benefit concerts in Vegas, which led into a long run with Maroon 5, right into Alicia and Lenny Kravitz. “Being back at it post-pandemic, it’s really been about re-evaluating and falling in love with our craft again,” he says. “It’s kind of kicked it up a notch: the attitude, the overall vibe of the crews, the management has all improved. I think we’ve all realised that while we sacrifice a lot of hours away from home and everything, it really is something that we should all be pleased and proud of.”

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KEVIN GLENDINNING

In The Round

Over at JH Audio, the company was feeling the industry rev up before sound rental companies and venues felt the buzz. “Musicians were rehearsing at home, engineers were taking online courses and everyone was still using our stuff, or they sat dormant in a road case for 18 months and needed fixing or cleaning,” says Glendinning. “So our repair tech division got hit hard and fast last spring, I guess almost a year ago now. That being said, it’s been a constant tempo of business. “There’s also been some changes in the roster. I’ve been with the company a long time, a little over 10 years, and I’ve been with Jerry for over 20 as a customer, and I honestly think this is the best staff he’s ever assembled in terms of management, HEADLINER USA

sales staff, boots on the ground, repair techs, shipping, receiving – I really do. We’re an IEM company built by people that use IEMs, and we’ve been able to kick things up a notch because of our industry awareness. “We’re very excited about everything. These days, we’ve been able to open up new branches in Austin, Texas, as well as London. Atlanta’s growing. Vegas seems to be getting a lot of traction as well. The new branch openings have really been something we’ve been aiming at for a long, long time, so it’s great to see them actually come full circle and be up and running now. “Again, without being hokey about it, I feel like we’ve come out stronger on the other end, and like any other good company, large and small, in

and out of the industry, it all starts at the top. We all know that and are very, very grateful for who we work for, and the company we keep at Jerry Harvey Audio.” JHAUDIO.COM

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CODA AUDIO

HEADLINER USA

Hearing is Believing

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TECHNOLOGY

CODA AUDIO

HEARINGIS BELIEVING Following the successful launch of its Space Hub Immersive Processor at the latest Tonmeistertagung exhibition in Düsseldorf and its debut at Utopia Festival in Marseille, CODA Audio has announced the creation of new dedicated immersive audio facilities at its headquarters in Hannover. Headliner finds out more…

The new demo rooms, the ‘Auditorium’ and the ‘White Room’, which will allow CODA to communicate the technology and philosophy of Space Hub, are designed to allow visitors a handson experience of the technology. The new spaces complement CODA’s existing ‘Showroom’, which is used for the demonstration of conventional systems.

With its advanced spatial audio algorithms for positioning and moving sound objects, Space Hub, the central element of CODA’s Immersive System Solution, can render up to 128 audio sources to 128 outputs, enabling users to deliver a genuine immersive 3D listening experience for a wide range of applications.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

CODA AUDIO

Hearing is Believing

“OUR NEW FACILITIES WILL ALLOW AUDIO PROFESSIONALS TO BRING THEIR OWN CONTENT FOR TESTING, AND GAIN A COMPREHENSIVE INSIGHT INTO THE WORKFLOW AND THE WAY OBJECTBASED MIXING WORKS IN 3D.”

“We’re excited about the development of the new facilities. The demos which took place at the exhibition were well-attended and the reaction was very enthusiastic, with a general feeling amongst those in attendance that our approach to immersive sound was setting a new standard,” says CODA Audio managing director, Svetly Alexandrov. He continues, “The creation of our new facilities will allow audio professionals to bring their own content for testing, and gain a comprehensive insight into the workflow and the way object-based mixing works in 3D.” The rooms are equipped with 3D setups comprising CODA Audio HOPS8 loudspeakers on several levels, SCV-F sensor controlled subwoofers and the pivotal Space Hub immersive processor. A second Space Hub serves as a backup unit to demonstrate redundant system configuration. HEADLINER USA

In addition to content feeds from various DAW programmes, the native Space Hub control software, a mixing console with Space Hub remote control interface, and an iPad with touch-surface-optimized OSC control, are available. A tracking system will follow shortly.

The first demonstrations at the new facilities took place recently, and were attended by leading sound designers from around the world. Those interested in booking an appointment to experience CODA’s full range of immersive audio possibilities can register at the company’s website.

Alexandrov looks forward to welcoming visitors:

Keep an eye out for the full review of CODA’s new demo facilities in the next issue of Headliner Magazine.

“Our motto is ‘Hearing is Believing’, and we’re certain that anyone who visits our Immersive Audio facilities will know exactly what we mean when they hear what we have to offer. As well as an incomparable listening experience, we aim to educate and inform our visitors about every aspect of the technology at work, and make clear the possibilities it can open up in so many applications.”

CODAAUDIO.COM

THE ANCHORESS

The Art of the Matter

Photographer: Darren Feist

HEADLINER USA

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THE ART OF THE MATTER

THE ANCHORESS It’s been an unusual few years for most of us, but for Catherine Anne Davies, aka The Anchoress, it truly has been the strangest of times. Over the past three years, she has endured what she describes as the “multiplicity of life”. She has experienced profound personal loss, released an intensely intimate record reflecting and processing the turmoil of those times in the form of The Art Of Losing, and has seen that record hailed as one of the finest releases of the past year, topping multiple end of year lists and being described as the best album of 2021 by, among others, a certain Elton John.

All of this played out to the backdrop of Covid, which, due to health issues, has meant Davies has been in a state of almost total isolation since the pandemic struck in early 2020. And now, almost a year to the day since its release, a new expanded edition of The Art Of Losing has been made available, complete with reworkings of several of the album’s tracks. “It’s been utterly surreal,” she says as she joins us over Zoom from the home studio she has been holed up in for so long. She’s in a bright, talkative mood, evidently overjoyed and genuinely taken aback at the reception The Art Of Losing has been met with. “I’ve been shielding the whole time, I haven’t even been to the supermarket since February 2020, so for me the entirety of the release and promotion and people’s

responses has all happened in this online world, which is utterly bizarre. The last 10 months have been like The Truman Show. People were telling me Elton John has been talking about my record and Caitlin Moran is talking about it, and it feels like some weird dream I might wake up from as I don’t experience any of it in the real world. It’s wonderful and lovely and I can’t think of a better way to have been locked up for 10 months. It’s been a farcical rollercoaster!” In the two years preceding the release of The Art Of Losing, Davies was confronted with the loss not only of her father, but also multiple miscarriages. Given the nature of these devastating losses, the sheer existence of The Art Of Losing is a remarkable feat. That it manages to explore grief and the tumult of

emotions with which it can come entangled with such a deft blend of nuance and unflinching candor is frankly astonishing. While the lyrics often address these themes very directly, the music that accompanies them is disarmingly vibrant. There are towering guitars, some courtesy of Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield, who also lends his vocals to the song The Exchange, returning the favor after Davies featured on the band’s 2018 single Dylan & Caitlin. There are also plenty of up-tempo, electronic moments that provide a pulsating ebb and flow.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

THE ANCHORESS

The Art of the Matter

“I WANTED TO SET OUT MY STALL IN TERMS OF ARRANGEMENT AND PRODUCTION. I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING SONICALLY BIG AND IMPRESSIVE, AND THAT WASN’T GOING TO BE A MEEK, MOURNFUL COLLECTION OF SONGS.”

These are punctuated by softer, at times starkly somber vignettes, but while an album dominated by such subject matter could potentially make for an overwhelming, impenetrable listen for all but the most committed fans, The Art Of Losing is a constantly compelling body of work that embraces, rather than confronts the listener. This, Davies explains, was always the intention. “It’s something that happens with my creative process,” she explains. “I write music and melody first, so it’s important to have that strong melody HEADLINER USA

and underlying chord progression. And I didn’t know what I was about to live through, so I wasn’t writing somber or melancholy music. I didn’t set out to write an autobiographical piece. But when I did understand what I was making, I wanted to emulate bands like Depeche Mode who address dark subject matter but with anthemic, uplifting melodies. That’s more challenging. It would have been easier to write something more somber. And I wanted to set out my stall in terms of arrangement and production. I wanted to do something sonically big and impressive, and that

wasn’t going to be a meek, mournful collection of songs.” In addition to her ambition to create those memorable melodies and anthemic arrangements, Davies also explored a variety of production techniques that embody the album’s themes sonically as well as lyrically.

Photographer: Jodie Cartman

ARTIST

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

THE ANCHORESS

The Art of the Matter

“THE RECORD HAS DONE SO WELL; IT REACHED WAY MORE PEOPLE THAN I EVER COULD HAVE THOUGHT. SO, IF YOU’RE UP FOR DIVING INTO THAT POOL OF DEATH DISCO MELANCHOLIA...”

“It was about exploring ideas of loss and bodily trauma through the processes I was using on the record,” she elaborates. “Even down to the Leslie cabinet that I used. I did a lot of post-production processing and that sense of disorientation you get with those spinning speakers was all about trying to replicate that bodily sense of disorientation you get when you’re in the midst of extreme trauma. And there were things like running synths and guitars back out through old speakers for that sense of degradation. And I used the Watkins Copicat as well, which was about looping and repeating memories. So rather than it all being about minor chords and sad lyrics, it was about mimicking trauma loss and grief through the gear and the production processes. When you’re in the middle of trauma, you’re not always feeling sad. It’s very disorientating and you feel many different emotions. For me it was about capturing that multiplicity of emotions. And the fastness of life when it feels like you’re going at 1,000 miles per hour. By necessity that meant there were a lot of fast tempo songs on the record. I wanted to replicate authentically what it felt like to live inside my head at that point.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the album’s writing and production was every inch a solo affair. “The very nature of the album and the material meant I couldn’t envision myself sitting in a room with other people working on this,” she says. “And I very much felt the need to prove myself. My first album had done really well in terms of critical HEADLINER USA

acclaim, but there was a sense in which people didn’t realize how much of that record I had made. I was credited as a co-producer, but as is so often the case with women, people seem to think it’s a vanity credit. I’d spent four years of my life making it with a great deal of effort. And at some point in the gestation period of this album, I felt that for people to truly realize what I could do, I needed to set up my stall and do it alone. “It was written and produced by myself and it wasn’t a task I necessarily felt I was up to at the beginning, which is awful and was testament to the fact my self-esteem was in the gutter at that point. It’s been enormously gratifying to see the response it’s had, because it’s such a journey I’ve been on with regard to my belief in my own skills as a record producer. And I think it’s important for the industry to see more women selfproducing at a commercial level.” Though the album itself was completed almost a year before the Covid outbreak, it wasn’t released until March 2021. Confined to the studio in isolation, was Davies ever tempted to go back and tamper with any elements of the record or temper some of its more candid lyrical moments? “I didn’t touch it at all,” she states. “I went through a plethora of emotions: pissed off, angry, frustrated, and like going through the stages of grief, you come to acceptance. And in hindsight it was a gift to come out when it did. There was a much bigger appetite for talking about difficult things. And the cultural conversation around

some of the themes and topics had moved on to a point where people were talking about them in the media. That made it less scary for reviews and interviews, where people may have tiptoed around them. So, of course it was frustrating, but it came out at precisely the moment it was supposed to. It captured a moment in time. It would have been inauthentic to have revisited it. There is one track called 5am that I wasn’t 100% comfortable about going into the public domain and did consider taking it off, but it was a really important part of the record and I’m really glad I followed my gut and kept it on.” So what does the new expanded edition have to offer? “It has five brand new acoustic tracks on, so it’s really me sat here in my studio stripping the songs back to their roots,” she says. “They are completely re-recorded versions, not just the demos. So it’s really the all bells and whistles edition. It does what it says on the tin. The record has done so well; it reached way more people than I ever could have thought. So, if you’re up for diving into that pool of death disco melancholia... I hope it takes people on a journey to the core of the songs. And when I say acoustic, they really are alternative versions of the songs, it’s not just me and an acoustic guitar. Expect the unexpected.” From an artist this adventurous and courageous, we’d expect little else. THEANCHORESS.CO.UK

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UNITING YOUR AUDIENCE FOR 50 YEARS

NICK BROPHY

HEADLINER USA

The Nashville Veteran

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ENGINEER

THE NASHVILLE VETERAN

NICK BROPHY Creating quite a legacy in the musical melting pot of Nashville, Nick Brophy is a name that deserves respect in the world of engineering and songwriting. He’s worked with The Rolling Stones, on Avril Lavigne’s game-changing debut Let Go, and even got to write a song with a 15-year-old Taylor Swift. Headliner talks with him about his career highlights and how Waves plugins fit into it all.

Brophy came into music as a guitarist, and co-founded The Riverdogs in 1989, before becoming an engineer at the Ronder studios. Next up, he became involved with the songwriting and production team The Matrix, leading him to a teenage Lavigne. “We were recording her debut record, Let Go, at a house in North Hollywood,” he says. “She’d been signed with her in mind as a country artist, but she always turned up wearing camouflage clothing and clearly had that punk spirit to her. And I just remember her saying to me, because she was so young and new to all this, ‘Nick, when we finish this record, what happens next?’

“Graham (from The Matrix) called me and said, ‘Nick, you have no idea what’s going on. They’re starting to play this on the major pop radio stations in L.A here!’ And sure enough, she just dethroned Britney Spears and was topping the charts with Complicated, one of the songs we worked on. It was similar to when I worked with Taylor Swift when she was only 15 or so. You don’t really foresee the impact that they’re going to have.”

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

NICK BROPHY

The Nashville Veteran

Another one of Brophy’s most formative projects was with The Rolling Stones. “One day our studio assistant came running down,” he says. “‘And he goes, ‘Don, Mick Jagger is on the phone for you’. Don disappeared for about 15 minutes and came back down and he told me, ‘The Rolling Stones are wanting to do something like The Beatles’ number one record where they do a collection of their hits, but they want to add two new songs to it. They’d like to record in the studio in Paris, do you want to go?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I want to go!’ It was literally a week later. We put the Hootie And The Blowfish record on hold and we flew over to Paris to work with them. We were there for 31 days on a daily basis, all day long with the Rolling Stones – amazing.” It doesn’t take much to get Brophy talking about Waves, the plugin company who have almost seen him through his entire career. “I’ve always loved Waves,” he says. “I started using HEADLINER USA

them back in ‘95 when I first started working on the computers at the studio. Since then I think they’ve been on every single thing that I’ve ever worked on. I’ve created a bunch of chains that I work with, making it so convenient. “They have something for everything,” he continues. “And they’re always good quality. With some of the other companies, they require hardware to run and that’s a little inconvenient; some of them impose a lot more latency. If you’re trying to get in a workflow and you’re trying to track at the same time, that can be cumbersome. One of the Waves plugins that came out that really changed the way I worked is the original SSL E channel strip. To this day, I love working with that. It’s got all the EQ and is really simple to use. The compression is very versatile. “I like the CLA 76,” he adds, “and I like the Abbey Road Saturator plugin, it’s so great. A lot of people love the

Soundtoys Decapitator but I think the Saturator is much cooler. I like the H Reverbs and the H Delays. Those are awesome. And there are a lot of speciality plugins they have like O Vox. I should mention Vocal Bender. That’s another go-to for sure. So I have the VEQ3 as the main EQ of the vocal at the top of the chain and then it goes into the DeEsser, and then goes into the 1176 CLA and then into the F6, which is the dynamic EQ. And then it goes into the Abbey Road Saturator for the really gritty drive.” Don’t make the mistake of thinking things are beginning to settle down for Brophy: “We have a song that we landed in the new Jennifer Lopez movie, Marry Me. And we also got a song placed in one of the national vaccine campaigns. So I’m just trying to get more placements and take advantage of these opportunities.” WAVES.COM NICKBROPHY.COM

LANCE POWELL ON USING ANUBIS MISSIONS “I’m constantly moving between my personal mix room and various studios and spaces, which means the need to have absolutely pristine quality on-hand all the time is really important. With the Merging Technologies Anubis I have a pair of really powerful mic preamps, brilliant A/D and D/A converters and a perfect monitor controller all in one box. I finally have a centerpiece that I trust completely for both recording and mixing.” Lance Powell- Engineer / Mixer Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Miguel, Snoop Dogg, Jess Glynne, Blxst.

merging.com/anubis Independent Audio, Portland, Maine.

T (207) 723 2424

E dennis@independentaudio.com

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FORREST LAWRENCE AND KENNY KAISER

HEADLINER USA

Killer Sound

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IN THE STUDIO

KILLER SOUND Working Title Recording Studios was founded by Forrest Lawrence, who previously owned Studio Circle Recordings and was the house engineer at the now defunct Annex Recording Studios for 11 years. Assisted by Kenny Kaiser, front of house mixer for The Killers, the studio was transformed into a Dolby-Atmos enabled facility during the pandemic. The duo reflect on their working relationship, the rise of Dolby Atmos music, working with The Killers, and how to approach immersive mixing.

When did you decide to create Working Title Recording Studios? FL: I was at Annex for about 11 years and unfortunately, the building got acquired by a little company called Facebook, so that had me bouncing around some studios in San Francisco, which are no longer in existence. I bounced around until I found this facility that was mostly completed in San Mateo. I went

in there and said, ‘Hey, if I finish this place up, I’ll run my business through this spot’. I cut a deal with the guy who owned the building who had kind of given up on it because he didn’t know what to do with it, and finished it up. I’ve been cleaning it up ever since, and that’s now coming up on about 10 years as well. So now it’s really where I wanted it to be, and thanks to Ken

for helping to put some lipstick on that pig! When did you start with The Killers, and what are the technical challenges that come with working at FOH when touring with them? KK: Since their Battle Born album. The guys are cool – everyone in that band is super rad and down to earth. The big challenge with HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

FORREST LAWRENCE AND KENNY KAISER

touring in general is trying to make it sound the same every single day. The Killers do festivals (no acoustics), to arenas (heavy acoustics), to the UK stadiums (extreme acoustics), to clubs (shitty acoustics), so it’s trying to get the same sound everywhere you go. It’s been so long since actually doing a tour, so we’re focusing on logistics and getting everything together and getting back in the swing of things. They released two albums during the pandemic and they haven’t really played them live! So they’re trying to figure out what songs work, and are getting ready for the UK stadium run pretty soon. The studio now offers Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 mixing capabilities. To turn this immersive studio into a reality, you invested in Martin Audio speakers and a Focusrite RedNet A16R 16-channel analogue interface for Dante networks. Why? FL: We basically made a giant shopping list of what we would need and then got those things! KK: I’ve been touring with Martin Audio since the start of working with Selena Gomez, so I’ve known their box for over 10/12 years now. I love it. It’s great stuff. Usually all the time we’re constrained by money, let’s be honest. So we knew the protocol was either going to be MADI or Dante. I said, ‘Why don’t we go Dante? Then we don’t have to spend all the money on copper’. As for the RedNet A16R, these do all of our conversion for our analog gear into our DAW. It’s a rad box. I have two out on tour right now with The Killers doing the same thing. They’re bulletproof and sound great. I just absolutely love the A16R; I’ve never had an issue with it. When you’re touring you’re moving stuff in and out of venues and it goes in the back of trucks. If you’ve ever HEADLINER USA

Killer Sound

been over in the Midwest near Michigan or Virginia, the roads are terrible and the gear gets bumped around. I can’t tell you how many analogue vintage pieces of gear break down, but I’ve never had an issue with those units, so that was the reason why I pushed towards that. Obviously, there’s other manufacturers out there that are jumping on the bandwagon now, but Focusrite put their flag down first in the ground with this Dante stuff. When we were looking at mic pres for the studio I mentioned to Forrest about Dante mic pres. Obviously we have analog gear that we know and love and still want to use in the studio. That is where the A16Rs come into play, but we also wanted some Swiss Army knives that sound amazing and work really well for our new multi-room workflow. FL: Focusrite’s always been there since I entered the audio game and it always was the prized gear in any facility I went into. It was always the floater gear in a lot of studios, meaning gear that isn’t assigned to one room that you would usually have in a rack, so it can move around. You would have so many people going, ‘I want to use that,’ and if you tied it into a room, then that room would just get tied up. So it was actually an easy sell when we were making that giant shopping list of what we wanted for our dream room to be. Ken was like, ‘Hey, I’ve been using this box. It’s bulletproof. It gives us all the ins and outs we need’. I went, ‘No brainer: Focusrite, Let’s do it!’ KK: I told Forrest about these MP8Rs mic pres too and that we should put them in a roaming case. The beauty of it is we can put 16 channels in any room that we feel like for whatever session we are working on: 16 channels outside in the loading

dock area, 16 channels in the front room, 16 channels across the street in the parking lot if we really wanted to. With no walking back and forth to adjust gain. Everything we need is on the computer with the RedNet controller. I have one of those units in my system rack that I use for all my RTA mics, which is real-time analyzing mics. I put up eight of these microphones in the room to see what the room’s doing. The one thing I noticed about the MP8R is it’s clinical: what you put into that pre is what you’re actually hearing. It was one of those things where now that all three of our rooms are Danteenabled, we can literally take that unit and move it wherever we need it. So we can go put it in the parking lot if we want to and track airplanes flying over, or whatever we need to do! FL: The MP8Rs are a godsend because you can put them anywhere, they’re super clean, super low noise and then the flexibility of it being Dante means I don’t have to run a snake. For instance, if someone wants to put the drums in a weird spot in the back warehouse, I’m not leaving doors open and running giant 80 foot XLR snakes to and fro, and headphones back and forth for playback. Instead, it’s: boom, I set this thing down. I give it power. I put Dante into it and I move the entire live room wherever I want it to be’.

IN THE STUDIO

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

FORREST LAWRENCE AND KENNY KAISER

Killer Sound

What do you think the future of Atmos looks like for music studios? FL: At this point, I think people are still coming up to speed with it. We’ve had a couple of engineers come in just because they haven’t heard it, and these are engineers who’ve been around for a million years! Everyone we’ve had come in is just blown away, and that’s kind of the point. We’re putting ourselves on the map by saying, ‘Hey! If you want to do it, this is the place to do it’. KK: We’ve got a couple of demo tracks that we play when we bring people in, and me and Forrest have a tally mark of how many people we actually made cry. If you have never experienced it, especially from an artist standpoint, you’re gonna have to rewrite all your songs – it’s crazy! It gives people goosebumps. Forrest played HEADLINER USA

Elton John’s Rocket Man to some big, hairy metal dude and made him cry. FL: That’s true. He’d never heard music that well in his life. He’d never heard things that clear. It just blew his mind, and that’s the direction it’s going in. If I play something in Atmos for someone and then we switch back to doing something in stereo, they’re sad! They’re instantly dejected and bummed because it’s like going back to black and white TV. It’s starting to really take off and we’re not going to go backwards. It’s exciting to be at the front of it and using awesome gear like Focusrite’s to put it all together. PRO.FOCUSRITE.COM WORKINGTITLERECORDINGSTUDIOS.COM

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MAURICIO GARGEL

Master of the Arts

ds by D A or

MAURICIO GARGEL

HEADLINER USA

GUMBLE

MASTER OF THE ARTS

ENGINEER

Headliner catches up with Brazilbased mastering engineer Mauricio Gargel about his career to date, working in Dolby Atmos and the Merging Technologies kit that forms the cornerstone of his studio… While Dolby Atmos may be the buzz term of the pro audio and music industries today, Brazilian mastering engineer Mauricio Gargel was studying for a master’s degree in object-based mixing for music as early as 2010. Already actively involved in the audio world prior to moving to Nashville in 2011 to attend the Middle Tennessee State University for three years of study and a year of placement, he returned to Brazil in 2014 to set up an analog mastering room that was configured for stereo and 5.1. In addition to music mastering, there was some documentary work that helped build up the reputation of the studio, but the real catalyst for change was the onset of the Covid pandemic in early 2020. Lockdown restrictions meant more working from home, which could not be done with the existing analog gear, prompting Gargel to consider working ‘in the box’. It was at this time that he discovered Merging’s Anubis. Several questions were raised at the same time: would he regret selling all the analog gear; would Anubis do what it should; would it be stable; would his clients accept it? The initial learning curve was quite steep, especially due to the fact he had to have a new network set up at the same time as getting used to the new workflow. This provided an opportunity to expand to an immersive system that would be capable of mastering Dolby Atmos for music and other formats that might be requested. The addition of a Merging Hapi allowed for the additional channels to feed the 14 speakers, with

Anubis controlling everything. With the system complete, it was just a matter of arriving at the studio, switching on and getting to work. The majority of clients had traditionally been independent artists who saw the opportunities of working in Dolby Atmos but found the budget a challenge. That changed in September 2021, when Universal Music and Apple contacted Gargel asking for projects to be formatted and mastered for Atmos. At the same time, video and film clients started to contact him for repurposing 5.1 projects.

What became clear very quickly was that this was rather more than just mastering. Depending on what was delivered, from stems to individual tracks, an element of mixing was required. Sounds needed to be positioned at the right level and the objects required careful placement. This process was not straightforward and certainly opened up creative possibilities for the independent clients who were keen to experiment but could probably only afford to do one track. At the same time as experimenting musically, having a reference listening HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

MAURICIO GARGEL

Master of the Arts

“IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE TO REFERENCE TO STEREO, WHICH IS THE FORMAT OF YESTERDAY.”

space with the ability to easily do comparisons allowed for testing of new software and plugins. “One of the issues here is there is no additional budget available for new productions and there is no premium at the consumer end,” says Gargel. “If you stream in stereo or Atmos, it generally costs the same, whereas for me it is a lot of extra work. Repurposing old material for a label is a project that can be invoiced but I think there needs to be a rethink on the charging structure for new productions. Perhaps if we become more efficient and they pay more, we can meet in the middle.” According to Gargel, there are other aspects to working in immersive, as there may be requirements for MPEG-H or Sony 360 that share similarities but are not so well defined, and there is a difference in binaural encoding between Apple HEADLINER USA

and others. This means many studios are hanging back and choosing to wait until the situation becomes more stable before investing in new gear. As a mastering facility, Gargel notes, you must be able to handle material coming in on different DAW files. Pro Tools is ubiquitous for video and film projects, but Reaper is also very popular in Brazil. Some CD titles still come in on SADiE. “I am looking at Pyramix now because I like the idea of being able to do everything in one place,” Gargel adds. “I can do mixing, sample rate conversion and export the final ADM with the metadata. I love Reaper’s flexibility with routing, but I can’t do the metadata. I don’t love Pro Tools even though I used to teach it, but it is used so much in Brazil, I can’t avoid it. I am learning Pyramix now as I only recently had time to investigate.”

One difficulty he sees moving forward is quality control. On the client side, he believes there could be confusion around the differences between stereo, binaural and multichannel. Also, loudness has become chaotic with a misunderstanding that immersive does not need to have the dynamics crushed, as has become the norm in stereo. Consequently, some Atmos tracks were very loud and not authentic to the music. “It doesn’t make sense to reference to stereo, which is the format of yesterday,” Gargel concludes. “In the future our children and grandchildren might only listen to a multi-speaker system and will be disappointed if the results have been compromised by too much compression or unadventurous mixing.” MERGING.COM

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TIM PALMER

Logical Thinking

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LOGICAL THINKING

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TIM PALMER Mixer and producer for the likes of Pearl Jam, U2 and most recently Tears For Fears, Tim Palmer established his own studio, Studio 62, some 13 years ago and has just purchased his very first SSL (Solid State Logic) products in the form of the firm’s UF8 and UC1 controllers. Here, he opens up about his approach to working with the biggest names in the business and the gear that is so central to his workflow…

HEADLINER USA

PRODUCER

“GETTING AWAY FROM THE MOUSE AND BEING ABLE TO MANIPULATE THE EQ HAS BEEN REWARDING. IT’S NICE TO BE ABLE TO CLOSE MY EYES, TURN THE EQ AND SAY: ‘OK, THAT SOUNDS GOOD.”

Over a career spanning 40 years and counting, Palmer has worked on some of the biggest releases in rock and pop in both the 20th and 21st century. He earned his first BPI Gold Disk in his teens, before registering his first UK No.1 single at the age of 21 working on Pearl Jam’s Ten. He also received a Grammy nomination for U2’s 2000 album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. In 2009, he set up Studio 62 as an analog/digital hybrid mix and overdub room, to which he recently added two new SSL controllers, replacing an older set of faders on his workstation. “The quality of the build on these SSL faders has been really nice,” he says. “They react really well to the touch, which is important to me.” Since starting as an assistant at London’s Utopia Studios at age 18,

Palmer has spent decades working on mixing consoles, initially with tape machines. “I was contemplating the other day that for most of the early part of my career I rarely looked at a screen,” he says. “I never had to look at audio wave-forms or a computer monitor.”

“Getting away from the mouse and being able to manipulate the EQ has been rewarding. It’s nice to be able to close my eyes, turn the EQ and say, ‘OK, that sounds good,” he says. “And having multiple bus compressors available to insert onto my sub-groups is an added bonus.

With the new UF8 and UC1 installed, he remarks that “it’s refreshing to not have to use your eyes and just concentrate on listening, and to be able to physically touch an EQ or a fader is a welcome return”.

“I use the ‘Focus’ feature [on the UC1] a lot. Being able to hover over a parameter and turn an actual knob is a much nicer feeling than using the mouse. Most times, when I’m checking the final mix, I’ll switch off the monitor and just sit and listen and not get drawn into what’s on the screen. It makes a bigger difference than you would think – you hear it in a very different way.”

Palmer previously had a fader controller in his setup, but the upgrade to the UF1 and especially the UC1, which provides dedicated hardware control of the SSL Native Channel Strip 2 and Bus Compressor 2 plugins via the SSL 360° software has, he explains, taken his workflow to another level.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

TIM PALMER

Logical Thinking

“NOW WE CAN GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS AND HAVE LESS COMPROMISE.”

Furthermore, with the UF8, he says he now has more power at his fingertips than he had at his first job.

on the scene that we mixers built our own studios. That’s when I began to have to buy my own equipment.”

“It’s nice to have the controller and be able to use the SSL automation,” he continues. “When I began in 1981, one of the first records that I ever got the opportunity to mix was a solo record by Rick Wright, the keyboard player from Pink Floyd. He wanted to work in Studio A at Utopia, which had an SSL without automation. So I cut my teeth mixing on an SSL, but in a manual, all hands on deck kind of way.

Palmer has been keeping busy at his own Studio 62 since SSL released the controllers in early 2021, mixing numerous projects from several high profile artists, including the title track from the new Tears For Fears album The Tipping Point, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s top album sales chart on March 12. He has also been working with many local and international up-and-comers.

“I’ve mixed and worked on SSL consoles ever since I began in the music industry 40 years ago, and this is the first time I’ve ever purchased anything from SSL! I was very fortunate to grow up in the generation where it was the studio’s responsibility to own all the gear. It was only when the music industry changed and Pro Tools arrived

“One of the great things that has changed in my career is the ability now for artists to contact me from other countries; that was never feasible before,” he says. “It gives me the opportunity to work on music that was previously unreachable, so I really appreciate that change.”

HEADLINER USA

As result, he’s been mixing projects by Cinthya Hussey from Brazil; Slavia, an artist from Russia; Ireland’s Rowan; and Kelly Monrow from New York City. Palmer also recently finished mixing a new album from The Polyphonic Spree and a record for Australia’s The Butterfly Effect. Another project Palmer has been working on is a new solo album from Ville Valo, a former singer of Finnish band, H.I.M. “I made a lot of records with H.I.M. back in the day,” he states. “Ville has set up his studio in Helsinki in a similar fashion to mine; he was very kind to buy me some of the smaller Genelec 8341As that he has been using, so now we can critique the mixes using the same reference points”

PRODUCER

After decades of working on SSL analog desks, Palmer has now grown comfortable using today’s hybrid workflows where, at Studio 62, his SSL controllers and his DAW sit alongside a modest collection of analog outboard equipment. “I must admit to being a bit of a Luddite in the sense that it took me a little longer than some to be convinced

that this was the right path,” he concludes. “But once I got my head around it and understood how it all works, I became a big fan of the new approach and gear,” he says. “Now we can get the best of both worlds and have less compromise.” SOLIDSTATELOGIC.COM TIMPALMER.COM

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GOODBOYS

HEADLINER USA

The Story So Far

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GOODBOYS The rise of British house music duo Joshua Grimmett and Ethan Shore from bedroom producers to Grammy nominated chart toppers has been a meteoric one to say the very least. Headliner recently caught up with the boys following the release of their latest dance anthem on Atlantic Records, Black & Blue, to reflect on what has been a whirlwind of a musical journey so far.

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GOODBOYS

The Story So Far

There’s something instantly likable about Grimmett and Shore AKA Goodboys when they join Headliner on a Zoom call from their studio located in the depths of London’s Soho. Catapulted from being two best friends making music for fun to one of the most sought-after producer/ songwriting acts in the world, Goodboys burst onto the scene in 2019 with their debut feature Piece of Your Heart – written with Meduza – which has now amassed billions of streams. Their follow up Lose Control was met with similar praise, achieving platinum and gold sales internationally. Both tracks share an irresistible blend of infectious hooks and melodies; two massive earworms for every dance music fan, created by two dance music fans. “We’ve been locked in the studio just creating, creating, creating,” replies Grimmett when asked about the pair’s activity of late. “Our rise was very different to most – as an artist project we hadn’t been working together for five years and then had a hit. Our first song became massive, which made it slightly difficult after that to work out what we actually sound like. We’ve almost had to rewind a bit and do things the other way around, which is what HEADLINER USA

we’ve been doing these last two years during the pandemic.” “It allowed us to pause for a second and really try and carve out a new sound and a new direction for Goodboys, and figure out who we want to be,” adds Shore. “Obviously things have been tough, but we’re trying to look at it like a blessing in disguise.” Goodboys’ music is instantly recognizable from the signature pitched down vocal that usually comes in big on the chorus. Provided by Grimmett, it’s this vocal and its combination with insanely catchy melodies that have seen the duo go on to write songs for a number of other huge dance acts. “In the studio, we normally start with an idea or concept, then we write the song and the production comes afterwards,” he says. “It’s slightly different for more clubby stuff, but we generally feel like a song should be able to stand up on its own, just over piano.” “Over lockdown, there was way more collaboration for every DJ, because people realized how easy it was to just jump on a Zoom or send beats back and forth,” Shore adds. “I think one thing we’ve really started to let go of is feeling like

we need to do it all ourselves, and we’re big fans of other DJs, so we like to reach out to people who A, we’re fans of, and B, can do one thing really well. We’re huge fans of people like Vintage Culture and Imanbek, and opening up the collaboration window to work on projects together is just amazing. It’s always a fun muscle to flex in the creative process.”

BLACK & BLUE Chunky basslines and that instantly recognizable vocal hook make a return on Black & Blue, Goodboys’ first single of 2022 which was released in January via Atlantic Records. Headliner learns that the track came together rather seamlessly… “We were actually on a writing camp for Galantis, and had to deliver a particular song one evening at 6pm,” recalls Grimmett. “It got to 5.10 and we’d already done the song, so we agreed that we’d try to blast out another idea for ourselves. We pretty much did the whole thing there and then; 80 percent of what you’re hearing on the final version was done in that 45 minutes. It’s the original vocal and we never re-recorded it, except for adding in the middle eight – it was just one of those magic moments in

ARTIST

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

GOODBOYS

The Story So Far

“THE PANDEMIC ALLOWED US TO PAUSE FOR A SECOND AND REALLY TRY AND CARVE OUT A NEW SOUND AND A NEW DIRECTION FOR GOODBOYS, AND FIGURE OUT WHO WE WANT TO BE.”

the studio where everything comes together. It was the right idea at the right time and we had amazing people in the studio with us on that day.” “The verse and pre are quite serious, but the energy that we had in the room, you can feel in the chorus, because it has that kind of R’n’B melodic structure to it,” adds Shore. “We were just willing to let the hook speak for itself and not overthink things.” Grimmett mentions that they recently received a plaque marking a combined five billion streams for both Piece of Your Heart and Lose Control, and admits that this truly was a mind-blowing moment for the pair. It was arguably their ability to bring the unique Goodboys sound into the mainstream that resonated so powerfully with listeners, as Shore describes: “It was really exciting to be a part of because that sound already existed, but it was much more underground. A lot of these sub genres were already around, but I think that for whatever reason, those tracks caught everyone’s ear in a real popular culture kind of way, where they quickly reached the radio and then dancefloors. It’s shining a light on a category of dance music that didn’t necessarily get much attention, but now you see it everywhere, which is amazing.” Piece of Your Heart was Grammy nominated in 2019 for Best Dance Recording, however it was the follow up, Lose Control, that really made the duo start to believe in their ability. “When your first song is that big, it’s always in the back of your mind like, are we actually even good at this? Was this a fluke?” reflects Grimmett. “After Piece of Your Heart, we probably wrote in excess of 30 or 40 songs before we got to Lose Control. We were in a studio every day for months on end with Meduza and every writer you can imagine. When that song did just as well, HEADLINER USA

it was like a breath of fresh air because it gave us the confidence that we could do this again.” “It’s hard to do a follow up in any category of music,” adds Shore. “And I think to swerve the one hit wonder bullet is very difficult, so that was definitely one of the highlights for us so far.” When it comes to the live aspect of their craft, the bookings are now starting to come across the desk. Goodboys’ explosive DJ sets are in high demand worldwide, but in Grimmett’s words, “we want to hold it tightly and loosely just to manage expectations. “There’s a couple of big festivals in Europe that we’ll be hitting, and we’re around two thirds of the way to getting a US visa as well, so that will obviously open up a whole new world to us, which has been a long time in the making with COVID.” And while it surely won’t be long before Goodboys grace the stages of North America’s biggest festivals, the duo already have a bunch of releases planned for this year on specialist music labels with more cluboriented music. “That is one of our big shifts for next season – getting back to what we love,” adds Shore. “We’ve been away for a little while, but we’ve stayed above water, and I think now we’ve got a nice backlog of music, it’s just a matter of firing it out. “On Atlantic, we’re going to be releasing some more tracks like Black & Blue and some more poppy, commercial stuff. So this is the year of lots of music from Goodboys!” INSTA: @GOODBOYSOFF

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TAYLORED SOUND

Welcome To Hollywood North

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WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD NORTH

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TAYLORED SOUND

HEADLINER USA

AUDIO PRODUCTION

Toronto is sometimes referred to as ‘Hollywood North,’ holding the place as Canada’s premier media city. If a documentary, commercial or sports production is being filmed in the area, there is a good chance that Scott Taylor of Taylored Sound is holding the boom and rolling the field recorder. “What people might be surprised to learn about my job is that after 10 years in this industry, I’m still learning new stuff every day,” he shares. “Whether it’s mic placement for a tricky wardrobe that I’m dealing with, or even just a new camera with some new audio menu settings, I find that I’m constantly still learning new things every day. There’s so many different curve balls that can get thrown at you on any production and solving these little ‘problems’ is part of the fun of the job. Even if it does get a tad stressful at times!” Taylor is an audio engineer and the owner and operator of Taylored Sound – specializing in post production audio for film and television, as well as location sound recording and mixing. Central to Taylor’s rig for all of his work is Lectrosonics’ Digital Hybrid Wireless technology, specifically a dual-channel SRb receiver and two SRc receivers. The SRc units are paired with a total of four LT belt-pack transmitters (two each on blocks A1 and B1), while the SRb picks up the signal from a pair of SMQV transmitters on block 21. “Like a lot of people, I started out with a different and cheaper brand, but quickly switched over to Lectrosonics as I began to get more paying jobs,” he explains. “It’s important that audio is captured crisp and clearly because it’s 50% (maybe even 51%) of telling a story. It’s both a mixture of dialog and sounds which we react to as the

“CRISP AND CLEAR AUDIO IS ESSENTIAL TO ANY SORT OF PRODUCTION, AND IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.”

viewer and gather information from to help tell a story. Crisp and clear audio is essential to any sort of production, and is often overlooked. Taylor is currently working on a few projects for SportsNet, TSN, and ESPN, including pre-game interviews. “I use Lectrosonics on every single project that I’m a part of and it always proves to be essential on all of my shoots,” he states. “I run three separate SRc dual channel receivers and they integrate into my kit flawlessly. It’s easy for me to route channels if need be and with my added antenna systems I tend to have pretty great range for all of my wireless. Lectrosonics is essential for my jobs as it supplies me with great range for my wireless systems, and if I need a little added oomph to my signal I just kick my SMQV transmitter packs into 250mW and it typically keeps my signal very strong,

even in tricky circumstances with other wireless systems around.” Because Taylor splits his time between production sound mixing and audio post, he knows what he wants to hear – and what he doesn’t. “If we’re shooting in an area where I’m not familiar with the RF profile, it’s always easy to roll up, scan and find clean channels without interference or dropouts,” he explains. “Most of the time, once I get a pair of frequencies on block 21 up, I don’t need to change them. Together with the SMQVs, the SRb gets most of the dialogue. It was actually the first piece of Lectrosonics gear I bought and it’s still going strong! I use the LT/SRc combos as stereo pairs for plant mics and room mics. I just used two LTs on either side of a pipe organ for a virtual convocation ceremony at the University of Toronto.”

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

TAYLORED SOUND

Welcome To Hollywood North

Some productions raise the issue of durability, an area where Taylor finds Lectrosonics leaves nothing to be desired: “The gear is definitely rugged! I had a situation a couple of months back where I had my boom pole mounted to a stand with a Lectrosonics HMa HEADLINER USA

wireless transmitter attached to it. The boom was just gathering the ambience of the room, but at one point was accidentally kicked over by one of the grips on set. After picking the mic and transmitter back up, everything worked completely fine. I’ve also had an actor get mad during a group interview at one point and

actually throw his Lectrosonics mic pack across the room. After retrieving it, lucky enough it still worked fine!” TAYLOREDSOUND.COM LECTROSONICS.COM

LIVE EVENTS

Back with a Vengeance

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LIVE SOUND

Chris Bogg, managing director at live events production company dBS Solutions, speaks to Headliner about the resurgence of the live events market and why the firm’s long-term relationship with Martin Audio has been so crucial to the business…

leaving to set up the company. I did a lot of orchestra work there and live music concerts, so that was my passion when we started the company – to offer a service initially to local venues in Manchester and Liverpool and that has grown over the years.

Tell us about the origins of dBS Solutions.

How has 2022 been so far for the company?

We started dBS back in 2005 as a relatively small sound and lighting rental shop based in Warrington. We service lots of local events but also some national theater tours. As for my background, I came from a venue in Manchester called The Bridgewater Hall. I worked in the sound department there before

It’s been very good. Since September last year things have come back with a vengeance. We were very fortunate over the last couple of years to still have a stream of income, albeit diversified, so the last quarter of 2021 and the first of 2022 have been up to pre-pandemic levels, which is great. HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

LIVE EVENTS

Back with a Vengeance

Are there any types of events that have proven especially resilient during Covid? Yes, the illuminated trails market in the winter. We do four of those at the moment, and some of them are in stately homes – places like Blenheim Palace. We’ve done those for the last couple of years but I really pushed those in 2020 when a lot of our pantomimes and shows started to disappear. So, we really have built that market up and it’s been one of our saving graces. Have you found that your schedule is now filling up quicker than before as we edge back towards normality? Yes, our winter of 2022 is not far off being full, which is a great position to be in. It’s just slightly quieter over the summer. HEADLINER USA

Have you been forced to diversify your offering during the pandemic? We’ve diversified a little bit. Prior to the pandemic, although we have a lighting hire department, we were largely doing audio for the lit trails, where we’ve started to venture into doing some more of the lighting. We’ve probably stepped away from the weekly touring theater shows and moved into the market of daily touring, which is something that’s reasonably natural as you look at people’s available budget. Tell us about your relationship with Martin Audio? One of the first theater tours I did was in 2014 and that was one of the first times I was looking to design and supply a speaker system that was out for long enough that I could

pick the system for the job. So, I started to look at different options. That was my first venture into purchasing Martin Audio products. I’d used them many times before but that was the first time I purchased them. We bought into the XD12s and single 18 subs. Soon after that we quickly bought a W8LM system – about 18-20 boxes of that over a relatively short period of time. That grew into owning a lot of the point source products like XT15s, a good array of twin 18 subs and lots of DD6s as frontfill. The whole system we would provide was Martin Audio and we had great support from the guys there.

LIVE SOUND

“THE LAST QUARTER OF 2021 AND THE FIRST OF 2022 HAVE BEEN UP TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS, WHICH IS GREAT.”

What was it about the products that separated them from the competition? The things I look at and appreciate about the Martin Audio ethos now are slightly different to the things I enjoyed when I first started. Back in 2014, I was looking for a box that was flexible enough to do all of the venues that varied hugely in width. So, what I liked about the XD12 was that it had a rotatable horn, meaning I could use it in both orientations and I could also choose to use one in wide format and another by the side with the horn rotated. Another thing I enjoyed was the affordability of the product, because

it was a flagship British brand, but I was also able to drive it off the existing amps that we had in rental stock by just adding a processor, so it made the move over quite affordable. And with the W8LM system we purchased, I was able to drive it with existing amps, add in a few extra amps and then eventually move over to a different amp stock, but it made the big purchase a little easier because I could do it in steps.

them, say I need a particular preset for an old controller and they’ll make it for me, so it’s a really nice thing to have. I really like having a relationship where I can phone the people making the speakers. You can listen to an extended version of this interview at Headliner Radio. MARTIN-AUDIO.COM

What I really like about Martin Audio is that it is still a relatively small team, and I can talk to them and I can talk to the tech support staff there who have been supporting us since we had W8LM. I can phone HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

The Sound of Success

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THE SOUND OF

SUCCESS Networking and communications specialist, Riedel Communications, recently appointed Craig Thompson as executive director of its new customer success department, while Richard Kraemer and Josh Yagjian have joined the company to bolster its North America sales force.

Thompson’s new role will see him oversee operations for the department, which was created to deliver a seamless experience for customers — from demo and system design to training, delivery, and post-sales support — while simultaneously expanding the company’s services portfolio and associated revenue streams. “With the creation of our Customer Success Department, we’re realizing our vision of customercentric operations, while preparing a solid foundation to support a product portfolio of hardware and software products,” said Rik Hoerée, CEO, product division at Riedel Communications. “With an impressive record of improving

customer satisfaction, exceeding sales targets, and managing worldclass services teams, Craig is a natural fit to lead our Customer Success team, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to Riedel.” Thompson brings more than 20 years of management experience in the media production and broadcasting industries, joining the company from Grass Valley, where he served as vice president of customer success and business transformation. Before it was acquired by Grass Valley, he served as head of global services at Snell Advanced Media (SAM) and served as the global head of commercial sales at both SAM and Quantel.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

The Sound of Success

“IT’S AN EXCITING TIME TO BE JOINING RIEDEL, AS THE COMPANY ACCELERATES ITS GROWTH IN THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKET.”

“It’s an exciting time to be joining Riedel, as the company delivers on its commitment to our customers with the new Customer Success Department,” said Thompson. “Riedel already offers a robust line-up of services — whether it’s consulting, technical support, or training courses — and I’m looking forward to expanding our portfolio even further to ensure a seamless customer experience.” Meanwhile, Kraemer and Yagjian have joined Riedel as regional sales representatives for North America. Toronto-based Kraemer will oversee sales in Canada, while Boston-based Yagjian will help cover accounts in the North-eastern region of the US. Both join Riedel with significant experience and will provide service and knowledge to the company’s expanding customer base in North America. They will report to Rich Zabel, vice president of sales, Americas. “With the addition of Kraemer and Yagjian, we’re expanding our sales force to respond to the increasing needs and requests of our current customers while providing the expertise and knowledge to accommodate new customers,” said HEADLINER USA

Zabel. “With impressive records of customer satisfaction, exceeding sales targets, and managing world-class accounts, Kraemer and Yagjian are a natural fit to our North American sales team, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to Riedel.” Kraemer brings more than 20 years of account management experience in the media production and broadcasting industries. He arrives at Riedel from Genesis Integration, where he served as an account manager specializing in government, corporate, and education. Prior to working at Genesis, Kraemer spent several years at Canon and Hitachi as an account manager, getting his initial start at JVC. Kraemer also gained technical experience at Panasonic as a product manager. Yagjian has more than 15 years of account management experience, with the majority of it focused on selling video equipment for broadcast production. He comes to Riedel from Canon U.S.A., where he served as an account manager for the company’s broadcast customers, covering the entire Eastern Seaboard, with an emphasis on production truck companies, television networks, and colleges.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining Riedel, as the company accelerates its growth in the North American market,” said Kraemer. “I look forward to serving our Canadian customers and providing them with the support they need to advance their businesses.” Yagjian added: “Riedel has demonstrated a strong commitment to the North American market, and I look forward to playing my part by ensuring our new and existing customers have the highest levels of account support possible.” RIEDEL.NET

MY MORNING JACKET

Dot-To-Dot

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Photographer: Dave Vann

MY MORNING JACKET After 15 years of lighting American rock band My Morning Jacket (MMJ) – including seven design cycles – any lighting designer could be forgiven for running out of fresh ideas. However this was not the case HEADLINER USA

for Marc Janowitz, who explains how he utilized GLP’s KNV Dots for the band’s live shows.

LIGHTING

“In 2012 I first started stringing Impression X4s as ‘festoons’ on MMJ and I just kept on using them as a problem-solving tool,” Janowitz reflects. “Prior to that I had been using the 120 Zoom. The X4, with its homogeneous RGBW sources, was a big sea change for LED wash fixtures.” His current favorite, however, has to be the KNV Dot, which music fans can also see in action on stage with the Black Pumas. One of four inter-operable KNV fixtures, each housing can be used independently, or combined seamlessly to provide massive canvases.

“ONE OF THE REALLY AMAZING FEATURES IS IN THE NAME: YOU CAN DOT THEM ANYWHERE AND SIMPLY CLICK THEM INTO THE SPACE.”

After restrictions were lifted after the Covid pandemic, MMJ resumed touring to showcase their recently released Waterfall II album, as well as a new self-titled album released midtour in October – all of which needed to be incorporated into their live show. Janowitz says that the KNV Dots form an essential part of an evolved design, which also includes multiple GLP JDC1 hybrid strobes, X4 Bar 20 battens, X4 washes and the tiny X4S. The scalable production design was initially aimed at 10,000-12,000-capacity ‘shed’-style venues at the larger the of the scale, and 3,000-4,000 capacity venues at the lower end, resulting in a range of 40ft to the highest truss in order to accommodate six diamond centerpieces – each edged with six GLP impression X4 Bar 20 battens – down to 25ft. Contained in its own IP54-rated housing, KNV Dot comprises a bright 30W hyper-white central LED surrounded by 16 0.5W RGB LEDs, providing the flexibility to be used as a pixel-mapped surface, strobe, blinder or washlight, and with a DMX pattern generator offering further multiple effect libraries and graphic options.

Initially the design was put together in 2019 for live events celebrating the band’s 20th anniversary. “We always knew we would use the design again, but then everything was put on ice with lockdown,” Janowitz recalls. “The diamond layout was modular and each diamond was isolated from the next. This modularity left a lot of negative space between each and I really wanted something to fill in those gaps, so we used 120 of the KNV Dot. One of the really amazing and appealing features is in the name: you can dot them anywhere and simply click them into the space. Whereas diamonds are geometric and symmetric, I wanted to fill that negative space in a much more organic way – more like a twinkling starfield. Because the outer RGB ring is never hard to look at, they can twinkle away as background elements

throughout the show,” he explains. “Then you can push right through with the white LED in the middle and grow it to what you want – from a twinkly star to a supernova, or an audienceblinder. In fact when you hit the white, it’s competing with a JDC1, and they work great together.” Janowitz has a set of 14 JDC1s in the rig – one in the center of each diamond, a set on the floor upstage of the band, and another midstage. “The JDCs either work with the Dots or counter to them. If I do rhythmic hits, I’ll alternate between. You can get a nice, large outside effect like a color starfield or an aurora borealis,” he points out, adding that the band were immediately impressed with the new lighting design.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

MY MORNING JACKET

Dot-To-Dot

“They absolutely love it! They first saw them in rehearsals and were amazed at these crazy spokes getting the lights to float in outer space like a Milky Way. The Dots spoke out from the diamonds on 2ft, 3ft and 4ft extension arms; their placement was originally selected at random,” he says. “I asked my design assistant, Jacob Wesson, to zoom in on the front elevation, close his eyes and start clicking Dot fixtures into the model. Then in the lighting shop he essentially did the same but with Photographer: Dave Vann

HEADLINER USA

the actual units. There are also a bunch of them on mic stands behind the band at random heights. In fact there are clusters everywhere!” For the smallest venues where the diamonds can’t be rigged, the arms are relocated to the three upstage floor package carts. “I am always drawn to GLP products that you can dangle or outrig in a whimsical way,” Janowitz smiles. “The KNV Dot provides consistent eye candy in every look.”

The lighting package is supplied by Pulse Lighting with additional Dot fixtures from Gateway Productions. GLP.DE

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100

The Art of Recording Guitars

HEADLINER USA

RECORDING

101

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THE ART OF

RECORDING GUITARS OLLO Audio CEO Rok Gulič talks to two specialists guitar producers, Leo Abrahams (Adele, Katie Melua, Paolo Nutini, Brian Eno) and Enrico Sesselego (Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert) about the production approaches they take, recording techniques and the key components of a great guitar recording session.

How much of the guitar sound comes from the gear and how much from the player? Enrico: There’s a saying that you give a crappy guitar to a random player, and it sounds average, and the same guitar in the hands of a guitar god sounds great. It’s a combination of everything. You can be a great player, but you still need good gear. Everything counts. How do you build trust with your clients in the short time before the session starts? Enrico: It’s a combination of communicating in a professional

manner and preparation. Clients love to work with well-prepared engineers. I always research and prepare to know exactly what we’re doing. That’s the base for decisions in gear and recording techniques. I show quickly that I know what I am doing and that I understand what they want to achieve. That builds trust quickly. The process must be clear from the start. Is there a basic setup you can use with good results on any guitar style? Enrico: I always use two microphones and amplifiers, no DI recordings. I’ve used 421s and SM57s plenty of times. Sometimes I add M180 for the triple HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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The Art of Recording Guitars

“THINK AHEAD OF WHAT YOU WISH TO DO AND BUY ONE GOOD PIECE OF GEAR AT A TIME. SLOWLY BUILD IT UP. THERE’S NO RIGHT OR WRONG.”

miking technique. Of course, this is not entry level stuff. With these mic choices you’ll need good preamps and a solid interface. My suggestion for starting a setup is to start with the budget. Think ahead of what you wish to do and buy one good piece of gear at a time. Slowly build it up. There’s no right or wrong. You can use simple Kemper amps with good results. With acoustic guitars, what are the main things you need before you even start a session? Enrico: I start with a small diaphragm condenser microphone in front of the 12th fret. I also love the player perspective, so a microphone above the player’s shoulder facing down to the guitar. If possible, use a third mic about two meters in front of the player. When a guitar has a DI jack I record that as a safe net and sometimes it’s a part of the final mix too. Leo: My approach is very similar. I’d add that a simple and reliable method is a cross pair of small HEADLINER USA

condenser microphones in front of the 12th fret or wherever you find the sweet spot. Sometimes I use Mid-Side (M/S) to the lower side of the sound hole and another omni in front of the 12th fret. That is the most beautiful acoustic guitar sound I’ve ever played with. So natural and yet not intimidating. I’ve been doing this for a long time and some guitar recording (techniques) make you afraid to even shift on your seat. This M/S is a great technique but it’s hard to replicate as you need good gear but also a very good sounding room. When you use multiple mics, how do you make sure the phase is fine, and how do you keep the click bleed at bay? Leo: If you’re in doubt about the phase then you shouldn’t be doing it if there’s another person you work for. It’s fine when you’re on your own, take even more time and be patient with yourself. About the click, I can’t say I run into that problem too much. I think it’s good to encourage musicians to have

sensible monitoring levels and the right kind of click and the right kind of headphones. If you have your headphones too loud, all that really happens after a certain SPL level is that you get that anxiety response. If bleeding does happen, I use Izotope VST to get rid of it. Obviously, nobody plans to track using Izotope but it can get you out of a jam. OLLOAUDIO.COM

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Clarity Vx & Vx Pro

s BY RICK rd

CLARITY VX & VX PRO

CKERSON DI

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WAVES AUDIO HEADLINER USA

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REVIEW

SPOTLIGHT

always possible. Others are standalone and require rendering and reimporting, which is inconvenient, and others only work with the right kind of noise… Headliner finds out what all the noise is about regarding Clarity Vx and Vx Pro.

As a regular Waves user, I’d seen a number of adverts regarding the forthcoming Clarity Vx plugins. Noise reduction is a must, but not all the offerings I’ve seen to date have lived up to their promises. Some require a decent length of noise in isolation from which to ‘learn’ – which is not

In today’s home studios it is inconceivable to hope that everything you do is going to be completely isolated from the outside world. A friend of mine who helps with vocal takes on our projects works in a particular spot in his living room where there’s the least amount of room reflections. The issue is, it’s also just above a busy street – which

although isolated with double glazing and heavy curtains – can’t hide the noise of sirens or the rumble of buses going by. This means I have ‘vocal stuff’ that has previously been ditched and re-recorded, sometimes not with as impressive results, performancewize. Other files have taken up large amounts of my time, often yielding varying or inconsistent results when attempting to clean up these recordings.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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Clarity Vx & Vx Pro

“With only a single dial to adjust and the results in real time, you no longer have to be a knowledgeable sound engineer to use it!”

Unbelievably Simple The first plugin of the two I’m keen to try is Clarity Vx, which is very modestly priced and is aimed at home studio enthusiasts and content creators the world over. Does it work? Quite simply, yes it does, and not just well – dare I say – exceptionally well. It is pretty much – ‘the more you dial in, the less noise you get’ – with no learning time and no perceivable degradation of the original vocal. With only a single dial to adjust and the results in real time, you no longer have to be a knowledgeable sound engineer to use it! While there’s an FFT display right in front of you, who cares? This is a plugin that is nothing if not audibly obvious! Clarity Vx is a product developed using AI. As far as the information from Waves leads me to understand, Clarity HEADLINER USA

Vx, like its big brother Vx Pro, share the same Waves Neural Networks which have spent their time learning how to identify the human voice in all its guises. This means that rather than trying to identify and learn random and varying types of noise, it approaches the issue from the other angle, identifying the voice and isolating it. This means that, having already done all its learning courtesy of the experience of sound engineers and the talented Waves team, the Waves Neural Networks give you a clean voice or vocal with zero additional learning time. While Vx has only a single dial with which to gauge the level of noise reduction, it does feature two Neural Networks labeled Broad 1 and Broad 2. Broad 1 seems suited to a more musical style of performance and it worked well on backing vocal tracks that have more

than one person around the mic at the same time (often a source of fidgeting, foot tapping and light thigh slapping). Whereas Broad 2 was better at picking the interviewer and interviewee out from the general hustle and bustle of an exhibition floor. How I wish I’d had this plugin when I first started editing Headliner Radio’s podcasts! And it would have come in handy when I first started making videos; my old Hackingtosh fan used to kick in seconds after I pressed record! In fact just wait there a moment while I go and add this plugin into all my Headliner Radio project presets…

SPOTLIGHT

Controllability Having established that in many cases Clarity Vx is going to be your one stop shop, you may wonder what is offered by the Pro version that is going to warrant the higher price tag? Immediately when you open Clarity Vx Pro you’re confronted with the heading at the bottom: Advanced Controls. Click on this and your once stark interface becomes a wealth of options. Taking center stage is a multi-band screen for greater control over what areas of the frequency spectrum you focus your manipulations on. With fully adjustable click and drag crossover points and each band with solo and bypass buttons, it’s very easy to hone in on the particular frequency range you wish to affect without interfering with the audio of other frequencies. The Delta button on each band is useful for hearing the actual noise content you’re removing from the original track, or put simply, input minus output. I personally appreciate Delta buttons as I find it just as useful to hear the other side of the equation as opposed to just seeing it on a GUI. At the top center of each frequency band is a small semi-circular icon which pulls down – a little bit like

a window. This pull down changes the percentage of the central dial’s processing power for each frequency band, effectively making each band its own noise reduction process. Further control for each band is provided by a level control below the Delta button providing up to 24 (presumably dB) of boost or anti-clockwise to infinite cut. The next thing you notice is the central dial now invites you to remove the voice and turn up the ambient noise, should you feel the urge to do so. The fact that the dial now resides in the 12 o’clock position, turning anticlockwise is now the other half of the story. It would seem that Vx Pro offers new possibilities and a wealth of creative alternatives to sound designers and audio professionals alike. If you wanted to make a feature of the street noise rather than the busker in the foreground, then this is absolutely the plugin you need. The Reflections control allows you to restore the natural reflections of the input voice, should you feel that they should not be considered noise. This was a useful control on some voices where tight room-like reflections could be considered part of the vocal sound, together with the Ambience Gate – which can allow part of the ambient

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sound through with the voice, but can remove all ambience when the vocal is no longer present. Both of these controls are extremely useful for fine tuning the really awkward-to-clean-up bits, for example, dialogue recorded in a noisy warehouse or factory floor. Both Clarity Vx and Vx Pro feature switchable analysis for stereo files between Single and Dual mode processing. Single sums stereo signals for processing, saves CPU, and where the audio is similar from both sides, produces excellent results. Dual comes into its own when the left and right channels are different in the levels of ambience to be removed, or feature different voices. In this mode far more CPU is required. They also share the same width control which at 100% maintains the original stereo field, or can be narrowed by reducing the value. For those who prefer a brighter user experience, there’s an alternative. The top bar has a light mode option and on the same bar are all the usual undo, redo, preset menu, A-B and setup options.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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Conclusion Pretty amazing! That’s my response to what is quite simply the most effective noise reduction tool for content creators and music makers in all fields. Clarity Vx is not only the best and the cheapest noise reduction plugin, it’s the one all others will now be judged HEADLINER USA

by. It works just as well on spoken word, dialogue, and the singing of single melody lines and multi harmonies. If you’re in the business of creating new sounds, archiving old recordings or post production for film and TV, then you need look no further than the Pro alternative to Clarity Vx, which I had immense fun getting to grips

with. The clever people at Waves who came up with the idea, design and feature list for this plugin: pure genius! Waves Clarity Vx and Vx Pro are available from your Waves Central application now in all the usual formats, or alternatively head over to the company website. WAVES.COM

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SYNCHROARTS

HEADLINER USA

Revoice Pro 4

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REVIEW

SPOTLIGHT

s ord by W

N O

DICKER CK S I R

REVOICE PRO 4

SYNCHROARTS SynchroArts have become something of a specialist in the art of vocal processing – and when it comes specifically to vocal time alignment and pitch manipulation, they are the first name on every serious engineer’s lips. Headliner endeavours to discover what all the fuss is about…

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SYNCHROARTS

Revoice Pro 4

While this review is focused on Revoice Pro 4, it’s first worth mentioning the two other products in the SynchroArts range, as one of them may well be perfectly suited to your specific needs. VocAlign Project 5 is relatively inexpensive and includes some of the alignment algorithms from Revoice Pro, but with far fewer parameters. If you’re an ADR engineer this is a tool that’ll save both you and your talent endless retakes and hours of frustrating studio coaching, leaving you more time to match and get the consistent sound you’re looking for. While this is a basic version with limited parameters, it also works with aligning sound effects, and produces very natural and pleasing results. It also served as a good place for me to start as I delved deeper into the SynchroArts family. The second, or mid-range standalone product is VocAlign Ultra, which also features pitch alignment alongside its time matching capabilities. While all three products in the SynchroArts range offer ARA2 integration with specific DAWs – which is handy if you’re HEADLINER USA

a Logic user like myself – the ability to align multiple tracks at the same time here is hugely beneficial, allowing engineers and producers to tidy up in post production. VocAlign Ultra also comes with a wealth of presets, SmartAlign intelligent processing, as well as waveform and pitch displays.

DAW. The ADA2 plugin gives you the closest integration, allowing you to import multiple channels of audio directly into RVP4 and play back the results of editing and rendering in your DAW, without having to drag and drop the resulting audio files back in.

The Main Event

If you’re dealing with new tracks that you’ve generated, they’ll need to be moved from RVP4 to anywhere on your DAW’s new tracks timeline – simply right click and select Move, then in the case of Logic Pro, select move to recorded position. When you’re happy with your handiwork, you can then simply bounce the ARA linked edited tracks in place - job done - a useful saving on time and energy over the alternative drag and drop method.

One of the things that drew me to Revoice Pro 4 (RVP4) was the possibility of being able to take a songwriting idea and manipulate its melody, perhaps double track it and create backing vocal harmonies quickly and easily, something that has traditionally been a timeconsuming process requiring further recording. So what if you could alter the melody line and phrasing of the original vocal and have the corresponding harmonies adjust themselves in the correct key, in real time? Now we’re talking! RVP4 is a standalone product that uses plugins to assist the moving of audio out of and back into your

SPOTLIGHT

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APT Algorithms At the heart of RVP4 is the algorithms menu, which is accessed by simply right clicking the bar below the first track. This menu gives a number of different processing options, but the first is APT (Audio Performance Transfer) – with a further comprehensive selection of options for aligning not just vocals, but all manner of instrumentation. The idea here is that the first track or lead vocal is the ‘Guide’ track, from which all others are correctly time aligned. New tracks are created using the ‘Dub’ track as the source for pitch, which can be corrected if necessary and simultaneously time aligned to the Guide track. What RVP4 can do here is deal with multiple vocal harmonies with just a single operation. For example, if you have a lead vocal with four harmony parts, you simply select the number of Dub tracks in the ‘Number of Processes’ check box, and hit ‘New Process’. All four harmonies are

then duplicated in the correct order with time and pitch correction applied. What’s more, the new tracks are returned to your DAW in the correct order via the ARA plugin. To help manage the replacement track, there’s a handy groups arrangement box and with one click you’re able to monitor between processed and unprocessed trans, as well as other functions. There are a number of processes in this menu, from double tracking to volume levelling, all available in just a few mouse clicks. It’s also quite easy to copy and paste a lead vocal to create your own harmony sections – quicker than setting up a mic and recording them from scratch. This is done using the Warp option.

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SYNCHROARTS

Revoice Pro 4

WARP FACTOR By selecting a particular track, expanding it to full screen and pressing the ‘W’ key, the track displays additional information known as the Warp Screen. On this screen there seems to be no limit to the amount of editing you can do to correct individual pitchy notes, as well as minor timing errors. There’s also some additional options including Level, available by pressing the ’S’ key, which is really useful for de-essing or reducing plosives. In fact there’s so much detail here, it soon becomes apparent that there’s almost nothing on this screen that can’t be edited. Breath removal, transient adjustment – pretty much anything can be performed either manually or set up as a user preset and saved. When you select one or multiple waveforms or warp events, this becomes a processable Warp Region. Pressing the ‘P’ key opens the Warp menu, in which you can define parameters and their ranges for your processes or to create presets. I found myself polishing a performance which I’d originally thought was excellent, but the Warp screen revealed a few pitchy notes along with a number of unusual vibrato timings. One feature here lets you select vibrato start and end points and it maintains their timing, should you edit or extend the audio within. The ease of tidying and time aligning with RVP4 just took the quality of everything I’ve been doing for the last few years to a whole new level!

HEADLINER USA

CONCLUSION I’m not aware of any direct competitor to RVP4, and certainly not aware of anything that has the same capabilities. Upon playing a track back that I’d edited to an individual whose original performance had been a bit of a struggle, he commented, “Wow, that recording we did was better than I thought it was at the time!” At no point did he hear anything that led him to believe it had been pitch and time corrected, which I think speaks volumes. Now I will add that there is a vast amount of as yet untapped potential in RVP4 on my part. It took me over a week to really get comfortable with it, and every time I have a moment to play around I’m discovering new features and capabilities, too numerous to go into detail in this review. RVP4 is available on all major formats for both Mac and PC and ARA integration is available with the majority of DAWs. As with all software I look at, there’s a trial version available for you to get to grips with at your own pace, and this one is definitely worth devoting a little time to. What RVP4 can’t do wouldn’t fill a postage stamp! SYNCHROARTS.COM

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A Slice Of The Action

s by ALIC rd

HEADLINER USA

STAFSO GU

LUCAS VIDAL

A SLICE OF THE ACTION

LUCAS VIDAL

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COMPOSER

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Spanish composer Lucas Vidal kicked off his music career by becoming the youngest Berklee College of Music student ever to compose and record the score to a feature film with a full orchestra, going on to score for blockbuster films including Fast & Furious 6 and movie trailer and TV promo music for everything from The Hunger Games to Succession. He explains how a combination of passion and pizza got him where he is today. How did you come to be the youngest Berklee College of Music student ever to compose and record a score to a feature film with a full orchestra? I was 19 or 20 and I was obsessed with recordings and composing, so I would stop students that were walking by from other schools like the New England Conservatory or the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and I would ask them to play for my recordings. They would ask me if I had the money, and I would tell them, ‘No, but I have a recommendation letter and pizza’. So the pizza element was key because they all loved them! There was a producer that heard about my work and decided to hire me, so it was a big surprise for me. I started with five players for my first recording, then I decided to record with 10, then 20, then 30, then 50, 60, 80, then 100 players. I remember that for my graduation project I ended up at the Boston Symphony Hall with 160 players. It was insane! I even invited the mayor of Boston, and he came! It was a big event. Was there a certain genre of film you wanted to ideally score when you started out? I was more interested in adventure scores, and it’s funny because when I started in my professional career I started with horror films, and I never quite liked that genre! But

to me, the most important thing is to be prepared, so that when you get a call, you are flexible and you can deliver. I don’t want to be in my comfort zone – I want to explore lots of genres and sounds. Music is very important in storytelling, as through it, you tell a story that is not in the script, but one that is in the story. My job is to ensure the music goes

straight to your heart without going through your brain. In 2015, you co-founded CHROMA (with Steve Dzialowski and Chris Ramsdell) which has created film trailer and TV promo music for high profile projects as diverse as Succession, The Hunger Games, Black Widow, The Morning Show, Toy Story 4, Game Of Thrones, Thor: Ragnarok HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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LUCAS VIDAL

A Slice Of The Action

“IT’S CRAZY HOW FAST OUR WORKFLOW IS, AND PART OF IT IS BECAUSE OF CUBASE.”

and Wonder Woman. How does film and TV trailer work differ from regular film composing? Trailer music is different because there’s a different structure that you have to build up to so that they can cut your piece into those trailers. It’s quite technical and the production is very important, so it’s important to understand how to mix it and how to produce it well. The Hunger Games was fun – it was a big production. But to be honest, I treat every project the same and bring the same level of quality and production to everything. It’s all about storytelling and about understanding what is best for the narration and for the characters. You’re based in Madrid; what is the Spanish film and TV industry like at the moment? I’m doing different TV shows and movies for Netflix, Amazon and Movistar at the moment. I’m doing a Picasso ballet with a full orchestra and flamenco players and two HEADLINER USA

Spanish-based musicals, as well as more movies here and in the US next year. I’m still doing American projects, although the Spanish market now is crazy. Netflix is opening 10 stages here in Madrid and it’s going to be the biggest hub after Pinewood – and they are building that just for Spanish projects, so imagine how many projects that are happening in Spanish now. It’s a golden moment for the music and for the film industry in Spain. Steinberg’s Cubase is integral to your workflow and has been your DAW of choice for many years. How does it fit into the way you work? Previous to Cubase, I was working on a different DAW. When I switched to Cubase I saw heaven and I was saying, ‘Thank you, God!’ It was the best day of my life, ever! [laughs] It was a gamechanger, and not only technically, but in terms of creativity: I work so fast, and with the shortcuts I have a template where I have my orchestra divided into woodwinds, brass, strings, effects, choir, pianos, and then everything is very well

rooted so when I export my 5.1 or 7.1 mix – boom! I do it right on Cubase. I even record straight to Cubase, which helps a lot with my workflow. I have a couple of assistants, and we all work remotely. I’m at my place and they are at a different studio in Madrid, and it’s the same as being in the same room. It’s crazy how fast our workflow is, and part of it is because of Cubase. Every time there’s a problem, there’s also a solution, and I just love it. I like to work fast and to produce fast, and with Cubase that is possible. In Cubase 12 the export queue means that you can bounce multiple options at the same time, which is great. So you can do one bounce with a full orchestra, another bounce with a piano and another with only vocals – but you do those bounces at the same time. It’s crazy how much time you save with this new tool. LUCASVIDAL.COM STEINBERG.NET

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120 YUNG BAE

HEADLINER USA

Groove is in the Heart

PRODUCER

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ds by or A W

N SO

GUSTA CE F LI

GROOVE IS IN THE HEART

YUNG BAE Future Funk innovator Yung Bae recently unveiled his long-awaited new album, Groove Continental: Side A. The Portland native explains why his seventh studio album is his most musically diverse body of work to date.

Throughout your extensive backcatalog, you have overseen the rise of future funk, stewarding the subgenre from the underground into a cult-like phenomena. When did you discover the genre? It was right around the time I started production and I was figuring out sampling. I found out about it via bandcamp – there was a collective called Keats Collective and they were doing all of these tapes, as well as a guy named Saint Pepsi, who was really big in the scene. I was like, ‘What is this stuff? These guys all love funk and samples too!’ So that was my early introduction to me thinking, ‘Oh wait, I can do this too’, and I became friends with all these guys. They were the ones that tipped me off early. I just was so fascinated by it.

What was your introduction to music production? Do you work mostly in a home studio? I started around 2014 when a buddy of mine showed me Ableton and FL Studio. I was like, ‘This is cool, this is fun’, and I started doodling around with it as a hobby. As soon as I started releasing music, that became my full time gig pretty quick off the bat. Then it went from hobby to me realizing, ‘Wait, I can do this for a living – this is kind of cool!’ I love the process and the surface level of bedroom production too. I work out of a lot of these studios and they’re all really cool, nice and expensive and whatnot. But I hate going to studios most of the time! They just don’t feel like they have any personality for me. I love working HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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YUNG BAE

Groove is in the Heart

“I ALSO THINK, ‘HOW CAN I MAKE THIS SOUND LIKE YUNG BAE?’ – BUT NOT LIKE YUNG BAE ON REPEAT, COPY AND PASTE.”

from home and doing my own thing most of the time, at my own pace. You released your debut album Bae in 2014; how have your production techniques evolved since then? Quite a bit! Most of the time I’ll go back to a mix or an old track and I’m just like, ‘What in god’s name was I putting on the master? Why does this sound awful?’ [laughs] So it’s been fun to lean back and be like, ‘Okay, we’re actually making progress. This is nice’. I still love taking parts of what went into this future funk style and trying to adapt it into my own style, and that’s evolved into all these new genres that I’m very interested in, but I also think, ‘How can I make this sound like Yung Bae?’ – but not like Yung Bae on repeat, copy and paste. So, HEADLINER USA

that’s been the challenge. It’s also one of those things where it’s like, ‘Okay, how can I take this sound and also eliminate the necessity for samples almost all together?’ That’s been the goal for this album too – there’s really only one or two tracks that actually have samples on them now, and the rest of them are made from scratch or replayed. That was another major thing: my idea for the next step up from future funk is getting rid of the samples altogether and making it my own. What makes Groove Continental: Side A your most musically diverse body of work to date? It’s a tricky one because I still want to keep rooted in this future funk scene, so there’s a lot of influence

from there, and there’s a few future funk tracks. I’m very interested in late night ‘70s disco meets ‘60s Motown, and exotica. It’s kind of like all three of these met and had this baby that’s Groove Continental: Side A. I love having all these counter melodies and harmonies and whatnot going on during the track. I love making busy tracks, so it’s been fun to sprinkle over that disco style into it.

PRODUCER

Do you have a personal favorite track on the album? There’s one on there called 60’s Spy Shit. I’d say that’s one of my personal favorites. That was one of the trickiest ones on the album too. Just sonically, I hear that track and I’m like, ‘Mwah, chef’s kiss!’ That one gets me super excited and it’s a little different than what I’ve done before, but it’s still rooted in that same sound. You’ve been working on this album for three years; why did you take your time with this project? I blame myself [laughs]. It was one of the most tedious, but amazing processes. When I go back and look at my computer now, I’m like, ‘Okay, I see why this took three years’ – there’s 40 versions of almost every

track! But it ultimately came out to be what it sounds like. I had to go through so many hurdles and my own OCD about changing things around. Knowing when it’s finished is the trickiest part, but you just kind of know when it’s done. We got pretty close to submission for mastering and submitting it to the label, and there were definitely a few tracks we had to change at the last minute. For one or two we even swapped out an entire topline.

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all these new processes. I’m super, super critical of my stuff – that’s why this took so long! But it’s a labor of love – everything is in this project. It took three years, but it was a pretty fun three years for me – regardless if there’s 40 versions of every track. It feels perfect to me, and my mom loves it, so that’s all that matters. And by the way, she gave it a 10! GROOVECONTINENTAL.COM

It’s tricky because I’ll be so married to the way something sounds just because I’ve been in the ‘demoitis’ stage for God knows how long. It’s been fun though too, and it gets me out of my comfort zone and lets me work with new people and try out

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ROBOT KOCH

HEADLINER USA

Reaching the Transcendent

125

AM PRO AD

rd Wo s by

ARTIST

REACHING THE TRANSCENDENT

ROBOT KOCH Let’s pioneer the term ‘transcendent trailblazer’, especially for Robot Koch, an award-winning electronic artist and composer from Berlin who now makes music from Los Angeles. His music has been synced to countless TV and film trailers, which now sees him working on scores for Netflix. His foray into the world of transcendental meditation saw him release Full Circle, an album where he deliberately removed any sense of planning or expectations – with stunning results.

Koch’s music sees him delving into this fascination between the intersection of nature and technology, perhaps why the BBC’s Bobby Friction aptly commented that “it sounds like artificial intelligence discovering religion”. It makes sense, then, that Koch does not merely release albums and do gigs; he has toured planetariums to perform an

immersive Full Dome Live Show with 3D surround sound and 360 visuals. And having performed at Coachella and Boiler Room many times, it’s worth noting that he lives under two artistic monikers — Robot Koch, and Foam and Sand, for his more ambient output.

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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ROBOT KOCH

Reaching the Transcendent

“IT’S SOMETIMES GOOD TO REMOVE THE EGO, TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY AND JUST LET MUSIC COME THROUGH YOU. “

“I just started making this ambient music while touring wasn’t possible,” Koch says in his distinctly Germanic accent. “I had no agenda with it whatsoever. It was very intuitive. When I made it, I realized I liked it, and I wanted to share it. It wasn’t egodriven and I didn’t need to make it under my own name. The Foam and Sand name just became the vessel for this music.”

coming from us, but through us. I think of music like that, that it comes through us rather than from us. So in a meditative way, it’s sometimes good to remove the ego, to move out of the way and just let music come through you. That’s one way I use meditation in my music to just become very present and not influenced by anything, like thoughts, to become really still and present.”

A lot of artists may get anxious at the thought of embarking on a creative project with absolutely no plans, goals or expectations, with the accompanying risk of feeling like there is no control. A recent change in lifestyle for Koch does go some way towards explaining why he decided to release a new project in this way, however.

Full Circle recently saw its release bolstered by a full album of reworks and remixes, with the original songs given a totally new artistic interpretation by the likes of British composer Tom Ashbrook and fellow electronic Berliner, Hainbach. “There were a lot of artists whose music I enjoy and felt a certain kinship with. And I wanted to hear and see their perspective on the music. In fact, a lot of the artists just reached out on Twitter and offered without me asking, like Slow Meadow, so it just felt right.”

“I recently learned Transcendental Meditation here in L.A,” he says. “I was actually on the same course as [fellow electronic artist] Jon Hopkins. And ever since, I haven’t missed doing 20 minutes of meditation in the morning and 20 in the afternoon. It’s been incredible for my mental health, and I was really suffering from insomnia and it has helped so much with that. “There’s a beautiful Sufi poem about children — this idea they are not HEADLINER USA

The soundcard in Koch’s studio that connects everything together and makes it all possible is his Babyface from RME. “It’s great because I travel a lot and it’s so light and mobile. I like the digital converters a lot. I used to have a bigger one from RME but then switched to the Babyface when I started working in a lot of remote

places. I just needed to be able to work wherever, basically. In fact, when I moved to L.A, I just worked in the box for a while and used some of the great libraries like Spitfire Audio.” And the reworks don’t end with the beautiful Full Circle Reworks album that is out now, as Koch exclusively reveals he will next be reworking… himself! “I’m actually happy to announce it here with you for the first time because nobody really knows about it,” he says. “I’m going to rework my album The Next Billion Years, my last Robot Koch studio album. And I’m going to rework it through the lens of Foam and Sand. I felt there was so much potential left on the table.” Sounds truly blissful. ROBOTSDONTSLEEP.COM

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