February 2019
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'A home for the industry'
ISE MD Mike Blackman on why the 2019 event will be a show like no other
Live depends on us “The PM10 is a surface I know I can walk up to and trust” Ben Clark - Production Sound Engineer, Orbital Sound
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FEBRUARY 2019 www.psneurope.com • Twitter.com/PSNEurope • Facebook.com/ProSoundNewsEurope • Instagram.com/PSNEurope EDITORIAL Editor: Daniel Gumble daniel.gumble@futurenet.com • +44 (0)203 871 7371 Staff Writer: Fiona Hope McDowall fiona.hopedowall@futurenet.com • +44 (0)798 3168221
Welcome
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DANIEL GUMBLE
@PSNEurope
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t the time of writing this month’s welcome note, we are one day away from making our trip across the pond for NAMM 2019, and at the time of this edition dropping through your letterbox, we’ll most likely be making our way back. As such, you’ll have to wait until our March issue for a comprehensive examination of what went down at the LA showcase. For now, the focus is on shaking off the jet lag and readying ourselves for a rather severe drop in temperature as ISE gears up for its penultimate outing at the Amsterdam RAI prior to its highly anticipated relocation to Barcelona in 2021. And having spent the past 16 years in the Dutch capital, it seems that the show’s organisers have pulled out all the stops to deliver a fitting farewell. Earlier this month, we spoke to the show’s MD, Mike Blackman, to find out how the event continues to snowball, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect from this year’s gathering. Unsurprisingly, the message is, in essence, rather predictable: bigger audiences, bigger displays and bigger spaces for ISE’s ever-expanding pro audio contingent. You can read our in-depth interview with Blackman over on
p13. In addition, we hear from some of the show’s most prominent audio exhibitors as to what keeps them not only coming back year-a er-year, but o en expanding their footprint (see p18). Elsewhere in this issue, we also have something of a PSNEurope first, as we invite two of our 2018 Pro Sound Award winners to sit down, not to be interviewed by us, but to be interviewed by one another. On p26, Marta Salogni, winner of the 2018 Best Studio Engineer Award, takes part in an extensive conversation with 2018 Breakthrough Studio Engineer winner Lauren Deakin-Davies to discuss their fascinating careers so far, from formative personal experiences, dealing with technical challenges in the studio and their view on the state of today’s studio sector. Lastly, if you find yourself in need of some in-flight viewing over the course of your trade show travels, I strongly recommend the recently released Fyre Festival documentary on Netflix. Not only is it one of the most jaw-dropping music documentaries you’re ever likely to see, it’ll likely induce nightmares/ guffaws among those of you working in the live events/festival for weeks to come. Enjoy.
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
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In this issue... People P11 Harriet Pittard Spitfire Audio has just launched its own record label, SA Recordings. We hear from label manager Harriet Pittard to find out how the new venture will influence its audio tech offering P13 Mike Blackman The ISE managing director joins us for an in-depth chat about the pro audio offering at the show’s penultimate Amsterdam outing
P6 SHURE THING
P18 Hugh Padgham We hear from the legendary producer about his glittering career ahead of the 2019 MPG Awards, where he will be honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to UK Music award
SHURE’S CHRIS MERRICK ON THE FIRM’S INSTALL FOCUS
Report P31 The thick end of the wedge PSNEurope’s Phil Ward delves into the world of monitor wedges and hears from some of the live sector’s top engineers to find out what these iconic boxes still have to offer P38 Hacked off Kevin Hilton hears from the organisers of this year’s Radio Hacks event
P18 WHY EXHIBIT AT ISE? TOP EXECS DISCUSS WHAT KEEPS THEM COMING BACK TO ISE
Interviews P41 Wunderful world Simon Duff speaks to revered producer Dan Carey about his South London-based label and studio, Speedy Wunderground P54 Eloise Whitmore We catch up with sound designer and audio recordist Eloise Whitmore to discuss her career in radio drama and the sector’s increasing move towards immersive technology
P26 MARTA SALOGNI & LAUREN DEAKIN-DAVIES A PSNE FIRST WITH TWO 2018 PRO SOUND AWARD WINNERS
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Chris Merrick
BRAND WIDTH Over the past decade or so, Shure has been widening its focus, making substantial inroads into the integrated systems sector while continuing to service customers in the microphone market. Daniel Gumble caught up with Chris Merrick, the company’s director of global marketing, integrated systems, to find out more about its plans for ISE 2019 and its strategy for the year ahead...
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ast month, Shure’s UK operation underwent something of a minor rebrand, changing its moniker from Shure Distribution UK to simply Shure UK. In addition to the streamlining of its name, the announcement also came with the promise of increased end-client engagement and a move away from third party brands. As far as rebrands go, this one could understandably be categorised as a relatively minor one, yet in many ways it is emblematic of Shure’s gradual evolution in recent years from microphone specialist to one of the foremost names in the integrated systems sector. That’s not to say that the company has lost sight
of its origins - it will forever be synonymous with the ubiquitous SM58, and continues to do great business in the mic market - but since the turn of the decade, Shure has seamlessly been expanding its focus along with its client base with the minimum of fuss. This time last year, when Shure CEO Chris Schyvinck sat down with us to discuss the brand’s diversification, she reflected: “Back when I started we were predominantly a pro audio company and were dealing a lot with wired microphones; our technology has proliferated so much through the years. So we’ve gone from having the strong foundation of knowing everything about acoustics and transducers to then adding the wireless components
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of that and getting more involved in DSP and software over the past decade. Now the concerns that we have are around networking and security and seeing these technologies layer on top of each other.” As a result of these shifts within the brand’s market view, shows such as ISE, which takes place from February 5-8 at the Amsterdam RAI, have become more important than ever. To find out more about what Shure has instore for both this year’s show and the rest of 2019, PSNEurope spoke to the company’s director of global marketing, integrated systems, Chris Merrick...
experiencing. It was only a matter of time until the event outgrew the current venue in Amsterdam, which in the grand scheme of things is quite a wonderful problem to have. ISE has expanded from a channel event to a largescale production with a significant platform in reaching end-customers and decision makers from corporations, government and education. We appreciate and support the decision to make the move to Barcelona, one we see as a natural evolution for ISE to accommodate the show’s future development. There is no doubt it’s an exciting time to be part of the systems and AV industry.
It’s been a year since we last spoke to Shure at the 2018 ISE show. What can you tell us about the company’s activity in the integrated system market over the past 12 months? We remain hyper-focused on introducing intuitive products that end-users can easily adopt and utilise, and products that help integrators exceed customer expectations. From things like our Designer software which enables systems integrators, designers and sales staff to configure Shure supported hardware via one tool - to Microflex Complete Wireless, we continue to set our sights on customer success. On top of this, our deep roots in wireless technology and audio performance continue to inform the growth and success of our wireless conferencing portfolio. Understanding the RF environment and building meeting room solutions based on this is a natural application for us. It seems as though the company has been making major inroads into this sector in recent years. What is the strategy behind this? We understand - and have witnessed - how both AV and IT solutions are critical for business success in today’s world; in recent years, these solutions have become a fundamental and known aspect of everyday business life. With this in mind, we’re dedicated to strengthening our commitment to introducing products that help improve and optimise integrator workflow and efficiency.
What do you have planned for this year’s show? Any new products on the horizon? We’ll be showcasing the Microflex Complete Wireless (MXCW) Conferencing System; we’re thrilled that this system is now available. A premier solution in our conferencing portfolio, MXCW offers wireless freedom and flexibility for conferences, meetings, and events within government, corporate, hotel, educational
What are the biggest challenges Shure face in what is a highly competitive integrated systems market? The challenge isn’t competition per se, but accelerated tempo in the market. We are seeing rapid growth of AV adoption in enterprises, the convergence of AV and IT, and an evolving market with lots of new products and technologies. To help channels and end-user organisations, we’ve recently launched our new 2-level Shure Audio Institute (SAI) Integrated Systems certification programme to help the development of these skills. The programme is targeted at those seeking general knowledge, or technical expertise. And it’s free.
THE CHALLENGE ISN'T COMPETITION PER SE, BUT ACCELERATED TEMPO IN THE MARKET. WE ARE SEEING RAPID GROWTH OF AV ADOPTION CHRIS MERRICK
How crucial is the ISE show to Shure in 2019? The show is incredibly crucial and a very important exhibition, especially when it comes to getting face-to-face time with customers and partners. For us, it has been a really great place to introduce new products and services in the market and give our clients and partners the opportunity to experience our latest solutions in person. What do you make of the move to Barcelona? Do you see it as an opportunity to get in front of even more customers? The show’s rapid growth is a testament to the overall health of the industry – something Shure is also
facilities, and more. Ideal for environments that require quick, intuitive set-up and breakdown, the all-inone conferencing solution is dedicated to providing exceptional audio quality, network security, and ease of use. Additionally, we’re looking forward to showcasing Designer and SystemOn Audio Asset Management Software.
Shure's MXCW640
And what are the biggest opportunities? Audio/visual and IT domains are converging like never before, and that’s increasingly enabled by technology. In some cases, hardware is either being displaced by software, or it’s becoming smarter by way of software. This presents a huge opportunity to develop software solutions that are just as smart to ensure customers’ needs are met. There is a new wave of demand for products that offer an end-to-end, comprehensive solution, one that enables full-system design, deployment, management, and control. We know that this transition has a lot to offer in terms of opportunity, so we’re committed to supporting networked audio by creating advanced audio solutions that meet enterprise IT needs. What are your predictions for where this market is headed? We expect to see manufacturers continue to rise to the occasion, providing end users with solutions that offer the sort of connectivity, security and intuitiveness that’s desired. And of course, device intelligence will continue to boom, especially considering the growing number of IoT devices out there. Additionally, as enterprise IT grows to cover all aspects of a company’s networked solutions, smarter solutions that control each phase of a product’s lifecycle will be essential. It’s no longer about creating standalone products that serve just one purpose in the AV or IT landscape. It’s about creating a holistic solution that serves a variety of purposes, all with the goal of providing end users seamless control and flexibility from start to finish. n
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Movers and shakers Stay in the loop with the latest job appointments and movements in the professional audio industry...
L-Acoustics makes new hires in product management and application touring teams L ACOUSTICS has hired new members for its product management and application touring teams; Marcus Ross and Vic Wagner were selected for US and Canada application, touring, and Scott Sugden as project manager. The new appointments came as part of L-Acoustics' ongoing bid to serve international touring markets, providing location-based application support to certified providers and end users. Laurent Vaissié, L-Acoustics CEO, US and Canada, stated: “Marcus’ proven leadership skills and understanding of the full signal chain from mixing to amplification, networking and sound reinforcement will be a tremendous resource for our rental network and
end users.” Florent Bernard, director of application, touring, commented: “Vic will be a remarkable asset for our production and touring network and, alongside Dan Bowers and Marcus Ross, completes what is arguably the strongest touring and rental application team in the industry today.” “Scott is an outstanding individual who demonstrates a rare combination of both technical acumen and great communication skills, with a keen focus on the user experience, making him the ideal candidate to fill the key cross-functional role of product manager,” said Jeff Rocha, director of project management.
ARGUABLY THE STRONGEST TOURING AND RENTAL APPLICATION TEAM IN THE INDUSTRY TODAY FLORENT BERNARD
Shure selects Andreas Koenig
DPA Microphones appoints
Genelec names Arun Kumar as
as new senior marketing
Thomas Frederiksen as VP of
regional business manager,
manager for south east Europe
sales for the APAC region
Asia and Middle East
AS part of its ongoing expansion in south east Europe, Shure has appointed Andreas Koenig as senior marketing manager of the region. Koenig is now responsible for managing and supporting the distribution network across south east Europe. As for Koenig’s immediate plans a er his appointment, he will be “developing and deepening relationships with key customers, and identifying opportunities”. When asked what he brings to his new role, Koenig responded: ‘Enthusiasm, passion for music, and 20 years of experience with Shure in marketing, market management, key account management, and business analytics.” Marco Weissart, Shure senior director of emerging markets, commented: “I am really looking forward to having such a great personality on board of our new emerging markets team."
PRIOR to joining DPA, Thomas Frederiksen worked as managing director of Shure’s Japanese office. Throughout his career, he has held senior sales and management positions for a range of companies, including a four year tenure at Brüel & Kjær. “A deep understanding of the region is the key asset I bring to this role,” Frederiksen commented. “I lived in Japan in the 1990s and since then, I have been continuously working with the Asian markets, so I know how these markets work and the cultural differences at play in each one. “We will be helping our distribution network by giving our partners the tools they need to succeed with DPA’s extensive product range. This includes a strong focus on product and application training so that we can highlight the quality and versatility of DPA microphones across a wide variety of industries.”
ARUN KUMAR has been appointed by Genelec as regional business manager of the Asia and the Middle East market regions. According to Kumar, “[his] experience spans system integration expertise and channel management for over 19 years.” Kumar will be based in Delhi, reporting to sales director Ole Jensen, and working alongside sales and support engineer Clifford Pereira. Of his plans following his appointment, Kumar said: “My initial focus is to connect with the AV systems integrators, dealers and consultants to make them aware of Genelec’s successes with AV installations in Europe. Ensuring they are familiar with the product range and superior quality of Genelec audio performance will be a priority. Having a committed partner network is important to reach customers and that will be a key area to work on for me."
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P11 FEBRUARY 2019
Firing on all cylinders Last month, Spitfire Audio launched into the recorded music business by starting its very own record label, SA Recordings. Label manager Harriet Pittard spoke to PSNEurope about her plans for the new venture…
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or the past decade, the name Spitfire Audio has been serving the orchestral music sector as one of its foremost creators of sample libraries and virtual instruments, often collaborating with some of the scene’s most influential figures, including the likes of Hans Zimmer and Olafur Arnalds. Now, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary, the company has made the unexpected move to launch its very own record label in the form of SA Recordings. The new label will provide a platform for Spitfireaffiliated composers and emerging artists to release their work, with its debut release of a limited edition vinyl EP from Spitfire’s lead composer Oliver Patrice Weder, entitled Studio Session: Amsterdam. Recorded at his home studio in Amsterdam for Piano Day 2018, the EP features three pieces from Weder’s upcoming album, which will be released via the label later this year. The EP was released on sixteen hand-numbered 7” vinyl on Bandcamp, as well as on all streaming platforms, on January 17. The company has appointed Harriet Pittard as label manager for SA Recordings, who brings over 10 years of experience to the role. She previously plied her trade with the Annie Mac Presents (AMP) brand, as well as working on tours and releases for a diverse roster of artists in the dance and electronic music genre. During her time with Annie Mac Presents, she helped develop the brand as part of a close-knit team, overseeing the annual AMP compilation releases with Virgin Records. She has also worked on a number of her own creative music projects. “The launch of SA Recordings will be an opportunity to work even more closely with artists and composers affiliated with Spitfire Audio - many of whom we have collaborated with already and whose music we would like to champion going forward,” Pittard told PSNEurope. "The label will also open up a space for us to forge new collaborative relationships with emerging composers. SA Recordings has an incredible opportunity to work in conjunction with the Spitfire Audio team to create bespoke sample libraries for forthcoming releases - a pioneering and unique asset that will set the label apart. “We will be hosting residencies for composers at the SA Writing Room at Tileyard Studios. This will be a wonderful resource for supporting SA signed artists and also an opportunity for the label to support a wider
Electronic music meets orchestra: Harriet Pittard
community of composers that will benefit from having the space to work on projects. More details will follow on artist residencies in the coming months.” She continued: “I hope to bring to the role a diverse wealth of industry experience and a contemporary perspective when it comes to running a record label and developing artists. While we are interested in producing records, we are equally interested in collaborating with artists to fully realise their projects, whether that’s through live events, merchandise, sync opportunities and, most excitingly, bespoke sample libraries. I feel my decade of experience working within various sectors of the music industry has served as ideal preparation for adopting a more hybrid, less conventional approach
to running a record label. I am particularly excited about utilising and exploring how my knowledge and experience from the electronic music sector can be used within the context of SA Recordings. I am enthused by the ways in which we can use the label as a vehicle to challenge people’s perceptions regarding orchestral music, and really open up a conversation about what it means to be a contemporary composer through our projects and releases.” With multiple collaborative projects and LPs pencilled after its release, SA Recordings states that it will “work towards establishing itself as a multi-genre, multiplatform label that will further contribute towards Spitfire Audio’s already well-established heritage and growth”. n
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P4 P13 FEBRUARY DECEMBER 2018 2019
GETTING BETTER
ALL THE TIME
As the industry gears up for what promises to be yet another record-breaking ISE, the show’s managing director and founder Mike Blackman tells Daniel Gumble what’s in-store for 2019 and why there is still plenty of growth to be achieved in its pro audio offering…
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or several years now, the headlines emanating from ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) have all followed a somewhat predictable pattern: proclamations of record attendances, record exhibitor numbers and calls for a bigger venue in which to accommodate all this record-breaking action. For more than a decade now, the Amsterdam (soon to be Barcelona) show has been blazing a trail through the integrated systems/AV sector and its associated markets, whipping up a whirlwind of interest that continues to pull in multitudes of new visitors and exhibitors year after year, while prompting existing customers to consistently up their investment in venue floor space. And it’s a trend that shows scant sign of slowing, with over 85,000 AV professionals (up from 81,000 in 2018) set to descend upon the Amsterdam RAI from February 5-8 for ISE’s 16th outing – it’s penultimate edition in the Netherlands before relocating to Barcelona’s Gran Via in 2021 to house even more exhibitors and visitors. Furthermore, this year’s exhibitor numbers are up once again, from 1,296 in 2018 to over 1,300. To put the show’s growth in the clearest of perspectives, it’s worth looking back to its 2004 debut outing in Geneva, where the total number of exhibitors clocked in at a relatively paltry 120. “The show is just growing and growing; we always think it’s going to stop, but it keeps getting better and better all the time,” the ISE founder and managing director Mike Blackman tells PSNEurope. “Our goal was always to be the biggest and best and I think we’ve achieved that. Importantly, the support of the industry has made it grow and helped take us to where we are. This year we’ve added more space, so Hall 15 is going to be larger. We have an additional pavillion on the right side of the venue, which will be Hall 5a. So we have added more space and more exhibitors as a result.” This industry support, Blackman says, has been pivotal in enabling the show to expand and develop at such a rapid pace. “We created an event that is doing what the industry wants,” he explains. “When we started we brought a lot of industry people into our advisory board and the board of directors. The industry was looking for a home and we created that for them and did what they were asking for. Every year we sit together and ask them what’s changing and what we should be doing. And we invest in that. That’s what helps direct the event and deliver the audience. The key is listening to the industry. We can’t satisfy everybody but we are satisfying the majority.” One of the most notable areas of growth at ISE in recent years has been its pro audio offering. When the show launched in 2004, pro audio companies were a little hard to locate, such was its focus on the second part of the audio-visual acronym. More recently, however, it seems the AV/integrated systems sector has woken up to the fact that wonderful visuals count for
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nought when placed alongside sub-par sound, resulting in some truly breathtaking developments on the audio front, a realisation mirrored by the show’s organisers. “We have definitely made a concerted effort to pick up the audio companies,” Blackman affirms. “Back in 2004 we didn’t have that many audio companies and we realised that for installed audio we needed to have the major brands there, otherwise we were missing a major part of our offering. And we’ve proved to them that they weren’t getting the attendees we could offer anywhere else. The result has been that those companies have been very satisfied and have grown and attracted even more companies from the pro audio sector because they are reaching the right people.” And, he adds, there is still plenty of room for growth. “We have demand from the audio sector that we can’t satisfy at the moment,” Blackman continues. “But when we move to Barcelona we’re going to provide more space to accommodate them. In addition, a lot of these companies have requested demo rooms where they can demo their systems and solutions – we’ll be able to offer many more of those.” According to Blackman, ISE has also learned a lot by observing the movements of other major pro audio trade shows, including the likes of NAMM, Prolight+Sound and IBC to name but a few. “We have to look at what’s going on elsewhere and listen to people to find out what they’re not getting from other shows,” he offers. “We learn from other events in what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong and we work out how we can do things better. This has been part of our success. We talk to manufacturers and listen to what their requirements are. We listen to what their dissatisfaction is with other shows to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes and we listen to their satisfaction to see what we should be doing.” GETTING AROUND Blackman also revealed that the show is once again exploring opportunities to help improve the experience (and safety) of visitors when navigating the venue – which for many can be confusing. This year, a number of improvements have been made to its official ISE app, helping people find where they need to go, whilst some areas in the venue have been made into one-way zones to avoid bottlenecking and subsequent overcrowding. “We hope the app really helps people get around much more efficiently,” he says. “However, I do recommend to everybody to take a floor map around with them; we have show guides, a floor plan and the app – it can be difficult to navigate ISE without those, and they will help make that journey more efficient. For the next two years, we’re trying to do as much as we can to ease the issues and make the experience more enjoyable. “Amsterdam has been a wonderful home for us. But
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ISE in full swing
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we’ve run out of space for visitors and attendees, so we have to look at the comfort and safety factors.” THE FUTURE So, how to keep growing a show year after year without losing sight of its central principles? For Blackman, the ability to maintain a deft balance between growth and a commitment to core values is crucial. “Our biggest worry is that we don’t want to dilute the content. Obviously we want to see growth, but more important than growth is that we get the right customers. My marketing director came to me last year and asked what sort of growth I wanted to see for 2019. I said I’d rather see zero growth and see us concentrate more on quality. We need to make sure we have the right customers coming to the show and we have to offer more than just a walk around the exhibition floor. We have to offer whole programmes that include seminars, presentations and other elements that enhance their visit. “There are things we could do that I’m sure would increase our attendance by 20-30 per cent quite easily, but the danger is that you dilute the audience, and that’s one of our biggest fears. We try to avoid taking the low hanging fruit that might not be the right quality. We have to make sure we are bringing the right people and identify who those people will be in the future as well. Our exhibitors tell us who they want to see and it’s our job to bring them to the show.” WIth demand for space at the show accelerating at a rate of knots, Blackman believes there are no limits to where the show can go. “If we didn’t believe there would be any more growth we wouldn’t be moving [to Barcelona],” he states. “There is demand for more space from our existing customers that we cannot meet, as well as a waiting list of new customers who can’t get on to the exhibition floor. We’re also seeing more and more sectors being brought into the AV industry. "A lot of manufacturers tell us they want to speak to end customers and we need to find ways to bring them to the exhibition, so we work with integrators to bring their customers with them. That’s one way we can guarantee we keep the quality. And we look at other regional markets that we haven’t had a huge attendance from, because we see growth in those areas too. We’re very strong in central and northern Europe, and we’re looking to increase our growth in eastern and southern Europe. Those are the areas where we see potential.” With the relocation to Barcelona approaching fast on the horizon, work is well underway to ensure a smooth transition. But Blackman is keen to note the sterling work being carried out by the Amsterdam RAI to deliver two blockbusting farewell shows. “The next two shows in Amsterdam will be phenomenal,” he beams. “The RAI is working with us in the best way possible. There has been no change in their
THE INDUSTRY WAS LOOKING FOR A HOME AND WE CREATED THAT FOR THEM AND DID WHAT THEY WERE ASKING FOR MIKE BLACKMAN
attitude, they are really trying to make sure that ISE has the best shows possible. “Next year, we’ll be taking the top 200 exhibitors to Barcelona to show them the venue. and we’ve already started planning the exhibition floor; we’ve got much more space and we want to make sure we can plan for future growth, such as in pro audio. We’re looking at how we can make the facilities work for pro audio exhibitors by creating large demo rooms, areas where they can demo their products and solutions as best as possible. We’ve already started locking down hotels and prices in Barcelona so they don’t go out of proportion. Everyone's getting excited and we’re running parallel preparation whilst still hosting two shows.” With time up on our conversation, Blackman parts with some words of advice for those yet to experience ISE first-hand. “I’d say come and see the show,” he concludes. “Come and walk the floor. You might even do business, you never know who you’ll run into. And just get a feel for ISE and talk to us about how we can work with you to make your placement at the show really work. We try to really make sure exhibitors are in the right place to get the right type of attendees.” n
Show man: Mike Blackman
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GETTING A HEAD START WITH ISE
FEBRUARY 2019
ISE is the first pro audio trade show of the year in Europe, heralding in visitors that are ready to be inspired and to connect with other industry professionals. For most audio exhibitors, ISE is essential to their business plans, especially as the show recognises the significance of pro audio more and more each year. PSNEurope finds out from some of the top audio exhibitors at ISE what this year’s show means to them and their brands...
Adam Hall international sales manager, Johan Gunsing: ‘[ISE] provides us insight into the dynamics of the market' Why do you think ISE is continuing to expand at such a rapid pace? When we first became an exhibitor, ISE was still a specialised AV and systems integrator show with a focus on the European market. Since then, it has developed into a global platform for sharing ideas and insights among other fast-growing cross-over industries. This is especially true for companies with a global presence, which use ISE as an opportunity to bring their customers and stakeholders together to converse and do business. While there are other interesting specialised events, ISE offers exhibitors a wider range of market sectors, and this is attractive for attendees in the show’s core market, as well as for various cross-over sectors.
Why is ISE such an important show for you? Being a fast-growing company in the installation, rental, retail and industrial segments, ISE is an important platform to meet existing and new customers. This is not only to showcase the latest product innovations and solutions, but also because it serves as a means to continue building and maintaining relationships with our customers and marketplace. This provides us with much needed insight into the dynamics of the market and the ensuing evolution of our customers’ needs, to which we can continuously adapt. From developing the next generation of innovative solutions, to our sales and marketing departments, Adam Hall works to provide the most optimal support and relevant communications for our customers.
OutBoard director/co-owner, Dave Haydon: 'A serious show for high-end audio' What separates ISE from the rest of the industry's trade events? ISE tends to deliver serious buyers with a truly international spread across diverse market sectors, as well as the core AV installation targets. Why is ISE such an important show for you? We have enjoyed massive growth in the installation markets in recent years, delivering our versatile hybrid of immersive audio and show control to a variety of venues, including museums, galleries, planetariums, expos, retail, theme parks and immersive AV dark-rides, as well as the live performance markets of theatre, opera and orchestra. We typically see
prospects at ISE from practically all of these target markets. How do you think ISE has developed this year? Given that the major pro audio players have all increased their booth sizes this year, it reinforces our impression of ISE as a serious show for high-end audio. What are you most excited about for this year's show? To support our growth into the AV installation markets, we have introduced a series of touch-screen control advances to directly access our evolutionary spatial processing, as well as essential system management. We're excited to see the reactions to our new user-interface options.
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Martin Audio marketing director, James King: '[ISE] has been prepared to move organically with the changing tempo of the industry’ Why do you think ISE continues to expand at such a rapid pace? The show organisers have recognised that permanent installation is the largest growth opportunity for any pro audio brand – and the importance of pro audio as a vital component in any systems integration, where traditionally the A in AV was o en considered the poor relation. Martin Audio has been attending ISE since 2006 (the show's third year) and as a top 50 exhibitor (out of 1,200), we have been well placed to witness its growth during that period from 3,500 visitors to 73,000. If our original participation was experimental, the massive growth in the contracting sector quickly made it an essential part of our annual marketing plan. Now, having outgrown the RAI, it is ready to embark on the next chapter in its move to Barcelona.
What separates it from other trade events in the industry? The fact that it has been prepared to embrace change and move organically with the changing tempo of the industry. The same cannot be said of some other pro audio events. We feel the door is wide open at ISE, providing an increasingly global presence in the field. Why is ISE such an important show for you? ISE is the true de facto show catering for this marketplace in EMEA, and its outreach has now visibly extended to Asia and the US. This observation has enabled us to rationalise and refocus our approach. To complement ISE, we now stage a series of hosted Spring and Autumn open days, where we can demonstrate our latest suite of products in controlled conditions.
Shure senior director, integrated systems sales for western Europe, Rob Smith: 'ISE is always in touch with the latest trends in the market' Why do you think ISE is continuing to expand at such a rapid pace? In recent years, ISE has evolved from an AV channel event to become the go-to venue for the entire industry and market. It’s now a significant platform for reaching end-customers and decision-makers from corporations, government, and educational institutions. It's an optimal place to introduce new products and services in the market, and to give our clients and partners the opportunity to experience our solutions live and in-person. The show’s rapid growth is a testament to the overall health of the industry – something Shure is also experiencing. The move to Barcelona in 2021 will accommodate the growing needs of exhibitors and attendees.
What separates it from the rest of industry trade events? ISE is always in touch with the latest trends in the market, keeping show-goers and partners 100 per cent up-to-date with everything they need to be successful in today’s AV industry. For example, in today’s world, enterprise IT is expected to cover all aspects of a company’s networked products, so smarter solutions that control each phase of a product’s life cycle will be essential – and I think we’ll see a lot of this at ISE. It’s no longer about creating standalone products that serve just one purpose. It’s about introducing a holistic solution that serves a variety of purposes, all with the goal of providing end users with control, flexibility and a seamless user experience from start to finish.
Sennheiser manager of portfolio development, Kathrin Schmitz: ’AV technologies and solutions are becoming part of larger ecosystems’ Why do you think ISE continues to grow at such a fast pace? AV technologies and solutions are becoming part of larger ecosystems and need to be integrated seamlessly to perfectly address customer requirements. Therefore, many new partners and players become relevant; trends like ‘new work’, and changes in the way people and companies communicate and collaborate drives a strong demand for AV solutions. What separates it from other trade events in the industry? ISE gains interest from around the world – we meet customers from Russia, Australia, South-Africa, you name it. But it’s not only the global reach: the show gives us the unique
opportunity to speak with a wide variety of customers, ranging from partners, dealers and integrators to end customers. Over the years, ISE has become more and more interesting to end users too, a development we are very happy about. Why is ISE such an important show for you? The show is a welcome opportunity to see our customers and to present our latest solutions to tens of thousands of interested guests. It’s a busy and bustling marketplace to network in and make new contacts, and it gives us ample opportunity to gain valuable feedback from users. ISE gives us a great push at the start of the year, getting us ready for an exciting year ahead.
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Focusrite European sales manager, Adrian Hogg: ‘Integrated systems is such a versatile topic’ Why do you think ISE is continuing to grow at such a fast pace? It’s a very interesting show to attend, both as an exhibitor and attendee, always ensuring a great line-up. As a manufacturer, you are always hoping to have interesting dialogue with your customers, and this show has always provided that. Why is ISE such a significant show for you? Integrated systems is such a versatile topic, encompassing everything from cinema, rigging, and security to what we do over in the audio hall. The great thing about that is the huge variety of people that could potentially have an interest in your products; ISE gives us the platform to speak to much wider audiences.
What are you most excited about for this year's show? Giving our customers the opportunity to speak with these core people about the products they have designed so passionately is extremely valuable for everybody involved. How do you think ISE has developed this year? I think that the biggest news for many of us will be the permanent relocation of the show to Barcelona in 2021. It’s been quite obvious for a few years now that the show was going to outgrow the available space at the RAI. There is a lot of competition for an increasingly limited amount of available floor space, and with ISE expected to grow by another 10 per cent this problem was only going to get worse.
Meyer Sound director of business development, John Monitto: ‘For us, the education element is very important’ What separates ISE from the rest of the industry's trade events? There is a tangible excitement built up around the show; people are visibly excited to go as it allows for creativity, expression and expertise. It draws together multiple disciplines from the creative side – entertainment, experience design, multimedia production – to the more technical side of engineers, designers, integrators and installers. For us, the education element is very important, as our own education programme is a pillar of our company. ISE and AVIXA continue to prize their education programme and it has grown to be the largest exhibition event for our industry. We expect this year’s show to be the biggest yet, not only in size but in diversity
of exhibitors. ISE is now attracting pro audio companies that serve all parts of the installation market. What are you most excited about regarding this year's show? I know this will be an exciting year for seeing more tools for creating immersive sound for live events. Additionally, I expect to see more focus on user interface technologies that provide simpler ways to interface with all types of AV technology. It’s also an opportunity for us to showcase new and existing products and technologies to key stakeholders in the industry. We have some exciting developments in the works that we look forward to exhibiting and unveiling to the install market.
Yamaha senior director, Pro Audio & AV, Nils-Peter Keller: ‘ISE exhibits just the right blend of different systems aspects’ Why do you think ISE is continuing to expand at such a fast pace? I think it’s because the ongoing, very low interest rates in Europe continue to fuel investment in the building industry and the products and services exhibited at ISE are targeting markets which complement that industry. What separates it from the rest of the industry's trade events? ISE exhibits just the right blend of different systems aspects. It has a large focus on control, aesthetics, video and, last but not least, audio communication.
Why is ISE such an important show for you? At ISE, we are able to spend quality time focusing on our systems portfolio with people from business areas and channels that we do not meet at other trade shows. Over the past four years, Yamaha has introduced a very comprehensive range of the highest quality hardware and so ware products, which are specifically designed to meet the requirements of the building industry. Given our strong background in DSP and networking technology, as well as our sensibilities for sound and music, we are very happy that we can convey these benefits to a new audience at the ISE show.
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Genelec business manager, AV Installation, Sami Mäkinen: ‘ISE is attracting more and more people from the traditional pro audio field’ What are you most excited about regarding this year's show? From our point of view as a manufacturer, we are most excited to show our offering to the install market and meet the customers. We will also unveil a brand new IP network-based loudspeaker technology platform for AV, which delivers power, audio, and flexible calibration and management features via a single standard CAT cable. I am sure this will be exciting for our customers as well. How do you think ISE has developed this year? It has grown again. Overall, ISE is attracting more and more people from the traditional pro audio field (in Genelec parlance
that means studios/post-production etc.), as well as AV. As a result, ISE has started to become one of the most important shows across all segments in the audio business. What opportunities will exhibiting at ISE this year provide for you? We are expanding our sales channel in AV and I am excited to meet new AV professionals and companies worldwide. Naturally, ISE is the place to keep up with the AV trends and where our competitors are going. Exhibitors are satisfied because of the huge range of visitors; the show attracts everyone from small restaurant owners to managers of huge commerical installations and everything in between.
DPA Microphones product manager, René Moerch: ‘Another reason for ISE’s expansion is its focus on audio’ Why do you think ISE is continuing to grow at such a rapid pace? Even though ISE primarily caters for the installation market, ISE’s decision to broaden its base to other segments has attracted the support of a lot of manufacturers, like DPA. Another reason for ISE’s expansion is its focus on audio, which is attracting audio companies as exhibitors and this, in turn, attracts visitors who are interested in sound. We see other shows where pro audio has become less important, so it is encouraging to see that audio is taking more floor space year on year at ISE. ISE is the first big European show of the year and comes at a time when most companies have new budgets to spend. That makes it an attractive proposition from a business point of view.
Why is ISE such an important show for you? At ISE, we get to talk to people from different industries and this is really important because it allows us to make new contacts and promote our products in new markets. Our microphones are very well known in the live sound and events market, but having access to the installation and conference markets is great because we have a good range of products, such as our gooseneck and podium microphones, that are perfect for these customers. We are gradually expanding our reputation for quality to these markets and have recently handled some high profile installations at places like Europe’s largest Parliament, the Irish Presidential inauguration ceremony in Dublin and the Canadian Parliament.
Audio-Technica marketing manager, Tim Page: ‘ISE typically delivers very high quality visitors’ Why do you think ISE is continuing to expand at such a rapid pace? It’s a well-organised show with a clear vision and direction, serving an industry driven by innovation. That gives manufacturers compelling reasons for exhibiting at the event to showcase new products and interact with trade customers and partners. What separates it from the rest of the industry's trade events? I think the sharp focus that ISE has on the AV and systems integration market helps it to stand out. Exhibitors know the type of visitor that will be at the show and ISE typically delivers very
high quality visitors in my experience. With any event, there’s a level of critical mass needed to become an accepted, “first in the diary” trade show each year and ISE certainly has that – a consistent delivery of the world’s biggest brands on a scale that's hard for industry visitors to ignore. Why is ISE such a significant show for you? ISE has become an increasingly important show for AudioTechnica over the last few years, partly as the result of our own product development; the ATUC-50 digital discussion system, DANTE-enabled microphones and new 3000 and 5000 Series wireless systems have all been major launches recently and these are clearly very ‘ISE-friendly’.
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ith a career spanning more than three decades, Hugh Padgham’s status as one of the UK’s most revered and successful producers has been established for some time now, his name gracing the liner notes of some of the biggest albums and singles of all time. Over 150 million units bearing his name have been sold worldwide, having engineered, mixed and produced records for the likes of David Bowie, Sting, The Police, Genesis, Phil Collins, XTC, The Human League and a great many others. Later this month, in recognition of his glittering career, he will be honoured with the 2019 Outstanding Contribution to UK Music award at the 2019 MPG Awards, which take place on February 28 at London’s Grosvenor House. PSNEurope editor Daniel Gumble spoke to Padgham ahead of the ceremony to discuss some of his career highlights, gear, the ever-changing role of the producer and what the future holds for the major studios in which he has plied his trade for so many years... Firstly, how does it feel to be recognised with the MPG Outstanding Contribution to UK Music award? It’s a great surprise and an honour to be given this award, especially as it’s been voted for by my peers and not just from commercial sales or something. What was it that first drew you towards a career behind the desk? When I was at school, a friend of mine had a connection to an artist who had recently had a couple of big hit singles called John Kongos. He had built a home studio in his house in London which we went to visit one day. It blew my mind, all those knobs and lights. I had wanted to be a bass player but a er that all I wanted to be was a recording engineer. How did you hone your cra in those formative years? Were there any key figures or projects that helped shape your production style? Well, to start with my aspiration was to become chief engineer at a top studio, as it was so hard to even get a job at a studio in those days. It was only later when I was an engineer for Virgin at The Townhouse Studios that I realised, in my opinion, half the producers I was sat beside didn’t seem to know any more about producing than I did. I persuaded Simon Draper, who ran Virgin’s record label, to let me have a go at producing one of their junior acts. It just went from there with me, also engineering for some incredible acts, including XTC and Peter Gabriel. One of the key figures in my life back then was an engineer called John Macswith who was the chief engineer at Lansdowne Studios where I worked before joining Virgin. He was properly ‘old school’ and amazing at recording everything from orchestras to rock bands.
For the record
On February 28, the 2019 MPG Awards will honour legendary producer Hugh Padgham with this year’s Outstanding Contribution to UK Music gong, recognising his incredible career to date. Daniel Gumble caught up with him to discuss some of his career highlights and where he believes the UK’s studio sector is headed…
I learnt all about proper recording and mic techniques from him as he took me under his wing. I was very lucky to learn from him.
THE FACT THAT ALMOST ANYONE CAN HAVE THEIR OWN STUDIO FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY COMPARED TO THE ANALOGUE ERA IS A WONDERFUL AND LIBERATING THING HUGH PADGHAM
You’ve worked with some huge artists over the course of your career. Which ones have been the most memorable? This is a very difficult question to answer, and I would never want to upset any great artist that I haven’t mentioned here, but here are four that come to mind. XTC and Peter Gabriel albums were very happy times for me as an engineer and also among my first major successes. Such great guys as well. Phil Collins’s first album was very exciting to make and it was my first properly successful production. Also The Police, as they were the most amazing band and to have made an album as successful as Synchronicity, when the creative studio environment was difficult at best, was particularly gratifying. And Melissa Etheridge’s Yes I Am album: this was my first big success with a US artist. It was her biggest hit to date and the album that really broke her there.
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(who are probably also on their own) to overdub, for instance, for me, takes away the camaraderie and, very o en, humour and banter that makes making records such fun. Also creative accidents tend to happen less. Is the title of ‘producer’ harder to define these days, given artists’ ability to produce serviceable sounding recordings outside of the confines of a big or ‘traditional’ studio? Nowadays, very o en the producer will be the writer or co-writer or co-owner of the music. It is a necessity of the financial way the music business works today. The method of producing that I was brought up on hardly exists anymore. Do you have a preferred way of working in the studio or any core principles you like to stick to? Or does every project differ from one to the next? There are never two projects that are the same, so I tend to go with my gut instinct and experience, but I still like recording real musicians live and applying good recording techniques in order to make a record sound as good as I can make it. I also try to limit my track count to 48 so that when I come to mix I don’t have thousands of spurious tracks to sort out.
Super producer: Hugh Padgham
The industry has changed immeasurably since you first started out, particularly with regard to studio gear and recording techniques. What have been the biggest transformations you’ve encountered and how have you overcome them? Going from analogue to digital, undoubtedly. There was nothing to overcome other than digital didn’t sound as good as analogue to start with (and even though it’s obviously much better now, I still believe well recorded analogue sounds better). However, digital is just so much easier to work with in regards to editing, manipulating, compiling and never having to worry about whether something got erased. It’s also just so much more time effective. Has the rise of the so-called ‘bedroom producer’ and easy access to recording so ware for artists changed the dynamic between artist and producer? The fact that almost anyone can have their own studio for very little money compared to the analogue era is a really wonderful and liberating thing. However, because people are o en on their own and send files to people
QUICKFIRE FIVE Who would be your dream artist to produce (that you haven’t already)? Ray Charles. What’s the greatest sounding record of all time? Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd. What do you enjoy most about your job? The chat and the laughter. What do you enjoy least about your job? Compiling a lead vocal from someone who’s not a great singer. Record you’re most proud of? Face Value by Phil Collins.
What’s your ideal studio setup? These days it is to have very good microphones and mic amps (nice old Neve 1084s for instance), and very high quality A to D converters so that I have the best possible signal path into Pro Tools. I also like to have a small but good quality console to monitor through, a few trusty old bits of outboard gear, and lastly whatever my favourite monitors - probably several different makes and sizes for home comparison reasons etc. There have been a number of high profile recording studios that have closed or been threatened with closure of late due to development plans or a lack of revenue, such as London’s Strongroom Studios. How crucial is it that facilities like this are protected for future generations of artists and studio professionals? Sadly this is a sign of the times and I’m afraid that the one thing you can’t change is change. Apart from the large orchestral studios and enthusiasts who can run their own home studios with lots of lovely old gear, the kind of commercial studios that I grew up with will soon just be memories, I expect. What advice would you give to up and coming studio engineers and producers? You need to make sure that you have some sort of ownership of the intellectual copyright of the music you are recording, or else you’ll only be doing your work part time or as a hobby.
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Marta Salogni (leſt), Lauren Deakin-Davies (right)
FEBRUARY 2019
In November 2018, Marta Salogni and Lauren Deakin-Davies emerged victorious at the sixth annual Pro Sound Awards, winning the night’s Studio Engineer and Breakthrough Studio Engineer awards respectively. Now, in a PSNEurope first, Daniel Gumble sits in on a conversation between the two as they interview each other on their fascinating careers to date…
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s PSNEurope arrives at London Fields’ Bayford industrial block on a cold midJanuary morning, a beaming Marta Salogni awaits us, waving across the forecourt and mouthing directions towards her brand new studio facility, Studio Zona. After guiding us through the building’s warren-like corridors and into the studio’s communal kitchen area, we find fellow studio engineer and producer Lauren Deakin-Davies sipping on a hot drink, her instantly recognisable flash of pink hair and cheery disposition providing a splash of welcome colour in contrast to the murky skies and chill in the air outside. Salogni has kindly welcomed us into her new base not
only for a snoop around but also to host something of a PSNEurope first, as the pair prepare to be interviewed not by us, but by one another. Last year, each of these esteemed engineers scooped major honours at the 2018 Pro Sound Awards, picking up the Studio Engineer and Breakthrough Studio Engineer awards respectively. Over the course of the past two years, each has enjoyed incredible success and career progression, notching up countless awards, accolades, media appearances and acclaimed projects. In the case of Salogni, a brief glance around Studio Zona reveals a lot. Flanked by a selection of tape decks and centred on an analogue Studer console, its high-end
combination of digital technology and vintage gear is suggestive of her ability to expertly and creatively weave traditional and digital techniques. Indeed, her depth of knowledge, matched only, it seems, by a bottomless well of imagination, has appealed to an ever-growing list of extraordinary artists, which so far includes the likes of Bjork, The Orielles, Frank Ocean and Goldfrapp to name but a smattering. She has also spoken out vociferously on such issues as industry diversity and the ongoing threat of closure facing so many long-established studios across the country. Deakin-Davies, meanwhile, has been busy breaking all kinds of records and adding further weight to her status
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as one of the world’s brightest studio talents. In addition to her 2018 Pro Sound Award, she is also the youngest female producer ever to have tracks played on Radio 2, the youngest ever MPG member and was crowned Producer Of The Year at the 2017 and 2018 NMG (New Music Generator) Awards. She too has become a regular fixture across industry media, appearing on countless panel sessions and conference stages to discuss the key issues facing the sector. Over the course of our day together, Salogni’s erudite, philosophical and thoughtful discussion of her craft is complemented perfectly by Deakin-Davies’s endless enthusiasm and infectiously inquisitive character; her commitment to learning as much about her subject as possible is evident throughout our conversation, and her own insights equally enlightening. Topics covered extensively during our talk include, but are not confined to, career beginnings and troubleshooting in the studio, influential records and dealing with misogyny in the workplace. Here, we have attempted to capture just some of the highlights… STARTING OUT Lauren Deakin-Davies: So how did you get into doing this? Marta Salogni: I got into sound engineering when I was still at school in Italy. I was part of a collective which had its HQ in an autonomous social centre in town. Along with an independent radio station, this place also had a venue in it, with lots of gigs happening all the times and many touring bands passing by. I was fascinated by the mechanics of what goes on behind the scenes of concerts. The physics of sound and the potential of being able to control it, manipulate it, and change the impact it has on the crowd and myself. So a friend introduced me to Carlo, the sound engineer there, who took me on as his assistant engineer. I worked in live sound up until I graduated and decided to move to London. I wanted to get into recording studios, which were so rare where I am from. I saw them as these landscapes of experimentation, laboratories for the mind, free of the time constraints of the stage. In London, I did a short course to learn the basics of studio engineering and English nomenclature of new instruments and techniques. Then I found a job in post-production which taught me sound design and Foley, but my heart was set on music, so I left to continue my research and finally landed at a studio in south London, State of the Ark, for my first session as an assistant. That was the start of me in London, in studios. I met a producer called Danton Supple who I started assisting and moved onto Dean Street Studios, RAK and Strongroom Studios, where I started freelancing. There I met David Wrench, producer and mixer, with whom I started working. I learned a lot from him,
and progressively got busier and busier with my own projects. Thanks to a project I was doing with David, Goldfrapp, I met the record label Mute, who allowed me to take over their studio in Hammersmith. I set up my studio there, working on both mine and the label’s projects, until a couple of months ago, when I came across this space. I decided to take over a part of it as my own place, and build my studio from scratch. I always wanted a desk, but never had the space for it. Now I have this 1976 Studer which I love. All my tape machines are here. It’s home.
resentful of it’s never going to end well. It’s very easy to discern people that put passion into what they do and those that are just doing it for escapism from their 9-5 job. It’s not something that you can mask if the passion isn’t there.
I WORKED IN LIVE SOUND UNTIL I MOVED TO LONDON. I WANTED TO GET INTO STUDIOS. I SAW THEM AS THESE LANDSCAPES OF EXPERIMENTATION, LABORATORIES OF THE MIND MARTA SALOGNI
MS: Yes, and you never regret that. I always feel grateful to be working and making a living from such an amazing profession, so it’s easy to feel bad about turning things down. You feel you should always be grateful that people want to use your skills, but you have to consider whether or not you really believe in the project. You have to trust yourself. It’s also important to reach out to people that you love and would love to work with, no matter how obscure. It’s essential. Is that something you do?
LDD: So you had to offer the full package for those artists when you first started? MS: Yes. With such little resources you need to be able to do it all. And that was great, because you get an insight into all the various sectors and figure out what you prefer doing. That period of time was such a steep learning curve for me, and a lot of the bands I was working with grew together. I was learning at that moment and they were emerging at the same time. We helped each other. LDD: Did you choose a specific genre or type of artist to work with? MS: I never stuck to a genre. The most important thing for me is a strong idea. I can’t inject a strong idea without the material already being there, because it would turn into my project rather than a collaboration. I always cross genres and go between bands and solo artists and electronic music. To me it never mattered as long as the idea was interesting. LDD: I agree. And I feel that if you’ve gone into an industry like this you’ll be the kind of person who likes to do what you want to do, and would most likely have gone against the norm in order to do it, so you might as well be having the best time possible. MS: Exactly. If you treat this art as a job that you’re
LDD: I can tell when people come in and they have other jobs and this is not their main focus. They’ll come away with something that’s OK, but compared to the projects I've worked on with those whose life it is to be doing this...that’s when you get something amazing. Sometimes it’s hard to know whether to turn down a project you know probably isn’t going to be great - even though you need the work - so you can spend more time looking for something better to work on.
LDD: I do. I’ve only recently felt like I’m in a position where I’m qualified enough to say 'I think you’re amazing, let’s work together'. Before, even though I had a naive confidence, I felt I didn't have the credentials. But now I’m getting some form of affirmation that what I’m doing is good, so when I approach people they can see that others have also thought I’m doing a good job! And that’s important because I don’t have a list of huge artists to my name yet. MS: People want to see experience, but where are you supposed to get that experience? It’s a vicious circle and sometimes people get stuck. I’ve seen many big artists who want to go and look for the new up and coming engineers/producers who don’t have any big names yet because that’s how you make a difference to people’s lives. That’s the responsibility of the people at the top, to reach out to those who are up and coming. In five or 10 years time I expect us to be doing the same thing with other people. It’s important to give back as much as you receive. GENDER ROLES IN THE STUDIO LDD: One thing I’ve noticed with the accessibility to music technology is that there are so many female singer-songwriters who are nearly there in terms of recording and producing themselves, but end up getting another producer to finish their project because they don’t feel they are qualified to complete it. I understand that, but I have been trying to encourage them and give them tips so that they can make decent demos
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or produce a record themselves, provided they have adequate gear and enough of an understanding of the process. One of my friends, an amazing pop country artist, did her own demos that I was helping out with, and I told her she should just do them herself. She knew how to do it, she knew what she wanted, and now she is so good. She’s absolutely flying and is also encouraging other people. Guys seem to just do it anyway, but [some] girls seem to have this apprehension. Is this something you’ve noticed?
Photos:James Burns
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MS: It’s intrinsic in culture. Now things are changing, but when I was a child I would open up a book and the mechanic is a man, the electrician is a man, so you have this built-in thought of needing to have a man in the room. And that’s very toxic for men; to feel like they have to know everything or take charge. These expectations set by society are very dangerous, but thankfully a lot of people are refusing these gender roles now. I can see the whole gender playing field levelling, at least more so than before. That’s a great thing. I see other women finally feeling like nobody else needs to be involved in their process. Our resources are the same - no gender has better ears than another! If you tell someone they can’t do something from childhood they will grow up believing that. It’s all about education and encouragement. LDD: Definitely. When I was in my first studio job I didn’t even comprehend I was a woman. Then, when I started to get some success, I was doing lots of interviews with people asking 'What’s it like to be a woman'? I was like, What?! And then I was in this world that I was completely oblivious to. I got into the industry because I was a massive nerd - I loved music tech, engineering, the prospect of creating music. I remember getting hired by a studio and the person who owned it was this 40-year-old guy called Martin who (at the time) didn’t know how to produce music, I was the producer. We had this band in and I was sitting at the mixing desk and the owner was standing by me, when one of the members goes to me 'Can I have two coffees and a tea?' He just assumed I was the tea girl. And Martin said, 'I’ll be taking the tea order, I’m her assistant'. I have so much respect for him because he was so respectful towards me. The bands would then show me respect because he did, but that was also frustrating because without that I’m not sure they would have treated me that way. MS: The same used to happen to me in the live sector as well. And you’re right, sometimes you do forget that you’re a woman until someone else reminds you. Like if someone says a bad joke or swears and then apologises because there’s a woman in the room. I hate to be reminded that there are differences. [Right now] it’s amazing to be part of the change and something that is positive and refreshing. At the moment there is a really
supportive environment and community of people giving exposure to these important matters. It’s about time. I don’t believe in gender roles, they are toxic, filled with prejudice, and are misleading. I was very conscious that I was the only woman in my field in Italy. I remember the first time meeting another woman who worked in sound, it was like seeing a unicorn!
IN MY FIRST JOB I DIDN'T EVEN COMPREHEND I WAS A WOMAN. THEN, WHEN I STARTED GETTING SOME SUCCESS, I WAS DOING LOTS OF INTERVIEWS ASKING 'WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE A WOMAN'? I WAS IN THIS WORLD I'D BEEN COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS TO LAUREN DEAKIN-DAVIES
TROUBLESHOOTING AND TECHNICAL CHALLENGES LDD: In the studio, things can go wrong, and I find people management is incredibly important, but equally so is troubleshooting. I find my approach can change depending on the kind of person I’m working with. Some people, you can just tell them you are going to fix the problem and it’s all fine, but with others they just assume you don’t know what you’re doing and that you must be responsible. How do you deal with things going wrong? MS: You develop a system to deal with these things over time. It’s important that those in the room not involved in the troubleshooting have something to do. If something stops working, get them some tea... the worst thing you can do is make people wait. Having people sitting around not doing anything isn’t good.
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We’d film in January and my laptop would freeze because of how cold it was. And it was one take only, there was a film crew, so there’s a lot of pressure. I also recorded an album with Kate Dimbleby that was entirely vocals - drums, percussion sound, everything was done using vocal loops. That was really challenging and interesting in that the mixing process was unlike anything I’d ever done before. MS: What’s your studio setup?
In the Zona: Deakin-Davies and Salogni
Anything can stop working at anytime, so just be honest and concentrate on fixing the problem. And understand the limits of your knowledge. Is it time to call someone in or not? If I have no idea how to fix something there is no point in wasting time. LDD: What’s the most technically challenging project you’ve worked on? MS: The most instruments I recorded at the same time was a 90-piece orchestra. That was very challenging. The amount of work that went into that was incredible. And if you mess something up 90 people are going to be looking at you and hating you. LDD: Did you mess anything up? MS: No, thankfully. You become like a superhero in these moments, where there is no room for mistakes. How about you? LDD: I used to do the audio and production for something called Balcony TV, which would involve getting artists to come up on to a balcony to studio record a session. We’d have to get a five-piece band and all the necessary gear to record them on to a rooftop.
I listen to and make music. One is Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk - the space and the atmosphere is beautiful. I can listen to it over and over, because there are always some elements my brain didn’t pick up before. It’s so elegant and sensitive. Another is An Electric Storm by White Noise. The first time I heard it I could hardly understand how they did it. Knowing how hard it would be to make something like that with the resources we have now, to imagine making it with the resources they had in 1970 is alien to me.
LDD: In my home studio I have a bunch of DigiGrid hardware, but I mainly use Universal Audio Quad Apollo as my interface. I don’t have a desk. I run Logic off my laptop and use KRK monitors. At the studio I work at, Sound Lab Studios, they have a nice SSL desk, Focal speakers. We have some massive KRKs in the wall for when we are doing rap sessions because they are so bassy, and we have a couple of Neve preamps. It’s a nice setup. What do you have here?
HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE JOB MS: This job provides a vehicle to express yourself. It’s a long learning process but when you reach the point where you stop doubting yourself you just run wild, and that’s amazing. It’s very empowering.
MS: On the digital side of it I have my laptop plugged into two Avid HD I/O, they give me 32 in 32 out. Then the desk, half is a Studer 169 and half is a 369. They go from one to 22 channels. It’s from 1976 so it’s looking quite good for its age. It sounds beautiful. The EQs at top and bottom are very musical, a little change does a lot. It’s super clean; I’ve A/B’d in the box to compare just two channels on the desk and it sounds just how you want it to sound - quite similar but more open, more spacious and more enhanced. I’m a fan of complementing digital and analogue.
so much about people.
INFLUENCES LDD: Initially, I didn't like listening to other people’s music when I was younger because I could never listen to a song as piece of music; I was always listening to it as separate instruments. I would just pick out the drum parts or the bass parts and I’d be concentrating so hard on what was happening sonically within the track that I’d struggle to enjoy the music as a whole piece. As I got older I got over that and started my own band, and having more control over what was happening in the songs helped me enjoy listening to music more. The first album I thought sounded really cool was An Awesome Wave by alt-J. The production on it was really interesting and really dynamic.
LDD: I don’t do very much mixing, so when I do it’s one of the few times I’m alone in the studio. The worst part of working freelance is asking for money. I know you still have to do it when you're working with management, but usually there is someone representing you or there is some sort of buffer. It ruins the vibe, being in a session
MS: I was the opposite when I was younger. When I was in high school there was a radio presenter who was part of this collective in our town who told me to try to pick out all the instruments in a song, and I'd never thought about that before. Around that time I’d probably held a guitar once in my life, so I found it really difficult. Until I started recording I would just listen to music as a whole without picking it apart. There were two albums that really made me consider the way that
LDD: I love that it enables you to be versatile. You have to have so many arms, whether it’s that you’re an engineer, a musician, you can solder, you’re a therapist... it forces you into learning so many skills. And you learn
MS: [As for the most difficult part of the job] the loneliness can sometimes be difficult. You’re not always working with people, and there can be long hours of being alone. Suddenly it clicks when the music stops and you realise you are on your own. Also, when you can’t find a point of contact with an artist; when you can’t find each other in the music. That becomes hard, and you have to be honest enough to say that maybe you aren’t the right person or that it’s just not happening.
and then having to ask for money. It suddenly feels like you’re providing a service, as opposed to working together creatively and artistically. ADVICE TO BUDDING ENGINEERS MS: Trust and follow your instincts. And always move forward; don’t get stuck, no matter how sticky the situation. Change is hard but it’s great. The best things always come to me through change - from moving from Italy to the UK, moving from one studio to another, and I always manage to bring forward the things I liked most about what I left behind. Never be afraid to make big decisions. LDD: Don’t be afraid to put music out there. You will find when you look back in six months time that it may not be as good as what you are doing now, but if you didn't put that out you wouldn’t be where you are now. n
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P31 FEBRUARY 2019
WEDGE Why are we still using stage monitors? Phil Ward asks those in the business of live sound to find out…
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Ed Sheeran (left), Jon Burton (top right), Grégory Dapsanse (bottom right)
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ou may remember Robbie Williams’ Take The Crown stadium tour from a few years ago – a Brit Row classic. One look at the gigantic stage told you that it was completely devoid of wedges: only keyboard player and MD Paul Beard and drummer Karl Brazil had any boxed foldback, sporting a d&b audiotechnik Q-Sub each. Even the guitar amps were tucked under the stage in baffled isolation. According to Britannia Row audio engineer Josh Lloyd, who attended rehearsal sessions at Robbie’s house in Compton Bassett, Wiltshire, this was the plan from the start: in the rehearsal room, the only acoustically audible phenomena were the vocals and the drums – “quite a nice, pure source to start with,” says Lloyd, “so the musicians get a much better experience.” This ‘better’ experience was transferred to the stadiums on the tour, thanks to IEM, and in this instance the musicians were clearly well adjusted to the delicate, hi-fi interface with the total sound they were generating and found their own ways of resolving this with the physical reality of live performance. It’s a sea change that challenges many established notions of production, and presents everyone involved from talent to technician with the need to find an agreeable solution for a new age: one in which the time-honoured raw power of rock music may be giving way to alternatives that are physically and artistically safer. SURF BOARD Monitor engineer Simon Hodge not only took responsibility for the in-ear mixes on Take The Crown: he also developed a system that suggests
another dimension to IEM that will only consolidate its popularity. As well as improving on-stage clarity and communication by avoiding wedges, he added a footswitch-operated microphone for each band member. Patched into the IEM circuit, they created comms for the band and for Hodge himself, augmented by a second vocal mic for Beard with an optical gate: if he leaned into it and talked, he addressed the band; if he pushed the footswitch, he could address Hodge directly. The resulting mini-conference system not only has a hierarchy but unites crew and talent, fusing monitor world and show comms plus the IT infrastructure – all supplied by Hodge’s company Surfhire. Faced with this type of innovation, it seems obvious that IEM is leading the way to a clearer future. Sometimes it’s a purely practical decision. Simon Sayer, who mixed the Classic BRIT Awards concert at the Royal Albert Hall last June, pointed out that “some of the artists were performing on an LED floor, so having loads of wedges out would have spoiled this. It usually comes down to artist preference or logistics of staging. As a FOH engineer having everyone on ears makes for a much better sound out front – but we don’t always have that luxury”. But is it always such a luxury? Jon Burton has been mixing monitors and FOH for over 30 years, and would prefer to reverse the question posed by this feature in order to underline the continuing relevance of the techniques that IEM might pretend to abolish. “Why are we still using stage monitors? Why shouldn’t we is the question. Monitoring is specialised sound reinforcement. We use sound sources to help balance
the quieter elements with the louder ones to achieve a mix where the performer feels comfortable,” says Burton. “My first foray into IEMs was in 1993 with The Cranberries, and initially Dolores [O’Riordan, singer] hated it. I was also doing monitors for Suede, and Brett [Anderson] wouldn’t even try it. Since then, we‘ve seen a massive switch to in-ear monitoring. Has it helped? Yes, for many acts it has given the musicians, particularly singers, a clear and consistent sound almost regardless of the venue. Has it made for better performances? Yes... maybe. Is it a perfect solution? No.” For Burton, there is a particular trade-off between the acoustic security of in-ears and the greater musical integration of an act sharing the moving air of an open, if noisy, sound stage. “I hate doing a tour where it’s all on IEMs,” he continues. “It’s one of the reasons I don’t do monitors any more. It leads to introspective listening practices. It can become very insular, musicians becoming obsessed with ‘their’ sound and not the ensemble. I like working with acts where the singer has a pair of wedges. It can mess up the FOH sound, but it can also help produce a greater ensemble performance. If you have a singer who can sing and who can listen, you can get a dynamic performance that I find is often missing when the band is reliant on IEMs. “Of the last three acts I worked with, two of the singers were on wedges and the third on IEMs, but they were performing on a stage where the sidefill and keyboard fill were larger than most club systems. So don’t write off wedges yet – they still have their place. And we haven’t even got on to the physicality of sound. It’s about feeling as well as hearing.”
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he still has a reference – they’re 20dB quieter than they used to be! And secondly for when he does pop out one ear-piece, so he still has audio in both ears – one in-ear, and the other using the wedges.” According to Marsh, as and when Sheeran uses the wedges, they’re not loud and detailed enough to enable him to pitch correctly, or to build his famous loops using the custom foot pedals that help him to create such rich musical textures as one performer. For this signature technique, IEM is essential. “Nowadays, the wedges are really for the banter with the audience,” adds Marsh. “If Ed had a choice, I think he would only use floor monitors. That’s where he’s most comfortable. But unfortunately there’s a limit to what you can achieve.”
The Prodigy’s Keith Flint may wear in-ears, but it’s far from a silent stage…
CHAIN REACTION It sure is: witness the remarks of Michael Brennan, who has trod the boards with a huge range of acts from Primal Scream and Faith No More to KT Tunstall and, most recently, The Jesus And Mary Chain. “We were special guests with Nine Inch Nails in America,” he recounts, “and they had a completely silent stage: every single thing, including guitars, was processed through Apple’s MainStage software and sent to in-ears. But even so, they had six V-DOSC 218s along the back of the stage pumping out subs so the band could feel it. Despite a really controlled, hi-tech environment, there’s still a need for the movement of some air by loudspeakers. It was absolutely essential for the show, even if it was a bit of a nightmare at FOH.” L-Acoustics’ SB218 is not a wedge but the companion subwoofer for V-DOSC and ARCS series enclosures, and it may be that an entire sub-species of PA could survive without wedges, retaining the throb of sub-bass that both Brennan and Jon Burton describe as so essential to an engaged performance – even if the IEMs can still be accused of isolating the performers to some extent. “If you time align it correctly,” continues Brennan, “it can give you a bit more sub for the house, although it’s tricky. I have four subs as monitors for the drums with Faith No More, and I can bring round that kick and snare into the focus of the whole mix if I’m careful.” Jim Reid, the main vocalist in JAMC, has two purely cosmetic wedges at his feet, unconnected and bereft of signal. This is wedge-as-prop, which underpins the legacy of these boxes from rock and roll mythology if nothing else. A bank of implausible Marshall stacks in
the backline, only 10 per cent of which are working, will do the same. Whether real or not, wedges and other stage monitoring enclosures are fighting a rear-guard action against the clinical progress of in-ears. “Most tours have a mixture of both – even the older bands,” reflects Brennan, “who now realise that they have to protect their hearing a lot better.” Health is probably the issue that will win the day, along with scalability. Both topics have exercised Chris Marsh, FOH engineer for Ed Sheeran, throughout the British star's meteoric rise from modest solo gigs to mammoth solo gigs. Despite no change in his instrumentation or presentation, the sheer hike in venue capacity has necessitated an update in the monitoring solution, if not an upgrade, in creative terms. “Ed started with just wedges, doing the pubs and clubs where in-ears are an expensive commodity,” Marsh reports. “He likes to hear the audience and walk in and out of the audio source, feeling the space around him. But as the gigs got bigger, the monitors got louder, even with just an acoustic guitar and vocal, we ran out of headroom. I became concerned for his health! We did a 6,000-crowd marquee in Columbia and the noise was unbelievable – he couldn’t hear a thing. I looked at him and said: ‘This is where I have to start using in-ears, isn’t it?’ So it’s now a necessity rather than a choice, and it has taken some of the pleasure out of playing; he pops out one of the ears frequently in order to be able to hear the crowd and sometimes play along with them.” There are, however, wedge monitors at his feet… “We’ve kept them for two reasons,” Marsh explains. “Firstly, in case his in-ears go down for any reason, so
MIND THE GAP It seems, therefore, that something is always lost when ear pieces build their inevitable barrier between the performer and the room – even for a solo act with a good deal of very intimate material, and not just the ensemble dynamics of a high-SPL production. Recognising this, the loudspeaker manufacturers continue to invest generously in the stage monitor format, which lives on below the radar of stadium megatours in more modest circumstances. To take just one example, for Todd Rundgren’s latest tour, production manager and monitor engineer Paul Froula switched to a choice of VUE hm-Class boxes including four hm-112 single 12-inch and two hm-212 dual 12-inch models – networked in the modern way by VUEDrive V Series digital engines and SystemVUE software, not a single in-ear monitor in sight. But there’s a life for wedges beyond this too. Gregory Dapsanse, director of marketing and business development at French loudspeaker manufacturer APG, reveals that his company’s SMX15 multi-purpose monitor was designed expressly to complement IEM. “The in-ears provide fantastic quality in the mid-high range, very close to studio monitoring,” he points out. “But on stage they fail to provide the low frequencies, so the SMX15 is acoustically optimised to put these back into the on-stage experience. Any stage monitor for use in conjunction with IEM has to do this, and should be able to work almost like a sub.” Dapsanse also acknowledges that many artists remove in-ears, or one of them, during performance, making not just the presence of a stage monitor but also its quality equally important. “It must maintain the sonic atmosphere,” he says, “including intelligibility as well as low frequency. It’s not about high SPL, it’s about approaching studio quality. In fact, you could almost define the SMX15 as a high-powered studio monitor for stage use.” This is the next challenge for sound reinforcement, reaching studio-quality fidelity without losing the energy and spontaneity of stage performance… sound ‘thru a lens’, as Robbie might say. n
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P34 FEBRUARY 2019
Staying inspired In her latest PSNEurope column, Katie Tavini examines the art of staying inspired and motivated during what can be one of the most challenging times of the year...
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hristmas has happened, we all feel rounder and sleepy (or at least I do) and everywhere we look, we see people talking about new year’s resolutions. Get fit, read more, take up a new hobby, get a cat. All lovely ideas, but not many people talk about their work goals, and how to survive in the audio industry. Especially for the freelancers amongst us, setting goals can just be pure daunting. You might think it's a bit weird that I'm talking about new year goals in February rather than January, but honestly, I needed the first month and a bit to ease myself into the year. January has been spent doing admin, tax, website updates, taking bookings, fixing broken gear, and a whole load of sorting out bits that seem to get neglected throughout the year. So now seems like a good point to start thinking about goals and motivation for the year ahead. My personal goals include getting an accountant (why did I wait this long?!), clearing out gear I no longer use, keeping on top of updating my website, plus taking regular breaks to enjoy life and a new gym schedule.
EVEN IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU CAN CERTAINLY OVERWORK YOURSELF. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK. IT'S NOT WORTH RISKING BURNING OUT LIVIA NAGY
These might seem like relatively small tasks, but when there's making records (aka, the fun bit), everything else gets put to one side. To help motivate myself, and hopefully you guys too, I opened up a conversation with some people working in pro audio that I am constantly inspired by. Theatre sound engineer Livia Nagy is one of the busiest engineers I know, so I was keen to know what keeps her motivated. “I always thought that theatre was a magical place and it feels amazing to be part of these productions,” Nagy said. “It’s very rewarding at the end of each night. I never feel like I’m actually working, it’s more like doing what I love and enjoy every single day. But taking breaks and finding a work-life balance is extremely important, for sure. I’ve only figured out the importance of this fairly recently and I can’t recommend it enough. "Even if you love what you do, you can certainly overwork and exhaust yourself, so give yourself a break. It’s not worth risking burning out." Dan Lucas from Anchor Baby Recordings also spoke about where he finds his inspiration.
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Keeping organised is crucial to achieving a healthy work-life balance
Motivational speaker: Katie Tavini
"The inspiration for me comes from knowing that I need to represent the artists' songs in the best possible way, that I am in a position where the way I choose to showcase them could potentially have a hugely positive impact on their career, and that they're trusting me," he said. "Having the band feel that their songs are in the right hands, and absorbing the buzz that this realisation generates, is also tremendously exciting. It really makes you feel like you're a part of something special." One of the things that I struggle with most is planning my time effectively, and managing an even worklife balance. I find that you constantly have people reminding you to take breaks, look a er yourself, and keep yourself healthy. But then you also have the pressures of working in a very fast moving, competitive industry, which forces so many of us to just keep going out of fear of missing out on work. Hannah Brodrick, live sound engineer and tour manager, told me about the consequences of taking on too much work and not setting aside sufficient time to unwind. "When I started out I was saying yes to every job
and working for anyone that hired me," she said. "The result was I earned a lot of money but had no time to spend it, and I made myself ill from exhaustion at one point. I came to realise that it’s okay to say no to work, especially when it’s work that is not going to get you to higher places or isn't making you happy. "My best advice is that it’s okay to work hard, but your health and well-being should always come first, so book holidays and visit family and friends whenever you can. Exercise regularly. Every year I take a month off and go travelling and it definitely helps me reset.” Record producer and studio owner, Romesh Dodangoda, is also an advocate of regular breaks. “Try not to take on too much work or you will burn out and not find it enjoyable," he said. "I think by trying something different now and again, whether it's a different mixing technique or the way I might approach a song, can really keep things fresh. I try and go to different studios, rather than just staying at my own, as it gives me more inspiration and makes things more exciting for me than being in the same place all the time. If I have a great time with the artist and keep the atmosphere fun and enjoyable, that alone keeps me motivated.” Romesh's tip about working from other people's studios is really cool – something I’m keen to try over the next year to keep things fresh. Added bonus: this is also an excellent opportunity for networking, if that’s on your to-do list. So that’s some great points about not burning out, looking a er your health and staying inspired. But what about some tools that can help take the pressure off a
bit? Joe Clayton, engineer and producer (No Studio) and musician (Pijn), gave some tips about how he balances life producing records and touring with his band: "My life is utterly dominated by Google Calendar these days, hosting multiple schedules on one platform so I can see band commitments, studio availability, time booked for mixing and even (rarely) a day booked off to do something outside of work. To help with this I use Acuity Scheduling for my clients, so they can see my availability throughout the year, and a handy little programme called Zapier to automatically add things to my calendar. In terms of tips for juggling multiple projects, make sure you have everything written down somewhere. If you agree to a certain deadline, write it down or set a reminder to do so. Make sure you're clear with your clients' and your own expectations of what you'll be able to manage. (I should take some of my own advice really, it's a lot easier to write stuff like this than to actually do it!)” I'm definitely going to take Joe’s recommendations and implement his suggestions into my schedule planning is one of the things that I really struggle with as a freelancer. As he said, it's a lot easier to write about it than actually do it, but if it makes more time for life then it’s definitely worth a shot. I hope that reading this has motivated you to achieve your goals in 2019, but has also reassured you that it’s OK to take a break. Health is so important, and you’re never going to produce great work if you’re burnt out. I also hope that reading this has made you feel like you’re not the only one, and if you are struggling, it’s always OK to ask for help.
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w
P36 FEBRUARY 2019
PHOTOS: Graham Hardy
The real sound of drama Sound designer and audio recordist Eloise Whitmore has made her name in radio drama by recording on location for a greater sense of reality. Now, she has moved into immersive and object-based technologies. Whitmore fills PSNEurope's Kevin Hilton in on how she uses these technological advances to support her writing and the scripts she works on‌
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P37 FEBRUARY 2019
T
PHOTOS: Graham Hardy
here are sections of the media and public that view radio drama as old fashioned. This is largely because of the traditional production techniques of actors in a non-real world acoustic with sound effects, discs of birds, cars, aircraft and spot effects, including rattling door handles and footsteps - to give a sense of reality. That approach survives today, but there are now radio producers and technicians who are pushing existing and emerging technologies to produce dramas, documentaries and general programmes that can compete with cinema, TV and streaming, in terms of realism, excitement and creativity. Among them is sound designer, recordist and producer Eloise Whitmore, who specialises in recording radio drama on location and, more recently, has played a part in marrying creativity with new immersive and object-based formats. The most recent is The Vostock-K Incident, which moves beyond the constraints of surround sound loudspeakers and allows people to listen on whatever connected devices are to hand. Whitmore said she likes working in radio as it allows her "complete control". Although now closely identified with audio broadcasting, Whitmore started out in theatre and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company's sound department at Stratford-upon-Avon. The switch to broadcasting came in 1999 when she joined the BBC. Initially working for News and Current Affairs, she later moved into radio drama and documentaries. After going freelance in 2000, Whitmore established herself as someone who took a different approach to the recording and mixing of radio plays. This was recognised in 2003 when two productions she worked on were nominated for Sony Radio Academy Awards. Both My Boy by Laura Lomas, which won the Bronze Award, and Beryl: A Love Story on Two Wheels, were recorded on location, which not only gave a sense of reality but also set them apart from the other winners and nominees. Whitmore says she always tries to record "as much as possible" on location, starting pre-production by drawing up a list of wildtrack sounds specific to each production, to augment her own effects library and commercial discs. This approach has continued in the following years, although how much can be done in radio drama - both location recorded and studio-based - depends on how much budget both the BBC and independent producers have to play with. Whitmore has moved from concentrating solely on sound to being a producer as well; she is managing director of Naked Productions, which is based at The Sharp Project, just outside of Manchester city centre. Built in the former warehouse of an electronics company, it was established to provide a home for media professionals, from solo operators to bigger companies. Whitmore has her own facility within 80 Hertz, a recording studio that offers a big, old-style live room, voice booths, ADR stages and a surround sound
dubbing theatre. There are also several edit rooms and offices, which the founder of 80 Hertz, engineer/ producer George Atkins, always intended to be rented by other engineers, sound designers, musicians and general media types. "George runs 80 Hertz as a co-operative," comments Whitmore. "It's a great little community." Whitmore has a room above the main recording studio, which includes a dead booth that is primarily used for Foley and sometimes record actors. Whitmore also uses other facilities when the production demands it. The audio for virtual reality animation Turning Forest, was recorded partly on location, using an array of Sennheiser MKH 8050s, MKH 20s and a single Neumann 191 on a boom, and in the multi-purpose audio studio at MediaCityUK. The spatial mix was performed in the listening room of BBC R&D's labs and MCUK. The Vostock-K Incident was recorded at Low Four, a music studio within the old Granada TV studios.
Whitmore comments, "but there are still a lot who don't. The software we used was designed to allow them to listen on any type of device. As you plug in more devices, you get more of the story and effects. The system also tells you where to place your device, compensating for its quality so it still sounds like 5.1." The drama was written by Ed Sellek, who created different layers for the story that are revealed as more listening devices are added. The basic premise is that a British pilot, Joe (John Herffernan), is sent to investigate the launch of a Soviet rocket, only to find himself in a time loop being attacked by a Russian fighter. Whitmore isolated Heffernan using acoustic screens to simulate a cockpit, miking him up using a standard LM mic in front and a lavalier on his cap. "I had a lot more mics than usual to get everything as seperate sound," she explains. "Usually I set up my pole and record all the speech and effects at the same time." Other recent work for Whitmore includes Amy Dorrit, a modern interpretation of Charles Dickens'
Left: Eloise Whitmore with colleague Tony Churnside. Above: Cast of The Vostock-K Incident Like Turning Forest, it used technology developed by BBC R&D and S3A, comprising the acoustics research departments of the Universities of Salford, Southampton and Surrey. The core audio foundation of the production is stereo, but objects are used to add additional dialogue and elements, and sound effects to the story. Previous immersive and multi-loudspeaker productions have relied on specific arrays for reproduction, as with Turning Forest, or had to be heard through headphones or a streamed output on a computer. The aim behind The Vostock-K Incident, says Whitmore, was to allow people to start with a basic stereo set-up and add more elements through their smartphones, tablets or USB speakers. "There are a lot of people who listen on 5.1 systems,"
Little Dorrit, produced in association with the Graeae theatre group, which features actors who are deaf or have other disabilities; the third series of Tumanbay, an epic set in an ancient empire; and Lorenzaccio, another period drama that takes place in Florence. For this last production Whitmore used a Italian sound recordist to record location audio in Italy. "If a play is set somewhere, I try to get it to sound as real as possible," she explains. While Whitmore still sees a place for traditional, studio-based dramas, she will veer towards a more realworld style: "My preferred type of drama is something that sounds like a documentary. And my preference is always for location recording, although, really, it is all about the acting and the writing. The creative side needs technology, but the technology should not lead." n n
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P38 FEBRUARY 2019
Radio gets hacked at the EBU Innovation does not always flourish in isolation. As a result of this, the EBU provides and promotes a collaborative environment to develop new ideas through its annual Radiohack workshop. Kevin Hilton previews this year's event...
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P
rofessional audio was built in part by people tinkering around with soldering irons, screwdrivers, and bits of components and wires. This is particularly true for radio technology: think ham operators creating their own broadcast stations from kits, and early BBC engineers building mixing desks for specific programmes. This spirit is kept alive in the radio hack, one of the most well established taking place this month in Geneva, under the aegis of the EBU. The hackathon has become an important arena for innovation and developing ideas and emerging technologies. Big corporations are using such events to supplement their R&D departments, while the more free-spirited have taken a rock festival approach, as with Electro Magnetic Field. The EBU's Radiohack workshop has been running since 2011 and now forms part of the organisation's Digital Radio Week. This year's workshop kicks off the week on February 11-12 and will be followed by a day devoted to updating progress on RadioDNS, the open format for hybrid radio (February 12); the Digital Radio Summit (February 13); and the Radio Archives workshop (February 14). The 2019 Radiohack is the second to be organised by EBU project manager Ben Poor, who previously worked for UK commercial station Heart (part of the Global group). "I've been attending the Radiohack workshop since the early days," he states, "first as a punter and now as an organiser. The idea is to bring people in and allow them to play with radio technology. The aim is to innovate. We provide the pizza, beer, technology and physical location and then let people come together to do what they want." Poor says that the Radiohacks draw together a diverse range of people from all aspects of the broadcast radio, technology and associated fields. "We've been developing a core group that includes device manufacturers, car companies and broadcasters," he comments. "It is a truly public event, and we also have radio nerds and ham radio operators here because it is open to anyone to come along, as long as they feel they're going to get something out of it. Numbers are limited, however - no more than 30 to 40 - so we talk to the people who sign up first to figure out what to expect from them." At the time of writing, registration for Radiohack 2019 had only just started, so there was no indication of what might be concentrating people's minds this year. Poor agrees it is likely that two of the main areas of innovation from the 2018 event - voice control and smart speakers - would provide much of the focus once again. "It's still in its experimental phase," he recalls. "There is an EBU group looking into voice control for hybrid radio and a lot of manufacturers are experimenting with it. Nobody has defined a de facto standard for voice control to interact with radio and audio through smart speakers." Poor adds that he would be surprised if there were
not any new projects for voice control radio this year. He knew representatives from car manufacturers, including Audi, would be present. This indicates that the automotive sector recognises the potential for voice control, allowing drivers to select radio stations and audio tracks without taking their hands off the wheel to fiddle with buttons or touch-screens. "It's usually one of the big draws and people are looking at developing multimedia headends." Other areas of continuing general research that could feature at the Radiohack are hybrid radio and the development of new uses for object-based audio (OBA). Hybrid has been around for ten years and is now being pushed forward by three different groupings - the BBC in conjunction with Xperi, IRT/Konsole Labs and the EBU although each is based on RadioDNS. "We maintained last year that hybrid was not waiting to happen, but is happening," Poor says. "We're looking beyond audio by taking broadcast, and adding internet
connectivity. IP visuals have been around for six to seven years and in-car platforms are now adding hybrid kit." In terms of OBA, Poor sees this as a way to move radio beyond two-channel audio, with interactivity in order to select different points in a programme or change languages. Another potential use for OBA is Atomised News, a concept that is currently being explored by a number of broadcasters and news organisations, including Swedish Radio and the BBC. This gives the option to move from a headline or short news story to a longer-form version with more detail. "This requires an understanding of metadata," comments Poor, "and is also where voice control holds the key for both linear and non-linear listening. It could be where smart speakers will grow, working with voice for interactivity rather than creating a new button. Overall, I'd love for some crazy ideas to come out of this year's Radiohack." n
THE IDEA IS TO BRING PEOPLE IN AND ALLOW THEM TO PLAY WITH RADIO TECHNOLOGY. WE PROVIDE THE PIZZA, BEER, TECHNOLOGY AND PHYSICAL LOCATION AND THEN LET PEOPLE COME TOGETHER TO DO WHAT THEY WANT BEN POOR
Pro hacker: Ben Poor
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P41 FEBRUARY 2019
GOING WUNDERGROUND Speedy Wunderground is a recording studio and record label aimed at the cutting edge of independent music. Simon Duff headed to South London for a look around...
L
ocated in the leafy South London suburb of Streatham, Speedy Wunderground is a recording studio owned and run by artist and producer Dan Carey. His record label, that goes under the same name, was formed in 2014 and aims towards recording and releasing up and coming bands and artists who are interested in experimenting with bold studio techniques, creating something new and original. Carey started his career as an artist in the late 1990s, signing to Virgin Records and releasing an EDM influenced album in 2001 under the name of Mr Dan. This lead him into a career in production and his list of credits includes co-writing Kylie Minogue's hit single 'Slow' in 2003 and production work for Toy, Bat For Lashes, Franz Ferdinand and Tame Impala. Armed with a 10 point plan that is nothing short of a
label manifesto, speed is at the heart of its production ethos and the studio still operates as home to Carey's external work. Recording is based around musicians, the producer Carey and his engineer Alexis Smith working together in one large room, with no separate control room. Sessions are often conducted in the dark with lasers and a smoke machine to enhance the atmosphere. The aim is to record all of the tracks in one day, then mix and master over the following days, sending it off to a printing plant to have a brand new 7” hot off the press within a week or two of the band laying it down. Acts who have released work on the label include Boxed In, Steve Mason & Emiliana Torrini, The Archie Bronson Outfit, Mr Dan and Dewey. Hotly tipped for 2019 are two acts: black midi, a London four-piece experimental rock outfit, now signed to Rough Trade and
Squid, a five-piece Brighton band. The label has released three compilation albums to date. Carey's motivation to record quickly and instinctively is founded on a number of factors. He says: “I guess, in a way, it stems from my desire to create something raw and new, based on the frustration of not releasing material quickly after recording. In terms of the process for the label, when I am recording something, there's a moment that comes just after everyone has learned the song enough to be able to play it, where it just sounds amazing, because it's slightly on edge, because no one's 100 per cent sure - I want to record that bit. Not the bit after it's been rehearsed and played and played. It could be better once it's been gigged for a while and turned into a real thing, but it's that moment when everyone's in the zone.”
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THE STUDIO The Speedy Wunderground studio, designed by Munro Acoustics, consists of a mixture of choice analogue equipment, digital technology, and musical instruments that have been accumulated since Carey's childhood. Analogue gear includes ribbon microphones, old amps, tape machines, an eight foot plate reverb and a giant spring reverb crafted from a child’s slinky toy. The studio has a La Font Chroma mixing console, an A 48 channel in line desk, with 24 groups, eight aux sends on each channel, along with gates and parametric EQ, flying faders and Uptown automation. The main monitors are a pair of Dynaudio C3s driven by a Dynaudio T 1000 amp. Recording is to Logic Pro, running on a Power Mac, and also a Studer A80 16 track recorder that used to belong to Guy Chambers. Carey also has a smaller studio, predominantly a mix facility, based some five minutes walk down the road from Speedy Wunderground with a Calrec Q series 60 channel desk and, like the main room, Dynaudio C3 monitors. Outboard equipment includes Shadow Hills and Great River Electronic mic pre amps, as well as Manley, Chandler pres and a Thermionic Culture EQ compressor. Reverbs include a Bricasti M7 and a much favoured OTO Bam. There are a wide variety of microphones, including Wunder CM7, Lomo 19a18, Royer SF12V and R121, Coles 4038 and 4040, 12 Gauge, Shure SM7 and a Josephson e22S. In terms of instruments that are always set up for a session, these include an old '70s Rogers drum kit, Gretsch, Gibson, Supro, Fender and Wem guitars, a Wurlizter and a robot drummer. There is also a Kawai upright piano, multiple synths, an AKAI MPC X Production Machine and a Swarmatron, which is located next to drum machine corner: a synchronised collection of Wunderfully unusual drum machines. Part of the 10 point plan and manifesto for the label is that each track recorded must have the sound of Carey's beloved Swarmatron synth on it. Looking like something out of a '50s furniture catalogue, the Swarmatron is an analogue synth with dual ribbon control over the pitch and separation of eight sawtooth oscillators. Controls include an ADSR envelope and a low pass filter. Carey notes: “The swarm's end sound is particularly weird and wonderful, whether for conjuring up alien ensembles or for explorations similar to a theremin. Because it allows you to generate cluster chords with microtonal variations between the notes, you can make chords and harmonies that have not been heard before. The way that it glides between chords is so other worldly. I have used it a lot with black midi, as well as on my work with Kate Tempest.” BLACK MIDI Black midi, who released a single in 2018, are one of Speedy Wunderground's up and coming artists; an enigmatic, taut, frenetic, inventive new London fourpiece that are quickly becoming one of the hottest new
Wunderground wizard: Dan Carey
underground bands in the country. Hailing from nearby Selhurst, they released their debut single bmbmbm to critical acclaim. Although signed to Rough Trade, the band have just completed their debut album at Speedy Wunderground, produced by Carey and engineered by Smith. The album is due to be released in Spring 2019. The Fall, Talking Heads and PIL have all inspired this left field act. Carey enthuses about the band: “Musically, they are highly adventurous. They make their own rules and do their own thing structure and tone wise, following their own path. Essentially, they are making music for their own world, a world that is to them surreal, angular, aggressive and beautiful. The lyrics are brilliant and darkly surreal. For mastering, we used Justin Mitchell at Loud Mastering in Somerset.” Sqiud, a Brighton five-piece experimental act, in the vein of LCD Soundsystem, are also set for a good 2019 having released their debut single 'The Dial' with Speedy Wunderground last year. Another notable album production in 2018 was for Fontaines DC, a Dublin postpunk band with poetry to the fore. La Roux, the English synth pop act, has also done tracks at the studio for their forthcoming album. THE SPEEDY WUNDERGROUND SOUND Alexis Smith's professional engineering career started with training at SAE in London before gaining employment at The Dairy Studios in Brixton, assisting and engineering on a range of projects, such as So Solid Crew and Basement Jaxx. After a period of freelancing, Smith has been working full time with Carey at Speedy Wunderground for the past 10 years. Smith says of
working at the studio: “One of the things I really like is being able to record both to analogue and digital. We quite often record low-end material, say drums and bass, to the Studer A 80, and top-end material to Logic, so we get the best of both worlds. We tend to mix out of the box through the console, using Uptown automation. In terms of Logic, I use features such as Strip Silence, tempo and beat mapping a great deal, then, mix wise, we use a lot of Outboard gear. My favourite reverb is the amazing OTO Bam box and the Bricasti. So, we have a mixture of the highest tech as well as adventurous and not often used boxes that help to get the Speedy Wunderground Sound." Smith's preferred vocal mic is a Brauner VM1, into a Great River mic pre amp, then routed into Logic, before monitoring back onto the Chroma console. Looking forward, Carey talks about a recent album project he has completed with Kate Tempest in conjunction with Rick Rubin, due for major label release in the Spring: “We recorded in Los Angeles at Rick Ruben's Shangri La studio with his engineer Sean Oakley. It was an amazing experience working with Rick, he is an incredible producer. He can take one listen to it and he knows what to do. He absorbs music and he knows exactly what he does and doesn't like. I've even come up with a kind of new rap style that Rick has worked on with us. This project was mixed at Speedy Wunderground with Christian Wright at Abbey Road mastering. Live shows are planned for May.” Asked what is top of his kit wish list, Carey concludes: “That is a very easy to answer. It has to be the new Moog One synth." n
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P44 FEBRUARY 2019
Making changes in Belfast and beyond Belfast-based Start Together Studios recently launched a new programme of workshops and masterclasses for female and nonbinary musicians and engineers to gain skill-training and hands-on recording experience in a professional studio environment. Here, studio owner Rocky O’Reilly tells PSNEurope about the history of the facility and what lead to the launch of its new initiative…
B
elfast is my home city. It has a past. I reached adulthood a few years into the peace process. Smiles beamed at me from the news on television. Politicians held hands and lifted them high together. Right then anyone could be anyone and do anything they wished. Time has proven this to be true in principle, yet sometimes lacking in reality. My obsession with music took me from being a ill-fitting teenager in a small, backwards village on the edge of town, to a room full of music lovers in the city’s famous Ulster Hall. From there to festivals and tours across Europe. Next over to bars, clubs, theatres and studios all over the USA. The doors that music has opened and the people it’s introduced me to continue to amaze me every day. I returned to Belfast in 2007 to record my band’s second album. I was full of enthusiasm. This was my home city. This time I wanted to make a difference. I needed my own sanctuary, a bubble in which to feel free to experiment as a musician and a producer. Soon after I completed the album, I opened a studio to the world called Start Together. The aim was to be a creatively encouraging, musician-led wonderland of sonic possibilities. We would be free from rules and elitist attitudes that all too often had overshadowed studio experiences for our peers at that time. Today, my hideaway has become a three studio commercial facility. It offers musicians and producers unique sounding spaces filled with instruments, amplifiers, FX and an ever-growing collection of recording equipment. We have served more than a thousand projects with artists from all over the world. As the studio progressed and evolved it was incredibly important to me to engage with the community surrounding us. We collaborated with local council on some youth workshops, writing and producing a song with young people from Belfast who could occasionally be found hurling stones across the road at each other.
The song was called Making Changes. It really summed up everything about the kids’ attitude, drive and ambition. This was also true for us at the studio. From there we widened our workshops, focusing our energy at different times on under 18s, the longterm unemployed, metal music, hip hop and urban, disability-action, the elderly and many others groups throughout our 12 years so far. The projects were the hard work of many amazing organisations, using our
ANYONE WHO BELIEVES THEY HAVEN'T WITNESSED SEXISM IN THE INDUSTRY IS EITHER BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OR LYING TO THEMSELVES ROCKY O'REILLY facilities and skills to inspire and encourage people that music and audio can make the world a better place and that positive action can be the first step to changing a situation that feels unfulfilling or unfair. This year we feel excited to offer a workshop for another group of our peers that we feel we can help to encourage, inspire and mobilise: female and non-binary engineers and producers. Last year, I was introduced to Sophie Arscott. She became our studio manager, event planner and community project coordinator. We discussed the attitudes towards women in the music and recording industries. She experienced first hand the outdated yet still present attitude of a number of artists, engineers, managers and promoters. Anyone who believes they haven’t witnessed sexism
Rocky O'Reilly
and misogyny in the recording industry is either blissfully unaware or lying to themselves. It’s rife, it’s ugly and it’s really unnecessary. There’s little good in retelling the countless incidents of unfair, rude, ignorant treating and bullying I’ve witnessed while working in music. For me, it’s much more constructive to positively engage with those who have been treated badly. We’ve had many conversations with artists and friends who have expressed desires to learn more about recording techniques and music production, but feel collective experiences in courses or studio environments have found themselves pushed to the back of the group, spoken over or ignored. This year, we as a studio are collaborating with Help Musicians NI and Women in Music to deliver a programme training female and non-binary participants the basics of studio recording with active, hands-on experience in producing and mixing music. As with every project the aim is to bring together a collective of people with a similar goal and help them to achieve their aims and to evolve as a confident, excited group. I often read that 95 per cent of recording engineers are male. I don’t know if that’s true. I do know that in 12 years of running a studio every engineer has been male, three out of 300 work experience students have been female or non-binary. Some of the attitudes we’ve heard in the control room have shocked and saddened us. With a total of over 900 bookable studio days per year, we feel that 10 days is a tiny offering to help focus a group of talented, ambitious people to hopefully help them start to achieve some of their audio dreams. While there have been some outraged middle-aged men on recording forums hammering their keyboards to death in the self-righteous crusade of pointing out the “double-duntered” sexism or the “PC world gone mad”, we will be here in Belfast in a studio full of excited, adventurous audio fans all creating new art. n
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P46 FEBRUARY 2019
Producer Patrick DSP
What the CD T decline means for mastering HMV’s recent entrance into administration prompted fresh questions about the outlook for the CD format and related mastering services. But as David Davies discovers, ongoing diversification means that many mastering engineers are in a good position, whatever the future may bring…
he news that music retailer HMV had been placed into administration for the second time in six years, revealed during the Christmas period, served to underline both the severity of the crisis affecting UK high streets, and the somewhat chilly outlook for CD and DVD formats. The importance of HMV to the UK’s offline music retailing sector is hard to underestimate. Although substantially reduced from its heyday, the company still operates 128 stores across the UK – including nine under the Fopp brand – and employs around 2,000 permanent staff. Despite continued diversification into areas such as digital technology and gaming, the chain first entered into administration in January 2013, albeit temporarily rescued by commercial restructuring company Hilco. From a wave of store closures emerged a slimmed down organisation that appeared to be performing well, despite the continued decline in CD and DVD sales. But a disappointing performance in the run-up to Christmas last year saw the retailer move into administration once again, with KPMG appointed to assess options for the HMV business. Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, commented: “Whilst we understand that [HMV] has continued to outperform the overall market decline in physical music and visual sales, as well as growing a profitable e-commerce business, the company has suffered from the ongoing wave of digital disruption sweeping across the entertainment industry. This is in addition to the ongoing pressures facing many high street retailers, including weakening consumer confidence, rising costs and business rates pressures.”
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Katie Tavini mastering magic
Photo by Rianna Tamara
There are some positive signs that HMV may continue in some form or other, with Wright “confirming that a number of offers on various bases have been received”. It would seem overly optimistic to imagine that all of the current stores will continue operations, raising the prospect of a further threat to offline music availability. But more generally, it’s by no means all bad news; the overall number of UK outlets selling physical entertainment products has risen in recent years, with the spike during the 2015-16 period being especially marked, according to data from the Entertainment Retailers Association. Evidently, the resurgence of vinyl has played a significant role here, with record companies responding enthusiastically to the renewed interest with high-quality pressings of archive titles and the latest releases. The continued success of Record Store Day – which has given a focus both to the vinyl revival and ongoing efforts to buoy up the physical music market – has undoubtedly been a major contributory factor. There is, however, rather less cause for optimism about the future of the CD format. Although the decline has been more sudden in the US – where mid-2018 statistics made available by the Recording Industry Association of America revealed a $200m-plus drop in sales during the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2017 – the UK has also seen a steadily downward nature. In light of HMV’s current tribulations, PSNEurope spoke to a couple of leading mastering engineers about the implications of the CD's undercertain future on their operations, and the steps they have to take to diversify their activities and remain consistently busy.
CDS AS ‘AFFORDABLE MERCHANDISE’ Katie Tavini is a UK-based mastering engineer who started her career in 2009 and has, in recent years, developed a particular affinity with independent and small label artists. She also recently became a regular columnist for PSNEurope. In her experience, “pretty much every person I master an album for does want a DDP file (for sending music to a CD manufacturer), although this rarely results in a mass-distribution CD release. I don’t think a lot of them are ending up in HMV,” she notes, “but a CD can still be very useful to have to sell via an artist’s website, or as affordable merchandise on tour”. Like most mastering engineers, Tavini has witnessed a transition in the marketplace, whereby wholealbum projects have increasingly been supplanted by standalone single releases and EPs. In fact, at the present time, “for every album I master I probably work on five EPs,” she says, noting that many of these will be destined primarily for digital and vinyl release. Tavini does not foresee any dramatic changes to her present mix of work, aside from further strengthening her presence in the independent sector. But as an engineer who spends roughly half her time doing transfer work, she is acutely aware of the need to “keep an open mind” and operate a diversified business, hence her participation in workshops and exploring the possibility of delivering online tutorials. The ongoing call for CD masters is somewhat at odds with the experience of Berlin-based Neptune Mastering, which is owned and run by dance music DJ and producer Patrick Gharapetian, aka Patrick DSP: "To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I mastered a CD with the
whole DDP standards – it’s certainly been a while.” For Gharapetian, the balance of his work has continued to shift towards digital releases: "People like the simplicity and possibility of quick releases that you get with digital.” But, the percentage of his work mastering for vinyl has also risen – to between 20 and 30 per cent in an average year – with artists and labels “generally approaching me about this kind of work, although I do also advise people to consider a vinyl release. It’s still a great thing to have a physical copy of your work, [not least for reasons] of pride or aesthetics”. As in London, the number of mastering operations has dropped from the music industry’s ‘80s/‘90s heyday, although those that do remain are doing well, and Gharapetian's impression is that they are busier now than they were a few years ago. In addition to his DJ and producer work, Gharapetian lately teamed up with an audio production school in Russia, being responsible for mastering students’ project work: “Diversification is definitely important.” Whatever the future for CDs, the experiences of these mastering engineers underlines the fact that the mastering sector has always been one of the most responsive components of the music production business. That being the case, it seems unlikely that the fate of HMV – whatever that may be – will have a dramatic impact on individual mastering businesses. What is more troubling is the potential loss of experienced and knowledgeable staff, and the further surrendering of musical recommendations and ‘gatekeeper’ duties to a handful of streaming services and some highly questionable algorithms – and that’s something that should concern all true music lovers. n
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P48 FEBRUARY 2019
DIGITISING AND ARCHIVING:
Time is running out PSNEurope’s Marc Maes takes a deep dive into the world of audiovisual digitising and archiving by investigating the workings of VIAA, the Flemish Institute for Archiving, on its expansive, 12 million euro digitisation project, as well as the French speaking RTBF and the leading Memnon Archiving services…
M
ore than a decade ago, broadcasters became aware of the importance of safeguarding their audiovisual content for future reference. In Belgium, both Dutch language public broadcaster's VRT and French speaking RTBF have since then gone quite a long way. One of their partners in the project, Brussels-based Memnon Archiving Services, has organically grown to become a world leader in massive digitisation and archiving. In December 2012, the Flemish government launched VIAA, the Vlaams Instituut voor Archivering (Flemish Institute for Archiving). The institute’s initial mission was to determine, backed by a budget of 12 million Euros, a digitisation project for the audiovisual heritage in Flanders, with broadcasters and cultural heritage institutions such as musea, archives and libraries. In addition, VIAA had to establish sustainable storage for the digitised content and the future digital increase of the public broadcaster’s archives. A third objective was the launch of a digital platform, opening up the archived content to the public, scientific research and education. LONG-TERM AGREEMENT At press time, VIAA, who had been working with annual extensions for their mission since 2014, are preparing a long-term agreement with the Flemish government to be signed early this year. “This is a formal appreciation of what we do,” comments Brecht Declercq, manager of digitisation and acquisition for VIAA. “Five years after the first tape, we are looking at 400,000 audiovisual carriers we digitised, out of a total of some 650,000 in the project, accounting for about 570,000 hours of content. 50 per cent of them are audio carriers like ¼” tapes, DAT tapes, audio cassettes and discs. Much of this material is at risk of being lost because the carriers have become old or fragile, the specific playback equipment is no longer available or it has gone obsolete.” VIAA started working on the Dutch VRT audiovisual content, accounting for 65 per cent of the total heritage
inventory and material supplied by commercial and regional stations. “The most jeopardised material came first – today we’re working on a remaining batch of ¼” reels and on the VRT’s collection of 6,000 self-recorded lacquer disks, plus another 11,000 commercial shellac discs, mainly containing Belgian music,” adds Declercq. “Next are the vinyl discs, CDs and DVDs – the digital discs are transferred to audio files for archiving and storage. Simultaneously, VIAA is digitising video formats like VHS and Betacam with DVCAM and DVCPRO, scheduled for this year.” The strength of VIAA lies in the fact that the organisation gathers the massive heritage content from a wide range of institutions and brings large quantities to the market. VIAA issues a public tender for every digitisation assignment, resulting in affordable rates. “This modus operandi has become a source of inspiration,” continues Declercq. “As secretary general of FIAT/IFTA, I see many countries considering the Flemish cooperative concept. In five to eight years from now, massive digitisation will become a huge problem, with the deterioration of analogue carriers and the high cost of playback equipment.” KNOW YOUR CARRIER As for the disclosure of the digitised heritage material, VIAA opted for the educational use. “The Belgian law includes specific author’s rights derogations for educational purposes. As for opening up the content to the public, we still have a long way to go in terms of author’s rights clearance,” admits Declercq. “But with our new website - www.kenjedrager.be or www. knowyourcarrier.com - we want to reach out to the public. It is an initiative where we share our knowledge, asking the population about their personal audiovisual archives; the website informs them on the various types of audiovisual carriers and how to safeguard their content for future generations. It also includes links to specialised audiovisual digitisation companies.”
In the French speaking South of Belgium, the Walloon Government, public broadcaster RTBF and the Wallonie-Bruxelles federation set up Sonuma (Société de numérisation et de commercialisation des Archives audiovisuelles – Institute for digitisation and commercialisation of audiovisual archives) in 2009: a public limited company to digitise and commercialise the RTBF’s and local television’s audiovisual content. “This was quite a challenge, and archiving was never a priority at the RTBF,” explains Stéphane Bayot, head of Archives and Assets management at the RTBF and (interim) director of Sonuma. “Whereas, TV content was quite well preserved, radio and audio files were badly archived - a lot of ¼” tapes were erased and re-used without copying the original content.” After some 115,500 hours of RTBF audiovisual material was digitised by external companies, Sonuma started the identification process. “Today, most of the audio content has been digitised and archived, altogether some 85,000 hours. A tender bid was won by Memnon Archiving for DAT and compact audio cassettes, and by Dutch company, Picturae, for the ¼” tapes. We kept the 78T shellac discs for last because that’s a complicated and time absorbing process and we will learn from the expertise acquired by other institutions, especially our VRT colleagues and VIAA,” says Bayot. The digitised material is stored in three copies: one in a library system, one in a different storage place and one in a Faraday cage. “We keep the original carriers in a box-in-a-box type, insulated and climatised rented warehouse, which often brings up the question, 'how long will these carriers be stored?' "The storage is quite expensive – should we continue to invest in a warehouse full of obsolete carriers or decide to invest in more digitisation?”, thinks Bayot. META-DATA FOR ARCHIVE RESEARCH To facilitate access to the digitised archives, Sonuma set up an asset management system. “We harvested meta-
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PHOTO: Memnon
Below: Brecht Declereq, manager of digitisation and acquisation, VIAA
PHOTO: VIAA
Above: Memnon compact audio cassette player wall
PHOTO: Sonuma
Above: The original carriers are stored in a climatised rented warehouse
Leſt: Stéphane Bayot, head of Archives and Assets management at the RTBF and (interim) director of Sonuma
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PHOTO: Memnon
P51 FEBRUARY 2019
data like journalists’ liner notes and press information from different sources. A team of librarians are checking the spelling of keywords and names, and validating the data for our prototype search engine, which at present contains some 257,000 audio sequences. We decided not to wait until the full inventory was documented to open up the archive. Artificial intelligence and automatic processes (OCR, speech-to-text, etc.) will help us to identify the content of the files and establish a first index level,” continues Bayot. “But I hope we can collaborate with a university team to finetune the documentation of our files.” Last October, Sonuma announced the transition from a public limited company to a non-profit organisation linked to the RTBF and Ministry of Education. “Our initial mission was to digitise and safeguard our audiovisual heritage – we digitally archived the RTBF’s material and over 40,000 hours of regional TV. It’s our responsibility to disclose this content. Instead of attracting the audience to our website, we decided to go to the public. The RTBF’s Auvio-application is the perfect sounding board, with some 400,000 visions per day. In addition we set up expositions, education and partnerships with cultural institutions,” concludes Bayot. “Alongside the use of Sonuma material in the RTBF’s broadcasts, the content is commercially available for professional use via the InaMédiapro platform and for audiovisual productions.” FROM AUDIO TO FILM Brussels-based Memnon Archiving Services was founded in 1989 by Michel Merten and has grown to become a leading service provider in the field of digitisation, management and commercialisation of audiovisual heritage. The company’s initial activities were digitisation of audio content, followed by video material and, in 2015, film scanning. Today, Memnon is considered as a world leader of large scale projects in sound (WAV 24-bit – 48 or 96 kHz), video and film for radio, the TV and movie industry, national libraries and sports archives. “We won quite a few of the public tenders to digitise archive material of both the RTBF (through Sonuma) and the VRT (through VIAA, a large customer with us) in audio and video. The Flemish government has made a wise investment with VIAA – they know exactly what needs to be done and act as a hub for smaller archive collections to assemble and assign large quantities to digitisation companies,” says Michel Merten, chief business development officer of Memnon Archiving. “As from 2014, we won large contracts in the Middle East, and the US, where we took on the digitisation of the complete audiovisual archive of the Indiana University, accounting for over 250,000 hours of content.” WORLDWIDE ON-SITE ASSIGNMENTS The Indiana University project also marked the first time Memnon set up laboratories and equipment on-site
Open reel playback copy setup in Memnon lab
and recruited local manpower. “In the past, our trucks picked up the archives, brought them to Brussels where we digitised the content and returned it by truck. Today, we travel to our customers as long as the assignment requires,” explains Merten, adding that, at press time, Memnon is running five operations simultaneously, from 150,000 hours of material in Johannesburg for the South African Broadcast Corporation to a team inside the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. “We have grown in what we do and we have expanded geographically, bearing in mind our adage to deliver the best quality by optimising and controlling the process,” underlines Merten. “Today, we look at over 3.5 million hours of digitisation – this would never have been possible without rigorous quality control. In the early days, it required 90 minutes to digitise one hour of content. Our success lies in the optimisation of what we do: multiple parallel players, a self-developed quality control system and full tracking control of the material’s handling and storage.” In 2015, Memnon was acquired by Sony Professional (Europe) Ltd, enhancing the further development of the company; alongside the geographical expansion and new marketing came the implementation of different systems for adding metadata, indexation tools and quality control. “We now also help our customers to valorise their content. Not only in terms of money, but to
make it accessible in an intelligent way,” says Merten. Two years ago, Memnon moved to its current offices: a 1800 m² building serving as flagship for the company’s know-how in massive digitisation, and the headquarters for Memnon’s worldwide operations. A specific Memnon Archiving Services Inc. Innovation Center is serving the US market. “A lot of people in top level positions with broadcasters and libraries have realised that time is rapidly running out to safeguard content with the obsolescence of technology, the degradation of carriers and lack of maintenance engineers – that’s where we come in,” concludes Merten. n
PEOPLE IN TOP LEVEL POSITIONS WITH BROADCASTERS AND LIBRARIES HAVE REALISED THAT TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO SAFEGUARD CONTENT WITH THE OBSOLESCENCE OF TECHNOLOGY MICHEL MERTEN
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SOUND BITES
THIS MONTH: While Joan's Café decorates its rooms with gold Genelec speakers in Sweden, members of the audio industry are embarking on charity initiatives to raise money for those in need. We've also curated a run down of the most exciting industry events in the coming months and a look back at pro audio news of the past. To let us know of anything exciting and different you're doing this month, or later on, email fiona.hopemcdowall@futurenet.com
Swedish Joan’s Café installs 18 gold Genelec speakers
JOAN’S CAFÉ, a small Swedish chain with three branches, has invested in an entirely gold Genelec sound system for its Finspang franchise to satisfy its diverse purposes as an eatery by day and live lounge by night. The cafe employed specialist system integrator, Lefflers AV, to install the system; Lefflers AV installed 18 Genelec 4030 loudspeakers throughout the restaurant, managed by a Control4 system combined with a Triad audio matrix. All of the speakers are gold to match the décor of the cafe. Lefflers AV’s Mattias Björkman commented: “Joan’s wanted a system that would sound great at low volumes during dinner or drinks, but powerful enough to handle a proper DJ set or small live band without going into overload. During dinner you want a full, warm sound, albeit at a low, unobtrusive level, but in the evening when the DJ or band come on, you need to be able to turn it up and still have it sound vibrant and detailed at higher levels.
“We opted for the 4030Cs throughout because, although compact, they are sufficiently powerful and develop enough low-end that they can be used without a sub, even at high SPLs. This means that they sound great in the restaurant but still work really well if there is a DJ or band performing. Another advantage is that they are active loudspeakers: in other words, amplification and processing is integrated into each loudspeaker for simple plugand-play operation. The other big benefit was from a design point of view; all Genelec 4000 Series installation loudspeakers are available in 120 RAL colours, and for Joan’s, we went for gold speakers throughout as they blend perfectly into the décor.” “The reaction we’ve had to the new system has been amazing,” confirmed Björkman. “The staff are happy because it’s really easy to use and its performance is excellent, while certain DJs have commented that it’s the best system they have ever played on anywhere, which is high praise indeed.”
CHARITY CORNER DANIEL GUMBLE TO RUN 10K FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS TRUST
MONGOL RALLY CHALLENGE 2019 FOR TECHNICAL ENTERTAINMENT CHARITY, BACKUP
PSNEurope’s very own editor Daniel Gumble will be embarking on a 10K run in London’s Richmond Park on March 9 to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The charity is committed to funding research and treatment for the debilitating illness - a genetic condition which affects the lungs, digestive system and other organs. Approximately 10,400 people in the UK suffer with the chronic condition, according to data from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. To support Gumble’s run and this outstanding cause, you can make donations at:
The Mongol Rally challenge is taking place in July this year to raise money for technical entertainment charity, backup, which provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film. Two teams of close friends and colleagues Salvador Avila, Ethan Forde and Duncan McLean (Team backup), and Anthony Hall and Abby Cooper (the Nomadic Numpties) - will be taking part, driving from the Czech Republic through Mongolia to Ulan Ude, Russia. They ask for support from manufacturers, hire companies, producers, productions and freelancers, with a goal of raising £50,000 for backup. The teams can take any route they want, as long as they finish in between four and
www.justgiving.com /fundraising/Daniel-Gumble
eight weeks, and will have no actual 'backup'. Mclean, video and projection designer said: “There will be highs and lows, the car will breakdown a lot, and friendships will be pushed to their limits.” “We’re doing this to extend our knowledge of the wider world and, because it challenges every aspect of our skillsets,” stated Hall, lighting design, TSL. “We'll be coaxing our fairly ancient car, Poppy, across 10,000 miles of inhospitable terrain and seeing amazing sights, while funding two excellent charities.” Mclean said:“There is no other charity out there that supports our side of the industry, and the work they do is invaluable." https://backupchallengefundraiser.raisely. com/teambackup https://backupchallengefundraiser.raisely. com/nomadicnumpties
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EVENTS
Find out what pro audio and tech events are happening in the coming months‌
MUSIC PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS 2019 February 28 2019, Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London
AES DUBLIN 2019 March 20-23 2019, The Convention Centre, Dublin, Ireland
PROLIGHT AND SOUND 2019 April 2-5 2019, Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre
The 11th MPG Awards ceremony will be taking place in February this year, recognising the multitude of talent in the UK music production world with 16 awards, including UK and international producers of the year, studio of the year and UK album of the year. Notable winners of last year’s awards were Catherine Marks as UK Producer Of The Year, Abbey Road as Studio Of The Year and Glass Animals’ How To Be A Human Being as UK Album Of The Year.
AES Dublin is the 146th AES pro audio convention, covering a large scope of the sector, including studio recording, networked audio, broadcast and streaming, music production, post production, live sound and game audio. There will be product showcases of the latest audio hardware in the industry and so ware tools on the exhibition floor and in demo rooms, as well as a full programme of educational tutorials and workshops for all.
The annual Prolight and Sound event will display a diverse programme of conferences and lectures, offering industry expertise with speakers from the media-technology and events sectors, and open-air presentations of products. Hosting visitors from over 150 countries, it offers a great opportunity to network with a variety of professionals, from retailers and distributors, location and studio operators, planners and event managers, to engineers, DJs and AV systems integrators.
ISCEx 2019 March 6-7 2019, Coombe Alley, Coventry
2019 AES INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IMMERSIVE AND INTERACTIVE AUDIO March 27-29 2019, Contemporary Music Research Centre, University of York
Run by the Institute of Sound and Communication engineers, this is an intimate event with just 200 attendees, providing a great setting to network with other industry professionals and members of the ISCE; an annual networking dinner is taking place on March 6 to start off the event. 35 companies are exhibiting the latest audio products in the industry, including exhibitions from d&b, Shure and RCF. Three quality seminars are presenting on: ‘Psychoacoustics for sound engineers - or why did I hear that?’, ‘Embracing the move to network based audio’, and ‘Remote management in AV’.
This three-day conference will underline how new developments of immersive audio and its systems are taking sound experience to the next level, and will reveal how the combination of interactive technology with immersive audio creates this higher dimension. New advances that will be explored include humancomputer interaction, particularly head and body motion tracking and artificial intelligence, working towards intelligent, adaptive and personalised audio technologies.
BLAST FROM THE PAST FROM... FEBRUARY 2015
PSNEurope takes a trip down memory lane to some of the most memorable stories from this month in years gone by‌
LENNY KRAVITZ WOWED THE SUPER BOWL WITH AUDIO TECHNICA
AUDINATE’S AUDIO OVER IP NETWORKING SOLUTION DANTE REACHED 200 ADOPTEES
YAMAHA FLAGSHIP STORE UPPED ITS GAME FOR PRO AUDIO
Alongside the likes of Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz made an appearance at the XLIX Super Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium, albeit for a short sing-song at half time. Kravitz used none other than the Audio-Technica Artist Elite 5000 Series Wireless dual-receiver, renowned and critically acclaimed for use on professional tours, in stadiums, concert halls, houses of worship and other demanding audio environments, and an AEW-T6100a Hypercardiod dynamic handheld microphone/transmitter. These products have been upgraded since 2015, but represent a significant landmark in the development of Audio-Technica as a brand, and the importance of quality, reliable products for touring.
Audinate announced that its audio-over-IP networking solution, Dante, had been adopted by 200 manufacturers. The company, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, unveiled its 150th licensee, Kramer Electronics, in June 2014, adding 50 new adopters in just under seven months. Dante’s 200th licensee is AD Systems, a German manufacturer of amplifiers and loudspeakers. Audinate also used the occasion to reveal that it had shipped over 20 million Dante network channels to date, with 50 per cent of those 20m shipping in the last year. Audinate “[expected] this number to continue to accelerate as products from recent licensees hit the market and existing manufacturers integrate Dante into more products�.
Yamaha Music London, the flagship store of the music and technology giant, expanded in both size and scope. A er an extensive refit, the shop reopened for business in February 2015. The business – owned by Yamaha since 1980, but known as ‘Chappell of Bond Street’ until late 2013 – implemented a professional music basement, featuring a music stage, instruments for stage, studio and stadiums and reportedly “the largest display of Yamaha guitars in Europe�. YML store manager Nigel Hill said of the basement refurb: “The Pro Sounds area will enable customers to watch demos and play the guitars and drums for themselves before they buy – bringing to life the Yamaha goal of sharing our passion for sound."
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"Education is where it has to start" Fiona Hope catches up with Dr Harry Whalley and Andy Allen, the minds behind the new Audient - Women in Music scholarship initiative at UCA Farnham, about what sparked the partnership, the prominent gender divide in the audio industry and what they are doing to change it...
AUDIENT has partnered with organisation, Women in Music, to launch a new scholarship for UCA Farnham’s female students who are enrolling on the BA/Bsc Music Composition and Technology course in 2019. Women in Music’s goal is to help level the gender playing field across the music industry, by creating awareness, promoting opportunities and celebrating the diversity and heritage of women. Now, the organisation is teaming up with Audient to offer three scholarships of £5,000, providing women support during their degree with an aim to decrease the gender gap in audio. Winners will also benefit from industry mentoring, and a single prize-winner will receive equipment from Audient. In addition, all students on the course will have access to the newly installed Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition desk at the university. PSNEurope speaks to Dr Harry Whalley, the course leader, and the marketing director of Audient, Andy Allen, about the initiative and how it will help young women to thrive in their music and audio careers. What inspired you to create this initiative? Dr Harry Whalley: At the Music Composition and Technology course at UCA Farnham, we are passionate about enabling students to follow their individual passions, whilst also giving them the tools and knowledge to learn the deep skills required to become creative practitioners today. We embrace the true plurality of music composition, in terms of the tools, styles and people involved in the invention of new
music. This requires a balance of the traditional and technological, the individual with the collaborative, but also a balanced, diverse student community. It is our intention to build such a community and this initiative includes not just the scholarship, but also a longer commitment through mentorship, guest lectures, collaborations and partnerships. What can you tell us the gender gap in pro audio? Dr Whalley: Women in Music estimates that the gender divide in music across all regions is split at 70/30, with a Canadian study citing that women represent as little as six per cent of recognised producers in the US and Canada. Of the 600 most popular songs from 2012 to 2017, only 12 per cent were written by women, according to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. How did Audient and Women in Music come to join forces? Are there other projects lined up? Dr Whalley: It was born out of our mutual ambition to affect positive change in the music industry and in particular, music education. Andy Allen: Audient has also been an advocate for Women’s Audio Mission: the only professional recording studio in the world built and run by women for a number of years now. They have a classic ASP8024 at the heart of their San Francisco studio and ten iD4 audio interfaces. Education is where it has to start and we saw an opportunity with UCA to have a positive effect.
It's important to celebrate female role models for young women to look up to, whilst supporting them to be the best they can be, and ultimately inspiring generations of women that come a er them. Why did you choose the University of Creative Arts and the Farnham campus? Allen: When Harry contacted me, I was very keen to get Audient involved. Partly, as I grew up in Farnham and have a connection to the area, but also because supporting women in audio is something that I feel strongly about. The statistics speak for themselves. How will you select the winners? Dr Whalley: Applicants to the course will need to submit a portfolio of work which is judged by a panel on its quality and potential, this is also taken into consideration with a reference, statement and academic history. Why do you recommend the course for aspiring audio professionals? Dr Whalley: The ‘secret sauce’ of the MCT course is twofold. Firstly, it is taught in a campus that has pedigree in film, computer games, animation, TV production and acting and performance courses. This means that collaboration is deeply embedded into the course. Secondly, our lecturers are also practitioners, they include award-winning sound designers, regular performers on BBC Radio 3, and Ableton Artists.
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