Headliner #5

Made in Denmark

You deserve

to be heard The DPA d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones covers the entire orchestra, providing highly directional, truly natural sound and high gain before feedback. DPA has designed ingenious mounting accessories to sit gently and securely on your instrument.

w w w. d p a m i c r o p h o n e s . c o m / d vo t e

Made in Denmark

S T U D I O Q U A L I T Y S O U N D O N

S TA G E

SET IT FREE

Wired or wireless? You decide!

With the DPA adapters you can connect your DPA d:facto II to all major wireless systems

w w w. d p a m i c r o p h o n e s . c o m / d f a c t o

CONTENTS #5 30

08 SONIC VISTA INSIGHTS

18 TOP OF THE HOPS

Our Ibiza-based buddies take a quick stroll down to the Hard Rock to check out the Island’s International Music Summit.

Adam Richardson looks at the effects of alcohol in the music biz, and rates several acclaimed artists’ own homemade brews.

10 SWIVEL ON THIS Grammy-winning producer, Jordan Young, looks at the good, the bad, and the shocking, in royalty and music streaming payouts.

12 LIVING THE TANGERINE DREAM Headliner braves the humidity of Turin to discover what keeps a band going for more than five decades.

16 ROADBLOG Jerry Gilbert recalls an infamous road trip in the ‘90s involving Harvey Goldsmith, Jim Davidson, and a cockney German.

20 COMMUNITY SPIRIT It’s great to see music making a difference in a struggling community. Hats off to Converse CONS London, and Peckham’s own creatives.

22 GETTING VOCAL FOH engineer, Marc Soame, talks drums, systems, and microphones; and recalls getting the best stage sound for Norma Jean Martine.

24 MIXING LINKIN PARK Ken ‘Pooch’ Van Druten remembers dodging bullets in LA and recording hit records, before hitting the road with rock giants, Linkin Park.

28 COVER STORY MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL Headliner joins Pharrell and co. on Lake Geneva for the world’s finest festival - a fusion of eclectic music, champagne, and caviar!

36 BEST OF BRITISH Temples frontman, James Bagshaw, talks frankly about his band’s evolution, and the recording of their superb debut album, Sun Structures.

CONTENTS #5 38 SWEET SONGS & RARITIES Norwegian-born songstress, Ane Brun, talks about her latest album, touring with Peter Gabriel, and her little studio, right on the ocean.

40 IT MIGHT GET LOUD A quick snapshot of the growing popularity of Nexo’s STM system on the French festival circuit.

42 IMMERSED IN SPACE DJ Swivel looks at how far sE Electronics has come with its new RF Space reflexion filter in a unique artist shootout against the manufacturer’s RF Pro.

36

44 BORN THIS WAY Lady Gaga’s world-renowned keyboard player and MD, Michael Bearden, talks about life on the road with the megastar, and his treasured time with MJ.

24

46 SUPERSTAR DJ Dane Kunkel has quite a story... After a terrible injury, he found music, in the form of DJ decks, and started something very, very special.

48 LONDON EMBRACES THE NAKED AND FAMOUS This energentic and tech-savvy five-piece hail from New Zealand, and descend on Shepherds Bush Empire for a phenomenal sell-out show.

51 SNAP CHAT Headliner meets Mark Thompson, the man behind Funky Junk, whose knowledge of vintage gear can only be described as utterly encyclopedic.

54 GAGA OOH-LA-LA! Lady Gaga has grown into one of the world’s most recognised performers - but what’s it like working for her, and organising her incredible stage show?

56 IN THE MIX Broadcast mix master, John Harris, made his Montreux debut this year, overseeing audio for broadcast for the Auditorium Stravinksi.

59 ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE An unexpected audition on TV’s The Voice gave Dutch vocalist, Barbara Straathof, the shock of her life, and she is now living the ultimate fairytale.

62 GRUMPY OLD ROADIE Where do we begin? Robert has other things on his mind this issue, but promises to get back to music next time. Don’t hold your breath...

48

M A G A Z I N E

FROM THE EDITOR

SWISS TIME WAS RUNNING OUT...

This bumper Headliner edition is brought to you from MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL, surely the world’s coolest event, where music lovers from across the globe come and enjoy a two-week-long decadent affair with champagne and caviar to boot... Oh, and music. And my, what music there was... Check out our centre pages to find out more about this incomparable entertainment extravaganza, and get an insight into PHARRELL WILLIAMS’ remarkable work ethic and stage show.

We also head to South London to talk to artist/producer, SCRATCHA DVA, who’s been running Mix Labs at Converse CONS London, the latest in a series of the sneaker brand’s global community initiatives, which fuse music, skate, and the arts, in a bid to help the next generation of creatives.

Spending some time with the main men behind LADY GAGA’s spectacular live show was a real treat, and we also got a unique insight into her music with Gaga’s keyboard player and MD, MICHAEL BEARDEN, who’s also done the same job for Madonna and Michael Jackson.

We chat to POOCH, the man riding the faders for LINKIN PARK, about dodging bullets, and working with the band on stage and in the studio (thankfully, the two are not linked); and we’re also lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with beautiful Norwegian songstress, ANE BRUN. We speak to THE NAKED AND FAMOUS at Shepherds Bush Empire, head to Turin to meet up with TANGERINE DREAM; and ‘Britain’s Best Landord’, Adam Richardson, rates artists’ homegrown brews, and looks at how booze and music often go hand in hand. The quite brilliant TEMPLES frontman, JAMES BAGSHAW, talks about the band’s debut album, and reveals what it’s like to be hailed as the best band in Britain by Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr.

Oh, and Robert the Roadie has asked me to give him a plug: drop him a line on anything musical (or just anything, for that matter), but be warned, he can get vocal... grumpyoldroadie@aol.co.uk.

Enjoy... And thanks for choosing Headliner.

Paul

CONTACT: PAUL WATSON paul@headlinerhub.com +44(0)7952-839296

NICK BECK nick@headlinerhub.com +44(0)7912-315139

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/ HeadlinerHub

TWITTER: @Headlinerhub

WEBSITE: www.headlinermagazine.net

CONTRIBUTORS: JERRY GILBERT JORDAN YOUNG PA U L M A C J O N AT H A N T E S S I E R COLIN PIGOTT LOUIS HENRY SARMIENTO II HENRY KAVANAGH ROBERT THE ROADIE ADAM RICHARDSON

Genelec 8010 – enjoy the small thinGs in life!

Genelec proudly presents 8010 two-way active monitors: the new, smallest members of the 8000 Series. This addition widens the Genelec portfolio by adding an extremely compact monitor capable of accurate sound reproduction. www.genelec.com

8 HEADLINER

BUSINESS STUFF

SONIC VISTA INSIGHTS WHEN THE SONIC VISTA TEAM APPROACHED THE HARD ROCK HOTEL, WE FETCHED OUR BRACELETS TO CHECK IN TO THE LUSTROUS IBIZA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SUMMIT (IMS).

RUSHING THROUGH ROCKSTAR MEMORABILIA, WE ENTERED THE CARPETED CONFERENCE ROOM TO CATCH THE FIRST PRESENTATION, AND KICKING OFF WITH A GENERAL INDUSTRY TALK, WE LEARN THAT EDM IS THE ONLY GROWING GENRE SINCE 2013...

WORDS L.HENRY SARMIENTO II AND JONATHAN TESSIER

EDM is now a $6.2 billion industry whose major players include Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Tiësto, Hardwell, and Avicii; 10 seconds in, we are captivated by the precious information given to us. Welcome to IMS 2014!

Hosted by Pete Tong and Ben Turner, it marks the beginning of the Ibiza season.

Revered as one of the world’s most important music industry gatherings, it offers in-depth information about the current state of the music business, along with up-close talks with industry leaders such as Paul McGuinness (ex-U2 Manager) and Ash Pournouri (Avicii Manager), who share stories about the past and the present, while offering their most

sincere opinions about what the future holds. All sides of the industry are covered: labels, brands, management, schools and colleges, artists, producers, songwriters, publishers, and even other creatives (CEOs, TV producers, and radio hosts) give us an allaccess pass to their insight.

Each fun, informative, and easy-going conference day is followed by a night of blissful entertainment with special parties, live music, and access to the island’s most fabulous nightclubs.

Founded in Ibiza in 2007, the Summit is also exported to Los Angeles in April, through the extended title, ‘IMS Engage’. Hosting talks with music titans such as P Diddy, Skrillex, Moby, Giorgio Moroder, Steve Aoki and more, IMS has become a worldwide brand for professional music gatherings. Both conferences are extremely well equipped for the attendees, offering white screens to display every conversation in the finest detail, and the best audio retransmission possible. Since every talk is extremely dense with information, and not everyone has time to catch each keynote speech (considering the Summit is also an opportunity for visitors to network), IMS makes sure that all their important documents are available online, and every talk is uploaded on YouTube. A true marvel! Visitors as well as non-attendees have the opportunity to access every valuable second shared by every speaker. So, here is the breakdown: Day one started off with a 2014 business report on the electronic music industry, followed by a talk from Ministry of Sound CEO, Lohan Presencer; a keynote address from the AFEM (Association for Electronic Music); an interview with Blaise Bellville from live streaming events company, Boiler Room; an interview with Miles Leonard (Chairman of Parlophone and Co-Chairman of Warner Bros Records UK); an amazing talk about developing markets for electronic music with five BRICS countries representatives (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa); an interview with award-winning mixing engineer, Andrew Scheps (Adele, Jay-Z, U2,

9 HEADLINER

“AS LONG AS THERE ARE SONGS, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A MARKET FOR MUSIC.”

Justin Timberlake, Red Hot Chili Peppers); a keynote by SBTV founder, Jamal Edwards; an interview with DJ Seth Troxler; and a new festival announcement by Corona, Beatport, and SFX Entertainment representatives. After these conferences, Corona hosted a wonderful cocktail event by the Hard Rock Hotel pool, and IMS subsequently graced us with a stunning performance by Nile Rodgers.

Day two took off with a presentation of the local nightlife in Ibiza, followed by an interview with the legendary Paul McGuinness; a talk by Alison Wenham, CEO of AIM (Association of Independent Music) and her team, a presentation with one of the top Indie label representatives (Spinnin Records, Anjunabeats, CR2 Records, MTA Records, Milk & Sugar Recordings and Beatport); a talk by !K7 records founder, Horst Weidenmueller; a meeting with DJ and TV host, Annie Mac; an interview with the iconic Seymour Stein (responsible for putting Talking Heads, Ramones, and Madonna on the map); a presentation by application leader, Mobile Roadie; a talk with Young Guns Network; and a captivating interview with Ibiza’s legendary producers: Alfredo - the King of Ibiza Clubbing. Official events included the EDM biz expo cocktail bash, and Ultra Records pool party, followed by a huge concert on the pinnacle of Ibiza Town at Dalt Vila.

Day three was ignited by a general panel of motley industry pros such as Boy George, Wall of Sound founder, Mark Jones, Ibiza Manumission founders, Mike & Claire, and Sheridans Media Lawyers. There was also a YouTube presentation on how to promote music efficiently through the platform; a talk from

the Spanish Underground Movement; a keynote from Michael Fiebach (Fame House); an event tickets panel; an education panel; a keynote with Steffen Charles from Timewarp Festival; another keynote with Native Instruments founders, Daniel Haver and Mate Galic; a fantastic conversation with George Clinton; and finally, a major conference with Ash Pournouri’s Avicii team.

Afterwards, everyone was invited for the final concert at the Ibiza Dalt Vila castle for an ultimate boogie.

All in all, the summit was a real success!

A truly inspiring moment for everyone, especially for newcomers. We’ve learned that the growing phenomenon of electronic music, especially EDM, is a definite flagship genre that will dominate the sound of 2014.

In order to see the forest for the trees, it is important for us to remember that even if the music industry is struggling through its final transitional stages into the digital age, as long as there are songs, there will always be a market for music. No matter what the cynics might say, it is far from being a dying industry, especially now, with unlimited access to it. The millennial generation has established music as a vital component to their lives, no longer making it a luxury product or a simple entertainment commodity, but an emotional oxygen that has become essential for their existence. www.sonicvistastudios.com

10 HEADLINER

Swivel - ON THIS-

“A S THE INDUSTRY SHIF TS TO AN ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET OF MUSIC, DO WE TREAT THESE SERVICES LIKE RADIO, OR PHYSICAL SALES?” In light of recent stories, including the chariman of Sony/ATV, the world’s largest music publisher, Martin Bandier, threatening the nuclear option of catalogue removal from royalty organisations, ASCAP and BMI, I thought it would be great timing to address the issue of streaming services and, in particular, royalty rates these streaming services pay out to songwriters. It all boils down to dollars and cents, or rather, cents and fractions of a cent.

Ten years ago, the music industry finally accepted the transition to iTunes and digital music sales, and now it’s preparing for another major shift to digital streaming. The question is, how does this change how artists, musicians, and songwriters are compensated? When new technology comes, so do new rules governing that technology, which is the battle record labels, publishers, and performance rights organisations like ASCAP and BMI are facing. The big issue is, how do we treat these services? As the industry shifts to an all you can eat buffet of music, do we treat these services like radio, or physical sales?

The problem with services like Spotify, or Apple’s newly acquired Beats Music, is you don’t get to own any of your music. It’s on-demand listening. But at the same time, it’s cannibalising the business model of physical ownership of music. Surely there must be a happy medium to make sure artists and songwriters are compensated accordingly?

Pandora and Spotify both have very different business models, so first let’s start with Pandora. This Internet radio service, which creates on the fly playlists around your tastes, has been around since the year 2000.

Unlike Spotify, Pandora doesn’t negotiate direct licenses with the record labels; rather, they rely on statutory rates put in place by the Copyright Royalty Board, a government entity. They do this because their service isn’t on demand, the same way Spotify’s is. With Pandora, you pick a song or artist, and it will create a playlist based on that artist’s sound, or song’s mood. As a result, it’s able to fall under the government’s compulsory license for ‘Internet radio’, which is administered by SoundExchange, the non-profit body, which handles royalties for all digital media. What this means is Pandora can get away with only paying about $1,400 for every million plays, $1,200 of which goes to the record labels, and only $200 of which makes it to publishers and songwriters. Now that seems like a low number, but even at that rate, Pandora is still consistently hemorrhaging money. Perhaps that’s due in part to Pandora’s CEO Brian McAndrews raking in $29,167,388 last year. Yes, 29 million dollars to run a failing company. Give me that job!

Pandora pays out almost 50% of all revenue to rights holders, which seems somewhat fair, until you see a royalty statement like Grammy-nominated Armen Chakmakian’s, whose 14,000+ plays only

generated him $4.20 on a song 100% owned by him. It’s a model that doesn’t seem self-sustaining, and is clearly unfair to the content holders.

Spotify, on the other hand, has a business model more in line with the content holders’ interests in mind. Since Spotify is classified as an on demand service, and not really online radio, they have to negotiate deals with all the record labels in order to use their content. While the deals they negotiate with the labels are a tightly held secret (probably because each label has negotiated their own rates independently of each other), Spotify is fairly transparent on how much they pay out.

If you take a look at their website, Spotify clearly states they pay out roughly 70% of all revenue to rights holders. That’s record labels, artists, songwriters, publishers, etc. They also have a very clear formula on how these royalties get dispersed. You take Spotify’s monthly revenue, multiply it by the fraction of the artists’ monthly streams over Spotify’s total monthly streams, multiply by 70%, and then again multiply by the artists’ royalty rate in their artist contract, which equals the total payout. To me, this is an entirely fair way to pay artists, and it means as Spotify grows, so will artist payments. Also, just to note, publishers take a 21% split from that 70% payout. I suppose publishers might fight for a bigger piece of that split, but overall, from Spotify’s side of things, they seem to be paying out what they’re able to.

Some have tried comparing these services to terrestrial radio, but here’s the difference most forget: with terrestrial radio, one single play makes it to a much wider audience, whereas with Pandora or Spotify, it’s for the most part only to one listener. The play can’t be valued anywhere close to the same as terrestrial radio, but at the same time, these streaming services are a much better indicator of what people are listening to, how often, and how large of an audience. Surely this could be used to provide better metrics of how to compensate the artists and songwriters, and who’s getting what piece of the pie?

There’s no easy and obvious answer here. Rights holders need to be compensated fairly, but these streaming services also need to stay open; and it’s looking like this is shaping up to be one of the most important fights artists will face for their futures. These services aren’t going anywhere soon, and it seems like the music industry is shifting away from physical ownership of content. If that’s the case, a balanced compensation model must be found; for every Rihanna, there’s hundreds of smaller artists whose creative contribution is just as valid to our culture, so we must find a way to keep those artists creating too. www.djswivel.com

(TANGERINE DREAM)

12 HEADLINER

L

I

V

I

N

G

T

H

E

TANGERINE DREAM WORDS PAUL WATSON

If any of you were swinging in the ‘60s, you’ll probably remember Tangerine Dream, a quirky instrumental German group, whose album featured in one famous scene of that all-time classic mockumentary, Spinal Tap. Well, this group isn’t just for those now grey-haired and inactive 60- and 70-somethings; they recently penned the bulk of the score for the latest Grand Theft Auto video game, and their YouTube views have shot into the uber-millions as a result. Headliner braves Turin’s blazing sunshine and 56% humidity, armed with a bottle of water and a backstage pass for their show at the city’s legendary, and thankfully airconditioned, Teatro Colosseo...

Tangerine Dream have been pretty busy of late. Their zig-zag tour kicked off in Copenhagen, then they went Stateside for a couple of cruises with The Moody Blues and Yes in Miami, then Honduras (as you do), before hopping back across the pond to play

the super-cool Shepherds Bush Empire in London, a couple of gigs in the Netherlands, and a series of shows in the Fatherland, first in Munich, then Nuremberg, Cologne, and Stuttgart.

It’s a bloody hard life, isn’t it?

“It has been a pretty extensive stint; the longest two seasons since 1997, I think,” says FOH engineer, Kalle Hogrefe, who has been at the helm for some 14 years (he thinks – he really isn’t too sure, truth be told). “The show has its challenges, but at the same time that’s what keeps it fresh; it’s not your regular guitar, bass and drums band; you have to really keep an eye on the intricate details, which these guys have plenty of.”

For those that aren’t aware, Tangerine Dream was formed in 1967 in West Berlin

by Edgar Froese; 47 years on, he’s still there, propping up his keyboard and rocking out (in an atmospheric, instrumental, sitting down type way). The band has 18 former members, has recorded more than 30 studio

13 HEADLINER

(TANGERINE DREAM)

albums over the past five decades, and is in its 24th different guise (there must be some kind of world record in there, surely?); and today, the five-piece is still selling out theatres across the globe.

H O W LO W CAN YO U G O ?

Several bits of loudspeaker kit are always prominent in this Tangerine setup: a pair of Nexo 45N-12 monitors; a pair of Nexo PS12s; and Nexo’s STM modular line array system. Hogrefe is a true advocate of the STM S118 subs, and has been using them in various configurations (depending on the acoustics of the venue) along with Nexo’s S12 tops.

“What Nexo’s STM does better than any other PA system is provide us with a big sound when you can’t bring a lot of weight into the room,” he insists. “On this tour, we’ve only needed four per side of the S118s - that’s more than enough power, and they work perfectly for this band, as it’s a very ‘dry’ sub. I’ve used them for the main part in omni mode, and a couple of times in cardio; and each time, they work perfectly. It shows just how versatile the system is.

I also like to experiment now and again, so I tried them in this cool 3, 2, 1 cardio mode; and again, not one issue. Perfect. ” Because of the nature of the tour, sometimes the band is forced to play through certain venues’ house systems. What’s interesting, though, is that the musicians themselves become vocal when their precious Nexo subs are taken away from them...

“We did a venue recently that had a d&b system, which of course is a good brand, but when the band listened to the subs, they insisted on using ours, as they sounded so much better! They’re very particular about their sound; we don’t have amps on stage anymore, but what we do have issues with, because we are playing in theatres, is limits for the loudness.

That’s a challenge.

“In here, we have a limit of 93dB, and that’s not easy; and in the US, every time it’s a maximum of 95dB. Thankfully, with a combination of the loudspeakers, the wedges, and our in-ears, we are capable of dealing with all of this. Edgar loves the N-12s, and so do I, as the clarity is all there, there is zero feedback, they’re completely configurable, and they have a ton of headroom; and I also like the PS12s, as they replicate the FOH sound nicely as sidefills.”

“WHAT NEXO’S STM DOES BETTER THAN ANY OTHER PA SYSTEM IS PROVIDE A BIG SOUND WHEN YOU CAN’T BRING A LOT OF WEIGHT INTO THE ROOM...”

E ND L ES S PO S S IBILITIES Hogrefe works from a DiGiCo SD10 console at FOH, running at 48kHz, and there’s an SD8 on monitors. Although analogue sounds ‘that little bit better’, he cites his digital switchover as the most significant move he’s made, technology-wise, in the last 10 years.

“Using DiGiCo, there is so much more potential in the band’s sound, and everything is much easier to use,” he says. “The console’s setup is so simple, and I’m particularly keen on the dynamic processing; all the EQs and effects are there, and I also have the Waves server too, which is great. I use the [Waves] TrueVerb and Renaissance reverb, then the MaxxBass bass enhancer to handle the subs; when you’ve got analogue bass lines coming from the array of keyboards on stage, you’ve got to keep an eye on what’s going on, and that helps me out! Once, the bass was so aggressive, it actually opened a door at the side of the stage... That was pretty crazy! I also use the Waves Ultramaximizer, which comes in really handy; it’s great having all of this accessible from within the console.”

There is a lot of quirky kit on stage; a fusion of analogue and digital instruments, and effects.

I spy Roland V Drums, violins, various acoustic drums, a plethora of keys, a sax, and more.

How does one go about miking this lot up, then?

“Well, there are no amps on stage, which helps,” Hogrefe replies, with a smile. “For the violins, most of the percussive instruments, and the sax, we use the DPA 4061s; they’re very clean, honest sounding mics, and the fidelity in any DPA mic is always great. We also have the DPAs on the darbuka drum, and they work great for that, too. For the latter part of the tour, I’m going to get hold of some of the newer DPA 4099s, which are fantastic microphones. We also have a big gong... But we don’t need to mic that up!

“The Roland V Drums sound really good – I particularly like the new module, the TD30, which is what we’re using; and in terms of keyboards, Thorsten [Quaeschning] mixes everything down, so I just get sent a stereo mix... Thank God!”

H E Y M R . TAN G ER IN E MA N (PL AY YOUR GONG FOR ME) For the past 11 years, classically trained Thorsten ‘Q’ Quaeschning has been at the centre of proceedings for Tangerine Dream, taking on the tricky role of musical director, keyboard extraordinaire, and occasional vocalist... And here’s a curveball for you, his true love is gothic rock. I wasn’t expecting that... “[smiles] I worked in the studio for Edgar [Froese] for two years, and then they asked me to join them on stage, and also to compose,” he says, donning his favourite goth jacket that he ‘cannot be without’ on stage. “Today it helps very much having the studio knowledge

THORSTEN ‘Q’ QUAESCHNING & KALLE HOGREFE

(TANGERINE DREAM)

14 HEADLINER

to get you going on stage, especially with keyboards, which I have a lot of. I also handle the DAW stuff like Cubase, Logic, and so on; but for most of us, it’s more about the hardware. We have a system with six oscillators, two step sequencers, and just a lot of hardware equipment, really.”

Quaeschning is a big fan of the Nexo PS12s, as are the rest of the band; he says they provide the group with a solid stage sound, because the sidefill mix is nigh-on identical to the mix that Hogrefe puts out front. Thorsten begins to speak about his love of keyboards, and his gothic roots: “I studied composing, and the piano, but I also played violin in the Berlin Orchestra...

And the recorder! [we both laugh at the latter] Being musical director, I write the notes for the violin players, so it’s good to

“IT’S NOT ELECTRONIC MUSIC; IT’S MUSIC PLAYED WITH ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS, AND THERE’S A HUGE DIFFERENCE...” have played violin, though I am now the worst violinist in the band, of course... I’ve always played synths as well, since around 1994, when I was 16. At this time, I was playing a lot of dark stuff in Berlin!

“Being musical director is a much easier job nowadays; I create six different click tracks, and as Kalle says, I pre-mix all my keys and send them stereo to him; we really couldn’t do it any other way, or Kalle would begin to really hate me! But yeah, that works well, too, and everyone’s comfortable with their stage setups.”

M O D E R N CL A S S ICS And what about the current fanbase? I’m looking out into the foyer of the Colosseo, and the demographic seems to be between 18 and 100... Admittedly, it sways towards the latter, but even still...

“It’s very mixed, and it depends on the country. I would say it’s mainly 45 and over, but in the UK, and some Southern European countries, we do have some young fans. One very cool thing last year was that we scored the GTA5 video game, which has been great for us, so we have some cool, hip things going on now! I think it’s 35 hours of music in total for the game, which is a lot. It sold between 100 and 200 million, so it was inevitable that we’d pick some fans up!”

From Spinal Tap to GTA5! That truly is both ends of the spectrum... And 500,000 views on YouTube, if my research serves me right. With a band of so many varied influences, and past members, how does Quaeschning describe their music today? “[pauses] It’s not electronic music; it’s

music played with electronic instruments, and there’s a huge difference,” he insists, in a very Gandalf-esque manner. “I think it’s very classical, and there are less blues notes.

We have undertones of Mozart, and Bach, particularly; we certainly lean towards Bach’s repetitive bass lines, like the fugal in classical Bach pieces. You’ll have to listen and see what you think...!”

So I did... Come showtime, the theatre was packed with 20- to 90-somethings; it’s an audience that sits and listens for the whole song (or ‘piece’), then shows full appreciation... I immediately sense the classical undertones... And it works. The lighting show was superb, it sounded tight, and the band were right on the money

throughout. The music? Personally, I found it a pretty relaxing experience - and so must the band have done... They were pretty static, to say the least, but that’s all part of the experience, and it really was a very slick operation.

One other thing worth noting - you have to see Quaeschning play the keys to believe it. He is a hell of a musician, and this band is one hell of a story. Let’s hope they keep the Tangerine Dream alive for some time yet. www.nexo.fr www.dpamicrophones.com www.digico.biz www.waves.com www.tangerinedream.org

NES " W E 'R E FI R E S TO G OUR U P A N D W A V IN S IN TH E G E L D N A S M R A O P E N IN G E TH E IK L IR A A FK A 'S C H A P TE R O F K .. ."

M E TA M O R P H O S IS

(ROADBLOG)

17 HEADLINER

SECOND WINTER ( TA L E S O F AU N T N O R A & M I S S M A RT H A ) WORDS JERRY GILBERT

You call this a RoadBlog, so why do you only serve up fancy exploits on converted Starship 757s and Amtrak Metroliners? I mean, have you ever actually done a road trip?!

Fair play. So let’s shimmy back through the stargate to Tuesday, March 15th, 1994. To be more precise: 12 noon, Hard Rock Café, Hyde Park Corner. Along with comedian, Jim Davidson, and my colleague, Jay Green, LIVE! Magazine is about to present a massive cheque (physically rather than monetarily… we weren’t exactly drowning in wedge) to Harvey Goldsmith, in his role as chairman of the National Music Day charity. The plan is to seal the deal over a glass of champagne and then drive straight to Frankfurt for Musikmesse.

We’d started LIVE! Magazine exactly three years earlier — but more of that later. Jay and I alternated our annual drive to the Fatherland’s premier trade show; this year it was my turn to be wingman to Jay’s wheelmaster, and via a stop-off at our printers in Gillingham to collect the latest edition of the mag off the pallets, we arrive at Dover - a tactic that allows the printers ink to dry as we float across the Channel.

The winter weather is already doing its worst and by the time the P&O Ferry arrives at Calais (no Channel Tunnel in those days) we’re onto the icebound blacktops of northern Europe.

We know the route through France, Belgium, and Germany blindfolded — but 40km out of Frankfurt on the E3 autobahn at Wiesbaden, we hit black ice and spin off the road.

For about four seconds the world turns kaleidoscopic. A double pike and two half twists later, we’re Firestones up and waving our arms and legs in the air like the opening chapter of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. As we come around, we appear to be staring down the muzzle of a Mace gun, but it turns out to be nothing more threatening than a fire extinguisher brandished by a friendly local. A friendly local? And on the scene so soon?

All smiles and binoculars around his neck, he explains that this is a notorious black spot, and two more cars have come off the road within 300 metres. Accident spotting is a hobby, and tonight he has clearly hit paydirt. I wondered what he did for kicks during the ‘off season’…

Trawl the E3’s dogging pull-offs perhaps, with his industrial snoopware? Anyways, we have bigger concerns than voyeurs, having just filled up Jay’s Ford Granada Scorpio, which is now carrying a full payload of gas.

Jay (adopting Peckham-style Bruce Willis accent): “Get out, this thing’s about to blow sky high”. Me (fumbling in glove compartment): “Er, I think we’d be advised to lose the Aunt Nora first.”

And so our chattels are strewn across the knoll, including the pochettes of contraband, which are scattered and instantly evanesce into the snowy background. It’s a scene straight out of a Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers cartoon.

It’s as well that we acted, as within three minutes, the local Polizei have rolled up in a liveried saloon, and are dressed to impress. We are truly among Germany’s Ploderati.

“What happened mate?” says Cop #1, whose accent owes more to the Balls Pond Road than Berlin. Sure enough, he tells us he was born in Hackney. I tell Jay that he will never see his crumpled piece of metal in automobile form again (although it may transubstantiate into a Vari-Lite or lesser nodding bucket). I give him private moments to pay his last respects (meanwhile, I am venting my own grief, weeping uncontrollably into the snowy knoll).

The taxi arrives, and we load up with everything (including car jack and warning triangle) for the final stage of our journey.

There is a vague stench of drying printers ink coalescing with engine oil. Thirty minutes later we are banging futilely on the door of Miss Martha’s Boarding House, our chosen Moroccan-run lodging (I told you we were cheapskates). But it’s long closed for the night, and no-one is about to let us in.

The taxi driver is looking bored as I direct him towards alternative accommodation at the Höchster Hof. But that’s fully booked.

Finally, at 3am, I play my joker and call out the Sheraton at Frankfurt Airport, where, in a gesture I will never forget, a smiling FOH clerk tells us he has a special room rate of Dm467.

He eyes the car jack with obvious suspicion.

There are four hours of the night remaining.

For the £50 an hour we will be caressing the bed linen, we could simply have checked in to Frankfurt’s finest bordello, enjoyed all the pleasures that a house of ill repute could offer, played nicely with the strumpet majors, and still had change back from Dm467. All that without the drone of planes taking off and landing.

Arriving at the Messe with strapped bundles of mags next morning and a story to tell, it was a breeze getting face time on every stand we strolled onto that year.

LIVE! Magazine had been started three years earlier (in March 1991). Jay and Vincent Rice, who I’d first met piloting the music at Rock City in Nottingham, provided the inspiration, although I think alcohol had been the real fuel behind this Damascene conversion from disco to technical decency. I can’t recall which of us had the lightbulb moment, but it was in a pub!

Lesson 1: never start prepping a global concert touring magazine unless you are certain that Saddam Hussein isn’t about to marmalise Kuwait. Even as we are saying, “Let’s start a magazine for the international touring community,” every international tour is being canned, as the world tunes into the new CNN News to see Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf ’s Operation Desert Storm like it’s the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

By the time we implement the editorial plan, only one major tour remains. In all probability, Motorhead didn’t even know about the skirmish in the Middle East, and besides, Lemmy’s warheads, with Skippy Monk piloting the lighting, would probably wreak equal damage.

Jim Davidson was running Alpha Audio at the time, looking to recycle his inventory from the Buddy tours (Apogee sound systems, Soundcraft desks, etc). He became our early adopter and patron, and for that, we will always love him. Jim emceed several LIVE! Dinner & Awards, making Vari-Lite the butt of his humour at the first event; and in year two, Soundcraft’s Europa desk bore the brunt.

The first edition is a giant mashup with Bob Doyle at Midas, and Keith Dale at Celco, using us respectively to launch the XL3 (sound) and Gold (lighting) control platforms. The grand launch also takes place in Frankfurt (I seem to think we co-opted Martin Audio’s booth, courtesy of Dave Bearman, with Jim Davidson also on hand). Who would ever believe that this, of all cities, is the gift that keeps on giving?

Now I know what you’re wondering. If we crashed the car, how did we manage to get back from Frankfurt three days later?

One of Birmingham’s finest came to our rescue. DJ extraordinaire Sammy de Havilland offered us space in his Saab 900 (particularly after I’d managed to convince Jay we’d have no further need for the Ford’s car jack or the warning triangle). Scorpio would not be rising anymore, no sirree.

Sammy ran a company called Dare ProAudio — and on the evidence of the return drive, never has a company been more aptly named. And yes, I do realise that in dropping a name like ‘De Havilland’ into the text, I am in danger of propelling this column back into aerospace once again.

This month’s RoadBlog is dedicated to Johnny Winter, who passed away on July 16th, and the unforgettable interview referenced in last month’s RoadBlog. Rest in peace, blues legend.

18 HEADLINER

there is a real ‘stand up and fight’ attitude to tasteless corporation lagers emerging. These are the faceless brew conglomerates that sponsor major events whose beverages you are ultimately forced to drink due to lack of variety. If you were given the option to drink your favourite band’s beer at their concert, wouldn’t you?

Artists that have released their own beer

STUFF

TOP OF THE HOPS WORDS ADAM RICHARDSON

Lennon & McCartney. Slash and Axl Rose. Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love…

Music’s history is full of dynamic and turbulent relationships; relationships that aren’t always healthy, but nonetheless are integral to success and productivity. There is no smoke without fire. There is no Liam without Noel. There are no Stones without Jagger. There is no music without beer...

One of the most dynamic duos in the music industry is the relationship between music and alcohol, and in particular, beer.

include Frank Turner, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Elbow, Professor Green, Status Quo, and Mastadon - and the list is ever-growing.

But are they any good? Which one is top of the hops? Which band’s beer has the X Factor? Sorry, enough of the puns... Here’s a run-down: This is an unstable history; alcohol has been the downfall of many a musician who can’t control their addictive personalities, but in (fairly) moderate amounts, alcohol can heighten the experience of music, for the audience, the musicians, and everyone working with it.

Beer creates bravado, loosens inhibitions, boosts confidence, and can be responsible for wild and wacky ideas, brilliant solos, and terrible middle-eights. It can also devastate lives - just look at Amy Winehouse; OK, that was spirit abuse rather than beer, but I am not condoning alcoholism here, just drinking socially in moderation.

One of the most exciting partnerships in the brewing industry at the moment is the number of musicians and bands brewing their own beer in collaboration with breweries. Artists are realising that beer can be a great merchandising venture, and that a beer can be created to reflect a band’s personality and music style. It can also provide a great alternative revenue stream in an industry constantly looking to make up for the loss of royalties, without having to tour incessantly.

People who are educated in music are often educated in what they drink, and

Folk artist, Frank Turner’s ‘Believe’ is more a modern pale ale than classic wheat beer as advertised. Fresh, with medium bitterness and some residual yeast, it’s pleasant, with a little wheat sweetness, and some, but not too much, zesty orange.

7/10 ‘Charge’ by Elbow is the band’s second beer. Much like a disappointing second album, this one fails to live up to its predecessor, ‘Build A Rocket Boys’. It’s a fairly uneventful, amber-coloured ale, with bittersweet, biscuity malt.

4/10 Arguably the best thing they’ve ever released, Status Quo’s ‘Piledriver’ is a rich English best-bitter. It’s got some treacle and dark fruit flavours, and is quite floral on the nose.

6.5/10 As subtle as a wall of noise, Mastadon’s ‘Black Tongue’ is an invasive double black IPA. Unapologetic and ruthless, this is a beer that reflects its band’s style. Big, sweet, and bold tropical fruit flavours with a burst of bitterness. Absolutely relentless, but pretty good.

8/10

19 HEADLINER

It’s no surprise that Kiss, the masters of band merch, have a beer. ‘Destroyer’ is a pale ‘pils’ style lager. It tastes of very little, with the corny sweetness which is so common in cheap lagers.

2/10 British rapper, Professor Green’s ‘Remedy’ is an excellent, late-hopped west coast pale ale. Refreshingly clean and bitter, with very ‘green’ aromas of grapefruit zest and British hops. A clear winner.

9/10 Like musicians are doing, concert promoters and venues should look at ways to indulge their audiences. They should take pride in their events, and that means that the entire experience should justify the ticket price.

Audiences are fed up of the tasteless and faceless lager giants who have monopolised festivals and concerts for the past 20 years.

People want variety. Imagine a beer festival at Glastonbury. Imagine that!

Luckily, we’re seeing the first signs of change. Iron Maiden’s beer, Trooper, has been announced as the official beer of Sonisphere 2014. The show is the last on their world tour, having played to 2.5 million fans. Robinsons, the UK brewery responsible for Trooper, has already brewed over 5 million pints, and half of that is to fulfill export orders. This is true testament to the avid following of one of the world’s biggest metal bands, and shows that audiences really do care about what they drink, and that they do have a choice.

I’m very open to music in the same way I’m open to trying new beers. Not every one will be a winner - some are definitely better than others; but there is a definite correlation between brewing and the music industry. On one side, you have the massive corporate machines churning out boy bands to the uneducated masses (the equivalent of Coors Light or Carlsberg); and then you have the underground indie and house artists without the enormous marketing budgets (your cool, unashamedly hip, craft beers).

For me, it’s the perfect musical duo. Beer doesn’t argue and storm off stage. It is never late to a gig. Beer will never argue with you about who gets mechanical royalties, or break up with you due to ‘musical differences’.

As Frank Zappa once said: ‘you can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline’. Musicians are out for world domination; watch out for Iron Maiden Airways…

FOLLOW ADAM ON TWITTER @ADAMJR88

www.lettherebebeer.com www.signaturebrew.co.uk www.thewhitehorse-welwyn.co.uk

ABOUT ADAM Adam Richardson was recently voted ‘Britain’s Best Pub Landlord’ by Let There Be Beer, an informative, exploratory, online resource for beer lovers. He is landlord of one of Hertfordshire’s finest pubs, The White Horse, a now haunted, former coach house that dates back to the 16th Century, located in a quaint village in the South East of England.

PROFESSOR GREEN'S ‘REMEDY’ PROVED A CLEAR WINNER

“BEER CREATES BRAVADO, LOOSENS INHIBITIONS, BOOSTS CONFIDENCE, AND CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WILD AND WACKY IDEAS, BRILLIANT SOLOS, AND TERRIBLE MIDDLE-EIGHTS.”

20 HEADLINER

(CONVERSE CONS)

"I'M CONFIDENT THAT AFTER THE MIX LAB SESSIONS, THESE GUYS WILL WANT TO GO OUT AND CUT RECORDS..."

COMMUNITY SPIRIT WORDS PAUL WATSON

21 HEADLINER

CONVERSE HAS UNVEILED CONS PROJECT LONDON, THE LATEST OF ITS COOL GLOBAL INITIATIVES WHICH FUSE MUSIC, ART, AND SKATE, AND INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION TO EMBRACE THEIR CREATIVE PASSIONS.

Following a string of successful CONS Projects in LA, New York, Belgrade, and Warsaw, CONS Project London finds a home in Peckham, one of the city’s most promising creative hubs. For 10 weeks, in a bid to draw urban creativity within the community, exhibitions, talks, and workshops have been held, giving the young people a chance to get their creative juices flowing.

One of five London-based CONS Ambassadors is producer, Scratcha DVA, who has been spearheading a series of Mix Lab sessions. These allow him to teach young, up-and-coming musicians about production, mixing, and recording techniques, through a series of workshops, and a purpose-built recording studio.

Scratcha got an email from his manager to see if he was interested in doing a workshop, which he wasn’t... But when he realised what it would entail, and that it would take place in a regeneration area not so far from home, it really appealed.

“For me personally, to put together a project which gets people being actively creative in music themselves was a no-brainer,” Scratcha explains. “I’m from Brixton, a part of London that is on the up, and that’s what Peckham needs. East [London] has always had that projects that are helping the local community; and I myself was mentored, along with all the Grime lot, in Stratford, and I feel that the South side of the city has never really had that. That’s why something like this is brilliant, and here, the students even get to cut a record at the end, which is something many people never get to do in their lives.”

INTRODUCING MIX LAB

A Mix Lab lasts three full days, and Scratcha will hold three in total. Typically, the students come in with tracks they either want to further or finish, but the course is certainly not for beginners: “they have to be at a certain level, technically,” Scratcha insists.

“They are working with Logic 10, which is very universal, and in my opinion, great for mix-downs – though they can also bring their own DAW systems too, if they want,” he explains. “We haven’t run Mix Labs on a strict schedule or a plan, but if dudes just come in and make tunes, nothing ever comes of it, so they gave me a platform to make the idea myself. My students collaborate with each other; each has a Mac workstation and Roland A-49 MIDI keyboard, and at the end of the session, they end up cutting a record onsite.”

(CONVERSE CONS)

“It was key for me to understand what the Mix Lab students would know already; if they came in with no clue – which is fine in some projects – it would be very difficult, because this course is about having enough of an idea to further themselves to make a master. I knew from listening to their demos whether they’d know enough for me to mentor them, to get their music good enough to take and put in the shops; and I think for young people to have that knowledge and power is important.

I am 32 now, and when I was a bit younger, I was all about trying to get signed to this label or that label, you know? But you don’t need to.

Because we have the Internet, getting a track from your computer onto iTunes is not such a difficult thing to do, and we tell them how to do that.”

According to Scratcha, many people have a real complex about their sound, and one of his goals through Mix Lab is to encourage them to find their own: “Myself and another mentor will go round during the classes and help them as they collaborate out there with one another in the main room; and then, once they’ve stemmed all the stuff, they come into the recording studio, and we bring it into Logic, get the cool Waves plugins involved, make a digital master, and then make an uncompressed master, the latter of which then goes on the cut.”

INTO THE STUDIO

The recording studio space at CONS London had to be comprehensive, easy to use, and capable of master quality. A Mac workstation was deployed, running Logic 10, along with a pair of Genelec 8040As with a 7060B subwoofer for monitoring.

“I love these Genelec monitors; I’ve used Genelec a lot in the past, as they always give you a natural, honest sound,” explains Scratcha, showing me around the moody looking, dimly lit space. “I never had my own studios when I was an engineer, so I was forever changing speakers; I used Dynaudios first, which were cool, and then I got the chance to play through some Genelecs for the first time, and I was then constantly trying to find something of that same quality.

With these, you don’t need to mix loud – and your ears will only get tired if you blast it the whole way through a session; everything will suddenly be in the red, and you’re not sure why!”

Scratcha is also a Waves fan, therefore has a whole host of Waves plugins at hand.

“I’ve always been a Waves user, and the Ultramaximizer is still my 100% go-to; I’ve been using it since school, and it makes everything sound beautiful every time,” he insists. “And I make sure I get the students using that kind of stuff – kit that I use regularly, too. It’s all part of the Mix Lab experience.”

The vocal chain in the studio is either a DPA d:facto II or sE X1 mic into a Rupert Neve Portico 5017 preamp, then into a Portico 5015 compressor, and finally into an Apogee Symphony sound card.

“This has proven to be a great setup; I’ve done some nice vocals in here, and I’ve been using the new sE RF Space reflexion filter, which has been really impressive,” Scratcha explains. “All the results have been good. When recording Grime in particular, they want to be vocal and loud and shouty, so it’s good to have nice outboard compression when going in. It’s all about the source, with a quality mic, and the Portico 5015 looks after it nicely on the way in.”

It’s not all new fangled kit, however – there’s room for a classic keyboard in Scratcha’s setup; in fact, it’s all part of the learning process: “We’ve also got an old Roland Synth – a JX-3P. I really wanted to have it, as we’re in the digital era, it’s 2014, and I want something old school! I’ve not even hooked it up with MIDI, as it’s what people had to do back in the day; you had to play that shit tight! I think it’s good to give them that opportunity to use an outboard synth, and have to deliver a performance, you know?”

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

“I remember when I cut my first dub plate, and the excitement of it – even the smell of it; you will always keep that with you, and I’m confident that after the Mix Lab sessions, these guys will want to go out and cut records or dub, even if they have no record player at home; just having it in your hands will give you an incentive to make another banger, and then if you give it to a DJ, and he gets on with it, who knows?” says Scratcha, about to head back to his workshop. “We’re into our second Mix Lab of three now – each includes three day-long sessions, and there’s also a how-to session, where a producer comes in and puts up his DAW on the projector screen in the main room and shows the students how he did a project from scratch. He also give tips on EQ and compression, and gets really nerdy.

It’s good to have a nerd out session!

“Then, we will be doing a vocal session day with recording artist, Shola Ama – she will show how she records vocals, and she is boss.

I think even if you’re not a singer yourself, it’s good to know how to arrange and record them; there will be tricks she will be able to explain, such as how to pan vocals, mic techniques, and so on. That should be another great session.”

WWW.CONVERSECONS.COM/LDN

22 HEADLINER

GETTING VOCAL Photographs © MJF 2014 Marc Ducrest AFTER MARC SOAME REALISED HIS DRUMMING WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH TO CARVE OUT A CAREER, HE TURNED TO THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF THE INDUSTRY, AND HAS WORKED IN PRETTY MUCH ALL AREAS OF IT, FROM SYSTEM TECH, TO MONITORS AND FOH. RECENTLY, HE TOURED WITH SENSATIONAL BLUES VOCALIST, 19-YEAR-OLD NEW YORKER, NORMA JEAN MARTINE, WHOSE UNMISTAKEABLE TONE HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS ‘AN ESCAPE’, AND ‘A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH’. IN HIS TIME WITH HER, SOAME FOUND THE BEST WAY TO SPOTLIGHT HER VOICE ON STAGE...

When did you hang up your drumsticks? [smiles] Well, I was a session drummer, but I realised quite early on that I wasn’t getting enough calls, so I wasn’t quite good enough, to be honest! Like most failed musicians, I did the honourable thing, and became a technician! I started in the warehouse for a hire company, doing maintenance of kit, prepping of jobs – the standard stuff that most people should do in terms of building a learning infrastructure, and how things should be set up,. I basically followed people that were more experienced.

From there, I did a degree in engineering, then went freelance. I’m now with Brit Row, which is a cool company, and I’m really enjoying it.

What’s your audio forte?

Well, it’s mainly systems, actually, but I am a bit of a mix, I suppose. For example, today I’m on a Brit Row job mixing FOH for Heather Small and her band at The Roundhouse [in London], but I also still do monitors, and because I’ve only been freelance for seven years, perhaps I’m not too specific yet. I still do lots of stuff!

“NETWORKING IS A HUGE PART OF ANY SOUND ENGINEER’S ARSENAL NOW, AND IT’S SOMETHING THEY HAVE TO BE FAIRLY ON TOP OF.”

You worked with Norma Jean Martine, who has a hell of a voice. How did you treat that on stage?

Yeah she has – I did a two-and-a-half week tour with her, and I was told by management that the mix needed to be a big vocal with a band underneath, so of course you need a pretty special mic to pull that off. Rob and Adam at Sound Network kindly lent me a DPA d:facto II mic for the tour, as I needed a nice clean vocal – a bit Adele-esque, but with some of Kate Nash’s bluesy style.

Because Norma’s show is all about the audience, I needed to have something with

“ I NEEDED SOMETHING WITH COMPLETE CLARITY, AND WHEN WE TRIED D:FACTO, NORMA ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT...”

NOR MA J E AN MAR T IN E M O N T R E U X

J A Z Z

C L U B

MARC SOAME

complete clarity, and when we tried d:facto, Norma absolutely loved it.

Also, her manager said he had never heard her sound better than when she sang through d:facto.

when the bands come in and play. I took it out, and although they might not be the most critical ears in the world, they all thought it sounded fantastic! That was used wireless, and the audio quality was pristine.

What are its main USPs? Well, I immediately got on very well with it, firstly because it’s very easy to use at FOH; it has great gain, fantastic sound, and what also really struck me was the lack of proximity effects within it. I can also imagine someone would use d:facto in the studio, because the pop shield is adequate by itself, to be honest, and of course it’s a condenser. I mean, DPA is a premium brand for a reason – the quality is always really fantastic. I’ve tried the DPA 4099s many times, and also the DPA lav mics on corporate stuff, and all of them are great. They’re industry-leading, and it’s reflected, because if you buy cheap, you buy twice – that’s the rule I go by in life. Basically, when I finished that tour, I went and bought a d:facto myself, as I was so impressed with it.

Technology in mics and consoles is forever evolving. What do you cite as the biggest change in the industry in the last five years?

Networking, definitely. It’s what I do now as much as anything.

Networking all the amplifiers together with total system control, and being able to monitor it is brilliant. That’s easily the biggest change I’ve seen for the better, with the evolution of protocols like Dante coming along, and EtherSound, and so on. Networking is a huge part of any sound engineer’s arsenal now, and it’s something they have to be fairly on top of. Digital consoles have been around for a while now, and I’m kind of from the generation where I grew up with digital; and I think we’ll get to the point where new engineers won’t particularly know or be comfortable with analogue, actually. I was at the hybrid where digital was just coming out, so I used a fair amount of both, but in the next 10 years, that generation will just be digital. And of course because it is the young generation, they pick that kind of technology up much quicker, and can manipulate it to their own ends much faster and with more power. It’s the future, that’s for sure.

You used d:facto wired with Norma - have you tried it wireless?

Yeah, with Norma, it’s much easier wired, because firstly, you have potential RF issues at certain venues, and secondly, she is always either sat at a piano or standing playing her guitar. But yes, I have also used it with wireless transmitters, and with great success. In fact, I took d:facto out for an audition recently on a super yacht for a Russian guy! It’s this ridiculous £400 million, 99-foot yacht with a custom-made sound system on the top deck, and they wanted a high-end mic package to use

www.dpamicrophones.com www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/artist/norma-jean-martine

24 HEADLINER

(LINKIN PARK)

Q&A

MIXING LINKIN PARK AFTER STARTING OUT IN THE STUDIO AS A RUNNER, KEN ‘POOCH’ VAN DRUTEN WENT ON TO PLENTY OF BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS, AVOIDING A FEW BULLETS ALONG THE WAY (LITERALLY)! HIS ANALOGUE BEGINNINGS LED TO SOME MULTI-PLATINUM CREDITS, AND THEN HE CAME TO AN AUDIO CROSSROADS, EVENTUALLY CHOOSING THE LIVE SOUND PATH, WHICH HAS SEEN HIM FORGE A FANTASTIC RELATIONSHIP AND STATE-OF-THE-ART SETUP WITH US ROCK GIANTS, LINKIN PARK...

WORDS PAUL WATSON PHOTOGRAPHS THOMAS RABSCH

You had an interesting start to your musical career...

Yeah, I went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, although I’d had some experience in the studio as a musician beforehand. I’d spent a bunch of time watching the recording engineer and producer and realised I wanted to do that. In my first semester, I went to the local studio and asked to work for free; I started as a runner, and by the time I was a senior, I was head engineer at that studio, which was called Blueberry Sound. I ended up doing some projects there that were pretty good, then moved to LA to start a career as a recording engineer; I worked there for four years, and did some good records. I worked for a band called Tony Tony Tony that went multi-platinum, and it was the start of the rap sensation - the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I was a musician, and ended up working with artists... When I say that, I mean gangsters, really! They’d show up and have a couple of lyrics written down, but wanted me to create their entire music. It was a little screwed up, really, a couple of gang members turning up and saying, ‘hey, white boy, make us a beat!’

Sounds pretty intimidating to me...

Yeah! I’d spent some time working with an Akai MPC 60, making beats for rap records that then sold huge amounts, but I was only credited as

engineer on it, so I got disheartened. I was working at Paramount in Hollywood, and the booker was having to make sure that they weren’t booking the Crips in one studio and the Bloods in the other... Seriously!

They were worried about gun battles passing in the hallway!

Then I started to work with a couple of the ‘hair bands’ that were still around - metal bands like Warrant, Slaughter, and Firehouse; and I ended up doing a demo with Warrant. They had a hit called Cherry Pie, and then literally out of the blue one night they said, ‘hey, we fired our FOH guy, and tomorrow we’re playing the LA forum, and wondered if you want to mix us?’ And to that point, I had never mixed a live show, not even in a club; it had always been recording and producing. But I agreed to it, and the next day, there I was in front of 10,000 people mixing a Warrant show...

That sounds even more intimidating! [laughs] Yeah, but it went OK; and what I got out of it was that feeling of gratification with that many people screaming! From that point, I never looked back, and that’s what took me into live sound.

Your experience in the studio isn’t so easy for youngsters to obtain now, due to the easy-access Mac and DAW setups of today...

(LINKIN PARK)

“350,000 PEOPLE STARTED JUMPING AT THE SAME TIME, AND FOH WAS LITERALLY LIKE A SHIP IN AN OCEAN, IT WAS MOVING THAT MUCH.”

Yeah, and to an extent, that has a detrimental effect. What I grew up with and what existed before was true artists: engineers and producers that really understood about mic placement and gain structure, and using the kit we had, like Fairchilds. As a runner and an assistant, I watched amazing people do that, and that still affects what I do today. I think the low cost DAW route combined with the end user working with 192kHz mp3s at best, means people really don’t know what sounds good anymore. It’s a hard conversation that I’ve had with lots of engineers; it isn’t dynamic, the sound of today, and I haven’t heard a really great sounding record in a while, but at the same time, that’s where we are, and it is what it is.

I think it’s sad, as there is no mentorship anymore; you can buy a DAW for 300 bucks, and call yourself a recording engineer, but you don’t get the experience of a true master doing their thing. There are some studios in LA and London where guys are still doing some great work with classic kit, but it’s few and far between; I hear some records of artists I work with now, and I think it’s an OK sounding record, but when I mix it live, it will be WAY more dynamic...

at over 96 inputs, and we also wanted a 96kHz solution, so we ended up with DiGiCo, and we’re really happy we’re there.

Do you do any recording in your current role?

Yes, because Linkin Park has allowed me to go back to my roots and be a recording engineer; I not only mix their live stuff, but they allow me to engineer, record, and produce all of their live recordings; I did their show at Milton Keynes Bowl [UK] for example. I basically do what I want with it, send it to them, and they make their tweaks. I really enjoy that.

Are you also running at 96kHz in monitor world?

Yes, we’re sharing stage racks. Along with speaker technology, the in-ear technology is also incredibly advanced now. Look at [ JH Audio founder] Jerry Harvey - he is amazing. I’ve known him 20 years, and where he has come with his drivers is parallel to what’s happening in speaker technology. Being a monitor engineer is infinitely harder than being a FOH guy, as you’re dealing with multiple mixes and multiple personalities, and that can be a real challenge! We’re on the [ JH Audio] JH16s. Our monitor guy, Kevin ‘Tater’ McCarthy, has worked with Jerry and the band to create this custom in-ear; the seal on it is unbelievable, as it’s a 16, but with a foam tip on the end, so it’s not only moulded to your ear, but the end of the tip is specially customised.

On the road, you’re using a DiGiCo SD7, which is a big change...

Yeah, I just switched from an Avid Profile for this tour, five months ago.

We now have two SD7s – one at FOH, one at monitors, and I think the switch was great. The Avid Profile is a valid console, and I understand the Pro Tools thought process, but with Linkin Park, we were looking

Does running at 96kHz make a bigger difference at FOH because loudspeaker technology is so much better these days?

That’s an interesing point... I think it’s a combination of a bunch of things; 96kHz, to me, means I am using quite a bit less EQ, and there’s less phase shift in my mixes because of that. I think it has a lot to do with the over sampling and pristineness of all of that, so working at 96kHz allows me to place things in my mix that I wasn’t previously able to. My mixes are now much more pristine and not as trashy, so it makes a lot more sense in the L/R realm, but also in the depth realm of the mixes; a band like Linkin Park, where there are a lot of real instruments and playback, finding space is difficult, so the switch to 96kHz allowed me to place things and put them in the stereo spectrum as well as the depth spectrum a hell of a lot easier than in the 48kHz realm. Additionally, the speaker technology is very much more advanced now than it was in the last five years, and that’s another factor, certainly.

26 HEADLINER

I know you’re a big plugin user on the road; does this stem from your studio days?

Well, I remember as a recording engineer, I was certainly aware of the Waves Q10, and then I spent years not paying attention to Waves, until eight years ago with Linkin Park. We’d just started the tour, and I was experimenting with a bunch of different plugins, and for the first six months, I thought I had a good thing going on, until I checked out the Waves stuff!

In the first two weeks of having them, I had replaced 95% of the rest! The results were so much better that I actually couldn’t believe it, so I have been sold on them from then, which made me push for a relationship with Waves, as I wanted to be part of it.

Why Waves, over the rest of the field?

Well, we were getting much better results, and it was only a little later on that I found out why that was - their secret is harmonic distortion, which a bunch of other manufacturers don’t use. My love for the products grew from there, and overall, their stuff is just phenomenal sounding, too.

What are your go-tos?

I love the Renaissance Axx; it’s super easy, really quick, and sounds great. It was designed as a guitar plugin, but I use it on the drums – I couldn’t do without it now on the kick and the snare. I’m also a super big fan of the C6, which I use on my vocals, and I used to use it on my mix buss a lot, though in the past few months, I’ve been using the Vitamin plugin, which is along the same line as the C6, but with some other cool qualities. I then use a bit of the L2 on my mix buss, but just to tickle the top and eliminate any little clipping; and then I use the MaxxVolume, which is a great expander and compressor. I particularly love the gate feature, as it works great for my vocals.

It’s a very smart, and very digital setup - a far cry from the old analogue days...

It really is! And we’re recording all of it, too.

I have six Mac Minis at FOH, all with i7 processors, plus the Waves Extreme Servers, which are also i7 processors, so the amount of DSP is unreal; we can launch rockets to the moon if we want to! But as you say, it allows us to stay in the digital realm, as we don’t have

(LINKIN PARK)

“I LOVE THE WAVES RENAISSANCE AXX; IT’S SUPER EASY, REALLY QUICK, AND SOUNDS GREAT. I COULDN’T DO WITHOUT IT.”

to convert anything; everything is going out digital, all the way into the speakers, which makes for a lot of great features.

I hear the band are very tech minded, too...

Oh for sure. If they have editing to do on a Pro Tools rig, I get up and get out of the way, as they’re infinitely faster than me! Also [Linkin Park lead singer] Mike Shinoda produces all of the records, so they’re very involved in the shape of their sound, and spend a lot of time with me and some Genelec nearfields; and me being a recording engineer, when I’m tweaking some mixes, they come into the room a lot and listen to the playback.

Have you always been a Genelec user?

I’m working on the 8050s, but my first experience with Genelec was with the really large model they made which they had at the studio I was working at 20 years ago. I remember I was like, ‘holy shit, these are amazing!’ I had a pair of 8011s for a long time, and then when the 8020, 8030, and 8050 series came, I switched to the 8050s. I own two pairs of the 8050s, and carry them around wherever I go. The thing is with Genelec, I have 100% trust in their sound, and it’s what I’m familiar with.

Back in the day, I trusted NS10s, even though they sounded horrible, and it’s a little bit like that in trusting the Genelecs, except they’re actually really nice to listen to as well, so it’s the best of both worlds! They show you things in your mix that you may have to adjust for other speakers, and also, they’re not fatiguing; it’s all

solid, good sounding stuff. I use them for live and for rehearsals for the live show, where I’m in another room with my 8050s. Also, the band and I make live mix decisions based on how the Genelecs sound, which kind of says a lot.

It does... If you look back, what’s the maddest moment in your career (excluding the gangsters)? [laughs] Well, I was working for the new incarnation of Guns N’ Roses in 2001, and we did a huge show at Rio De Janeiro to 350,000 people. Axl [Rose], in typical fashion, showed up four hours late, so already everyone was upset, and the vibe in the crowd was really unruly... People were throwing shit at FOH, and I thought there may be a riot, but after the first song, Welcome To The Jungle, 350,000 people started jumping at the same time, and FOH was literally like a ship in an ocean, it was moving that much. The scaffold was swaying two feet from left to right, and the hairs on my arms were standing up, as it was an amazing moment. That’s the kind of shit that I live for... www.waves.com www.digico.biz www.genelec.com www.jhaudio.com

X U E R T N O M J A Z Z

F E S T I V A L

MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL IS AN EVENT LIKE NO OTHER. STOOPED IN MUSICAL FOLKLORE, IT HAS PLAYED HOST TO A STAGGERING FUSION OF ARTISTS FROM ALL GENRES SINCE ITS INCEPTION HALF A CENTURY AGO; BE IT TRAD JAZZ, ROCK AND ROLL, BIG BAND, OR EVEN HIP HOP, ALL STYLES OF MUSIC ARE CATERED FOR – AND IN A BIG WAY. THIS YEAR WAS NUMBER 48, AND ARTISTS INCLUDED PHARRELL WILLIAMS, PASSENGER, ROBERT PLANT, WAYNE SHORTER, HIROMI, NORMA JEAN MARTINE, AMY MACDONALD, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, AND A FANTASTIC STUDENT BIG BAND FROM BRIGHTON & HOVE. IF THAT'S NOT AN ECLECTIC MIX, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS! WORDS PAUL WATSON

The train ride along the Lake Geneva shoreline is stunning enough, but is a big fan of DiGiCo, so much so, in fact, that one of the SD9s it's on arrival in Montreux itself that the unmistakeable 'wow' factor on site is his! Weber helped forge the manufacturer’s relationship with really hits home. I've always wanted to experience this festival, and here the festival; when he's not running Montreux (or Caprices Festival, also I am, in the blazing sunshine (OK, a storm is brewing, but forget that for in Switzerland), he runs his own high end recording studio, which has now), AAA pass in hand, and raring to go. I quickly clock that the sky is a classic Neve 8108 console, and some quirky bits of kit; he says having getting darker, and that, in fact, the photo on my AAA pass bears little to the live and recording background is always beneficial. no resemblance to me, nor does it even include my name. Shit. At speed, “I was brought in here as they needed someone who wasn't heavily I dash through the side door, involved with the business side offering a flash of my pass to the of Montreux – just the music; “IT'S ABOUT FINDING A CONSISTENCY 'security' girl, who, thankfully, they needed somebody that WITH PHARRELL, AND USING THE SD7S, has her head buried in a copy of was into the festival, and would W E ' R E A B L E T O D O T H AT.” Wuthering Heights (seriously), so concentrate solely on all aspects I reduce my sprint to a casual jog, of the audio,” he explains, adding then to a stroll, and eventually to a hunched standstill. I'm gasping for that he is also involved in recording the shows. “Although I'm really an a drink, as I amble down the backstage corridor in search of DiGiCo's analogue man in the recording domain, the only solution for Montreux office area. is digital – and DiGiCo. I use their products on all the stages here, as This is the sixth year in succession that DiGiCo consoles have been the kit is top quality, and always completely reliable. I particularly like at the helm in Montreux. All of the manufacturer's leading models the preamps and the internal processing, though it's not just the quality are in play, from the flagship SD7, which holds fort in the festival's of product that appeals - my relationship with DiGiCo has always been Auditorium Stravinksi, to the ultra-compact SD11, which sits in the strong because of the personal service we always get from their team.” same venue providing talkback, alongside the house SD5 in monitor world. Furthermore, SD8s, SD10s, and SD9s all have their part to play ATTENTION TO DETAIL in the Music Club, Jazz Lab, Jazz Club, Rock Cave, and Montreux Palace. And it's not just Weber that rates DiGiCo... Pharrell's FOH and It is also the sixth year for sound coordinator, David Weber, who monitor pairing, Kyle Hamilton and Jeremy Peters, are adamant that

29 HEADLINER

“I FIND IT REFRESHING TO SEE SUCH TALENTED YOUNGSTERS PLAYING REAL I N S T R U M E N T S , A N D S O N G S T H AT A R E O L D E R T H A N M Y N A N .”

they couldn't deliver their show accurately using anything other than DiGiCo kit. They brought in their own pair of SD7s for Montreux.

“It's about finding a consistency with Pharrell, and using the SD7s, we're able to do that,” reveals Hamilton, adding that the effects inside the desk are top notch. “Pharrell's vocal chain just hits an Avalon 737 compressor, then heads straight into the console, where I do my EQing, effects, and compression. Because the preamps and processing are great on the SD7, that's really all I need to do, which suits me, as less is more is always my preferred approach.”

Peters has a similar theory, and cites the SD7 as the perfect tool for his job at stage left: “What I really like is the versatility of the DiGiCo,” he explains. “The SD7 gives me the luxury of quality dynamic processing and multiband compression, so I have no need for much else – just some cool Waves plugins to give a little extra colour to the sound.”

Both engineers are also benefitting from using DiGiGrid at Montreux, which has been transforming their workflow.

“What we did on this gig was a lot of fun, and also amazing,” smiles Peters. “Kyle and I used the DiGiGrid MGB and both multitracked every song every day, so when the band leaves, we come back; and since Pharrell's so serious about the record, we took the live elements and the non-live elements, and did an A-B test with the record, and made them perfect, so when Pharrell hears Kyle's FOH mix, it's the record, but with a live feel. It helps us create the perfect sound.”

BACKSTAGE

En route to the Music in the Park stage, I wander into the backline department. I'd never considered how important this part plays at a festival, though after seeing it, I'll never forget... Boogie Brother’s System has been looking after this section for decades; be it a guitar, an amp, a valve, a string, a drum, a drum-head, a keyboard, a power supply...

I could go on, but to summarise, they've got the lot, and it's a 24/7 operation. Hats off to Pascal Graticola and crew on this amazing setup.

Despite the fact that Montreux is apparently simple to navigate, I

can't get my head around it at all – I know where the lake is, but that's about it, and it's taking me a good 20 minutes to find my destinations! When I do finally arrive at the next FOH on my list, engineer David Tabachnik is prepping his SD8 for a cool, dynamic performance from the Brighton & Hove youth big band.

“Everything's going very well, and my job is pretty easy out here, really, as the SD8 is such a simple desk to work with,” says Tabachnik, who’s working his third Montreux festival. “The only real challenge here at Music in the Park is that I have to soundcheck with the main curtains closed, so I am doing it on a little pair of monitors, no PA! I have to be quick, but it's been OK; and when visiting engineers come to mix here, they love it, as the setup is so straightforward.”

I linger for a good 20 minutes to watch this band – despite the rain, a good few hundred punters are crowding round the stage dancing, and it's easy to see why. I find it refreshing to see such talented youngsters playing real instruments, and songs that are older than my Nan. Great stuff.

SHOWTIME

I walk along the shoreline, trying to take in the magnitude and overall vibe of the event, but it's genuinely difficult to put into words. Music takes over this town for two solid weeks, and it's one big party. Talking of party, that's the best way to describe the feeling in the Stravinski as Pharrell takes to the stage. From the opening bars of Marilyn Monroe, I get exactly what Kyle and Jeremy were talking about earlier, because the mix out front IS the record. What a job these guys are doing, and what a performance. It's difficult to take your eyes off Pharrell (and his dancers, for that matter). It's a hell of a gig, and a fitting end to my trip.

Post-show, on the veranda of the Caviar House, already several 'Webby Specials' deep, I can't help wishing I could do it all over again.

Maybe next year... www.digico.biz www.waves.com www.montreuxjazz.com

PHARRELL WILLIAMS

C O N T R O L L E D

S O A CH Words PAUL WATSON Photography © MJF 2014 LIONEL FLUSIN

PHARRELL WILLIAMS IS ARGUABLY THE BIGGEST MUSIC STAR ON THE PLANET. HIS RESUME SPEAKS VOLUMES, AND HIS RECENT MEGA-HITS, HAPPY AND GET LUCKY [WITH DAFT PUNK] SEEM ALMOST INGRAINED ON THE BRAIN (WELL, MY BRAIN, ANYWAY!) HIS STAGE SHOW IS ENERGETIC, HIS MELODIES ARE CONTAGIOUS, AND HIS LIVE SOUND IS SMOOTH, FULL OF FIDELITY, AND ROCKING. HEADLINER MEETS THE MEN BEHIND THE CONSOLES THAT SHARE PHARRELL’S 24/7 WORK ETHIC, AND HELP MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN: KYLE HAMILTON, AND JEREMY PETERS...

Tell me about your core FOH setup, Kyle – you seem to have screens coming out of your ears...!

KH: [laughs] I have a DiGiCo SD7, four Avalon 737s, and then from my laptop I am running Logic with my DiGiGrid MGB, and that’s it.

But yes, I do have a few screens, as there is so much going on; and you never know who’s going to make an appearance, as Pharrell is producer of the stars, so anyone could join him up there at any time. That’s why I choose an SD7 as my console, because everything is possible, but it’s definitely a controlled chaos situation! It’s quite a small band, but the way we run it is like a symphony of sound. If you don’t do it the way that Jeremy and I have strategically and formally laid it out... Well, it’s not gonna work!

I bought the latest Pharrell record, G I R L, and loved it. It’s an eclectic mix of all sorts of genres. Do you have to be a fan of the music to work with it?

KH: Definitely – you have to be attached. We grew up on his music, and his catalogue is so large, you have to study it. I mean, with any

artist, you have to listen to the music, and do your homework, but I remember our first meeting with Pharrell, and he said, point blank, ‘people want to hear the record’, so what that tells us is, we mix the record with a live feel.

So even if a band member might do a fill here and there, nothing deviates much from what you hear on the CD. There’s no doing your own thing or adding your own delays – if it’s not part of that song, you don’t do it, because he wants it true. When you watch him, and you see his neck start snapping, he’s in his groove. That’s what he does in the studio, and that’s what he does on stage. That’s when we know we’re doing it right!

Jeremy, you must have your work cut out also. How does Pharrell like his in-ear mix?

JP: What we did on this gig was both fun and amazing – I use the DiGiGrid MGB also, and Kyle and I multitracked every song every day, so when the band leaves, we come back, and since he’s so serious about the record, we took the live elements and the non-live elements, and did an A-B test with the record, and made them perfect, so when Pharrell hears

32 HEADLINER

PHARRELL WILLIAMS

"SOME ARTISTS ARE DISCONNECTED FROM THE PEOPLE WHO HELP THEM LOOK GOOD, BUT HE IS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL..."

Kyle’s FOH mix, it’s the record – he’s also hearing those live nuances, which he’s OK with, but he’s getting the record. He feels like he’s in a studio, but with a live feel. He’s not one of those artists that wants more vocal here, less of that here, and so on; he wants to hear the whole mix, and rock out. He wants consistency, and he wants people to get it – this thing that he worked so hard to produce. He already made it right, so you don’t have to re-engineer it to make it right again.

Kyle, are you using the processing from inside the console at FOH? KH: Yeah. If you think about it, everything that Pharrell’s done has been recorded and mixed using Waves, so I am already getting that true sound, so why re-invent the wheel? There’s no need to try and get a nice round drum sound and augment it, as it’s already there, so I just use some nice reverbs from the console. For the Auditorium Stravinsky here, I don’t want it too dry, so I add a little reverb, but only a little. There’s no need to over-process the music, because once again, you’re changing his vision – and it’s not about my vision, it’s about translating his vision to the stage.

JP: I use Waves a lot, but like Kyle says, you don’t have to process what’s already good, so I use it for effects: my reverbs on the background vocals, and on Pharrell’s vocal, too. I use the Waves kit to complement the sounds, give them a little bit extra here and there, but I never go overboard with it. Because I also work from an SD7, I have the luxury of quality dynamic processing and multiband compression, so I can take that from the desk, then use Waves for effects - it’s a great combination.

What’s the vocal chain for Pharrell?

KH: It’s a real simple chain, actually. I go through an Avalon 737, and straight into the desk, where I do my EQs and compression. Less is more, really, as that way, you’re keeping true to his sound. Any effects that we use on his voice, we’ve already done in Pro Tools and married to the desk, so we always guarantee a consistent show. Whether we do the smallest backyard boogie or the biggest stadium, we always have the same consistent audio sound. If he does a little four-channel show for somebody’s birthday party, he wants the same sound as he’d have on a big stage. There’s no middle ground here! We’ve done those kind of shows, when our consoles have been an iPad interface with faders, our PA is on sticks, and we’re in a backyard... And his in-ears had to feel like an arena or a stadium. You have to plan ahead, because if you wait until the last minute, you fail.

In-ears are a crucial part of the operation at all levels, then... Which models do you use?

JP: We’re using JH Audio JH16s, which sound phenomenal, especially as we’re running at 96kHz. My stage is pretty insane; every musician has a discrete sub of their own, and we always have a big sidefill system, but we don’t turn it up very loud - it’s just for a feel, and for the dancers to hear; that allows them to hear everything perfectly and feel the music. I can then keep the stage volume pretty low, so it doesn’t kill Kyle at FOH. The first time I put the JH16s in, I was amazed by the low end - I’d never heard low end out of an in-ear like that before. Jerry Harvey is definitely doing something very special!

Pharrell’s a pretty percussive person, right?

KH: Totally percussive – and now we’ve finally got him to the stage where

he is wearing both his in-ears all the time, aside from when he goes down to listen to the audience; and even with that, Jeremy already has the audience built into his in-ear mix, so he’s getting that vibe also.

Does it help your working relationship that you’re all around the same age?

KH: Of course, because even though I can’t play an instrument for the life of me, I know how it’s supposed to sound; and being the same age, we have a lot of the same musical taste, so I understand where he’s going. Saying that, when I’m not on the road, I’m listening to talk radio, to decompress a bit! [laughs] Because Jeremy and I work with a lot of artists, we have so much music in our heads all the time, so when we don’t have to listen, it’s talk radio all the way! Working with Pharrell is so refreshing, because I can listen to everything he listens to, and it’ll be the same stuff I like. It’s literally the best working situation I could be in.

Is this the same for you, Jeremy?

JP: Yeah, pretty much. We study music so much, and even after you have it under your belt, you always hear something new that you can improve.

Pharrell’s music is all timeless, as he’s done it so well; people always ask me, ‘are you tired of Happy yet?’ And I’m like, ‘no’, because every time I listen to it I still go, ‘man!’ His music is uplifting; it always has a message.

It sounds like he’s amazing to work with, and really cares about his sound and his crew...

KH: He is genuinely an amazing person; and that’s right, no matter who you are on the crew - you could be a runner, someone on dimmers, a

PHARRELL WILLIAMS

“PHARRELL IS WORKING HARDER THAN ALL OF US. HE PROBABLY GETS NEGATIVE SLEEP!”

patch guy, whoever – when he sees you, he makes his way to say hello to you, and does exactly the same when he leaves. To him, everybody deserves that respect. Some artists are disconnected from the people who help them look good in front of all these hundreds of thousands of people, but he is not like that at all. He gives you eye contact, he speaks to you, and he is an amazing guy to work with.

are on the upstroke. But there are a lot of engineers out there that are [pauses]... Suspect! [laughs] They sit at a top console like an SD7, and they’re completely lost; that’s because they haven’t found the time to do their homework, but I did that on many desks, and gave myself a solid foundation, which has helped me get where I am today.

JP: And he is probably one of the busiest people I’ve ever met in my

in church, and my dad had a studio with an organ and a bunch of keyboards. I was always going to gigs with him, hooking stuff up, tearing it down, and it just kind of made sense to me. I was told I had an ear for music, but I was shy and afraid; then I went to college, stopped playing, but was producing in the studio and doing the live thing on the side.

I’ve done pro-audio, home theatre, worked for small and big companies, toured as a system tech, FOH, monitor guy... And as I went freelance, it all moved towards the stage, and I realised that working with artists made me comfortable. I learned it wasn’t about me, it’s all about the artist and the band on stage, and that’s when I started getting a lot of calls! [smiles] It’s been an amazing journey so far, that’s for sure...

life! But no matter how little time he has, or how fatigued he is, he treats people the same. You know how this music business is, there are times when he’s happier than others, but even then, he is still amazing.

KH: At 5am, he’s cool... At 8pm, he’s cool... At noon, he’s cool... You are never gonna catch him in a bad vibe; and once again, he is working harder than all of us. He probably gets negative sleep! [laughs] JP: People probably think that because he is the biggest artist in the world right now, and because his songs are so big, that he’s not producing as much. No... Pharrell will leave a festival with 100,000 people and go straight to the studio at night and produce records. Everyone is pulling on him; he’s doing movies, records, shows, and he’s about to be a judge on The Voice; he does not stop, and I don’t understand how he can do it.

It seems impossible to work as much as he does, and none of this is by half; the records he produces are amazing – he’s not losing, he’s winning.

How did you guys get into the business of pro-audio?

KH: For me, I always had a passion for music and grew up around it.

My mum was a beautician, and she did record producers’ hair, so I was always there. I observed... And it called me! Basically right out of high school, I was instantly wanting to do this. One of my mum’s clients was an engineer, and I shadowed him. Wherever he was, I was there.

Fortunately for me, I had the best of both worlds, as I started off in the studio, and the engineer was also a live guy, so I understood both sides of it, almost simultaneously. Then, when the studios started to decline, live took off – it was an easy transition. I do some studio work here and there, if I get a call, but the way today’s market it, live is where it is at; even the biggest studio console makers are going into the live genre, as people have to perform. Record sales are on the decline, and live shows

JP: For me, I’ve always been around music. I grew up playing drums

Is there a moment that stands out for you guys, or does every day roll into one?

KH: I can’t say that any magical moment stands out, as every artist has one at some point in their career. I would say my career has been magical - my 21 years in the biz. Being able to work with artists at the top of their game, like Pharrell, and also those who are today’s opener and tomorrow’s headliner. That’s what I love. I remember doing shows in a mall, and now we’re rocking in a 100,000-seater stadium; and knowing you’ve grown together is really something.

JP: I’ve worked with so many artists in many genres, and it’s always the

same: people are people. It’s all about relationships, and if you make them, you never lose them. Those are what make your life great. www.pharrellwilliams.com www.digico.biz www.jhaudio.com www.waves.com

MONTREUX J A Z Z

F E S T I V A L

JUST A FEW OF THE INCREDIBLY TALENTED ARTISTS THAT GRACED MONTREUX’S LEGENDARY STAGES THIS YEAR...

Photography © MJF 2014, LIONEL FLUSIN, ANNELAURE LECHAT, ARNAUD DERIB, MARC DUCREST, DANIEL BALMAT

"I DON 'T CARE IF A DUDE IS PURPLE WITH GREEN BREATH AS LONG AS HE CAN SWING..."

- MILES DAVIS

(TEMPLES)

BEST OF BRITISH JAMES BAGSHAW IS FRONTMAN OF TEMPLES, A FAST-GROWING ROCK BAND FROM KETTERING [UK], THAT HAVE BEEN MAKING SOME SERIOUS WAVES SINCE THEY BEGAN THEIR MUSICAL JOURNEY TWO YEARS AGO. THEY HAVE RECENTLY SUPPORTED THE LIKES OF SUEDE, KASABIAN, MYSTERY JETS, AND THE VACCINES, AND RELEASED THEIR SELF-PRODUCED DEBUT ALBUM, SUN STRUCTURES. I ADVISE ANY FANS OF ‘60S PSYCHEDILIA TO TAKE A LISTEN – IT’S FANTASTIC STUFF; AND I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT THINKS SO. JUST ASK JOHNNY MARR AND NOEL GALLAGHER, BECAUSE AS FAR AS THEY’RE CONCERNED, TEMPLES ARE THE BEST NEW BAND IN BRITAIN... AND WHO AM I TO ARGUE?

Temples takes you back to the ‘60s, but there’s a fresh angle...

Yeah, I mean, our influences are bands like The Byrds, The Beatles, early Floyd, orchestral music, and definitely Motown, too. That could be hundreds of artists, of course, but the Motown sound is entirely influencial in the record.

What are your musical backgrounds?

Well, we’ve all been in bands before, and I think musically, you go through different stages - it’s what everyone does. The previous band I was in, I didn’t really sing - I did BVs, and since then I’ve been learning how to sing, really. Musically, we’re now at a point in our lives where we want to create something with the charm of the ‘60s pop song, and Bowie world in the ‘70s, so it’s memorable, but you’re not sure why... Not in the classic sense of the word, with predictable chord changes, boring lyrics, and repetitive melodies; we wanted to get the right balance, and hopefully we have done that.

Well, Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher seem to think so...

Yeah... It’s pretty amazing, having fans like that, but it never feels like people are talking about you personally when they pay you these compliments, so that’s the best way to digest that kind of praise. We don’t want it to go to our heads, and we don’t want to feel any overbearing pressure. They’re only talking about our music, not us, which makes it more comprehendable. After all, we’re just four lads from Kettering!

A good attitude to have! You self-produced all of Sun Structures...

We did. We recorded the whole thing at home, and in Temples, we’ve never done demos. Our first song, Shelter Song, was released as it was in the first mix we did; that’s how it went down on the album. We didn’t sit there, do 12 demos, with the idea of re-recording them all again somewhere else; we produced as we went along, so even if the songs weren’t fully written, all the time, we were determining production aspects and sonics. It’s a really liberating way of writing and producing.

37 HEADLINER

(TEMPLES)

"WHEN YOU’RE JET-L AGGED, AND PL AYING FOUR SHOWS A DAY, IT FEELS LIKE WORK - A N D M U S I C I S N E V E R R E A L LY M E A N T T O F E E L L I K E W O R K ! " Capturing the moments as you go...

That’s exactly it, and there is a charm to that first idea, like with any artist - be it a wordsmith or a painter. The first idea is always very pure. It can be ridiculous, too, but it’s purity; and it’s a case of working out which are good and pure, and which are bad and pure. That’s the solid ethos of this band. One track on the album was done on a half-size nylon string guitar which I put a piezo pickup in, and it was just a rough guitar track, yet it stayed on the record.

Any recording tricks you’d like to share? [pauses] We record onto Logic, and I use plugins, but I’m not gonna tell you what they are... Let’s just say I built my own! [smiles] I will say I have a lovely custom spring-made reverb which is great for vocals, and I have a WEM Copicat, which is excellent for nice spatial delays. We’re not purists though, so we do use a lot of digital kit - I just won’t divulge...

Fair enough... What about your guitar amp?

I started using Peavey amps around 2010, and gravitated to the Delta Blues model for its tonal quality and reliability, and also its classic look. It looks like an old amp, but you know it’s going to have the functionality of a new one; and when I first tried it out, I couldn’t believe how it had that vintage sound, and also a great spring reverb. The build quality is really good, and it’s been on tour with me for four years; for a good portion of that time, it hasn’t even been flight-cased, and despite being knocked around quite a bit, it’s still in really good shape.

You use it in the studio as well as on stage?

I do. It’s actually really versatile in the studio, especially with organs, because of its fullbodied, rounded sound; and of course the tremolo is brilliant. What’s good about the Delta Blues in particular is its 15-inch speaker; it’s great for the low end of the guitar, which you often miss on the 2 x 12 cabs. It takes care of the clean bottom end that you can kind of lose with other amps, especially during performances; and on stage, it works really well with all the pedals I have - particularly my octave pedal, which picks up on the bottom end better than anything else.

How do you set your EQs? I’m actually a great believer in keeping stuff as flat as possible on the amp, as I generally have my EQs dialled in. If I want to get more trill, or create a thicker sound, I’ll just use my guitar. This way, I’ve always got a very even, full sound. Then I’ll use the clean channel to bring out more of the brightness, as the amp already has that lovely low end.

What’s next on the agenda for Temples?

Well, we’re touring all the time. We head

off to Japan tomorrow, which we’re really looking forward to, and then we’re in the US for two weeks; and of course it’s festival season, so every weekend for the whole summer we’re busy. Then we’ll be back into Europe, before a big six-week tour of the US, and then I guess we’ll see what happens from there.

Sounds hectic... Does it ever get too much?

Well, it can be quite easy to get wrapped up when touring - or in the studio, for that matter. It’s about the stressful nature of it, and we all get stressed out, even if we’re not musical!

It’s really about finding time to be able to step away from it all a little bit, and try to view what you’re doing from another perspective. That’s the best way of touring, because it isn’t always rock and roll... When you’re jet-lagged, and playing four shows a day, it feels like work - and music is never really meant to feel like work!

At times it does, though, and because as a musician or performer, you’re so attached to

"I GRAVITATED TO THE PEAVEY DELTA BLUES FOR ITS TONAL QUALITY AND RELIABILIT Y, AND ALSO ITS CLASSIC LOOK..." your art, you have to remember that you’re very fortunate to be working in something you love full-time. I actually had no job at all for two years before Temples. I was just recording and writing, trying to find an identity within a business that, as we all know, is notoriously hard to create something that’s accepted, and is also new and fresh. It’s important never to lose your belief or your focus. www.peavey-eu.com www.templestheband.com

(ANE BRUN)

“I FEEL LIKE I’VE BEEN ON THIS LITTLE ISLAND ON MY OWN, JUST KIND OF FLOATING THROUGH THE CHAOS...”

How important was your decision to go out alone, and not down the major label route?

I have been independent since the beginning, and was lucky, as I found a manager from the start, started my label, and it’s really been the best choice, especially when you look at what a chaotic time it’s been these past few years in the music business. I feel like I’ve been on this little island on my own, just kind of floating through the chaos, you know? I’ve built my own fanbase, and throughout my career it’s always just been a case of building everything up myself. And through the chaos, we’ve always found ways to make it work.

And your record, Songs, celebrates that...

Yeah, Songs is your typical anthology type thing; 32 songs from the last 10 years in my career. We also did something called Rarities, which is also a collection of songs, but it’s a bit different, as it’s a lot of previously unreleased material. So basically, we released two double albums last year, which is crazy!

SWEET SONGS & RARITIES NORWEGIAN-BORN ANE BRUN IS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC. SHE MOVED TO STOCKHOLM IN 2000, AND THREE YEARS LATER, TOOK THE PLUNGE AND STARTED HER OWN LABEL SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY RARE IN SWEDEN AT THE TIME - AND IT WAS THE BEST MOVE SHE COULD EVER HAVE MADE. TEN YEARS AND SEVERAL PLATINUM ALBUMS LATER, SHE’S EVOLVED INTO9AN EPIC INTERNATIONAL PERFORMER, AND IS ABOUT TO BEGIN WORK ON A NEW RECORD, A NEW TOUR, AND A RATHER IDYLLIC NEW STUDIO, RIGHT ON THE OCEAN...

You like to make cover versions your own...

You know, covers come to me in different ways: sometimes it’s a request from someone for a project; and sometimes it’s me wanting to play around with a song that’s really in a style far away from my own. I did a song by Arcade Fire, and one by Beyoncé. I just try to make them a little different, and it’s a very creative process for me to take an existing song and try and make it into my own. I just love singing and playing, and sometimes I do that for fun, and it sounds good..!

Your first record, the beautiful Spending Time With Morgan, was released in 2003 – how has your music evolved into the now epic feel over the last decade?

I think my music has developed quite a lot.

I started as a classic singer-songwriter with guitar, cello, and a couple more instruments – you know, that kind of stuff. I still go back to that place now and again, but for the last four years, I’ve been touring with a double drummer, and using a lot of reverbs and big sounds. As you say, it’s a lot more epic, but I still have the singer-songwriter in me; and in the fall, I’m going on my first solo tour in a while. It will be just me on the stage, and I’m going to do that in Europe, which should be a lot of fun. Next year, we will have a new album... And that will be really epic!

39 HEADLINER

(ANE BRUN)

You’ve done a lot of work with Peter Gabriel...

Yeah, I’ve done three tours with Peter, and I also sung on his album, New Blood. That was 2010-11, but I actually met Peter in 2005 when I was playing at a huge festival - a Mandella foundation concert, with a lot of stars. He came up to me after my little set and said he liked what he heard, and then it took five years for him to contact me! [laughs] I got

Another thing that seems to be close to your heart is the environment...

Yeah, I started an initiative with another guy here in Sweden in 2009. It all started as a big concert to create some tension around the [United Nations Climate Change Conference] Copenhagen meeting.

We held a huge concert in Stockholm with 25 artists playing for seven hours in a theatre; we also had people talking and films playing in between the music, and it was called ‘No More Lullabies’. This project continued, and we did some more outdoor concerts the following year, had some meetings, and it was like a network of artists that wanted to make a stand. It’s interesting, at the time it wasn’t a big thing to be engaged as an artist in politics, but today in Sweden it’s pretty normal, and I think that’s a good thing. Then I started ‘Art Makes A Stand’, a network where artists connect and show support from the Swedish music scene. There are about 50 artists, and we made a huge ‘Tweet storm’, and that’s how it started.

We did one recently about a Swedish power company, which is investing in coal again, and we think that’s horrible, so we made a new Tweet about that. It’s a social network thing that we hope will grow, but it takes a lot of resources, as it’s so emotional. If you go into it, you get really frustrated; things never seem to move fast enough.

“SUSTAINABILITY IS THE FUTURE, AND IT ALWAYS MAKES ME HAPPY WHEN BUSINESSES EMBRACE THAT.” an email from his main technician in 2010, and he asked me to come on tour. They’d remembered me from 2005, and were looking for an extra singer; they looked at what I’d done since then, and a week after the call, I was in England doing rehearsals. It’s amazing, really...

You’re quite adept at recording too, right?

Yeah, I can record my own solo stuff on Logic or Pro Tools – simple productions at my own studio, basically; and a lot of the recordings from the Rarities album are my own. I have a set of Genelec 8030s in my studio, which I’ve had for years; I love them, and I never thought I’d need anything else, but this year, I added the 7050 sub to my setup, and it’s now even better, as many of my productions are much larger feeling, and it’s kind of given me a bigger picture, I guess.

Tell me about your cabin by the sea... [smiles] Well, I am building a cabin by the ocean in Norway, where I’m going to be writing a lot of music. I’ve got a pair of Genelec 8010s, which are nice and compact, and they will be coming with me! I bring them anywhere when I want to work, basically, as it’s easy for me to just connect them to my Apogee Duet, and they sound great. They’re in a little bag, which is perfect, as I travel so much, and I really like the sound.

With Genelec, you always get a big sound in a small shell, I find. I mean, I also use the 8030s from my studio as rehearsal speakers if I don’t want to go into a rehearsal studio. I just plug them into my mixing board, and they work fantastically. They’re powerful enough, and I feel like they generate a sound that is very familiar to me – a very natural and honest sound, which I’ve become accustomed to over the years. That’s important as an artist.

You grew up around music...

Yeah, my mum is very musical; throughout my life she’s been a piano teacher and a singer, so she has always filled the house with music. My father comes from an island on the Atlantic, and the cabin is also on the family land, so that will be not only a musical retreat, but a personal one too, and it’s going to be an amazing place to spend time and work.

So you feel a level of social responsibility towards sustainability, then?

Yeah, in the last few years definitely, but not so much when I was a teenager! I became aware of it during my 20s, and now in my 30s for sure. I was also very happy to hear about the sustainability aspect of the Genelec brand; the fact that their speakers are made out of recycled material, and made more or less on demand is great. Also, their business is located in a village in Finland, and all the production is done locally; and the working conditions for the workers are very sustainable, too. Sustainability is the future, and it always makes me happy when businesses embrace that.

“WITH GENELEC, YOU ALWAYS GET A BIG SOUND IN A SMALL SHELL...”

How do you think our industry sits now, compared to 10 years ago?

Well, the small labels aren’t making much money, and nor are the artists.

For me, 2005-6 was the peak for an indie label, as we had the Internet at the same time as we had CDs, and I sold a lot of CDs at that time, and made a lot of money for my albums and tours. We had the exposure to the Internet, so it was easy to get out there... But we also made money! Now, there’s no money anywhere, so we are back to knocking on big labels’ doors. Streaming and touring income is low for new artists; at the beginning of your career, even if you’re playing at a big festival, you won’t get a big fee. It’s not like it was, because you don’t sell CDs anymore. Honestly, I don’t understand how they do it today, but I do know that there’s a lot of good music out there, and through the Internet, be it Instagram, videos, social media... You’ve got to use it all. www.anebrun.com www.genelec.com

40 HEADLINER

(HELLFEST)

IT MIGHT GET LOUD Nexo continues to evolve into a major force in the French festival scene. This year, Melpomen delivered a series of sizeable STM systems to three of France’s leading festivals: the flip-flop configured two main stages at Hellfest in Clisson; Poupet, in Saint-Malô-du-Bois; and Solidays, the second largest on the French festival circuit, where headliners included Franz Ferdinand, Saint Michel, and Rodrigo y Gabriela. www.nexo.fr

SD5 Main Features: 124 Input Channels 56 Configurable Busses Plus Master Buss 24 x 24 Matrix 24 Dynamic Equalizers 24 DiGiTuBes 24 Multiband Compressors 24 Digital FX 32 Graphic Equalizers Multi Channel Folding 8x AES/EBU I/O (mono)

The All New SD5. A Real Crowd Pleaser.

A decade after the launch of the D5 Live, DiGiCo launches its newest Control Mixing Surface, the SD5. As you would expect, the SD5 fits snugly into the D5’s shoes, but benefits from the advancements made possible by DiGiCo’s proprietary Stealth Digital Processing™.

Featuring a low noise, heat dissipation worksurface benefiting from Hidden-til-lit (HTL) technology, its five digitally driven full colour TFT LCD screens, three of which are touch sensitive, have a new configuration that allows easy access to single or multiple users. There are also two interactive dynamic metering displays (IDM) and quick access buttons are positioned down the left side of the channel screens for fast and easy navigation.

Incorporating the master screen into the worksurface design has allowed for complete user feedback, but maintained a lower profile meter bridge. This still allows clear visibility of those on stage for the user, with everything in close reach to the mix position.

The SD5’s superior headroom, dynamic range and audio quality are of paramount importance and its feature set surpasses any other console in its class.

The Brand New all SInging & All Dancing, SD5 Digital Console. Shipping Now.

DiGiCo UK Ltd. Unit 10 Silverglade Business Park, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey KT9 2QL. Tel: +44 (0) 1372 845600

www.digico.biz/sd5

42 HEADLINER

(HEAD 2 HEAD)

(HEAD 2 HEAD)

43 HEADLINER

IMMERSED IN SPACE GRAMMY-WINNING PRODUCER, DJ SWIVEL, PUTS SE ELECTRONICS’ NEW RF SPACE REFLEXION FILTER HEAD TO HEAD WITH ITS PREDECESSOR, RF PRO, IN A VOCAL SHOOTOUT, WITH THE HELP OF NEW YORK-BASED ARTIST, ATARAH VALENTINE...

I was very excited when sE sent us over their new version of the famous Reflexion Filter, dubbed ‘Space’, as I was a huge fan of the first iteration, as it has saved countless recordings.

I’ve used the product in all sorts of situations, and it’s the only one that really stands up and improves a vocal. It’s becoming more and more common now to see, as studios move further away from the big commercial spaces, and more into our homes and small offices, so when sE said they were able to improve it even more, I was eager to run it through its paces, and even do a side by side comparison with the original filter (which I conveniently own).

The first thing I noticed upon opening the box is that the connecting hardware has completely changed. This was a huge relief, as my only real criticism of the first Reflexion Filter was the hardware. It was a little confusing, and didn’t really secure the gear to a mic stand very well. You were always left with a wobbly contraption that was never sitting straight, or centred around the mic.

Once I got Space out of the box, and tried connecting to a mic stand, I realised it was a breeze, and far more solid than the first version - a welcomed improvement. The next thing I noticed was the actual filter was much thicker. It has the same surface as the first generation, but looks like it has more layers of material, which I suppose is there to improve absorption or diffusion.

So being that this isn’t a very complex piece of gear in its actual function, the next step here was to just give it a simple run though. My plan was to just cut the same vocal through the same vocal chain, and alternate between the old Reflexion Filter and the new Space Reflexion Filter. I had my good friend and artist, Atarah Valentine, with me, so he agreed to help me with the shootout. The vocal chain I used was a Blue Bottle running through a Neve 1073, and finally into a Tube Tech CL-1B. We cut a verse and hook lead from one of Atarah’s own songs (something he was quite familiar with, so he had no issue with replicating it).

My immediate reaction after listening to both was that the differences were fairly subtle, but certainly noticeable; RF Space offered a much smoother and airier vocal - or rather, allowed me to capture more precisely how the vocal was supposed to sound. I noticed in the old Reflexion Filter, there were some low-mid, boomier frequencies that stuck out a little more. When you compare both in this kind of environment, you can hear the problem frequencies from the original filter poke out. This is something I may not have noticed without being able to A/B the vocals.

Overall, everything seemed like a solid improvement, and when you’re able to improve on what was already a fantastic product, it leaves little to complain about. So I tip my hat to sE Electronics for delivering such a great product, and I anticipate this becoming the new standard for project studios, similar to what the original Reflexion Filter Pro was, some eight years ago. www.seelectronics.com

“RF SPACE OFFERED A MUCH SMOOTHER AND AIRIER VOCAL - OR RATHER, ALLOWED ME TO CAPTURE MORE PRECISELY HOW THE VOCAL WAS SUPPOSED TO SOUND.”

(DJ SWIVEL)

Toronto-born DJ Swivel first made a name for himself in 2005, when he recorded Fabolous' fourth studio album, From Nothin' To Somethin'.

Since then, he has worked with an eclectic bunch of leading international artists including Jay-Z, Whitney Houston, Kanye West, Britney Spears, and Beyoncé. In 2010, such was his popularity, he became Beyoncé's personal engineer, working on her fourth studio album, 4, and mixing her I AM World Tour DVD, which was certified double platinum.

40 HEADLINER

Q&A

(LADY GAGA)

BORN THIS WAY

MICHAEL BEARDEN’S MUSICAL JOURNEY BEGAN ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO. HE STARTED PLAYING PIANO WHEN HE WAS JUST FIVE-YEARS-OLD, AND THAT LAID THE PERFECT FOUNDATIONS TO WHAT WOULD BECOME A TRULY REMARKABLE CAREER. CURRENTLY MUSIC DIRECTOR AND KEYBOARD PLAYER FOR LADY GAGA, HE TALKS US THROUGH HIS DAILY ROUTINE, THE DOS AND DON’TS ON STAGE, AND HIS TIME WORKING ONE-ON-ONE WITH MICHAEL JACKSON...

What are the key qualities you have to develop to work closely with artists of the caliber of MJ, Madonna, and now Gaga?

The best way to become a great leader is to be a great follower; and the best way to learn anything is by doing. Musicians should do as many different gigs as possible, trying not to just stay in one genre or one style of music.

My career has spanned jazz, r&b, rock, theatre, classical, pop, and even country, just to name a few; and I am not a fan of anchoring myself in one identity. I also believe musicians need to learn about other disciplines: go to a dance rehearsal; learn about lighting, directing, acting, wardrobe, stage tech, set design, and video. Trust me, the more you know about all of this the better you will be as a musician, and especially a music director.

As an MD, you must possess an ability to be calm in very tense high pressure situations. You have to know how to deal with artists’ egos and temperaments, whatever that might be. However, you should never be a sycophant. I’m collaborating with the artist, and music is very intimate.

I have to feel like I can tell the artist the truth without feeling like my job will be threatened. There has to be a great business sense and knowledge of how to work in tandem with management and production.

The artists I work with know what they want. Especially someone like MJ or Gaga. Trust me! But, they also want to hear what you think, and what you would do to make their presentation better. Simply put, MD 101: Know the music of the artists you’re working with. If you’re open, and not resting on what you’ve done in the past, you can continue to grow and do great things.

What are your biggest audio and logistical challenges?

Most artists want to hear their music as close to the record as possible, sonically. However, I like to marry the studio sound with the live sound. So, the challenge for me is to give the artist what they want, while maintaing the integrity of the record they’ve created; and balancing the live element for the fans that come out to the shows. Then again, some artists don’t want to hear anything at all close to the record - they want it to sound different every show; and then there are those artists who know just enough about sound to make the engineer’s life a living hell! Fortunately, I haven’t had to work with that type of artist in quite a while.

In terms of logistics, for our arena shows, it’s our world. Our FOH engineer, Chris Rabold, is masterful at tuning the various rooms we roll into. We have a great working relationship, and the same tastes musically. As a result, Gaga’s shows have been sounding amazing! On some of the festival shows we’ve done, however, you have to trust your engineer and the music director’s philosophy and approach to the artist’s music, as sometimes we can’t use all of our gear. The good thing is, we’ve been working with Gaga a while now, and we know what her music should sound like, and what she’s looking for. Also, she has no problem getting on the board herself and moving faders to get what she wants. I really love that about her!

There was a challenge I had with MJ once. He was a star when he was extremely young. So, he was used to the old school way of listening on stage. He preferred monitors, side fills, and wedges. I tried my hardest

45 HEADLINER

(LADY GAGA)

“LADY GAGA IS A CREATIVE JUGGERNAUT WITH GREAT VISION; SHE I S T H E T R U T H .”

to get MJ to wear in-ear monitors for the tour we were preparing. He was NOT having it! [laughs] I did finally convince him to at least get the moulds done; he wore them maybe once or twice in rehearsals, and snatched them out of his ears. These are some of the challenges I deal with as a music director!

What are the individual responsibilities you hold on the Gaga tour?

My responsibilities vary depending on the project, but overall, I make sure the band is tight musically, and the arrangements are complementary to her recorded presentation as well as her new live vision. Her band is stellar, and they can handle whatever I throw at them.

The added bonus is they’ve been with Gaga for a long time now, and she trusts and respects them. Chemistry is difficult to manufacture, and it’s my job to maintain that balance. The riggers of the road are no joke. This life can wear on the best of us. Keeping up morale, while at the same time making sure the integrity of the music is being maintained, is always the great dance of tour life for an MD. Gaga is a true singer and a real musician, not just a pop star. I listen to make sure she’s not labouring in any way with her voice or when she plays her keyboards, and perhaps I’ll make an adjustment to the arrangement if I hear anything that could be a trouble spot. Once she knows what to do, she nails it every night; she warms up properly with her long-time vocal coach before every performance. I find her ethic to be a great extension of the excellence, attention to details era that came before her. All the great artists I’ve worked with have this trait, and she is right there with all of them – and she’s just getting started, in my opinion.

How important are in-ear monitors on a show as big as this?

Hugely! Just the explosive fan noise alone will drown out any wedge monitor they make. All the performers must have in-ears to hear themselves clearly, and our dancers use them as well. Gaga designed a very impressive stage for this ball, complete with runways and various stages. Travelling down the runways at any point during the performance will take you directly in front of the main speakers, so if we didn’t have in-ears, it would be almost impossible to perform in rhythm and on beat because of the audio delay. In-ears are super important on a show like this.

Our head of production, Chris Vineyard, turned me on to the JH Audio kit. He saw the old ears I was using, and said that I should try the JH16s. Reluctantly, I tried them. Since then, I haven’t even used my old ears. I don’t even know where they are! [laughs] These ears are amazing! I’m mostly impressed by the fullness and the bass response, as I’m a fan of bottom and warmth. The JH Audio kit delivers on that in a big way. I like my own ear mix because we have a great monitor mixer, and I’m also able to dial in exactly what I want to hear and have it feel like I’m listening to a live recording every night. I’m also surprised at how

comfortable they are to wear. We’re in our ears a lot on tour, and I never get ear fatigue with the JH16s.

How much do you work one-on-one with Gaga?

We have a great relationship. Lady Gaga is a creative juggernaut with great vision; she is the truth. Her ideas and artistry are highly creatively stimulating for me, and at this point in my career, that is what I’m looking for when collaborating with an artist. She’s very hands-on, and I love that. It takes out all of the guess work, and we can get directly to what we need to do to execute. She trusts me enough to put the music together while she’s working on other aspects of what she needs to do. She has no problem tweaking and changing, or just letting it be. I didn’t think I would ever feel that way about another ‘pop star’ after MJ but, here I am.

She’s special! I see even greater potential in her.

I’ve grown fond of her as a person too; her natural instincts always lead towards excellence in art, and uplift in humanity; and that’s what I’m all about in my life. I used to have deep conversations with MJ about those two subjects, and I see so much similarity with Gaga. Because for me, what is music if we’re not moving souls? Not necessarily in a religious sense, but purely in a love sense.

What is your most treasured musical memory?

Some of my friends say I’m a real life Forrest Gump when it comes to my experiences with these iconic people, and my time in historical events, and I must say, it’s been an amazing life so far. However, if I had to pick just one out of the many treasured moments it would probably be performing on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial in the ‘We Are One’ concert for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. As great as the whole event was, and the amazing artists we played with, the reason the concert was special for me is that the first lady Michelle Obama and I are dear friends. We’ve known each other since childhood. She introduced me to her husband, now the President, years ago, when they first started dating. I was supposed to play at their wedding but I couldn’t (another story for another time), and I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it is to perform in celebration of the first black President in the history of the United States, and his wife, who you also happen to know personally. There are no words! Nobody on the planet was able to have the same exact experience, and I’m humbled and honoured; and that is why I’ll always treasure that musical memory. www.michaelbearden.com www.jhaudio.com

(DANE KUNKEL)

46 HEADLINER

SUPERSTAR DJ FIVE YEARS AGO, DANE KUNKEL WAS A 14-YEAR-OLD SPORTS FANATIC, PLAYING VARSITY SOCCER, UNTIL AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT LED TO HIM CONTRACTING A RARE CONDITION, CAUSING HIM TO LOSE ALL MOVEMENT IN HIS LEFT ARM. AFTER BEING LEFT BED-RIDDEN FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED HIM, HE SAYS, WAS MUSIC...

Dane Kunkel’s recuperation began when he discovered the art of DJing. After watching a string of videos on YouTube, he downloaded some free DJ software and sold most of his possessions to finance his decks and some lighting and sound equipment, then taught himself his newfound trade. By 15, he’d already established his own DJ business, Get KunKed Productions, and today, he is somewhat of an entrepreneur, raising thousands of dollars for a series of charities through BeachGlow, his own annual event, which allows him to ‘give something back to those less fortunate than himself ’.

After performing at a few small events for friends, then friends of friends, word soon got around about Kunkel’s high-energy performances and growing philanthropic drive, but his fascinating musical journey got really interesting when he performed for a ‘home frat’ party, raising money for homeless and underprivileged kids in New Jersey.

“That was the turning point for me, and it helped create the foundations for what is now Beach Glow. We saw that no matter what age, race, or social standing, music was the one thing that connected people,” Kunkel explains, from his Philadelphia HQ. I say HQ, as this is the only 19-year-old I know who has a 15-strong management team and his own board of directors... And they’re all volunteers. “The music was fuelling the community, and the kids felt welcome; they saw it all, were able to touch the buttons on the decks, and ask how to do this and that, you know? We’re trying to get the whole

community to understand that in 10 years they’ll be having their kids and passing their traits down, so we want to fill them with a sense of this, and help people who are not so lucky to have the support. Places like Trenton [NJ] are not as fortunate, and my school was big in pushing students to help the community around you. People love what we do, as we are trying to fuel this social change.”

UP THE ANTE

At this point, Kunkel was keen to scale up, so went to his school and suggested they host something more significant: “I was still a sophomore, and I thought that we should throw a dance event; the school had been raising a lot of money for the Haiti earthquake victims, so they went for it.

I selected the charity Harmony Ministries, which helps various Haitian schools, building benches and things like that, and so me and a few friends put on a show in the high school gym, and that was the first ever BeachGlow.”

Unless a few metric tonnes of sand was deployed as part of the act, I assume this BeachGlow event didn’t involve an actual beach... Do divulge, Dane... “[smiles] OK, we adopt a charity for each event, our third of which is in July, and that will be the first to take place on a beach,” Kunkel laughs, adding that the ‘glow’ part of the name stems from the glow sticks you commonly see at raves. “The second event we did was Relay For Life, which was for Breast Cancer Research - it’s close to my heart, as three of my aunts have had it, and that show

really helped me grow as a performance DJ. Now, we’re preparing for an event at Jersey Shore, a beach location in an area which suffered badly during Hurricane Sandy; we selected the American Red Cross for that one, as they’ve done a great job at helping the Sandy victims.”

For 2015, Kunkel plans on putting the BeachGlow charity of choice to a public vote – a nice gesture, and one that will get the local community involved.

“If I didn’t get the injury, I wouldn’t have found DJing,” he reflects, adding that EDM is now ‘his thing’. “I want to show how giving something back can be fun, and EDM is perfect for that, as it’s a growing community that rallies together to enjoy a great time, from high school, to college, to people in their 40s; the demographic has evolved since our first show, and we want that to continue. It’s open to anybody that loves to see a performance.”

Kunkel is equally ambitious on stage, opting to use four decks rather than a more traditional two, and he always puts the people first.

“I do a lot of movement, and try to get the crowd going with a lot of high-energy songs – again, that’s where EDM is fantastic,” he explains. “I used to mix CDs, but now it’s all mp3, as it’s so easy to put on a flash stick and plug it in. I started out with a Tractor S4, which is a lightweight, standalone unit with four decks and a mixer in the middle, which is good for travelling, though now, I’m making the transition to the Pioneer CDJs, which are great; they’ve really become the industry standard.”

So what’s the next phase for BeachGlow, and how much money has it raised so far?

“We’ve raised tens of thousands of dollars for a lot of great causes, and we just want to continue to support this community,” Kunkel concludes. “Already, we’ve grown a lot bigger than we could have imagined, and perhaps next year, we’ll do more than one day for our event. As long as we keep making money for charity, and people still enjoy what we do, we’ll keep doing our thing.” www.beachglowevent.com

“Simply Awesome.”

“Lectrosonics gear is built like a Mack truck. We travel the world and in all the time we’ve been using this gear, I’ve never, ever had any issues. Lectrosonics’ durability is, in my opinion, unsurpassed.”

- Lorenzo Banda, Monitor Engineer, Foreigner

Pictured: Kelly Hansen, Foreigner lead vocalist with the HH transmitter.

<< Scan here and Raise Your Wireless Standards.

www.lectrosonics.com or 1-800-821-1121 In Canada, call 877-753-2876 Made in the USA by a Bunch of Fanatics.

In Europe, call +33 (0) 78558-3735

48 HEADLINER

Q&A

LONDON EMBRACES THE NAKED AND FAMOUS WORDS PAUL WATSON PHOTOGRAPHS JESSICA GILBERT

New Zealanders, The Naked And Famous, have been picking up a lot of traction in recent years, especially in the US, where several headline tours, including one with US rock band, Imagine Dragons, have seen them grow a substantial international fan base; YouTube them, and you’ll see many of their tracks have already achieved several million plays. As their current European tour cycle comes to a close, Headliner descends on London’s iconic Shepherds Bush Empire to catch up with keyboard player, Aaron Short, and lighting designer, Liam Griffiths...

Aaron Short started out as recording engineer for The Naked And Famous, and became a performing member just after the release of their first album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, in 2010. Over the next two years, the band completed a staggering 200 shows in 24 different countries, and dominated the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards, picking up seven of the eight they were nominated for. In his own words, Short is ‘the geek of the band’, but that’s a handy weapon to have; his musical input has enabled them to ditch their backing tracks, and lean towards a more mature, electronic sound, which their excellent 2013 release, In Rolling Waves, illustrates perfectly...

There’s some interesting kit up on stage; can you take me through it?

We decided that for live, it’s better, safer, and cheaper to sample all of the synths, and have MIDI controllers instead. The Ableton Push controls everybody on stage, and we’ve also got a load of Novation controllers up there, too, so when I launch a scene in Ableton to start off a new song, everyone’s instruments onstage change by themselves, apart from the click, so we’re free to run the tracks as we want, basically. The click is the one thing that keeps us all locked together as a band; it’s essentially one big Ableton brain, and everyone has a controller at their station.

Is it important for at least one band member to have an interest in technology?

Well, so many bands go down the dangerous route of having everything on playback. Often, the songwriters are great, but they have no technical know-how for an elaborate live stage setup. It’s easy to say, ‘let’s let the computer do the work’, but with us, even at writing stage, we’re thinking, ‘OK, if this is going to go on the recording, what will we use live to pull it off on stage?’

I’ve never seen such a big lighting setup at Shepherds Bush before; it’s huge... [smiles] Yeah, live shows have always been such a big deal for us, on the lighting and visual side especially. On the last tour, we worked closely with a team to develop a big visual design, but for this tour, we thought we’d strip that all down a bit, and go for the big lighting show instead, as it felt

“ON THIS SHOW, WE HAVE THESE COOL GLP X4XL LIGHTING FIXTURES, WHICH ARE PRETTY EPIC; IT LOOKS LIKE WE SHOULD BE PLAYING IN AN ARENA!”

T H E

N A K E D

S H E P H E R D S

like a lot of people were doing the whole visual thing. We worked closely with Liam [Griffiths, LD] to get this really unique lighting design on stage; on our last show, we had big arcs from the middle of the stage in high semi-circles, which looked amazing, but this new setup looks even better.

For this show, we have these cool GLP X4XL lighting fixtures, which are pretty epic! Liam’s been going on about this show for so long because of these things, but now we know why!

We used the GLP X4s on the last tour, which are great, but these new fixtures are five times as big, so it looks like we should be playing in an arena! What’s also cool is that Liam has a load of mirrors positioned around the stage, so during the show, we get some amazing beams.

Does it improve your playing, having this kit up on stage?

If you asked the rest of the band, you’d get four different answers to that question, as they’re all into their own thing, be it focusing on their playing, or the music, or whatever; but for me, the bigger the production I’m surrounded

B U S H

A N D

F A M O U S

E M P I R E

J U L Y

in, the better, so having kit like that on stage definitely helps me take my performance to another level.

What’s your relationship like with the crew?

Fantastic. We are actually outnumbered by crew, seven to five, and they are so important to us. They’ve been with us since 2011, and so has our FOH guy, Paul Kennedy, who knows our songs so well. Like we do with Liam on the lighting and visuals, we work closely with Paul on getting a full-on show. It’s all these little things that make our show what it is.

With such a young demographic, is there more pressure on you to deliver the songs as they sound on the record?

Internally as a band, we get so carried away with that stuff, especially if we make little mistakes; and even if management or FOH say they didn’t notice, we still know we screwed a bit up! I’d say 90% of the crowd don’t pick up on the minute details, but we get obsessive over them. We had this discussion ourselves: how close do we want our live songs

2 N D

to replicate the recorded versions? Do we do it bar for bar, or let it go a little? And I’d say it’s about half and half. We love reproducing them how they are on the album, as that’s what the audience wants; it’s what they feel they have the association with, you know?

You made a video of a live show due to the amount of poor quality uploads that were appearing online. Tell me about that...

We noticed that if you searched The Naked And Famous on YouTube, there were over 1,000 people who have uploaded one of our live shows via their iPhones, with the camera wobbling, and the sound distorting, and it’s just such a bad representation of how we sound live. To combat that, we put out our own live film for free; we did it ourselves, with fully mixed audio, and delivered it as an HD 1080p.

You’ve just been on a headline tour with Imagine Dragons in the US. How different do you find the US and UK markets?

Our label, Fiction Records, was signed off in the UK, so we always felt that our home would

50 HEADLINER

L I A M

“FOR THIS TOUR, WE THOUGHT WE’D GO FOR THE BIG LIGHTING SHOW INSTEAD, AS IT FELT LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE DOING THE WHOLE VISUAL THING.” be the UK, but the US has been the territory for us, as it’s been the most active and busy.

We’ve done five or six headline tours in the US now, and it’s really fascinating watching it grow slowly over there. They’re not necessarily the quickest to catch on to things, but when they do, you can stick around in the States for so long. I mean, people are still playing [our 2010 single] Young Blood out there four years after we released it, which to us, is crazy!

G R I F F I T H S

Liam Griffiths has been lighting designer and operator for The Naked And Famous since 2011. As their music has evolved, so has the whole production; and a strong relationship with the band on everything visual is keeping everyone happy...

How much do you interact with the band on the lighting show?

Quite a bit - especially with Aaron. Really, lighting is much more a part of their show now, and they trust me, which is a good thing! It means I can work on what I think is best; I feel pretty lucky to be working with these guys, as we’re all mates. I am constantly tweaking shows from listening to their music and noticing new things, but I have always worked on the idea of doing a cue stack for a track, and having specials on a different fader, so it’s all pretty much time-coded, really. We’ve done MIDI stuff with video before, with Aaron triggering the MIDI, and that’s the way forward; I have a bespoke page for each song, and there’s a lot of triggering of Macros as well, as I find it easier to edit a Macro, especially at smaller venues, when we’re cloning different fixtures.

You’re a big GLP fan – what do the new X4XLs bring to the table?

I really am. The fact that GLP’s colour tones and dimmer curves are so much better than any other manufacturer was one of the major reasons I went with them in the first place; and I knew from using the X4s on the last tour, that the X4XL would be a great light. I’ve been really impressed; they look great, they give a hell of a punch, and the zoom is just amazing. I’m using the strength of the beams rather than the pastels, and having 55 LEDs in one fixture makes such a big difference.

Is the fixture DMX-hungry?

Not at all; it’s taking up 27 channels [of DMX] in the hi-res mode, which I think is very reasonable; really, it’s pretty fast for a fixture of its size. What’s also cool about this setup is the ease of making the switch from X4 to X4XL; I was able to use the same show file as the last tour, so re-patching the new lights in was simple.

Finally, do you have a rule of thumb when illuminating a band? [pauses] Don’t whack a circle movement on everything! [laughs] www.thenakedandfamous.com www.glp.de www.ableton.com www.stagetechniques.com

LIAM GRIFFITHS

51 HEADLINER

HEADLINER MEETS...

Mark Thompson

SNAP CHAT LONDON-BASED PRO-AUDIO DISTRIBUTOR, FUNKY JUNK, IS OWNED BY TECH WIZARD, MARK THOMPSON, A TRUE STUDIO STALWART, WHOSE PERSONAL MIC COLLECTION IS UP THERE WITH ABBEY ROAD’S. HE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS ‘KEEP IT SIMPLE’ RECORDING PHILOSOPHY, EDUCATES US ON PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES, AND OFFERS AN ENTERTAINING INSIGHT INTO THE THINGS HE JUST LOVES TO HATE ABOUT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY...

I’d heard on the unreliable audio grapevine that Mark Thompson was ‘a bit of a shit’, and if first impressions are anything to go by, fair enough... I, however, rather liked this quirky, entertaining audio fanatic, so if that makes me a shit too, so be it. Beneath his slightly grumpy undertones lies a wealth of musical stories, an encyclopedic knowledge of anything audio, and some highly amusing viewpoints on the trade press... Sold!

Thompson’s vast knowledge of recording studios, microphones, and production techniques is astounding, as is his working reputation: he regularly deals directly about kit with Pete Townshend, Dave Gilmour, and Kate Bush, the latter of which he cites as a personal friend - she recently recorded in his stunning studio facility, Snap (more on that later), which was the first time she’s worked outside of Abbey Road in over 30 years.

Impressive. Funky Junk is a shop, a repair centre, a distributor, a listening board, and a bit of a geek-fest – and its 10-strong team are all remarkably attuned to their jobs at hand. They have to be, believe me.

“One thing that bugs me a huge amount - and it shouldn’t bug me, but it still does, is that you talk to a dealer, and they’re obsessed with stuff they’ve read online and in audio magazines, and although I understand that they have to assume this stuff makes sense, really, not much of it does,” is Thompson’s opening gambit, with an almost violent shake of the head. “And this is why so many manufacturers are so desperate to get us behind their gear. Before we get involved in anything, we take it into our studio and test it in the real world to see what it’s like, and the engineers up there don’t care if it’s fifty quid or five million quid; you’ll always get very honest

“THESE KIDS ARE MORTGAGING THEIR FUTURES TO GO TO COLLEGE IN THE BELIEF THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AS THE FINISHED ARTICLE...”

feedback. Secondly, it goes into the tech shop, and we open it up and see how it’s built. There are certain things that we have been offered that we refuse to get involved with: we won’t let anything by Malcolm Toft in here, nor Cartec, and it’s the same with Shadow Hills, purely because the build quality is so poor, and we can’t support it.”

COPYCATS It’s the same with a lot of Chinese product, Thompson insists, and it’s the character that’s lacking from their microphones that is his real bug-bear: “Some of the Chinese stuff is getting better, but we don’t stock Chinese mics, not because

52 HEADLINER

HEADLINER MEETS...

Mark Thompson

I’ve got a problem with Chinese mics, but I do have two separate issues with them: one, they tend to lack character; and two, I get so pissed off at copies! I can buy Neumann copies at $19 each if I buy 350, and they are being sold at $250! There are some classic cases... I had a customer here who burst into tears when he saw a mic that I’d bought for £250, and he’d paid £2,500 for the same microphone with another manufacturer’s badge on it. A lot of Americans are buying this kit, re-badging it, then selling it over here, and that brings me back to the review thing... How can a second-grade mic with no depth that’s all top end get a good review in a magazine? I’ll tell you why... because the distributor is taking out a half-page advert in the publication!”

No comment...! I move the conversation towards the modern day recording process, and ask Thompson about the Funky Junk recording philosophy, and its excellent recording facility, Snap Studios.

“Digital is just the way it is today, both for recording, and for the consumer. Of course it’s ridiculous, but that’s how it is. Saying that, I won’t listen to digital files, or anything anyone emails me. The engineer has got to burn me a CD on a Marantz CDR, and I’ll listen to it at home; I’m not interested in listening to it on an email,” Thompson insists. “Look at the best selling albums, like Dark Side of the Moon – those kind of artists cared about the sonic quality of the music, and the people we deal with, like Kate Bush and Pete Townshend, are the same; they’re prepared to invest – Kate has gone completely analogue again, for example.”

CREATIVE CRISIS Thompson grew up buying albums, listening to them from beginning to end, and that would be how he’d consume his music. But it’s not like that anymore...

“Sure, there’d be tracks that weren’t immediately accessible, but after you’d listened to them for a few weeks, you realised they were the ones that drew you in the most, so the art of making an album of 10 tracks was very important,” he reflects. “I’ll go home and listen to a Joni Mitchell album or whatever, and still from beginning to end, whereas today, kids dip in and out, and the music has to be very immediate. They’ll create their own medley of tracks, basically. The problem with that is, the art of a certain kind of production, the art of subtlety, and the art of depth in production all gets lost. I find it really concerning, as it very much colours the kind of music that’s being made, and the way people consume music.

“What we’re seeing now is this move towards live music, and away from recorded music. It happened a few years ago when Prince gave away CDs with newspapers. You’d see a CD on the cover of a magazine as a promo device, and music started being regarded as air: something that was free to take as you wished; you’d never imagine giving a mag away to promote a CD, so why give a CD away to promote a magazine?

The value in music started to get lost - and it shouldn’t, because to an awful lot of kids, they’d still rather listen to music than eat!”

This, Thompson says, is why he created Snap Studios, as one thing that music lacks these days is true production values.

“I feel very sorry for today’s engineers, as they’re having to create a full rhythm track in two days, and then they’re expected to edit it perfectly in Pro Tools... Like fuck, you can! If the sounds aren’t there, you can’t jig around with them,” he says, volume continuing to rise. I’m enjoying this. “When I was working with producers, you’d sometimes take three days to get a kick sound, and if you listen to some of those records from the ‘70s and ‘80s, the sound is just so fantastic, and people assume it’s the gear... It’s not about the gear: it’s one, the room; two, mic placement; three, the song and the performance; and four, time. When I was managing [producer] David Lord, with Peter Gabriel, we spent 18 months doing his albums, so you’d have the time to produce something with subtlety, and that had layers – these days, no chance.

“Also, this myth that someone can come out of college and have those gifts is so unrealistic; it takes time to learn. And I get pissed off that these

kids are mortgaging their futures to go to college in the belief that they will come out as the finished article – no, that’s just the starting point!”

KEEPING IT REAL Thompson starts to talk about affordable recording kit, and conversation turns to another myth – that you need £30,000 to create a studio that can produce master quality recordings. Try £1,000...

“There was an article floating about a while back by a complete idiot who specified a home recording kit for £30,000, and it was such fucking garbage. It made me quite angry, in fact, so I did a blog on a £1,000 setup that you could make master quality records with. I remember the first record David Lord worked on was done on a Tascam four-track with a little desk, and the only effect he had was a Boss phase pedal... And that was a record called Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometimes by The Korgis [smiles]. He charged them £120, and he did the whole record, and it sold two million. The next thing he did, he got a 16-track, again with very basic equipment, and that was Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen! It was all about his talent and ability to arrange and rewrite the songs people brought to him.

“Ultimately, the game we are in is all about talent, and there has to be a warning on the tin that the kit is a tool for the job. I love vintage kit, and am lucky to have a collection of it, but by and large, it is not something you should get overly sentimental about. You can do a job for £1,000: pick up a couple of ADATs for next to nothing, a mid-’80s 200 Series 16-channel Soundcraft mixer, a good mic, a decent pair of speakers, and an amp from your local junk shop. And the number of emails I got from top engineers and producers saying, ‘right on!’ was unbelievable.”

When the young generation of today send Thompson emails with their audio wish-lists attached, he always sends the same reply: ‘You’ve just walked into a restaurant and ordered the steak, the plaice, and the duck; there’s no vegetables and no bread. Why do you think that if it didn’t cost £3,000, it’s no good?’

53 HEADLINER

HEADLINER MEETS...

Mark Thompson

“ I LO V E V I N TA G E K I T, AND AM LUCKY TO HAVE A C O L L E C T I O N O F I T, BUT BY AND LARGE, IT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU S H O U L D G E T O V E R LY S E N T I M E N TA L A B O U T.” “I CAN SIT DOWN WITH ANYBODY'S WISH LIST AND I CAN KNOCK 30% OFF IT IN FIVE MINUTES; I SPEND MORE TIME TALKING PEOPLE OUT OF SPENDING MONEY!”

“If you sit in Abbey Road or any studio of a sort, what’s doing the work? It’ll be the workhorses like the dbx 160As, you know? It’s got to be a blend. You can get some great bits of kit for under £50, as different technologies cost different amounts to make. It’s not a question of the more it costs, the better it is. I can sit down with anybody’s wish list and I can knock 30% off it in five minutes; and I spend more time talking people out of spending money! Get the basics right: the fundamentals, the cabling, a solid mic stand. What’s the use of spending £5,000 on a Neumann U47, when you’re bringing it back to me a couple of days later as the thing’s so heavy that your crappy mic stand won’t hold it, as you refused to spend £40 on a new one! Where is the logic in that?”

MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY Snap Studios was finished around three years ago, and although he ‘hasn’t got behind a desk in anger’ for some time, Thompson loves having a facility of such quality that is affordable, that is based on his treasured production values.

“The gear should be transparent – it’s a means of capturing the performance, and Snap has a very creative vibe,” he explains. “I don’t like that all the big studios look like airport waiting lounges, so in Snap, there isn’t a single rock and roll pic or gold disc in sight; the only one I have got is a pic of Miles Davis playing into a particular Neumann U47, but that’s only because that exact one is in the studio!

“It has nice ‘50s lamps and rugs, the philosophy being that a lot of the talented kids that come in have started recording in bedrooms and living rooms, and they get intimidated in formal studios. The whole point of Snap is for people to feel at home there. A girl called Lucy Rose spent a couple of months doing an album there, and she virtually turned the live room into a copy of her living room at home. She even brought in her own piano, and we’ve got a beautiful Bosendorfer in there, but if you

want one that will sit in the track, it’s actually too good. The important thing is the vibe; when Kate Bush cut her track for the Olympics, she mixed it at Snap, and I loved it, so I am very pleased at how it turned out.

It was never intended to be on that scale, but there you go...”

Unsurprisingly, the attention to detail in Snap is second to none: Thompson installed special balanced mains that’s only really seen in places like Knopfler’s British Grove; it lowers the noise floor to a level that you can’t hear, which makes a huge difference.

“Even if you don’t notice a noise floor in a studio, it’s there, and particularly in the digital age; we just lowered it with a balanced mains, which is an expensive thing to do. We used Vovox hand-wound cables for the multicore runs behind the walls, and Variax was the only way we could have dimmers, to avoid putting in any extra HF. We got the infrastructure to the same level you’re going to get at Abbey Road or Air Lyndhurst, but it’s only £400 a day, therefore you can do an album for £15-20k rather than £80k, with the same results, and in some ways better.”

Although Thompson’s mic collection is one of the best in London, and most of his kit is state-of-the-art, Snap was never ‘a snob thing’: “Some of the gear is cheap stuff that I just love the sound of; I have a little box that I bought for £20 in a junk shop that does ADT and flanging, and I can’t record my guitars without it; and that’s what I say to kids: check out your old junk shops, and you might find an old Melos tape echo for £30. One of the most exciting times was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when the whole garage and warehouse thing started; I wasn’t a fan of the music, but there was loads of cool stuff coming out – kid’s buying Roland TR-808s and 303s for next to nothing, as it was all they could afford, and no-one wanted them. I’m hoping that might happen again with the stuff that was around in the ‘80s and ‘90s: Roland JV-1080s that you can now get for £50. Maybe someone will find a new twist on how to use that stuff? I hope so, because although this place makes me and the 10 people who work here a living, it upsets me that you’re expected to spend £3,000 on a compressor now. It shouldn’t be that way, should it?” www.funky-junk.com

54 HEADLINER

(LADY GAGA)

Q&A

GAGA OOH - LA - LA !

TOURING WITH ANY MAJOR ARTIST IS A HELL OF A JOB... BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THAT ARTIST IS NOT ONLY A SUPERSTAR ON THE STAGE, BUT A MEGASTAR OFF OF IT? AS WELL AS A RIGOROUS TOURING SCHEDULE, LET’S NOT FORGET THE ENDLESS TV APPEARANCES AND AWARD SHOWS - THE LIST IS LONG. HEADLINER GOES BEHIND THE SCENES, WITH TWO OF THE HARDEST WORKING ENGINEERS IN THE BUSINESS: CHRIS RABOLD AND RAMON MORALES, WHOSE RESPECTIVE ROLES AT FOH AND MONITORS ARE FAR FROM A WALK IN THE PARK...

→ CHRIS RABOLD BEGAN ENGINEERING IN 1995 – A TIME WHEN DIGITAL WAS IN ITS INFANCY, AND ANALOGUE RULED THE ROOST. HIS ROLE AT FOH FOR GAGA WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE TODAY WITHOUT SNAPSHOTS, SHOW FILES, AND AUTOMATION, BUT HE STILL HAS A FONDNESS FOR ANALOGUE OUTBOARD, AND IS GRATEFUL THAT HE GREW INTO THE INDUSTRY AT THE CUSP OF THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

Yesterday was the first day of rehearsals for the last part of your North American leg, which starts tomorrow. With 22 countries still to come, this is a hell of a tour, isn’t it? [laughs] Oh absolutely! It’s always huge with Gaga. I came on in 2012, though the way I started was back in 2010 when she was between engineers, and they needed someone to bridge a three-week gap, which was rehearsals for the Monster Ball tour. I did that, got it all set up, and when the original engineer came in, I handed it back to him. After that, I had a relationship with the production manager, so went and did the Beyoncé tour with him; and in 2012, they called me up, and I jumped on the second leg of the Gaga tour. Since then, we’ve been doing a lot of promo, and now we’re back at it... It’s busy!

It sounds it... What’s your setup at FOH? I work with a DiGiCo SD7, which I prefer to use as much as possible. I have an outboard rack too, as I like my analogue compression. DiGiCo does a brilliant job on compression, too; their dynamics are really good, but my ear also likes to hear analogue, so I use a combination of both: I use the SD7’s EQ, the filters, a little of the dynamics on the individual inputs, and then some internal effects; then it’s over to the outboard stuff.

What’s Gaga’s vocal chain?

She has a headset and a handheld, and both have the same chain.

With the headset, I handle the EQ and use a touch of the multiband compressor on the desk, then it goes into an Imperial Labs Lil’ Freak, just

for the de-esser; I don’t touch the EQ on that, then I’m into a TubeTech CL 1B, which is a compressor that I love to death. For the handheld, I use one band of the dynamic EQ on the desk, and then it’s the same signal chain, except I’m doing all of the EQ on the Lil’ Freak, and the de-esser is engaged as well.

What’s changed the most in terms of show expectations?

There are a couple of things for me: one big thing is that the type of gig has changed for me in the past few years, from whole-hearted rock and roll, to more pop; and then it’s the automation, being able to change things from song to song, with repeatability and consistency, which you just couldn’t do on analogue. Now, you can go as deep as you want; I can’t deliver what’s required at a big pop gig without the automation.

What kind of relationship do you have with Gaga?

It always depends on the artist, as different kinds of artists have grown accustomed to different things. With Gaga, as she’s got so many people in communication with her daily, getting time with her can sometimes be limited. I don’t want to push an ‘in your face’ urgency that makes the artist uncomfortable; but at the same time, when I do speak with her, I want the conversation to be sincere, and not based solely on ‘yes’, whereas if ‘yes’ can’t be achievable immediately, I am always honest, and I explain to the artist why it may take me a little time to get there. With Gaga, and with any artist, I am nothing except myself around them, and that has worked out for me so far.

With such a wireless and energetic show, how important are in-ears to Gaga and her band?

Totally essential. You know, at a certain point, when enough people and engineers you know and trust are using a product, there has to be something to it! I used Ultimate Ears for a number of years with Jerry [Harvey, JH Audio founder], so I know what kind of product he is going to put out; and for me, it’s just one of those deals. I don’t mix them,

→

that’s Ramon’s department, but there’s a reason that everybody’s on JH Audio in-ears now. They came along, took over, and I don’t see them going anywhere anytime soon! It’s cool for me during promo work, when we do impromptu rehearsals at the last minute; for example, if it was just for a TV show, I’d tell them, ‘don’t even get me a console’, as I’d just bring my JH Audio in-ears and listen with Ramon to his mixes, and that would give me enough to go on. Of course I also use the JH stuff on planes and at the gym, because they sound so great!

Are you running at 96kHz? I am, as it provides such clarity, which is great, as our in-ears are also phenomenal. The whole band, most of the techs, and myself, are all on JH16s. They’ve also put the 15 dancers on ears as well – they went with JH7s. If you haven’t used these JH Audio products, you really should try them! You won’t be disappointed, I guarantee it; and running at 96kHz through the DiGiCo with that fidelity and those great preamps, makes for a great combination. There’s nothing bad about this setup.

How challenging is the show to mix?

The thing with Gaga is, it becomes just as much show business as it is a music concert. It’s an enormous spectacle, so for me it’s all about overcoming the various production challenges. There is an A, B, C, and D stage, and she can be as close as 20-feet away from me at FOH, yet I’m 130-feet out from the stage on this tour! She is always out in front of the PA, so being able to get that pristine sound and an in your face vocal, that’s the fun part for me; getting it right in those challenging conditions.

Her band is also really good, and it’s not a track show, it’s a real band-heavy show, so through working with the band and the MD, it’s really rocking! When working with an artist like this, who is always in the public eye, the touring is just one part, because then there’s six months doing promo: TV, shoots, the stuff that’s not so much fun! Once we’re on tour and it’s rolling, it’s a huge amount of fun, and it’s then all about the show, as opposed to crazy stuff that’s changing every day!

It’s interesting that the dancers are on in-ears – they must provide them with enough thump and low-end, then?

Yeah, they sure do. They get pretty much a little bit of everything.

It gives them the direct sound, and it’s hard for them to hear what’s going on, especially when they’re moving about, and because the stages expand so far out now, so the wise thing to do was go with the in-ears.

They get it all in those ears; there are no complaints from anybody. It’s the same for Gaga; it’s a lot easier to lose stuff than try to add stuff later, and because it’s a big rocking band, the JH16s are perfectly suited to our setup. In the past, I’ve used an output EQ here and there to boost in-ear systems, but you know, there’s no need at all to go there when you’re working with JH Audio kit.

RAMON MORALES HAS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE TOUGHEST JOBS ON TOUR, YET YOU WON’T HEAR HIM COMPLAINING... ALTHOUGH CHANGES ARE MADE DAILY, IT’S ALL ABOUT KEEPING ON YOUR TOES, HE SAYS, AND UNLIKE MANY MONITORING ROLES ON SHOWS OF THIS MAGNITUDE, IT’S A REAL ‘ONE MAN BAND’...

It must be a hell of a challenge doing this on your own?

Yeah it really is; a lot of major tours these days have two monitor engineers, but we simply haven’t felt that was necessary. It’s no problem, though, because I love it... But yes, it’s a big job!

Credit to you, and to the console, right?

Exactly – that’s the big thing, having enough I/O, and having the availability of doing snapshots is amazing – I can do whatever I want to do with my SD7.

Do you communicate with the band during the performances?

It’s pretty tough, as things do change all the time, but luckily with the band we soundcheck every day, which helps all of us during the show, as we’ve already gone through it. Requests from Gaga and the band are minimal as a result. I’m so lucky to have a band this great, and they’re all just dialled in. With Gaga, it’s all about consistency, and as long as we have that, she’s happy. It’s key to have a relationship with the artist as a monitor guy; if you don’t have that, you never get to the point where somebody should be listening to their in-ear mix. If you don’t talk to someone, you are guessing it, and no-one knows if it’s right or wrong, so communication is key. There’s no way you can do this job and not have an open communication with an artist and a band. It’s as important as the mix, in my opinion. www.jhaudio.com www.digico.biz

56 HEADLINER

IN THE MIX WHILE THE LIVE SHOWS ARE KICKING OFF DAY AND NIGHT THROUGHOUT MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL, SEVERAL FLOORS DOWN, A WHOLE OTHER OPERATION IS UNDERWAY... NEWLY APPOINTED BROADCAST SPECIALIST, JOHN HARRIS, WHOSE CREDITS INCLUDE TWO GRAMMYS, SEVEN EMMYS, AND A PEABODY, OPENS THE DOOR OF THE SPECTACULAR OB TRUCK, RESPONSIBLE FOR RECORDING ALL SHOWS OUT OF THE FESTIVAL’S FLAGSHIP AUDITORIUM STRAVINSKI, AND LETS US INTO HIS WORLD...

Your list of credits is quite a read... How did you get into this game?

Well, it’s not as if I can do anything else! [laughs] I started out doing live sound for a while, and then I met up with my future boss, Randy Ezratty, from Effanel Music, and I ended up working for him for 25 years. It was Randy that introduced me to some of the shows I do now, including the Grammys, where I have two of my trucks, plus a lot of other awards show.

This is your first time at Montreux – how have you found it?

Well, this is only day four, so... [smiles] But this is obviously a spectacular vehicle that we’re working in, and I’m just happy to be here at Montreux in a position where my whole job is to sit and listen – I am overseeing all of the audio, but I don’t need to be in charge of the whole truck like I am at home, so it’s a great event for me.

You’ve working with a set of Genelecs here, and it looks like a stereo mix...

Yes, the shows are being recorded in stereo, so we elected to just go with a set of 1031s for this application, which work really well. I actually have the Genelec 8250s, the DSP versions, in my trucks, but Genelec on the whole is

a pretty dependable thing for my head. I’m not so married to any one kind of speaker, but with the Genelec line, if you know you’re experiencing something positive when using a set, you’re never going to be fooled by them;

“GENELEC ON THE WHOLE IS A PRETTY DEPENDABLE THING FOR MY HEAD.” what I mean by that is, you won’t get home and watch it back on TV and go, ‘oh my God, what happened?’ because they’re always true.

Genelec for me offer stability, and are very reliable and accurate monitors.

What is a day in the life here at Montreux?

Well, because the whole festival is in one building with three or four venues going on, we come in around 12pm and meet up with the bands, get an input list together, and create a patch for us with the desk. We are five floors down, so generally not many of the artists head down here, though Pharrell’s producer came down yesterday, who I’ve known from other gigs – and he knows a lot of Pharrell’s cues, so that was helpful. And really, that’s what it should be – the artists should always have someone looking out for their needs.

Are you recording the soundchecks?

Yeah, we basically just follow the artists on a soundcheck, and record it all in here, so that even if they only play a couple of songs, we can take those songs and play them back. We’re recording flat; it’s just the mic amps straight into Pro Tools, and Pro Tools then plays back through the desk, so we can just keep looping those songs and try to get a mix together. The audience we’ve got up from previous nights, and we’re happy with that sound, so once the show starts, we just take off with the mix from soundcheck, and the room sound we already know well, so then it’s just a case of going for it!

What are the latest broadcast trends?

Well, I’ve found that in the US particularly, live recording has now turned into live broadcasting. Everybody can now record themselves, and pretty much every PA has got a recording system linked to it nowadays, but they can’t put themselves on TV and do a mix for TV live, and that’s what our industry’s sort of turned into. www.montreuxjazz.com www.genelec.com

Any Stage. Any Musician. One Monitor.

The revolutionary NEXO 45ºN12 brings all the benefits of line array technology to stage monitoring. Incorporating a number of groundbreaking technologies, the 45ºN12 provides musicians, contractors and rental companies with a single, scalable solution to all their monitoring requirements.

Alongside the obvious benefit of a ‘one box’ inventory, the 45ºN12 also delivers extraordinary directivity and consistency of coverage up to 2.5 metres back, plus very high level before feedback. And if you need more SPL and wider coverage, just lock cabinets together to create ‘monitor arrays’.

Find out more at www.nexo.fr

59 HEADLINER

(BARBARA STRAATHOF)

Q&A

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE “ WHEN I CAME TO THE LECTROSONICS MIC, THE FIRST THING THAT STOOD OUT WAS THE PURITY OF THE SOUND, AND I COULD HEAR WHAT I WAS DOING WHEN I WAS SINGING.”

WHEN BARBARA STRAATHOF WAS WORKING AS PRODUCTION MANAGER ON THE DUTCH VERSION OF TV SHOW THE VOICE, THE SHOW’S PRESENTER, WENDY VAN DIJK, SECRETLY ENTERED HER FOR THE COMPETITION WITHOUT HER KNOWING. 16,000 CONTESTANTS LATER, SHE FOUND HERSELF IN THE SEMI-FINALS! DURING HER PERFORMANCE, FROM THE COMFORT OF HIS SOFA AT HOME, CHALLENGE RECORDS OWNER, ANNE DE JONG, SPOTTED HER, MADE THE CALL, SIGNED HER, AND THE REST IS HISTORY...

First, you’re a production manager, and now, you’re on your way to stardom... [laughs] I can’t believe what’s happened, really. Two years ago, I didn’t even think I could sing, and now here I am with a new album, a new single which is released today - and all of my strings have been arranged by Chris Elliott, who did the same job on Adele’s albums, 19 and 21, and Amy Winehouse’s amazing Back to Black. That feels really surreal...

I can imagine! And this was all down to Wendy van Dijk’s little plan...

Well, yeah! She presents The Voice in Holland, and she said I should go in for it, but I kept refusing... I’d sung in bands, but that was it - but then she did it anyway! Before I knew it, I was a candidate, had made it to the semi-finals, and had to quit my day job to become a professional singer! I was 37 at the time, and had no aspirations to become an artist, but it’s been quite a journey, especially as my mainstay was always working behind the scenes.

You’re signed to Challenge Records, who don’t usually work with singer-songwriters...

Yeah, they work with a lot of classical and jazz music, and I am the first artist they’ve decided to think outside the box with. The owner, Anne de Jong, was watching The Voice with his wife, and she said, ‘you know you want her!’ And he called me, and said, ‘I don’t care what you’re going to do, as long as you sing’. I thought he was playing a joke on me, but he was serious! So I started working with the label’s two producers, Steven Maes, and Bas van den Heuvel; and they’ve produced my album with me, Nothing But Love, and it’s been a fantastic experience.

What was it like moving into a studio environment for the first time as an artist?

Well, we needed a captain of the ship, really; it started out OK, and I was enjoying it, but we were going down the jazz route a little too much, and I wasn’t 100% comfortable, so Steven said, ‘you’ve got to write songs’, and I was like, ‘I don’t write!’ But then again, at one time, I thought I couldn’t sing, and look what happened there! [laughs] So I started writing, and actually it really worked my first single is out today, and that’s called Cappuccino Memories.

60 HEADLINER

(BARBARA STRAATHOF)

How did Chris Elliott get involved in the project?

Well, a friend of mine played him some of the album, and suggested he arranged the strings for a couple of songs, but he really loved it all, so said, ‘hell, let’s just do the whole album’. That was a huge compliment, and things then started to change. I had to get more serious about the whole thing, so I spoke to my sound engineer – he comes with me to any gigs or performances I might be doing around the country – and he was changing gear. I thought this might be the perfect time for me to buy my own stuff, and look at a top quality microphone, and asked him to help me. I was looking at various top brands, and I said to him, ‘Peter, what should I do?’ He told me he was in a discussion with a microphone supplier to Holland that had advised him to look at Lectrosonics, a brand he had never heard of before.

But you were already aware of Lectrosonics, right?

I was, yes, because the ENG teams in television work with a lot of Lectrosonics kit, so I was definitely interested in trying it out, and knew it was high-end kit. Anyway, Peter, my sound engineer, was unsure, so he went down to do some tests. He called me up and said, ‘you’re not going to believe this, but this kit is unreal! This is the best I’ve ever heard’. He literally threw everything else he had, and stocked up on Lectrosonics gear, so I knew he was very serious! [laughs] And he said, ‘well, you’ve got to try it too’.

And how did that go?

Well, I travelled 150km into the middle of the country to have a go with it, and I was like, ‘OK, well this is also the best that I’ve ever heard’, so I went with it. I mean, I may not be a sound engineer, but I do understand audio; I also worked as production manager in a recording studio, which mixed audio for the Dutch versions of Disney movies for Dreamworks, those kind of projects, so I do know enough.

Did you do a shootout?

I did, with two other major microphone brands; before I tested them, I wanted the mic to stay close to me – to be pure, bright, and warm... And really, there is a lot of conflict between those three things! If I asked 10 different sound engineers, ‘can you give me this warm sound?’, it always

means I’ll get a lot of low end, and I lose the bright tones. So when I came to the Lectrosonics HH-HHC mic, the first thing that stood out was the purity of the sound, and I could hear what I was doing when I was singing. There was no colouration – it was an exact copy of what I hear in my head when I’m listening to my in-ears; for instance, I was singing into one of the other mics, and I had to focus to hear back what I sang, and realised the notes were a little off here and there, and I was out of pitch.

When I sang through the Lectrosonics mic, it was exactly what I needed it to be. I said to Peter, ‘if you don’t have a trained voice, I think you would have some difficulty singing through this microphone’, because it’s very honest. And that’s what I was really attracted to.

So what’s the next step on the ladder for you?

Well, we are already working with the Metropole Orchestra, which is a big thing in Holland, as normally you have to have worked in the industry for 20 years to be at that level, so I’m very lucky there; and I’m working with the best rhythm section here too, because everyone wanted to be a part of this. That’s been the whole feel for the album, really – the title, Nothing But Love, represents how it’s been put together, and that’s how I’ve felt for the last 20 months.

We release the album on September 19th, and we’re launching it with another single, On Our Way, and then we will tour. We’re trying to do something at Paradiso [in Amsterdam], which I love, so that would be wonderful. I’m in a great place, and can’t wait for the next chapter! www.barstraathof.nl www.lectrosonics.com

Advantages of the myMix System •

Intuitive, easy-to-use monitor mixing

•

Up to 500 audio channels to select from

•

Integrated stereo FX to create a 3D sound image

•

Integrated matrix intercom functionality

Scan the code for more info

www.mymixaudio.com +1 (952) 657-7889 ©2014 MOVEK, Inc.

•

Local network inputs - available for all units on the network

•

16 track multi-track recording and play back/ play along

62 HEADLINER

H EALTH WARNING! R O B E R T I S PA R T I C U L A R LY R I L E D T H I S M O N T H - P L E A S E F O R G I V E A N Y P R O F A N I T I E S !

GRUMPY OLD ROADIE "IN THE WHOLE 'ARTICLE', I’VE NOT ACTUALLY SAID ANYTHING OF ANY RELEVANCE TO THE INDUSTRY, OR THE PEOPLE WHO WORK SO VALIANTLY IN IT…"

WHY NOT SHARE AN INTIMATE MOMENT WITH ROBERT THE ROADIE? GRUMPYOLDROADIE@AOL.CO.UK

When Paul first asked me to write this column I thought, ‘Ok, one or two at the most’. I had a couple of ideas and used those in months one and two, but then it stretched to month three, four, and now…five! And writer’s block has well and truly set in.

I often wonder how people like Clarkson, AA Gill, and the lovely Caitlin can just sit down (I presume) and knock out what seems like reams and reams of really funny, yet inspirational and thought-provoking prose at the drop of a hat. I used to pick up my pros from the back of Kings Cross station, but that’s all cleared up now, as has that nasty little rash.

And how they can do this week after week without offending the majority of their readers (obviously I exclude Clarkson here) is truly remarkable. I, on the other hand, am gifted with total anonymity, and so I’m effectively cast adrift from the shackles of celebrity hate mail. In essence, I can write what the fuck I want, and it’s only me and our dear old editor who really knows where all this drivel comes from (oh, and two other clever bastard Sherlock types – you know who you are).

I read AA Gill’s article in the Sunday Times this week with great interest as we’re of similar age. Apparently the poor old git has just turned 60, and be bemoans his lack of ability to perform like a 20 year old. He refers, of course, to his sexual prowess.

Now don’t get me wrong, but when I was 20 I’d been doing ‘it’ for a number of years, and I don’t remember ever getting the chance to explore the specific tantric exploits described in such detail by Mr Gill. Maybe it stems from where I was brought up like, where a fondle would be about all you could expect (or knew about) in your teenage years.

It seems that the technical sexual prowess from those South of the Blue Boar (note - old

motorway services on the M1, now creatively rebranded ‘the Watford Gap Services’, renowned for its fry-ups at 2.30 in the morning on the way ‘dahn sarf ’ after the gig; a great place too for early morning ‘star’ spotting as they demolished their fry-ups) has always been more advanced than those of Northern descent (too many brackets?)

Although she looks a bit of a dog now, Caitlin Moran tells it how it is from the female side. She tells a good tale flavoured with risqué titbits and always with a humorous twist.. However, I don’t think she’s ever mentioned roadies, the SSE arena, making sure she gets the best bunk on a bus, or poor ticket sales. I don’t think she could (well, maybe the bit about the bunk?), so whilst I’m free to write whatever I want, I do need it to be focused roughly around what we all do to live, so it’s not all plain sailing.

But on this occasion, here’s 644 words – all of which I’ve only just learnt how to calculate without actually counting (really! What a dick - I’ve only just seen the word counter at the bottom of the screen), and in the whole ‘article’, I’ve not actually said anything of any relevance to the industry, the people who work so valiantly in it, or the lovely punters who pay though their noses to see their chosen shows, and effectively pay our mortgages. So clearly Jeremy/AA/lovely Caitlin, there’s no threat to your livelihood yet from me.

Next time, however, it’s business as usual.

I’m going to write a really interesting piece about catering concessions... Oh, and Please send me your specific questions via e mail, and I’ll do my best to answer in a considered and rude way.

Robert the Roadie

31.07.14, 7PM-12AM. CLOSING PARTY

MOUNT KIMBIE WITH LIVE VISUAL SHOW LIL SILVA, DEADBOY, SPENCER

LIVE SKATE AND ART. FREE DRINKS AND FOOD

APPLY FOR FREE TICKETS AT CONVERSECONS.COM/LDN