FEATURES: RECORDING
used softw all the as PD We ha sends const with a the gu sent t gettin Molh to be the cl guys w havin what comp the fin WSD and s inch o treatm playba other achie progra T-On reside linked room const comb qualit layou record and e to pla Mong Main MM1 and Y monit S1 co includ Burl B Ruper and A Digita DMG, maxim Telefu Micro SM57 Bottle
Heating up in Hohhot
The control room has an Avid S1 control surface, Barefoot monitors and classic outboard gear
Global studio design company WSDG has charted new territory with a new project in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Caroline Moss reports on T-One Studio T-ONE STUDIO IN THE INNER MONGOLIA CAPITAL OF Hohhot is not only the first professional facility of its kind in the region – the studio is also distinguished by the fact that its highquality décor and acoustic design are the result of a process that took place entirely remotely, thanks to the dedication of the client and the skills of the Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG). T-One was set up by Yi He, a graduate of CUCN Recording Arts in Nanjing, together with Chinese recording engineer, Qiwu Tan. This is the first studio enterprise for the two, although both have a wide range of recording experience between them. “Since we met, Qiwu Tan has given me a lot of different ideas,” says Yi He. “He was the first to propose T-One Studio, and we decided to go into partnership with the project. After three years of hard work, we have opened our doors.” As prominent members of China’s rapidly growing professional recording community, Tan and Yi He were driven to build a world-class studio in Hohhot to serve the diversity of music that has always been present in Inner Mongolia but has only recently begun to make its presence known globally. “Inner Mongolia has a long history of musical appreciation, with many talented artists and producers,” explains Yi He. “The need for a high-end studio was very clear to us, and Qiwu Tan and I were confident that a studio of this calibre would be a tremendous asset to our musical community.” Inspired by WSDG’s long history of innovation in recording studio design, the partners reached out to the company to help them realise their dream – a studio that would be capable of recording a wide range of musical styles ranging from traditional Mongolian, folk and classical music, to pop, rock, jazz and R&B, all of which have become staples of China’s recording industry. “We knew we would require a studio capable of serving a very diverse client base with the utmost flexibility,” says Tan. “We were impressed by WSDG’s past studios and knew that they would be the best fit for us.” Pre-Covid, it had already been decided that, like many of WSDG’s international projects, this would be carried out
L–R: Qiwu Tan and Yi He
T-One has the flexibility to record genres from traditional Mongolian, folk and classical music, to pop, rock and jazz
remotely. WSDG partner and director of business development Sergio Molho, together with Guanghzou-based representative, Victor Cañellas, had met with the partners in Beijing in late 2018 and assured them that a world-class studio in Hohhot was a realistic goal. “We determined that because of the location of the client and the economics of the project, we would work entirely virtually,” explains Molho. The design project for T-One was led by Miami-based WSDG partner and art director, Silvia Molho, with acoustic calculations and simulations handled by WSDG’s New York office, and Cañellas taking care of Chinese liaisons. WSDG uses a combination of acoustic simulation tools and remote collaboration that has become a mainstay of its acoustic design work. “The tools we use for our projects are the same as those
64 PRO AVL ASIA May–June 2021
PAA Pg64-65 T-One studio2.indd 64
26/04/2021 12:11