Headliner USA Issue 5

ISSUE 05 / JUNE 2021 HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET UK £3.95 / USA $6.95 / CANADA $7.95

SUPPORTING THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY

MAGAZINE / 05

BEATING THE CURVE

MK

LINDA PERRY

A QUIET PLACE PART II

NATALIA LAFOURCADE

RELEASING HER FIRST TRACK IN 15 YEARS

THE SOUND BEHIND THE HORROR BLOCKBUSTER

KEEPING LATIN AMERICAN TRADITIONS ALIVE

“Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind.”

— Mick Jagger

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SUP P

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NITY MU M HEADLINER USA

05 For this issue of Headliner USA, I was fortunate enough to speak to one of rock’s great studio icons - legendary recording engineer Steve Albini.

Some would prefer to describe him as an iconoclast, yet whichever label one cares to toss in his direction – he’d certainly reject both – few could argue with his standing as one of the most talented and knowledgeable audio practitioners in the music making business.

While we covered everything from his origins in the industry to the major label politics that plagued Nirvana’s 1993 classic In Utero, there was one segment of our conversation that struck me as particularly poignant.

Having been consistently and prolifically making records for the best part of 40 years, his approach has always been centered around working efficiently and affordably, eschewing the trappings that can often accompany big budget, overblown productions. And for a long period, it was a style largely at odds with most major acts, whose comparatively astronomical recording budgets were enough to induce nosebleeds when laid next to today’s more modest sums.

As the streaming boom tanked revenues, demand for Albinistyle recordings skyrocketed.

Unsurprisingly, some of those ‘old school’ types used to working with a blank cheque at their disposal found themselves a little less busy, often lamenting ‘the youth of today’s’ lack of craftsmanship or understanding

of analog techniques etc etc. Of course, many industry veterans have embraced more affordable working methods and evolved accordingly, yet there remains a palpable sense in some quarters that today’s DIYfocused producers and engineers aren’t up to snuff. It’s a view that Albini rightly dismissed as nonsense.

Which gave me pause to consider some of the truly incredible work that has been – and continues – to be made by today’s music and audio pioneers, irrespective of budgets.

That so much amazing music can be made at a time when the financial backing and rewards are often so negligible says so much about the swathes of talent who will make use of whatever tools they can as a means to service their creativity.

As John Lennon once said: “I’m an artist. Give me a tuba and I’ll get you something out of it.”

In virtually every artistic discipline, it’s been proven time and again that great art can originate anywhere and by any means. And I’d argue that sentiment is as true today as it has ever been.

Daniel Gumble Head of Music, Headliner

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16 / TAI VERDES 12 / SUSAN ROGERS 08 / CARLY JO JACKSON

20/ JASON LAROCCA

24/ MK 32/ PETER BAERT

42 / VENUE FOCUS

38 / AUDIO IN SPORTS

44 / BAY EIGHT STUDIOS

48 / MARIA ELISA AYERBE 50 / NICK WOLLAGE

46 / LIVE SOUND

56 / LINDA PERRY

64 / ADAM BLACKSTONE

68 / CHRIS RAKESTRAW

60 / BOB DYLAN AT 80

72 / NATALIA LAFOURCADE 86 / STEVE ALBINI

76 / IMMERSIVE AUDIO

82 / HOME & FAMILY

114 / A QUIET PLACE PART II

94 / SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS

120 / BALMORHEA

90/ RACHEL ALIX

128 / LUDOVICO EINAUDI

124 / SK8

134 / TCHAMI

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CARLY JO JACKSON

HEADLINER USA

Miami Soul

ASPIRING HEADLINER

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CARLY JO JACKSON An indie-acoustic artist originally from South Florida, Carly Jo Jackson’s captivating, raspy vocals and bluesy-pop sound have earned her an army of dedicated followers who call themselves Wildflowers, a name taken from her coming of age song that featured in the award-winning indie short On the Edge in late 2012. Here, Jackson joins Headliner from her now home of Austin, Texas to talk about why she’s desperate to get back to performing live.

It was earlier in 2012 when Jackson was first discovered performing outside a yogurt shop in her then home town of Boca Raton, and she has since been fortunate enough to make a good living from doing live shows.

Jackson joins me on a Zoom call while relaxing her vocal cords at home the night after a long gig, albeit a solo one at a local restaurant - although it’s these kinds of gigs that she admits have been keeping her sane as pandemic restrictions have eased this year.

Headliner happened to stumble upon Jackson via Reverbnation, a platform that offers emerging artists from around the world access to the global music industry, connecting them with venues, festivals, brands, publishers, labels, and the fans themselves.

“I lived in Miami for a while, and ticked off all the venues in South Florida; I felt like I was playing the same gigs - but I really wanted to expand, and I ended up falling in love with Austin,” Jackson begins. “The most challenging part about the last year or so is the fact that I’d not long moved here when all of this [the pandemic] struck.

“When it did, it was just like a big crunch time. For a lot of people it became about paying rent and keeping the roof above their head; we were losing historic venues that have been around for so long. Although I do think some of the challenges have been good because lots of beautiful opportunities have come from this.”

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“ME AND THE GUITAR HAVE HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP UP TO NOW. IF I’M GOING TO CRANK OUT A SOUND, THAT’S MY BEGINNING POINT WHERE I CAN FIND THE CHORDS THAT WORK.”

Photo: Gibson Guitars

Jackson became known for her charismatic and infectious stage presence after she appeared on Season 9 of America’s Got Talent, which served as the perfect stepping stone in her musical career and further fueled her desire to become a fully fledged live musician. Last year, she had a mini tour of a few US cities planned before everything fell through.

“I miss performing so much, especially with a full band - it’s electrifying to me,” shares Jackson with enthusiasm. “You can’t replace it really. I’ve just got to get back out there.

“My triumphs are usually whenever I play live shows, where I can meet people and shake their hands and look them in the face and hug them.

And I’m a big hugger - so I’m illegal right now,” she adds with a giggle.

Jackson was obsessed with ‘90s pop bands growing up, as well as being influenced by her parents’ taste in HEADLINER USA

‘70s music, including Bob Seger and Fleetwood Mac. When she got her first guitar when she was 16, she developed a love for the likes of Janis Joplin, Alanis Morissette, Colbie Caillat and Joss Stone.

“Me and the guitar have had a great relationship up to now,” she says. “If I’m going to crank out a sound, that’s my beginning point where I can find the chords that work.”

I proceed to ask Jackson about the sentiment behind her curiously titled popular 2019 single, Sleep in My Car: “That song to me is about finding comfort in yourself,” she answers.

“This one time I’d been flaked on by some friends and I didn’t really have a place to stay, but I had a nice comfy car at the time. I was like, ‘forget it, I’ll just sleep in my car,’ and then I ended up staying there any time that I felt like I wanted to get away or have some

reflection time about the things that matter.”

And Jackson has had some incredible experiences so far - both big and small, just one of which she recalls was a life changing conversation with singer-songwriter David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash after he turned up to one of her gigs in California, and invited her for breakfast the next morning.

“I’ve been sitting on some songs for a while that are a little bit of a stretch for my genre; they’re a little more poppy but they’re super fun,” she shares with the same irresistible excitement. “I got to put the guitar down for a second, and I had a great time, so I hope it ends up being received well!”

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SUSAN ROGERS

HEADLINER USA

Recording Royalty

ENGINEER

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RECORDING ROYALTY

SUSAN ROGERS This month, legendary Prince engineer Susan Rogers was honored with the 2021 MPG Outstanding Contribution to UK Music Award.

Having worked on some of the late, great icon’s most celebrated albums (Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day, Parade, Sign o’ the Times and The Black Album), she would go on to work with the likes of David Byrne, Tricky and Barenaked Ladies, and is currently a professor in music production at Berklee College of Music. Here, Rogers tells Headliner about her formative years, working with pop royalty and why she’s leaving the art of making records to a new generation of studio pros…

“It turned into a vocation as a means of escape,” Rogers tells us as we discuss her initial steps into the record-making business. “I made an unwise decision when I was 17 years old. I got married, left home and the person I was married to was physically abusive and very jealous of music – he didn’t like me playing records and knew I was attracted to music. It was pretty bad, but when I was 21, I escaped. And the escape velocity launched me immediately into the thing I loved more than anything else, which was record-making. So, I started studying electronics and recording techniques, which educated me enough that I

could get my first position repairing consoles and tape machines at a place called Audio Industries in Hollywood.”

She may not have known it at the time, but the skills Rogers would accumulate during this period would lay the foundations for a career that would see her emerge as one of the most revered technicians and engineers in the industry, eventually landing her a role with not only her favorite recording artists, but one of the most influential talents music has ever seen.

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around and that was unacceptable to him. He flew out and confronted me the next morning, and said I couldn’t do this. I told him I had to have a life, too. We just reached an impasse.”

Following her hugely successful time with Prince, Rogers would go on to make acclaimed records with a diverse range of artists, before paring back fully on her role as an engineer and entering the world of academia.

As a professor at Berklee College of Music, she is revelling in her role as a mentor to new talent, essentially passing the baton onto a new generation of recording professionals.

“It was a spring day in 1983 when the chief technician at Westlake Audio called me and said, ‘your dream job is waiting for you, Prince is looking for a technician’! He knew Prince was my favorite musician. He was just coming off the 1999 tour and was poised for superstardom and wanted a full-time tech to move to Minneapolis. As soon as I heard about it I said, ‘tell him his search is over, because that’s my job!’”

Notoriously demanding and exacting in his standards, Prince’s working methods have become the stuff of legend. Demanding round the clock availability and dedication from all of his staff, Rogers’s role was among the toughest in the business.

“He was a huge presence,” she says.

“A small man with a huge presence.

Our first conversation happened after I’d been working with him for about a week. I’d been working in his basement studio and had installed a console, repaired a tape machine, but I hadn’t met him yet. The first time I did, he came walking down the stairs asking me questions and giving me instructions. He then told me when to come back tomorrow and turned to go, and a voice inside of me just said, ‘don’t let it start like this’. So I stopped him and said, ‘Prince, I’m Susan Rogers,’ and stuck my hand out to shake his hand. And he smiled

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and shook my hand and bowed and said, ‘I’m Prince’. He was so taciturn and quiet, but he had so much energy.

And his virtuosity with his instruments, both in terms of his ideas and their execution, were extraordinarily high.”

After more than four years and a string of critical and commercial hits, Rogers felt that her time working with Prince had reached a natural conclusion.

“I worked three tours of duty during that period,” she laughs. “I worked three times as much as most people would, if we’re measuring by hours, so it wasn’t sustainable. The natural ending came after Paisley Park Studios finally opened in 1987. I was in Los Angeles working on postproduction for the Sign o’ the Times concert film and he was in Minneapolis. I was on a date one night and Prince paged me. I wasn’t

“He was so taciturn and quiet, but he had so much energy. And his virtuosity with his instruments, both in terms of his ideas and their execution, were extraordinarily high.”

“Most popular music is by, for and about young people, and it’s young people who should be making it,” she concludes. “I’ve had more than enough outstanding opportunities to make records, and as much as I love it, it’s time for the youth of today to be making records. I love teaching them and sharing with them, but taking jobs from them I wouldn’t do.”

You can listen to an extended version of this interview by searching ‘Headliner Radio’ on your preferred podcast platform.

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TAI VERDES

HEADLINER USA

Life On TV

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rview by te

Photographer: Angelo Kritikos

EMERGING HEADLINER

LIFE ON TV

TAI VERDES Tai Verdes released his stunning debut album TV last month, but just three months into the pandemic, he still had a nine-to-five job, unaware that his lively indie pop single Stuck In The Middle would quickly go viral and catapult him into the world of music. Headliner recently caught up with the rising L.A-based singer songwriter about how the record came together, his creative process, and blowing up on TikTok...

Musically speaking, Tai Verdes has had a pretty crazy ride so far. After releasing his debut single Stuck In The Middle, his social following and streaming numbers went through the roof, and he’s since amassed an army of super engaged fans who can’t wait to hear what’s next.

Determined to give the people what they want, and figure out his sound, Verdes started writing music like a maniac after the success of his first release. The result is TV - a thoughtful collection of 13 tracks that chronicle different chapters in his life so far.

“The whole concept of the album is that it’s my life as a TV show, with

each one being a different episode,” Verdes explains. “Starting with me dropping out of college, doing some drugs, meeting a girl and thinking we would have some cute kids, to getting stuck in the middle. And then going all the way down to the final track, which is like a thank you track to my mom, essentially saying thank you for supporting me through all of this.

“My songs are all like my babies and I’m about to win parent of the year,” he adds with a smile. “But this is bananas, man. If you asked me nine months ago if I’d be doing this, I’d say definitely not, and look at you like you’re crazy!”

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Photographer: Angelo Kritikos

Verdes tells me how one of the last single releases from the album, BAD BAD News, came to fruition: “I heard the track all produced out and there was no vocal on top, so I figured out what I wanted to say in each section and wrote it all myself,” he recalls. “It’s just this anthemic little love song and I’m really happy that it all came together the way it did.”

Having only had the one song, Stuck In The Middle for a long time, Verdes’ infectious energy and excitement to finally be releasing new music is palpable to say the least.

“I’m just singing lyrics that are true to me, straight from my heart,” he says.

“I know that there are a lot of songs out there that talk about ‘love is hard’ or ‘love is pain’, but I think that the specificity of my lyrics and the fact that I’m only talking about things that I actually believe is really translating well and coming through as honest. I just love all the instruments in there a lot of it is just having an ear for stuff that you like.”

Good Idea Machine Social media, particularly TikTok, had a big hand in helping Verdes gain popularity following the release of Stuck In The Middle, but what was his initial reaction to receiving such widespread support on the platform?

“I think the best part of seeing these reactions is that it’s kind of validating for my own mental radar, because sometimes I’ll make something and be like, ‘yo, this is great. But does everybody think it’s great? Or am I just alone with this?’ Once I put out Stuck In The Middle, people started connecting with it so heavily through the TikTok algorithm.

“TikTok to me is just like a good idea machine; if you have a good idea, HEADLINER USA

no matter if it’s a business, a T-shirt, or just a thought, the algorithm will push it out to as many people as possible so that it gets exposure. So the better your idea, the more people it will get pushed out to. And then if you put trends on top of that, and dances, then ideas can just go viral, and from that there’s no turning back. I turned my little balcony song that I wrote in two hours into public information because of TikTok - it’s just wild.”

Speaking of wild, Verdes reveals that when it comes to his creative headspace, he can often be all over the place: “I don’t really like to focus on one thing too hard,” he admits. “If something’s not working, I try to move onto the next thing, and if something is working then we keep going. The main thing for me is trying to keep the excitement. I’m over the moon about every song I make. Once you start adding instruments and figuring out what kind of ad libs and harmonies you want in there and the overall structure of the song, you can lose that excitement because it doesn’t feel as good as that first moment. So it’s all about keeping that first moment as pure as possible, and only adding things that make it that much better.”

And while he’s been cranking out the tunes during quarantine, I’m curious to know whether he’s had any thoughts about what a Tai Verdes live show will look like...

“Hell yeah, dude, my shows are gonna be bonkers,” he responds with the same contagious enthusiasm.

“I’ll just be having the best time of my life; I really don’t care if anyone else is having a good time. You’re just gonna see a crazy man on stage dancing to his own music - that’s what my show is gonna be!”

INSTA: @TAIVERDES

EMERGING HEADLINER

“IT’S ALL ABOUT KEEPING THAT FIRST MOMENT AS PURE AS POSSIBLE, AND ONLY ADDING THINGS THAT MAKE IT THAT MUCH BETTER”

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JASON LAROCCA

HEADLINER USA

Hollywood’s Finest

Photos: Gary Copeland

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Hollywood’s Finest

JASON LAROCCA Having worked with all the big movie studios, as well as mixing the music for a number of smash-hit video games, producer, engineer and score mixer Jason LaRocca has been on a roll of late, most recently mixing the music for Marvel’s upcoming Morbius and HBO Original series The Nevers. Here he talks Headliner through the impressive setup in his LaRocc-A-Fella Center recording and mix facility, and reveals why he finds oeksound’s soothe and spiff invaluable when it comes to his process.

When the pandemic struck, LaRocca was lucky enough to be able to put together a rudimentary home setup where he could finish off some ongoing projects - or at least the ones that hadn’t been pushed back or cancelled altogether...

I quickly discover that becoming the fully fledged producer and recording engineer that we see today was

a long and arduous journey for LaRocca. Following a number of years playing in punk bands and a brief stint mixing live gigs at front of house, he found himself in the world of film, eventually becoming assistant engineer to revered musician and composer Mark Isham.

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“It was around the time he was doing Blade in the late ‘90s, when his career was exploding - he just had so much work and needed a lot of help, so I was thrust right into it,” LaRocca reveals. “When I went freelance as an engineer, I then started building other relationships with some great composers working in TV.” LaRocca’s setup in Studio’s A and B at North Hollywood’s Fab Factory Studios, which he has affectionately called LaRocc-A-Fella Center, is a far cry from that of the early days: “My Studio A setup includes a new single Mac tower and HDX3 system, three octo cards and a quad card, and basically every plugin known to man in a 7.1 setup,” he explains. “I have that exact same setup in Studio B, so if I start something in here and it gets approved, I can send it to Studio B for printing, and be able to continue on to the next mix. So we can get twice as much work done here compared to a normal studio.”

Just some of LaRocca’s film score credits of the last few years include Paddington, Bad Boys for Life, Aquaman, The Accountant, Godzilla: King of The Monsters, Ma, and the Oscar-winning 2018 documentary Icarus. However, most recently he’s been working on Marvel’s upcoming villain-centric blockbuster Morbius.

“I start with a 5.1 or 7.1 template that has tons of routing built into it, that gets me a good starting place. But all these

HEADLINER USA

projects are different, and they often require different sonics from an EQ, compression and reverb perspective, which changes over the course of each project,” he says. “In September last year we started recording it at Sony - it was actually the first session to take place after they opened their doors back up, so there was the initial challenge of producing all the music in a short space of time.

“The overall process was really cool; we had to record the strings separate from the brass, not only for sonic reasons, but because of Covid restrictions.

We ended up having something like 150 channels in Pro Tools just for the orchestra, and then for the music we’d have another 150 stereo tracks of synthesizers and drums etc. For these kinds of projects it’s usually just a matter of preparation.”

GOING IN HOT Working to tight deadlines sees LaRocca leaning towards plugins that are “super immediate”, like oeksound’s soothe2 and spiff: “What soothe really does great is dynamically help these problems that are usually, for me, in vocals, solo cellos, fiddles, and things like nyckelharpas that have these weird, nasally peaks. I just point it to where I think the issue is and turn up the depth,” he explains. “I’ll do some EQ to things that I know need some actual serious carving, but soothe is a lot more musical as a solution,

because these instruments are dynamic and changing frequently.

“Spiff is also incredible,” he adds.

“I get a lot of different quality drums from clients, and I really like transients, so when something comes to me for mixing that’s already pretty compressed, I try and put a little bit more back into it. I actually like to hear those transients and the attack of things, and I think if you shape it just right you can get a more impactful sound. I use spiff a lot on percussion, and things like mandolins or acoustic guitars to actually shape the transient on the instrument.

“I’m really looking forward to doing more of that with some more immersive mixing and soundtrack releases,” he concludes. “I think that’s gonna be a lot of fun to get into.”

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MK

Beating The Curve

MK HEADLINER USA

COVER STORY

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When one thinks about dance music from the last few decades, a number of huge names spring to mind. One of those who continues to break new ground, having established himself as an idolized figure in the genre, is Marc Kinchen, often simply better known as MK. The Detroit-born producer, remixer, DJ and record label owner is this year set to release his long-awaited debut album, which provided Headliner the perfect opportunity to learn more about his recent collaboration with a certain high-end car brand, how he’s pushed the envelope with his sound over the years, and what to expect from the legendary house guru as live music returns in 2021.

After having so much on his plate over the last few years, and despite the challenges of quarantine, Kinchen has been using the pandemic as his chance to take some well-earned time off from airport hopping, and has instead enjoyed spending some time at home with his kids. One thing he has been missing dearly, however, is playing to a live crowd.

“Earlier in my career I didn’t DJ, so I never really had the luxury of being able to utilize the crowd energy, and then take that back into the studio with me,” Kinchen reveals. “But in the last seven or eight years through DJing, I’ve learned what the crowd likes, and it informs me of what’s coming up in the future sound-wise so I can stay ahead of the curve.”

And not only has MK stayed ahead of the curve, he has bashed it into submission - releasing two massive singles, Piece Of Me and 17, over the last few years and playing them to enormous audiences at a number of big festivals. The latter has sold more than one million copies in the UK alone.

“But because there’s been no shows,” he continues. “I’ve changed the production for the recent singles, and not really focused on a live setting single. People are listening to music in a different way at the moment, so that changes your perspective when it comes to making a track.”

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Beating The Curve

Kinchen’s first single of the year that features UK vocalist and songwriter Raphaella, Lies - an emotion-tinged dose of club energy - is one of those tracks that he approached in a slightly different manner, as it was made smack bang in the middle of lockdown. The timing turned out to be perfect, tying in nicely with his invitation to appear in Jaguar’s new F-Pace ad campaign, for which he was also pivotal in overseeing the musical process.

A career-defining moment that combined two of his biggest passions, Kinchen decided Lies would be the ideal song to backdrop the TV spot’s dark, moody vibe.

HEADLINER USA

“When Raphaella sent me Lies, I knew it would work for the commercial it just felt right; not too club heavy, and melodically it sounded cool.

It isn’t necessarily the kind of track that needs to be played on a huge system,” he says.

Lies (along with Piece Of Me and 17) is also going to appear on Kinchen’s upcoming debut album, set for a late 2021 release - although it’s somewhat difficult to comprehend that this is MK’s first proper record, considering the fact he’s created some of the most influential house tunes of all time.

“I signed with Sony [Music] a few years ago, and we’d talked about an album for a long time, but for me personally it just never felt like the right moment,” he shares. “It was just when Spotify started to become a huge part of the industry, with people mostly streaming music rather than buying albums - I think we’ve got that figured out now.”

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“WHEN RAPHAELLA SENT ME LIES, I KNEW IT WOULD WORK FOR THE COMMERCIAL - IT JUST FELT RIGHT; NOT TOO CLUB HEAVY, AND MELODICALLY IT SOUNDED COOL.”

Photo: Alex “Grizz” Loucas

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Beating The Curve

UP TO SPEED When he first started learning to produce at the age of 15, Kinchen was making alternative electronic music, soon developing that into the iconic house sound that we see increasingly making its way into the mainstream.

“Prince was always one of my idols for sure,” he reveals. “I just love the way he was a producer, musician, and songwriter all in one package. I never wanted to sing, but I did want to be a go-to producer and learn to play instruments. In the early days I was actually listening to a lot of alternative stuff, like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell.”

Kinchen’s love for house transcended a growing passion for producing hiphop beats in the ‘90s, but what was his reason for moving away from the burgeoning house music scene?

“After I did the Push The Feeling On remix with Nightcrawlers, it seemed like I was getting hired for remixes once a week for a really good fee, but every single person wanted to sound like Nightcrawlers,” he recalls. “At the time I was 20 years old, and it was a tough decision for me. I didn’t want to get stuck chasing that sound for five years and then burn myself out, so I decided to just focus on something else...

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“I ended up meeting Quincy Jones; he heard my RnB stuff and ended up signing me to a publishing deal, which felt like the perfect time for me to make a quiet exit from house music. There were so many people in hip-hop and RnB that I worked with and hung out with, so I had no desire to go back into house music. “ Of course the industry soon started to change, with the arrival of services like Napster and music piracy issues on the rise: “The record industry was losing money, and the RnB and hip-hop stuff was not working the way I thought it would,” Kinchen adds. “And then Pitbull sampled Nightcrawlers 20 years later, like a full circle moment!” (Kinchen’s iconic remix was used as the basis of Pitbull’s global hit record Hotel Room Service).

Not realizing that house music had been ‘in’ the whole time, MK used this as his chance to re-immerse himself in that world.

“I love house music more than anything, and once I came back wiser and more mature, I knew I shouldn’t have left, and could see what mistakes

I’d made,” he says. “And one of the mistakes I made was not DJing in the ‘90s. I knew if I wanted to get back into house, I had to do it properly and start DJing.

“Burning was an original production, but after that it just seemed like everything was remixes, which kind of forced me into a different approach of learning production. I got to a point where I needed vocals to start a track; I’d get hired for the remix, take the vocals, erase the rest of the original music, and then build the music from that. I just got used to producing that way, but when I started doing hip-hop and RnB it was the opposite, because I would have to write a track from scratch and then have a writer come in and write to that. So going back into house - I prefer to have vocals first; they’re the thing that inspires me the most. It doesn’t have to be a full song. It can just be a line or simply five words, and I’m good. If it’s something catchy, I can work with it. So my process now is to try to get any kind of vocal and build from that, which is exactly how I approached Lies.”

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Photo: Alex “Grizz” Loucas

“GOING BACK INTO HOUSE - I PREFER TO HAVE VOCALS FIRST; THEY’RE THE THING THAT INSPIRES ME THE MOST.”

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MK

Beating The Curve

NO HOLDS BARRED As his creative process has evolved, MK has also switched up his production setup over the years. Interestingly enough, he reveals that he had a “really nice” setup in the 2000s when he was in New York, but when he ended up moving to L.A. he sold a lot of his gear, “and I wish I hadn’t!” he says.

So having started afresh a couple of years ago creating his new production rig, Kinchen now uses an SSL AWS 948 console with Logic, “because I can do everything quicker with it. Ableton is better for creating dance music, so I sometimes still do my basslines on there,” he explains. “I’ll mostly start new projects in Logic to get the track to where I want it, and then separate tracks on the console and start adding outboard gear to tracks to make them sound bigger; the automation is one of my favorite features on the desk.”

Kinchen also has a lot of outboard gear, and while he finds plugins very useful (and has a lot of them at his disposal), he simply doesn’t view them as equal to the actual hardware.

“I’ve got a Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor that I love, and an SSL Fusion that’s amazing,” he adds. “The Fusion comes into play on every song I make; I use it from the very beginning of a project and it’s like the perfect Swiss army knife. I’ve also just got a bunch of the new Neve stuff, like the 1073OPX and the AMS RMX16 which are just lovely.

“I’ve got a whole bunch of synths, but the thing I use the most is my Native Instruments Maschine. It’s just a piece of the puzzle that I have to have - it’s really good with drums and vocal chops especially.”

HEADLINER USA

The conversation moves to some of Kinchen’s most memorable moments from over the course of his illustrious three decade-spanning career.

Working with British singer-songwriter Becky Hill was just one of those moments.

“It was the start of things for Becky and I was just kind of getting back into the swing of it, and I think we stumbled on some cool records. She’s a great person and a great singer, so it was fun to build that relationship. Anabel Englund is someone I also have a great relationship with, following two tracks I produced for her in 2020: Underwater and So Hot, both of which have done really well in the US. They’re definitely the ones from the last few years that

production and festival stages and for my shows, and then relaunched Area 10 a couple of years ago. I still had the feeling of not wanting to be a big label guy, but just to have an avenue to put out songs that I like. I meet so many young kids with really good tracks, and as a producer, I don’t necessarily need to hear the full mix down to a track.

While the song might not be perfect, I can use that to my advantage and fix it up to how I see fit before we put it out. I just don’t think anyone should be told how to make music, because essentially there are no rules.”

Keen to maintain his current momentum and stay at the forefront of dance music, MK last month released an explosive new single called Chemical, arguably signifying another slight shift in his sonic direction.

On Chemical, Kinchen delivers an enticing medley of slick vocals, fluttering hi-hats, euphoric breakdowns and a deep, pulsating bassline.

Upon hearing the track, you might be surprised to learn that it’s of MK’s creation; while not his usual kind of track, it’s a complete vibe nonetheless.

Photo: Alex “Grizz” Loucas

have stuck with me and that I have really good feelings about.”

His own music aside, one initiative that has kept Kinchen on his toes is his record label Area 10, which he created in 1991. His original motivation for starting the label was a simple one; no one wanted to sign what would become his underground classic house anthem Burning, so he decided to put it out himself: “I worked at a parking lot in a hospital at the time and that parking lot was called Area 10,” he remembers with a smile. “I initially used it for my

“We’re toying with my next single after Chemical,” he responds when I ask him what’s next on the agenda. “We have an absolute monster of a track coming, and we pretty much have the whole year planned out with a lot of shows.

I have Creamfields, Hideout, Reading and Leeds, plus headline shows in Dublin and Belfast, as well as a lot of stuff in America in the fall, which I can’t wait for.”

With a flurry of new content on the horizon and more live events being announced by the day, the dance music veteran looks poised and ready to take over dancefloors and festival stages once again this summer.

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PETER BAERT

Scoring The Water Man

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SCORING THE WATER MAN

PETER BAERT A Belgian composer in the midst of his Hollywood breakthrough, Peter Baert has diligently worked his way up scoring Belgian indie flicks, until the opportunity to compose for The Water Man (executive produced by Oprah Winfrey) arose. Headliner took the opportunity for a chat with Baert about the polarity of euro-cinema versus big-budget American productions, creating tailor-made synths for films, and why he’s been a Cubase user for as long as he can remember.

“My dad was a principal at a music school,” Baert says as I ask about the beginnings of his music-making.

“And he was an organist in the town where we lived in Belgium. My sisters were all doing cello, violin and one was a soprano. So there was always classical music in the house. My father had a couple of choirs and we travelled around Europe with the choirs to Poland and Hungary in the ‘80s. Of course, my father was a bit strict and there was no pop music allowed!”

Becoming a film composer might not strike you as some big rebellious act, but in the context of this upbringing, it certainly feels that way for Baert.

He explains that “I had a lot of

arguments with my dad and I chose a different direction in going to film school to study sound and editing.

And I also got into electronic music, making a couple of records. I played concerts at Pukkelpop Festival and in the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.

It was my kind of teenage protest against my dad. Then later in life, you get older and a bit wiser. I rediscovered the classical interest in me. Especially when my mum died in 2008, that was a big event for me.

And I suddenly realized how stupid I was, to not explore that classical side.

So I talked with my dad about that, and he was very supportive.”

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I mention how film composers have been becoming increasingly international over the last few years, not only in nationality, but the mere fact the days of having to be based in Los Angeles in order to pursue this line of work seem to be mostly gone. That said, Brussels perhaps isn’t among the most famous cities for the scene.

“Of course, in L.A. you have Remote Control Studios (the mothership of Hans Zimmer),” Baert says. “And then Berlin has a perception of being very hip. But there’s a lot of things happening in Brussels as well. There’s a great techno scene. There are a lot of clubs. We have the Ancienne Belgique in the centre of Brussels, which brings a lot of new bands.”

Of the Belgian independent films Baert has worked on prior to his US breakthrough, I ask him about 2017’s Façades, which saw him collaborating with the Belgian ensemble Echo Collective. Knowing that they’ve collaborated with such classical heavyweights as the late Jóhann Jóhannsson and A Winged Victory

For The Sullen, I ask Baert about his experience with these musicians.

“Neil and Margaret are such fantastic musicians,” Baert says of the collective.

“And they really have also focused on their music and what they want to do.

For Façades I really wanted to tell the inner story of the main character and her struggle within. I felt the calling for the harmonics of strings and long notes, which was why I reached out to Echo Collective because I really felt they could bring something to the score.”

The Water Man, on the other hand, is a heartwarming film that follows Gunner, a young boy desperate to save his ill mother — he hears tales of the titular Water Man residing in a nearby forest who possesses the secret to immortality, and quickly sets off on the adventure. As Baert had lost his own mother to cancer, he was extremely keen to be involved in this project, even calling getting the job a “fairytale myth”.

After missing out in the first round of hiring, which he says was “a hard one

“SOMETIMES YOU CAN REALLY BE BREAKING YOUR TEETH ON A CUE! THE WATER MAN WAS NO EXCEPTION TO THIS, I KNEW IT NEEDED A LOT OF TIME AND THOUGHT.”

HEADLINER USA

to swallow”, he got the call nine months later when it didn’t work out with the original composer. The decision to eventually hire Baert was in large part thanks to the demo material for the film he had wisely composed earlier on, which the crew kept coming back to.

“But that’s what it takes. These projects aren’t something you can do in a couple of hours. Sometimes you can really be breaking your teeth on a cue!

The Water Man was no exception to this, I knew it needed a lot of time and thought.”

Speaking about Baert’s work on this Hollywood film gives an interesting insight into going from smaller-budget Belgian films to a movie of this scale.

“We had planned to go to Budapest to record a 60 piece orchestra,” he explains. “But when the virus came we had to rearrange it and find another solution. I’d say what strikes me more than just the larger budgets is the level of professionalism that you have when you’re working with people in Hollywood; everyone is really focused on their craft and on the film. Whereas in Belgium, it’s more like camaraderie, friends making a movie. There’s also a level of professionalism, but it’s more like, ‘okay, we’re going to do this, and we don’t mind how we’re going to find the money. We’re just going to do it.’”

Another signifier of Baert’s great commitment to this project was his creation of new synthesized voicings for the movie.

“Me and David (Oyelowo, the director also known for acting parts in A United Kingdom and Selma) talked about it and he said ‘wouldn’t it be great to have this motherly sound going on in the forest?’ Which was something I thought I could do with voices, only it would be too on the nose. So I had this idea of making a soundscape synthesizer with some vocal samples.

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I got this great vocalist into the studio. We recorded all kinds of vocals, and I put them in Pro Tools and started making these long stretch notes with delays and effects. Then I put the sounds in Kontakt, which gives you the ability to play the sounds like a synthesizer.”

The Water Man is also a great showcase for Baert’s restrained and subtle approach to music making in the world of film. For him, “you just have to follow the movie. If it’s like a Marvel movie and you have action all the time, you can have wall to wall music. Why not! But if it’s a movie with a dramatic or a more emotional insight or a wide scene, you’re not going to go wall to wall in, say, Nomadland.”

Baert has been using Steinberg’s Cubase almost throughout his career, so I’m keen to know how he exploits the DAW and why he feels it fits with his sound and moving image work so successfully.

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“I started in Cubase 3, so a long time ago,” he says with a laugh. (Bear in mind the original version of Cubase released in 1989!) “There’s so many aspects I like — the key command that you can do really quickly with an iPad. The note line, recorded articulations that you can do per note, you can make different articulations on moderation or expression.”

Knowing it’s very much an all-rounder DAW used by musicians across many genres, I’m keen to know what in particular makes Baert’s scoring life easier. He explains that “I love Cubase for making stems and being able to work with an image locator and a HEADLINER USA

music locator, that really saves a lot of time. Because these are also two separate things. I tend to mix in Pro Tools, and actually for a while I was working in Logic. Until they released Logic 10, it just didn’t click with me and I came back to Cubase. By this time, Cubase had some great new features and coming back to it had this sense of normality for me too. And the fact it’s been so great for creating these soundscape synths for The Water Man also.

“It just works for what I do because I always start at the piano, and with Cubase I’m quickly recording audio and MIDI sketches early in the process.

I’ll come up with ideas on my baby grand, but make sure I record the MIDI also so I can put that into strings or whatever it might be.”

Now that Baert has taken his first steps into the big wide world of Hollywood, it will be fascinating to see where his career takes him next, and what special sounds he will craft for his next projects.

In the meantime, be sure to seek out The Water Man, Façades and of course the rest of his back catalogue is available on Spotify and the rest.

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TOUCHDOWN The annual NFL Draft took place in Cleveland, Ohio, this year, allowing football fans to find out which franchises will be snapping up players for the upcoming season. Live sound vendor for the event was Houstonbased LD Systems, which specified a comprehensive L-Acoustics system for proceedings. Here, LD’s audio department operations manager, Thomas Ruffner, tells us why this decision was a “no-brainer” in his pursuit of “audio nirvana”.

Held over three consecutive days and broadcast to millions of sports fans the world over, the event welcomed 50,000 fans on each day for the big announcements, followed by nightly shows from the likes of Kings Of Leon, Black Pumas and Machine Gun Kelly. The event was staged at

the Draft Theater – a 200ft-wide by 220ft-deep by 80ft-tall half-moon structure created by Stage Effects – and comprised over 130 L-Acoustics enclosures, including 70 K2 systems.

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“OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH L-ACOUSTICS IS UNLIKE ANY PARTNERSHIP I’VE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY”

“For a job like this, an L-Acoustics PA system is pretty much a no-brainer,” says Ruffner. “As sound system designers and engineers, we want it to sound great, and L-Acoustics PA systems do just that. They simply sound phenomenal. And L-Acoustics PA systems are extremely rider-friendly, which is important to our clients. On any given job and given the right conditions, it’s certainly possible to reach a state I like to refer to as audio nirvana, where we are simply amazed by how good the PA sounds.”

One of the key challenges Ruffner faced was ensuring best possible audio performance without the systems interfering with the event’s visual element.

“Considerations for the audio deployment on a job such as the NFL Draft can come secondary to the visuals in the minds of event designers and the needs of the broadcast,” he explains. “L-Acoustics is an excellent choice in these situations due to the

many different configurations possible.

From small, medium, to large format line arrays or a combination thereof, to variable dispersion patterns available with Pan-Flex on products like K2, Kara II and A15, to complex rigging scenarios, we always find a way to make less-than-ideal conditions work out great.

“However, I’d say the biggest challenge overall on a job like NFL Draft is marrying the needs of a huge corporate show with the needs of a huge rock show. On the broadcast side, we need excellent speech intelligibility; excellent gain before feedback for our podium mics and MC headset mics; and excellent sight lines to the set. We need to give priority to the needs of the broadcast in our design so making the PA heard but not seen is usually important. Conversely, on the rock show side of things, we need a system that sounds big and typically is big. The rock’n’roll PA designs usually do not have the same constraints regarding sight lines so for that application we

would simply fly large left and right arrays.”

Key to the project was L-Acoustics’ Soundvision 3D acoustical simulation software, as Ruffner elaborates.

“The process starts by importing all of the 3D venue data, which needs to be all inclusive of the set design, LED walls and lighting elements for it to be the most effective. From here, we start placing sound sources into the model at our preferred locations while taking into consideration how the arrays may impact sight lines or rigging capacities.

We can instantly see if a line array source will impact sight lines of a video wall or be overly obtrusive from a wide camera shot. Once we get the sources to the positions that we think will work both for the aesthetics, while giving us optimal sound.”

According to Ruffner, the results were emphatic, with both premium audio quality delivered on both the live and broadcast fronts.

“As expected, everything went extremely well and sounded fantastic,” Ruffner concludes. “The support we have received from L-Acoustics over nearly a decade of deploying their PA systems has been absolutely paramount to LD Systems’ success. It’s unlike any partnership I’ve seen with any manufacturer in the industry.”

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New Haven’s Westville Music Bowl, formerly the CT Tennis Center on the Yale University campus, recently installed the first ever d&b audiotechnik CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) J-Series as part of its green initiative. And according to Donnie Gamsjager, president of DNR Laboratories of Watertown, the company behind the installation, the system is delivering on all fronts.

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“I AM VERY PROUD THAT WESTVILLE MUSIC BOWL IS THE FIRST VENUE GLOBALLY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF D&B’S WORLD LEADING CPO PROGRAM, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT WAS DEVELOPED FOR VENUES JUST LIKE THEM”

The bowl is the first arena in the world to utilize d&b’s recently launched remanufactured CPO program with a J-Series loudspeaker system. The initiative is intended to extend the life of a rider-friendly system, while conserving natural resources and reducing waste. The remanufacturing process returns a used product to at least its original standard.

“We wanted a green initiative using repurposed speaker products,” Gamsjager tells Headliner, explaining the decision process behind the installation. “The CPO series was a part of our green initiative at the venue. And the product is also a proven touring sound system that has heavy name recognition. The CPO program allows venues to acquire a system that has a track record of performance, is on or below budget and has been factory restored to practically new. When the CPO J-Series arrived we had a hard time telling it was ever used. The paint job, new hardware, new connections and pristine front grill was fantastic.

The fact it comes with a warranty is a plus and gives the customer peace of mind.”

The complete system features 28 CPO J8/J12s (14 per side), 12 Y8 (outfills – six per side), eight Ti10Ps (front fills), and eight SL-GSUBs. Amplifiers are 30D installation models for all of the loudspeaker systems except for the subwoofers, which are powered

by D80 amplifiers. Meanwhile, a dedicated computer running d&b R1 Control software is in use to handle control of audio distribution of the entire system.

“I am very proud that Westville Music Bowl is the first venue globally to take advantage of d&b’s world leading CPO program, especially since it was developed for venues just like them – environmentally conscious with a commitment to providing the best experience for their audience members,” Amnon Harman, d&b CEO, told Headliner. “d&b is deeply committed to ensure the sustainability of the world’s resources and a

reduced carbon footprint. The CPO program was born from our ongoing dedication to this cause. The newly remanufactured J-Series system will give the Westville Music Bowl many years of continued reliable service while contributing to their goals as a green venue.”

The first show to use the system was for rock band Gov’t Mule, with most of the season events pre-sold out. A number of shows have since been held at the venue.

“We’ve done five shows over two weekends at Westville,” concludes production manager Tim Burke, “and I have to say I am thrilled with the performance of the J-Series rig.”

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Miami’s iconic Bay Eight Studios recently reopened after a lockdown refurbishment with a brand new Genelec monitoring system at its core.

And according to studio owner Matthew DeFreitas, the new monitors have helped breathe new life into the storied facility.

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“FROM STEREO WIDTH AND LOW-END, I JUST FELT LIKE I WAS HEARING AND FEELING A LOT MORE THAN I DO WITH ANY OTHER SPEAKERS, AND I TRIED A LOT OF OTHER PRODUCTS!”

“We were supposed to get the speakers for our B room, but Genelec sent us a demo pair and we ended up buying them for our A room because we loved them so much,” DeFreitas explains. “I’ve always been a Genelec fan, the craftsmanship and the quality is always taken care of. We do a lot of Latin music and hip-hop and it perfectly fits the mould of what we were looking for. But they are so versatile. They produce a lot more than other competitors I put in the room. From stereo width and low-end, I just felt like I was hearing and feeling a lot more than I do with any other speakers, and I tried a lot of other products! And I really like the design. The look of studios is always changing, so it’s nice to have something interesting to look at, they aren’t just a standard-looking box.”

As for the GLM software, DeFreitas insists that it has provided previously unheard levels of versatility.

“We have four different settings,” he continues. “In our A room we have a side door that goes into a live room, and sometimes we leave that door open, which changes the room a little bit. So, we have a setting with the door open and with it closed.

We also have a producer setting, so if a producer is sitting on the couch behind the engineer, we’ll switch the setting so they can sit at the back of the room. Then we’ll switch back to our mix mode when we’re sitting up front.”

Since reopening for business earlier this year after Covid restrictions were lifted, Bay Eight has been inundated with artists looking for somewhere to record new music, attracting both local artists, as well as those looking to travel somewhere new to record post-lockdown.

“Of course, we felt the impact of Covid, but things have picked right back up,” he concludes. “We’re thinking of expanding as we’re so busy we’re having to turn away business. Perhaps a new location or maybe expanding here, we’re not sure yet.

“For the first quarter we were booked up 24 hours a day for 90 days – backto-back, all three rooms. We have local independent artists and major label artists coming in. And it’s a destination location, so lots of people will come here, stay in an Air BnB and block out three weeks for writing, starting a session or completing a project. It’s really exciting.”

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A Kind Of Magic

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“I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN MY OWN EARS, BUT MORE CONFIDENCE IN THE EARS OF MUSICIANS WHO HAVE PLAYED HERE — AND THEY HAVE BEEN ECSTATIC.”

A brand new LINA sound reinforcement system was the order of the day for City Winery New York when it recently opened its doors for ticketed live music after a year-plus hiatus, with the venue’s CEO and founder, Michael Dorf, hailing its performance as “magic”.

With a new flagship location inside the redeveloped Pier 57 on the Hudson River, City Winery New York - as with seven other City Winery locations relies exclusively on Meyer Sound systems for sound reinforcement.

However, its New York location is the first to incorporate LINA line array loudspeakers.

“I have confidence in my own ears, but more confidence in the ears of musicians who have played here — and they have been ecstatic,” says Dorf. “The combination of the room acoustic and the LINA system is magic.

Steve Earle said during his acoustic set that the sound in the room was the best he had heard in any venue. And when Willie Nile came with his fourpiece classic rock band the room and the system handled it beautifully. Willie even said that the bar had been raised for sound in New York and claimed that this was the city’s ‘new temple of rock.’”

The new system features twin arrays of eight LINA loudspeakers, with sides, front center and stage

corner areas and balcony VIP areas covered respectively by UPQ-1P, UPJ-1P loudspeakers and UPJunior loudspeakers. Bass projects through a center cardioid array of three 900LFC low-frequency control elements, supplemented by four 750‑LFC elements (one over each array, two under the stage).

Meanwhile, two GALAXY 816 Network Platforms provide system drive and optimization, with artist foldback handled by 10 MJF-210 stage monitors.

Marc Colletti, the City Winery national production and technical director, delivered an assortment of culinary analogies in describing the new Meyer Sound system.

“Think of the artists on stage as beef,” he implores. “Everyone loves beef and everyone makes a reservation at the best restaurant in eager anticipation to bring their significant other out for a night on the town to sink their teeth into the beef. The sound engineer is the chef. Beef is the star of the show, but with the chef’s masterful preparation and grill execution, the beef shines on the plate (stage) and the dinner goers delight as their taste buds dance and their dinner expectations are surpassed.

continues. “A grill that can blaze hot but has tremendous dynamic control while always allowing the chef to use it as an extension of their creative vision, rather than the chef running for the fire extinguisher! Exit the kitchen analogies and enter the Meyer LINA at City Winery NYC!” But what of the technical difficulties when installing a system for a venue not traditionally geared towards live music?

“There were many challenging factors to consider,” Colletti concludes. “The shape of the room, glass walls on the side of the venue, the amount of coverage needed around for the thrust stage and balcony areas, etc. The LINA array was a perfect fit not only for the size of the room and desired SPL, but we were able to pin and process the boxes in such a way that gave full and even coverage from the very top of the balcony all the way to the front row tables kissing the lip of the stage covered by the bottom LINA box slicing right over the front edge. Moreover the musicians on stage can get a sense of the room acoustics singing back to them. The LINA array is the perfect grill to let these musicians sizzle.”

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“For a master chef to prepare prime beef, they need the right tools,” he HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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smart level with a lot of control per band. I can use the expander function to get that super crunchy roomy garage type of snare drum tone on my mix buss. Then there’s StageOne, which is just an amazing stereo widener that has a lot of different options that no other plugins have, and CenterOne, that allows you to have this mid-side EQ using just three faders and a slider, which is super easy.”

“I CAN USE THE EXPANDER FUNCTION ON DYNONE TO GET THAT SUPER CRUNCHY ROOMY GARAGE TYPE OF SNARE DRUM TONE ON MY MIX BUSS”

Ayerbe has also been using the six different instrument-centric presets included with Leapwing’s new Al Schmitt Signature plugin in a range of capacities: “It just does this really bizarre sorcery thing where you can put it on anything, and it sounds amazing!” she says.

In 2016, Ayerbe created an independent music label called South Mountain Music, which has gone from strength to strength and has kept her busy in recent years.

As a mixing engineer, Maria Elisa Ayerbe has been involved in a number of Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated albums, working with the likes of Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, J. Lo, Natti Natasha, Il Divo, and many more. Here she tells Headliner about her independent music label, what she’s been up to recently, and why she uses Leapwing Audio plugins on every one of her mix projects.

As well as having her own studio in Hialeah, Miami-Dade County, Ayerbe has since 2015 worked out of Art House Studios, founded by multi-awarded producer Julio Reyes Copello.

“Being a mixing engineer keeps me away from people naturally, and I’ve been receiving lots of projects, so it’s actually been a really busy year,” she reflects. “There’s a lot of music being made at the moment, and I think

we’re currently seeing some sort of a creative awakening.”

Ayerbe sources most of her work through soundbetter.com, and has been asked to work on projects as far away as Egypt or Japan. In fact, she currently finds herself working on music by a Japanese punk band.

Our conversation quickly moves onto Ayerbe’s workflow, and in particular the plugins she finds herself using daily as a mixing engineer: “There’s not a single mix that I don’t use Leapwing Audio on to be honest,” she reveals. “The four of them are always there at different stages.

When I started using DynOne [the first plugin that the company released] I immediately fell in love with it.

“The ethos is just about nurturing those artists that come to me for production or engineering,” she explains. “If I see that there’s potential for them to move on to the next stage, I’m going to help them cross that bridge, and formalize everything in terms of publishing their catalog and getting them ready with the right marketing materials — and everything else that a music release involves — which can sometimes be so hard for musicians.

“I mainly consider it as a way to keep promoting bands, especially rock music and rock en español, which is a genre that’s barely holding on but a genre that I very much grew up with. So I just want to keep promoting that kind of music.”

MARIAELISAAYERBE.COM LEAPWINGAUDIO.COM

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Recording Zack Snyder’s Justice League

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RECORDING ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE

NICK WOLLAGE Musical engineer, mixer and producer Nick Wollage has worked on an enviable array of TV shows and films, including Bridget Jones’s Diary, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, V for Vendetta, Jason Bourne, Atonement, Captain America, The Avengers, and most recently he recorded the orchestra for the score for Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Headliner catches up with Wollage to delve into his work on the ‘Snyder Cut’, and his long history with Air Studios and Neve consoles.

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NICK WOLLAGE

Recording Zack Snyder’s Justice League

You’re no stranger to the superhero film world, having worked on Wonder Woman and Captain America: Civil War as the score engineer – amongst others – and you recently recorded the orchestra for the score for Zack Snyder’s Justice League. How did you get involved?

NW: I got the call from Junkie XL, Tom Holkenborg. There was a secretive working title attached to the project, so I didn’t really know what I was getting involved with until we started the sessions!

How did Snyder’s specific vision for his version of the film and the longer run time affect your work as the score engineer and how the end product should sound?

NW: It’s a very long film; it’s just over four hours. We just had to do lots of sessions, and we did them over different blocks of time. In a creative sense, the thing that really characterized what Tom had done was that he took the restrictions that we were working under, because of the Covid-related distancing,

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so that much smaller numbers of people were able to record. You’d normally expect to see a room full of about 60 string players for a film like that, but what Tom did was turn that to his advantage. We recorded a relatively small group of musicians, probably not more than about 25 string players, and we talked about it on the phone beforehand. We wanted to integrate this with the electronics and the programming and the pre-recorded stuff so that it sounded gnarly and immediate; it’s very specific and focused. We made a feature out of recording a smaller number of strings, so it does sound a fair bit more aggressive and edgy. Then we reverted to type for the brass sessions, where we maxed out the occupancy of the room with brass and manipulated the dynamic a bit. So we have a few of the string players mixed quite loudly, and it sounds very aggressive, with the big brass section sat behind it for a sense of scale.

You started at Air Studios in 1996, and they recently announced that they will be funding a new annual

diversity scholarship to the University of Surrey’s prestigious Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) course, which is a UK college you are a graduate of. Why is this course and scholarship so important in terms of nurturing the next generation of music professionals?

NW: It’s a fantastic course. When I was there they gave you the foundations to become an engineer, technical engineer or acoustician, or whatever you might want to do. They said they were not there to teach you to work in a recording studio – they were very, very emphatic about that. As a result, you come out with a broad set of skills and some experience, and off you go!

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“YOU ALWAYS GRAVITATE TO THE STUDIO THAT HAS A NEVE BECAUSE YOU JUST KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM IT.”

Air Studios is renowned for its various unique Neve consoles. When did you start using Neve desks?

NW: Neve has been omnipresent in my adult life. The University of Surrey had Neve consoles all over the place – those consoles now are vintage consoles, and would be incredibly rare. But we just used to throw them in the back of a van and take them off to a church somewhere and make a recording with them! There was a point during the time I was at Surrey Uni that they built a big fancy new recording complex called the Performing Arts Centre (PATS), and they had a brand new studio built with a brand new, very state of the art Neve V Series console, which at the time seemed like it belonged on a spaceship! Neve desks were particularly in the area of the industry that I was interested in most,

which was recording bands and orchestras.

You always gravitate to the studio that has a Neve because you just know what to expect from it. And then later on moving to Air and then suddenly being in a room with that incredible custom console...they’re indisputably amongst the most desirable consoles on the planet and we [at Air] just get to breeze in and be in a room with it and take it for granted. It’s really quite an incredible thing, that console.

The famous Air Montserrat console was used on many huge albums, and George Martin was heavily involved with Rupert Neve in the design process of what was a radical new desk. What is your experience with this particular console?

NW: The three custom made consoles made for Air are unique – the EQs were designed specifically for that console. I think George Martin and Rupert Neve got together and figured out which bands were going to be incorporated into the EQ sections and what have you, and it was based on their combined new ideas. And not only that – when Rupert Neve then went to Focusrite, I think he was commissioned by Air to build some more channels for that console to extend it, which have become iconic in their own right. So it did have a resounding impact for the future as well.

It’s an unbelievable-sounding console for lots of reasons, and we get to use it every day! It’s always in use. It handles the smaller film work because it’s in the control room

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NICK WOLLAGE

Recording Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Photographer: Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch

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attached to the smaller recording area. It gets put through its paces, and we get to record lots of diverse different types of music, ensembles, group sizes, different styles, and it still does what it does best, which is make anything sound better than any other console. I don’t think that’s an overstatement either.

You do take it for granted, and you have to stop yourself doing that, really, because I think you realize how privileged we – as a small group of engineers that get to use it regularly – actually are to be in that position.

Most people that want to get into this industry would literally cut their right arm off to be in that position!

In 2008 you recorded and mixed Dario Marianelli’s score for Atonement, which went on to collect an Oscar for Best Original Score. Did you use the Neve Montserrat console for this?

NW: I did mix Atonement on it, which is quite a rarity because we don’t do very much mixing in that room. It’s kind of unusual to mix a film score in Studio One at Air. I remember working on that mix and thinking that when it was all coming together, actually. I was putting the finishing touches to it and that’s when I think we all collectively started to realize something very special was happening. I’m pretty sure that when HEADLINER USA

planets align, something starts to suddenly happen. It is a composite of all the different factors...being in Studio One working on that desk was definitely one of those factors that made the experience that much more special. That old desk had a lot to do with that!

Are you using any Neve preamps regularly in your workflow?

NW: The preamps on that particular console were remodelled and brought into the 21st century when Neve made the most recent generation of large recording consoles. The one that we currently use in the hall now is the 88R. When they built that console, they built a whole bunch of external preamps that were based on the Montserrat preamps, and they’ve become pretty much standard now for recording in the big orchestral rooms here [at Air] and in the States.

Again, it’s ludicrous luxury, really, because the mic pres that are actually on those consoles are pretty good!

I mean, they’re extremely good, but to have these racks on racks of these Montserrat-modelled outboard mic pres – we’re spoiled, we’ve become used to it, really. So whether it’s Air, Abbey Road, or on one of the scoring stages in the States, that’s what you have come to expect.

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Note To Self

VIEW by ER

LINDA PERRY HEADLINER USA

LBY RAMS CO

NOTE TO SELF

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SONGWRITER

Best known for her groundbreaking songwriting and production career for artists such as Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Alicia Keys, Celine Dion and Gwen Stefani, Linda Perry has stepped back into the spotlight with the first release of her own music in over 15 years. Outspoken as ever, Perry reflects on saving the 4 Non Blondes mega hit, What’s Up, encouraging Aguilera to keep her first, vulnerable vocal take of Beautiful, and why new song, The Letter is one of the best she has ever written.

“I still don’t listen to too much music.

I’ve always been a weirdo that way,” confesses Perry from her home in L.A. “I remember my mom bringing home The Jungle Book soundtrack a long time ago. She gave it to my brother and she gave me Cinderella, and I was so bummed out because I loved The Jungle Book music. So I made a trade with my brother. I said I would give him all my desserts, and he could have my Cinderella album if I could have The Jungle Book. He didn’t give a shit about The Jungle Book, so he was like, ‘yeah, sure, sucker!’ That was probably one of the first things that I heard that I felt like I needed to have.”

Her time with the 4 Non Blondes put her on the map; the band’s first and only album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More! spent 59 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold 1.5 million copies between 1992 and 1994, spearheaded by the release of the album’s anthemic second single, What’s Up? For all the album’s success, Perry admits that she can’t listen to the record.

“I know fans of 4 Non Blondes don’t really like hearing this, but I really struggled with the record. I don’t like the record; I don’t like the way it sounds. It doesn’t sound like me. I can’t even listen to that record. It’s so unbearable to my ears because I don’t like the way I was singing. I feel like somebody gave me the reins to go at 100 the whole time. And that’s what I did – I turned all the way to 10 and just stayed there throughout the whole record. I couldn’t save the record, but I could save What’s Up?” she recalls.

“That song was disastrous – the way it was recorded. I mean, it was ridiculously bad. It was so terrible. I was like, ‘okay, I can’t save the album, but I’m fucking saving that song’. So I got the band, we went into The Plant studios in San Francisco, I had no

“I’M VERY RAW; I’M VERY REAL. ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT MUSIC THAT I REALLY HAVE STRUGGLED WITH IN MODERN TIMES IS PEOPLE NOT GOING THERE EMOTIONALLY, OR BEING TOO AFRAID TO HAVE A NOTE OUT OF TUNE.”

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experience whatsoever, but I knew what I needed to hear for the song.

They had a great engineer there; I dialled in the sounds with him, and we recorded three takes. We only had one reel of tape, so we had to choose which one we were going to record over. We get the take, and then the producer shows up late at night. He’s like, ‘I got here as fast as I could’. And I’m like, ‘no one asked you to come’ – we recorded it ourselves.

We got the take, I got the sounds myself, I did three takes of the vocal, comp’d it really quick, mixed it, and it made it for mastering the next day.

That version is the song that’s on the album. That’s the version that blew up all over the place. I’m proud to say that I did it.”

Perry has never been one to mince her words, and says she learnt a valuable lesson: “David Tickle did not produce that song. Linda Perry did. I know my worth, I know what I bring, and that experience was life-changing.

Because I’m such a baller and a badass, I decided that’s never gonna happen to me again. And it never did.”

Perry’s newfound experience behind the desk inspired her to enter the producing and songwriting world in 2000, initially working with P!nk, followed by Aguilera, notably writing and producing the powerhouse singer’s hit single, Beautiful.

“I’m very raw; I’m very real. One of the things about music that I really have struggled with in modern times is people not going there emotionally, or being too afraid to have a note out of tune. I’m not nostalgic about music, I’m nostalgic about emotions. I miss those type of hardcore emotions that people used to have in music: the breakdowns, the freakouts, the stopping in the middle of the show to just go, ‘fuck you, man!’” she laughs.

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LINDA PERRY

HEADLINER USA

Note To Self

SONGWRITER

“With Christina, I had to walk away with something real from such a big artist, and the only way I could do that was to trust her emotion. When she heard the song for the very first time and she said she wanted it, I was very reluctant.

I let her come into the studio and gave her the lyrics. I let her bring a friend in, and I started the song. She’s ruffling around with the paper, and then she says to her friend, ‘don’t look at me’. As soon as she said that, I knew the song was hers, and that she was about to give me the most vulnerable vocal that I think Christina Aguilera was ever going to give. And she did. She nailed it.

“Emotionally, it was spot on. I had to fight for seven months to keep that vocal! She kept on wanting to come in and redo it because she knew it better. I said, ‘that’s the problem, you know it better and you’re going to oversing it. You didn’t know the song, and it’s so vulnerable’. I let her punch in the bridge, and eventually let her sing it again. Instantly within the first 30 seconds, she was already over-singing; I shut off the record. I’m like, ‘You’re fucking already blowing it’. And she’s like, ‘you’re right’, and started laughing. That was it, and then she finally let me have that vocal.”

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‘90s child star Soleil Moon Frye recently created an original Hulu documentary, KID 90 about coming of age, where a now 40-something Frye is confronted by a letter she wrote at 16 years old. Perry was inspired to confront those questions by writing The Letter for the film.

“For me to be releasing a song, it’s a little nerve wracking at first because it’s not what I do anymore. One of the reasons I left 4 Non Blondes and left that career is because I’m just too sensitive. I don’t like getting opinions. It hurts me too much and I just emotionally can’t handle it. So hiding behind the producer desk, and hiding behind other artists has been good for me. But I’m a big girl, I can handle it.

I love the song and I’m actually really proud of it. In fact, I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve written since Hurt for Christina. It really touches me emotionally because I relate to it, and you can see it in the video. I’m bare on the video – it’s all on my fucking face. My old, ageing, weathered face, but I’m like, ‘okay, fuck it. I’m just gonna go for it!”

LINDAPERRYSTUDIO.COM

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BOB DYLAN AT 80

How Does It Feel?

Illustration by Joshua Marshall

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HOW DOES IT FEEL?

BOB DYLAN AT 80 Artists of a particular vintage tend to find their work appraised in all too familiar ways when arriving at notable career milestones, anniversaries or birthdays. There’s the routine reverence for the early work, followed by a glossing over of the mid-career slump - punctuated with the occasional hint of a return to form - concluded by gushing adulation for a genuine late career flourish.

It’s a template that can be applied rather accurately to the work of some of music’s late great icons.

Think David Bowie, Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen. All released wonderfully creative and rapturously received records in the final years of their careers, deservedly restoring some of the sparkle to their ever so slightly faded stars and serving as barnstorming reminders of just how potent their talents could be.

But reflecting on the inscrutable, complex and towering talent that is Bob Dylan at 80 years old is an altogether different matter.

and critics to be Zimmerman’s zenith.

From The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Bringing It All Back Home, to Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde and John Wesley Harding, he unleashed a volley of undeniable classics that would not only single him out as one of the most influential artists of his or any generation, but essentially redefine the very notion of the singersongwriter.

Of course, his initial run of records between 1962 and 1970 will always be considered by the majority of fans HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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BOB DYLAN AT 80

HEADLINER USA

How Does It Feel?

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still conjure. It would be a record that to this day is widely considered one of his very finest achievements.

“DYLAN UNLEASHED A VOLLEY OF UNDENIABLE CLASSICS THAT WOULD NOT ONLY SINGLE HIM OUT AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF HIS OR ANY GENERATION, BUT ESSENTIALLY REDEFINE THE VERY NOTION OF THE SINGERSONGWRITER.”

His lyrical dexterity allowed him to weave political protest and sophisticated storytelling through an ever-changing musical tapestry in a way that had seldom been seen before.

Particularly from an artist who had emerged from the folk tradition - his incorporation of electric guitars was famously, and furiously, rejected by purists. Yet this new sound would go on to play a pivotal role in the development of his oeuvre over the next 50 years.

For a great many artists who have weathered such an expanse of time, this initial burst of free flowing creativity is something they will generally spend the subsequent years either desperately trying to claw back, trotting out sub par imitations of former glories, or making ill-fated forays into new music styles in a bid to remain relevant and contemporary. Which can be great if it’s part of an authentic artistic vision, but can misfire spectacularly when forced or contrived.

In the case of Dylan, his second decade continued to produce some of the most critically and commercially adored work of his career. In that 10 year period he released another nine records, including two astounding career highlights - 1975’s Blood On The Tracks and 1976’s Desire. Featuring the single Tangled Up In Blue, Blood On The Tracks, after receiving mixed reviews upon release, would grow in

stature down the years. By the turn of the millennium it had made its way into the top 10 on countless Albums of the Century lists and was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2015. It remains one of the most acclaimed rock records all time.

The 1980s is where things go a little bit awry. After famously becoming a born again Christian at the back end of the 1970s, a run of gospel-infused confessional records entrenched in his newfound religion made way for a series of unremarkable records.

Some would point to 1983’s Infidels as a narrow but bright slither of light in a creatively bereft decade, yet that record alone would be insufficient in altering the perception of his ‘80s era as an unmitigated disappointment. Albums like Knocked Out Loaded and Oh Mercy simply painted a picture of an artist divorced from their inspiration.

Still, with seven albums released that decade, as well as the first Traveling Wilburys record, it was an era still peppered, albeit sparingly, with glimpses of the songwriting prowess that would remerge in full force the following decade.

After a seven year spell without releasing any original works, 1997 marked the return of the artist who had largely faded in the ‘80s, with the release of Time Out Of Mind serving as a stark reminder of the magic he could

By Dylan’s standards, his output over the ensuing 24 years up to present day would never be anywhere near as prolific as his first three decades, although at the age of 60 when its follow up Love And Theft was released, one could hardly begrudge him taking a more leisurely approach. Each new album became something of an event release. Described as a pre-rock Americana record, Love And Theft took influences of jazz, folk and blues and was hailed by Rolling Stone as a masterpiece.

Five years later he released another landmark record in the form of Modern Times. Centered around blues and rockabilly, it became Dylan’s first No. 1 record in the US since 1976 when Desire topped the albums chart. It was also his first album to debut at the top of the Billboard chart, selling 191,933 copies in its first week, and subsequently making him the oldest artist ever to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

The darker, bluesy grit of 2003’s Together Through Life topped charts around the world and again picked up favorable reviews from critics, while 2012’s Tempest followed suit and would be the last record of original material until 2020’s Rough And Rowdy Ways. Preceded by a clutch of covers records dedicated to traditional pop standards - not to mention the unprecedented moment in 2016 when he was honored with the Nobel Prize for Literature - Rough And Rowdy Ways represented a thrilling journey through the many styles and genres Dylan shaped and navigated throughout his career. There’s a laid back looseness to the playing, while Dylan’s wordplay is as sharp, witty and humorous as anything in his gargantuan canon. Precious few artists will ever be able to boast 39 records in 80 years and counting. That Bob Dylan is not only still making music, but music that is capable of standing toe-to-toe with works from over 50 years prior is an achievement beyond compare and one that few of us are ever likely to see again. We should treasure him while we can.

BOBDYLAN.COM

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ADAM BLACKSTONE

HEADLINER USA

Big On Bass

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The grind hasn’t stopped for multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Adam Blackstone. Currently the musical director for both Nicki Minaj and Justin Timberlake, Headliner recently spoke to Blackstone about his musical ethos, playing and performing with some of the biggest artists on the planet, and why he wouldn’t be without his JH Audio Roxannes.

With music instilled in him from a very young age, Blackstone found his way playing upright bass in jazz clubs and restaurants, just as neo soul and open mic nights were booming in Philadelphia in the early 2000s.

“At these jam sessions, everybody from Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Anthony Hamilton, India Arie - they were all coming in; those experiences taught me that you’ve always got to be prepared when your number’s called,” says Blackstone. “I was just at a local club, but I would always treat it like Madison Square Garden, right? And that’s the focus and the diligence that I’ve tried to put into every single one of my gigs: to come prepared, to care about the music, and to always give it 100.”

It was one of these jam sessions that led to him first meeting Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of hip-hop band The Roots, which he admits changed his life in many ways.

After being taken under the wing of his friend and mentor, Blackstone’s first big gig was as a bass player on Jay Z’s The Black Album tour in late 2003. This saw him go on to work with the likes of Kanye West, Beyonce and Rihanna, the latter for whom he was the MD and bassist on her 777 Tour, which involved playing seven shows in seven countries around the world on seven consecutive days.

“That was the smartest and worst thing we ever came up with,” he laughs. “But honestly, there isn’t one person that I’ve worked with who hasn’t impacted my life in some way.

I’ve been on some real creative, innovative tours like Glow in the Dark with Kanye West. My brother, Justin Timberlake; he’s always just been able to set the bar, even across genres - with him there’s so many different styles of music encompassed into one show.

“But then I look at The Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour with Puff Daddy; I look at Janet Jackson’s Number Ones, Up Close and Personal Tour. Those are more nostalgic for me, because in the ‘90s I never thought that I would be on stage with these iconic artists when I was listening to them back then. I get a sense of gratitude every time I’m called by those artists specifically, because it’s like a full circle moment.”

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ADAM BLACKSTONE

Big On Bass

Photo: Sean Predruco

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In 2019, Blackstone was hired as the MD for a then brand new show called The Masked Singer, creating tracks for the show without a full band on site. On this particular project, he essentially figured out how to do what he calls a “Covid-style show” before the pandemic had even hit.

Blackstone is a JH Audio user, with his in-ear monitors playing one of the most important roles of all during a show or on tour. They have become a main staple in his setup, having faithfully used and trusted them for over a decade.

“We always try to keep the stage noise as low as possible, which is why it’s always got to be JH,” he says.

“I remember putting in in-ears for the first time; I heard things I hadn’t heard before in songs and in my mix. JH always gives me that threeHEADLINER USA

dimensional depth where I can perfectly hear the music but also hear myself clearly over the top. They’re durable, comfortable, and honestly, just a game changer. I’m a Roxanne user and I really like the low end; I don’t always need a sub on stage because Roxanne encompasses that low end that I like as a bass player.”

Alongside working with several A-list artists at one time, Blackstone has also run his own production company with his wife Kaisha since 2009 called BBE (BASSic Black Entertainment), which features several up and coming pop and R&B acts. He tells me how BBE mostly thrives as a live music staffing service for aspiring and emerging artists: “I’m thankful that they are listening and that I’m able to give a bit of my knowledge back to the industry,

and hopefully help some people,” he concludes with a smile. “It’s really all about having an attitude of gratitude.”

ADAMBLACKSTONE.COM JHAUDIO.COM

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CHRIS RAKESTRAW

Making Waves

MAKING WAVES

CHRIS RAKESTRAW HEADLINER USA

ENGINEER

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Having been making records for the best part of two decades, Chris Rakestraw has become one of rock’s most sought after studio talents.

With the likes of Megadeth, Danzig and Parkway Drive gracing his CV, he has served as a mixer, engineer and producer on a raft of iconic records.

Here, he opens up about his formative years and the gear that has become indispensable to him throughout his career.

“I guess I first got into studio work after I left Chapel Hill, NC and moved to San Diego in maybe ’99,” he tells Headliner. “I wanted to take some community college classes and start getting educated. I took an ‘Intro to Music Studio’, and ‘Algebra I’ class.

I always loved math when I was younger, and always regretted not doing better in school, so I was trying to remedy that. The ‘Intro to Studio’ class was pretty remedial. It was basically a G2 or G3 Mac, an Alesis keyboard, and we just learned MIDI programming and sequencing. We didn’t even get into anything related to actually recording audio there.

What I did get from this class was that I enjoyed the creative aspect and sought further education in that field.”

One of the keys to Rakestraw’s enduring success has been his ability to evolve. It’s a skill he considers to be invaluable in today’s ever-changing industry.

“I would hope that everyone’s approach would change over the years, otherwise, you get sedentary in technique, process, and thinking,” he explains. “The skill I’ve developed the most is being able to adapt to situations. I grew up watching producers that had their way of doing things, and they would fit the band into that machine. The older I got,

the more I recognized that it is a bit of a safety net. Meaning, to finish this project with the budget that I’ve come up with, we must do everything my way, otherwise, I can’t guarantee my product. Nowadays, I don’t have as much fear, so I don’t mind being more open-minded when artists want to do something a different way. It’s kind of how a seasoned woodworker might not sweat a mistake, because they know 10 ways to fix it.”

As Rakestraw’s skillset has grown and evolved down the years, so too has his audio toolkit. So what are some of the items that he’s come to depend on most?

“For tracking, I’d say the Radial JD7 for recording guitars,” he says. “I also use a Radial Twin Servo 500 series preamp to record the DI out of the JD7 for a super full range balanced DI signal from the guitar. I’ve gone through a bunch of preamps over the years, and the Twin Servo seems to work the best.

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Making Waves

“WAVES PLUGINS REALLY ARE AN INDUSTRY STANDARD. THEY ARE IN EVERY MIX SESSION I’VE PROBABLY EVER DONE.”

“For vocals, I have a Mojave MA-1000 that gives me a ton of confidence because it sounds so frigging good when you need a big condenser mic,” he continues. “The other piece of gear that is absolutely essential, and I’m sure lots of snobs will be a bit unimpressed with this, but I have a DBX160x that was modded by Revive Audio – that is my go to vocal compressor. I’ve always loved the 160xs on vocals, and when I found there was a way to ‘Hi-Fi’ up the 160x, I sent it off immediately. Using that compressor is another kind of safety net, meaning, it’s hard to screw up whatever you put through it.

“For mixing, absolutely my Auratones with the unbalanced Bryston 3B. I’d HEADLINER USA

say 80 to 90% of my mixing happens on these guys.”

Another staple of Rakestraw’s audio arsenal is his collection of Waves Audio plugins. As he explains, he’s been using them from day one and has never looked back.

“What can you say about an industry standard? They really are an industry standard,” he says. “They are in every mix session I’ve probably ever done. I’d say their SSL and MixHubSSL plugins are [particularly] important because I know them really well. That’s something that’s a bit overlooked. Plugins can be great, but until you dig in and learn them like you would some outboard gear,

or console, then you aren’t getting your money’s worth. My advice to newer people using Waves plugins, would be to pick a couple and use the crap out of those until you know them inside and out. Try not to get overwhelmed by a million plugins.

“The first studio I ever worked in had Waves, back in like 2000,” he concludes. “I remember 20 years ago hearing the MetaFlanger, or Enigma, and thinking ‘that’s awesome’! Those were always the holy grail plugins, so to be a part of their team now, I’m very proud!”

WAVES.COM

Destino, Ibiza with the d&b GSL System

N E X T X N O W

At home in the most demanding club applications, a d&b system brings market-leading software and hardware to every performance. Night after night, this easy-to-use audio toolkit helps bring dancefloors to life. And, as d&b works hand in hand with the industry on innovative, patented technologies, the boundaries of what’s possible evolve. So, in shaping what’s coming next, the now becomes even more exciting. More than a sound system.

See what’s possible at dbaudio.com/club

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NATALIA LAFOURCADE

The Power Of Love

THE POWER OF LOVE

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Natalia Lafourcade is one of the most successful singers in Latin America, and she also happens to be one of the most humble; it’s immediately apparent that she never takes her success for granted. The Mexican singersongwriter explains how her 10th studio album, Un Canto Por México Vol. 2 came about after a concert in 2019 that was held to raise funds to reconstruct the Centro de Documentación del Son Jarocho at Jáltipan de Morelos, a cultural building in her hometown in Mexico that was damaged in the 2017 Puebla earthquake. For Lafourcade, it’s all about keeping Latin American traditions alive.

“The people at the center have been working for more than 20 years to keep all the traditions of regional music alive, so I called Kiko Campos, the producer and director of these two volumes of work, and we made this huge piece of regional Mexican music,” she reflects in her softly spoken, almost meditative, voice. “In the music you can see the essence of Mexico, our traditions, our music, the way we sing, dance and the way we feel the music – you can feel that by listening to the tracks.”

The first volume of this album (which also raised funds for the center) was awarded two Latin Grammys and a mainstream Grammy, so the expectations for volume two were high. The second single from the new album is Tú Sí Sabes Quererme.

Written by Lafourcade and originally released on her 2017 album Musas (the video racking up more than 200 million YouTube hits since), this version features salsa legend Rubén Blades, as well as the Oaxacan rapper and social activist Mare Advertencia.

“You never know what is gonna happen with a song,” Lafourcade

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“it’s not just about Mexico or Latin Americans, it’s about life and it’s about humans.”

says modestly. “That’s something that I love about my work and about music, because it has its own spirit.

It’s something that’s gonna find its own place in people’s hearts – it’s gonna fly away from you, and you cannot control it. I love that about making music. I remember at the beginning of my career, there were people around me saying, ‘this is gonna be a hit’, and then it was the opposite, you know? So I learned that you really don’t know, so you better do it with your heart and love, and just try to do your best. It might happen, or not.”

The song speaks of what Lafourcade calls ‘good love’ – which she says exists in freedom and flourishes without fear or chains; it’s one of the strongest themes across her work to date:

where the whole family would feel connected to what we were playing,” she explains. “In the songs you can see a whole picture of what we are like as Latin Americans: our culture, our story, the way we live. But actually it’s not just about Mexico or Latin Americans, it’s about life and it’s about humans. That is the most special thing about this album – we’re singing for love. Love is the engine of life. Love is necessary, like breathing; we all want it in our lives. When we are attuned to love’s frequency we are able to connect with essential values like empathy, generosity, humility, tenderness, calm, confidence and solidarity. Love cures all and is our salvation.”

“Both Un Canto Por México volumes are the way they are because we were thinking about a concert HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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NATALIA LAFOURCADE

The Power Of Love

Lafourcade recorded her first album when she was 18, and decided that the sacrifices she would have to make to pursue her dream would only be worth it if she could write her own music: “There is an exchange for this type of life,” she acknowledges. “There was a moment where I said, ‘Okay, I can handle this, but I need to make my own music’. I remember that I said that in my mind. I was okay to have this type of life, but I needed to write my songs. The love for what I do is my passion, and the music that I record and share with the other talented and wonderful, amazing people that I run into on my path. It’s something that I love to do and I am very grateful because I can share it. People listen to my music and they feel connected, so I must be true and I must be honest in what I create, because that’s the only way to connect with people. If you’re not real, it’s confusing because you’re not being real to yourself. For me it’s more about keeping my own truth,” she smiles.

INSTA: @NATALIALAFOURCADE

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IMMERSIVE AUDIO

Raising The Bar

Steve Genewick

HEADLINER USA

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In just a few short years, Dolby Atmos playback has evolved from select high-end theaters, all the way to popular consumer electronics, home cinema systems, video games, and, soon, even cars. Headliner recently chaired a panel discussion with four experts in the field of immersive audio to reflect on how far the various formats have come, and to look at trends across the music and entertainment industries.

On the panel were Dave Way, a four time Grammy award-winning producer and recording engineer who has worked with Michael Jackson, Spice Girls, Beck, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Gwen Stefani, and Grammynominated recording engineer Steve Genewick, whose credits include working on records for LeAnn Rimes, Bob Dylan, Mary J Blige and Elton John. Joining them were two members of the Abbey Road Spatial Audio Forum, Ana Monte, a sound designer with a focus on immersive audio and virtual reality, and Anastasia Devana, an expert in immersive audio.

How does Dolby Atmos heighten the listening experience and immerse the listener?

SG: I like to say it’s surround sound that actually works. It really opened up huge possibilities in what we could do with music and how we could use the system to literally immerse the

listener inside of the song. It’s a more compelling way to suck you in, for lack of a better term.

AM: The coolest thing about immersive audio is how you change the POV. You’re not outside anymore; you’re in the story. You’re in the music, if you will.

Steve was tasked with up-mixing a lot of UMG and Capitol’s back catalog into an immersive format.

What were the challenges?

SG: UMG came to us at Capitol Studios and they said, ‘You guys have got to build a Dolby Atmos room’. And we said, ‘why would we want to do that?’

They said, ‘just build it, we’re gonna mix music!’ We took our studio CR/mix room and retrofitted it for Atmos, and it turned out great. Basically, I had to just figure it out. I had mixed in 5.1 and I’ve done movie scores, so surround formats were not completely foreign to me. Luckily, Atmos was integrated

into Pro Tools very recently before that, but then it was just me sitting in a room trying to figure out how to make this work and how to make sure that I was mixing a record, and not a Dolby Atmos demo. I had to figure out how to make reverb work and how to get what we do as music mixers into this immersive format.

What are the learning curves when adapting to an immersive format?

DW: There’s a pretty steep learning curve, technically with the renderer and the communication between Pro Tools and getting your room set up.

The thing about Atmos is you can do whatever you want with it; it really is the Wild West as far as where you want to put things! Often you’re experimenting with where the vocal is, because that’s usually the star of the show. Having it up front, oftentimes is just boring, and you’re trying to get a little more of a novel thing by using the space to approach it. That’s usually the HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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IMMERSIVE AUDIO

Raising The Bar

Anastasia Devana

star of the show. Having it up front, oftentimes is just boring, and you’re trying to get a little more of a novel thing by using the space to approach it. That’s usually the first place to go, and then the music finds its place after that.

What about immersive / spatial audio in interactive game engines?

AM: I came from a traditional sound design background for films, and it’s definitely a completely different approach. Your POV has changed: now you’re in the story, you’re not watching things from out there, so you need to be careful to not overload the viewer.

As sound designers, we love to layer, layer, layer! That’s not the case with VR because you’re trying to make something that looks and sounds HEADLINER USA

realistic, and sometimes that cinematic sound design that we like doesn’t work that well with VR, because you want something that’s more real. So the approach is very different. The way that you tell a story in VR is still being developed, like how do we tell a story where the viewer is in the story, and is part of the story? How do I make my sound design complement the story and not distract the viewer? Sound design is adapting towards that.

Do you think that more artists will embrace creating music in immersive audio formats going forward? And will audiences embrace it?

SG: I have yet to have somebody come in and go, ‘I hate this’. Everybody is very sceptical about it until you play them something. After they hear something,

they all love it. Nine times out of 10 it’s, ‘how do I get my new album this way?’

AD: I used to work at a tech company that makes an augmented reality hardware platform, and I was experimenting with object-based immersive audio using a game engine.

It’s like going from mono to stereo, but then you go from stereo to this full spatial audio. We had this quite famous music producer come in to see the technology. I said, ‘check this out, it’s like going from mono to stereo’, and he was like, ‘meh; people listen to music on phone speakers – they’re not gonna care’. He crushed my dreams of spatial music! I did not expect the music producer to not get it.

DW: I have to say, across the board, for me every reaction has been, ‘wow’.

TECHNOLOGY

I can see the goosebumps rising on their arms and they turn around and they smile. Everybody’s like, ‘how can I get this? What do I have to do? How do I do this at my house? How do I start mixing in Atmos? How much does it cost?’ Just in the seven or eight months that I’ve been doing this, the momentum and the awareness has grown measurably, and I get more and more excited about it every month. I had a client say ‘it’s like you’re swimming and the water is music’.

Tell us about the Abbey Road Spatial Audio Forum.

AM: It was founded in 2017 by Mirek Stiles, who is Abbey Road’s head of audio products. He decided to bring together a bunch of audio nerds from completely different areas: artists, producers, engineers, people from music, VR and film, from the academic world, and get us all talking to each other, which apparently doesn’t happen very often! Meaning the researchers talking to the people that are actually doing the content, and vice versa. We try to meet regularly (when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic), and exchange ideas – from research, all the way to practical stuff that we’ve experimented with to try to find new, creative approaches to using immersive audio.

Tell us about the world of ambisonics and object-based ‘mixing’ within game engines.

AM: With ambisonics, you’re not dealing with object-based or with channel-based audio – you’re trying to reproduce a sound sphere. That’s why it’s been used for VR, because in VR and 360 degree videos you want a sound sphere around you so you’re able to look in every direction, and have head tracking so you can rotate the sound field. There’s a lot of flexibility. I personally don’t think it’s a good format for cinema – I think Dolby Atmos is definitely better, being objectbased and channel-based. But for 360 degrees and for VR, it’s a perfect format. You want to be in the middle of that sphere and have everything surrounding you, and you want the sound field to be able to rotate.

How have you been using Focusrite gear in combination with Dante networking for your immersive audio work?

SG: At Capitol we use a lot of Focusrite stuff because we’re moving between three computers, so we’re using Focusrite hardware and Dante to move audio between those three computers constantly.

I did a video series where we put bands on the roof of the Capitol

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building, and we had Focusrite boxes up there and we would use RedNet to pull the audio down into the studio so I could mix it.

When I put an Atmos studio in my house, I naturally went to Focusrite.

I ended up with a Red 16Line and the RedNet R1, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s so easy to set up and use, and it sounds great. I can easily switch between stereo and Atmos. I was amazed at how good it actually sounded.

DW: I’ve got a Red 16Line, a couple of RedNet A16Rs, a RedNet HD32R for more Dante, plus a RedNet R1 controller. It’s seamless, and the RedNet software is just fantastic – everything’s right in front of me and I don’t think about it at all. I’m easily going back and forth between stereo, 5.1 and Atmos, and I also have an Adobe receiver where I’m streaming Tidal, and soon, Apple Music. It sounds great – that’s always number one. I don’t want to use anything that’s convenient, but doesn’t deliver on the sound.

What trends are you seeing in immersive audio across the music and entertainment industries?

AM: This is something we talked about in the last forum: how are we going to be mixing music in the future, especially with these

“EVERYBODY IS VERY SCEPTICAL ABOUT IT UNTIL YOU PLAY THEM SOMETHING.” - STEVE GENEWICK

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IMMERSIVE AUDIO

Raising The Bar

Ana Monte

HEADLINER USA

TECHNOLOGY

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“I HAD A CLIENT SAY ‘IT’S LIKE YOU’RE SWIMMING AND THE WATER IS MUSIC’” - DAVE WAY

Dave Way

AD: Headphones like AirPods Pro and AirPods Max do head tracking like spatial audio where it has to react to your head movements.

These will render anything in Dolby Atmos correctly. I’ve heard it! So I think that basically it’s getting people to experience it and to realize what spatial audio sounds like.

DW: I’m continually excited about what the possibilities are with this kind of music. Some are meant to be more natural, for instance I just did the UEFA opening ceremony for the soccer tournament, and it was Marshmello who did a medley, and the visuals for it were absolutely surreal. You’ve got this guy with a marshmallow for a head and it’s all CGI stuff all over the world, and oceans are in the middle of the stadium, so it really lends itself to the surreal stuff, even though we’re trying to give you the sense that it’s ‘grounded’ in the stadium. That kind of stuff is fun – every project is different.

AM: Exactly. We have a lot of things being consumed with headphones.

For me, it’s super interesting, not only from a music aspect, but obviously for movies that people are consuming on their way to work on their cell phones.

They’re listening to things on their tablets. So from a movie perspective, it’s really important that we have good binaural mixes for video also.

SG: I like the fact that it’s coming to the forefront and seems to be on everybody’s radar. The more people talk about it, the more it’s gonna stick around. Hopefully the consumer stuff catches up fairly quickly, which it looks like it is. I’d like to be able to get this out to more people. This is the first time where the creators have been ahead of the consumers. It’s not the

interactive, augmented and mixed reality experiences? In the future, or actually, it’s already happening, we are thinking, ‘how do we control what the viewer or what the person is experiencing?’

consumer manufacturers going, ‘hey, we have this great toy; now you guys figure out how to use it’. It’s us saying, ‘okay, here’s the music; we’re mixing the video games, we’re doing the movies – you figure out how to play it back’. I like it being driven that way: the content driving the technology.

FOCUSRITE.COM

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LECTROSONICS

Recording Home & Family

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RECORDING HOME & FAMILY N SO

Hallmark Channel’s American morning talk show, Home & Family recently announced that its ninth season (airing in August 2021) will be its last. The programme showcases everything from crafting, cooking, home improvements, car repair, to all things DIY. For audio supervisor Mike Dooley, it’s the end of an era.

Is Right to take this job, which was a very difficult decision. I loved working at Price, but it turned out to be a very good decision. I met and mixed many musical luminaries. It’s an incredible list, really! If I name just a few...Johnny Mathis, Don Henley, Dave Koz, Kenny G, Herb Alpert, Richard Marx, and even Charo!”

“This show was the longest full-time job I’ve ever had, so it’s hard to see it go,” he admits. “It’s very rare in production to have a Mondaythrough-Friday gig that runs 11 months per year, and for nine years. I left mixing front of house at The Price

Home & Family sees multiple cast members interact with celebrity guests throughout the many rooms of a full-sized house set. This makes the need for many wireless channels and glitch-free reception a top priority, which is why the show

HEADLINER USA

recently upgraded to a Lectrosonics all-digital D Squared wireless mic system. It comprises four DSQD fourchannel receivers, 16 DBu belt-pack transmitters, a DHu handheld mic, and six ALP690 high-performance antennas.

During filming it is not uncommon to have 10 to 12 people on-camera at one time. With so much talent to keep up with, the A2s (assistant mixers) are kept pretty busy and are not able to keep an eye on the receiver rack to watch out for interfering transmissions and low battery levels.

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“Luckily, Lectrosonics had me covered with their Wireless Designer program,” says Dooley. “It was always open on a screen in front of me and allowed me to see all my wireless receiver information at a glance.”

With the RF spectrum available for TV production ever tightening, one feature that attracted Dooley’s immediate attention was the D Squared system’s built-in encryption. “NBC Universal has a frequency coordinator who assigns all our frequencies and has mostly kept us safe. But talent and guests wear their mics all day on this show, and of course talk privately off-set. Sometimes it’s possible that a mic is picked up somewhere it shouldn’t be. With the encryption, I no longer have to worry about that.”

Lectrosonics’ DSQD receivers proved to be essential, while providing that all-important piece of mind during filming:

“WE NEVER HAD TO WORRY IF THE GEAR WOULD WORK, WHICH ALLOWED ME AND MY TEAM TO FOCUS ON THE CRAZINESS OF A DAILY TWO-HOUR LIFESTYLE SHOW.”

“With the way the DSQD uses the spectrum, Universal has been able to give us the best frequency coordination we’ve ever had,” Dooley enthuses. “The DSQD receivers and DBU transmitters are so simple to program and use! We never had to worry if the gear would work, which allowed me and my team to focus on the craziness of a daily two-hour lifestyle show.”

The nature of the Home & Family set can bring range and obstacle challenges, but as Dooley explains, the D Squared rig never missed a beat: “The set is basically an entire house, inside and out, constructed on the backlot of Universal Studios in Hollywood. There are front and back yards, a deck, a garage, a full kitchen, and lots of rooms, and we use them all! With the D Squared, it’s just bulletproof. We’ve actually reduced the number of ALP antennas placed throughout the house to six instead of eight, and the reception is better.

We’re a few weeks into season 9 as I’m talking to you, and I have not lost a signal once, even for a moment.

“Over the years, we were faced with on-camera talent being very physical, whether it was playing a wacky game in an above-ground pool, getting cream pies thrown in fac-

es, or performing a sweaty aerobic workout,” he recalls. “The Lectrosonics transmitters with their small size and incredible dependability were never a concern. They may not be completely waterproof, but we proved many times that they’re very water resistant!”

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LECTROSONICS

Recording Home & Family

Dooley shares that his favorite part about working on the show was mixing the music acts: “I mixed probably 300 music performances over the nine year run. One of my favorite moments was when I asked B.J. Thomas during his soundcheck to play ‘just a couple bars’ of (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song, since it was one of my favorite songs as a kid.

He had so much fun playing it, he decided to play that song

HEADLINER USA

instead of the newer song he had planned on playing on the show! I was worried I would get in trouble for it, but it turned into a singalong during the segment, and became one of our favorite performances. I also was able to get a photo with Lee Majors, where we are both holding my wellpreserved The Six Million Dollar Man action figure. It was probably my favorite day of all!”

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STEVE ALBINI

HEADLINER USA

The Art Of Engineering

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STEVE ALBINI

Photographer: Francesca Colasanti

Steve Albini is something of an anomaly in the record making industry, or at least the idea of Steve Albini is. In the eyes of many he is one of the most influential producers in the world of alternative and punk rock. Some view him as a contrarian, an anti-establishment icon hellbent on setting the mainstream music business alight and revelling in its embers. Others, an uncompromising audio purist who rails against his ‘producer’ label as some kind of affront to his hard-earned technical expertise. When Headliner joins him virtually in his Chicago studio Electrical Audio via Zoom, we simply meet a modest, affable engineer generous with his time and happy to talk candidly about any given subject. And he is very much an engineer - NOT a producer.

“A producer has responsibility for all the artistic decisions on a record, they answer to their superiors and the world at large for the aesthetic and execution of a record. I don’t do that,” he says, explaining the distinction.

“I’m happily insulated from those decisions by leaving them in the hands of the band I’m working with.

I’ve seen some producers in action and I’m happy not to be associated

with that kind of behavior. It’s not that I prefer not to be called a producer, it’s that it’s incorrect and misleading.

“If you listen to the records I’m best known for and think that I’ve done a good job, what you’re hearing is what the band did. I’m not in there playing or making that music. I’m making a recording that allows you to hear that as it was.”

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STEVE ALBINI

The Art Of Engineering

Among those records he is best known for are some of the most revered albums of the past three decades. Defining records by the likes of Pixies, PJ Harvey, The Breeders and, of course Nirvana, which we’ll come to shortly, all bear the Albini name and have sonically inspired several generations of artists. Central to his approach is a commitment to capturing the most authentic representation of the band, which, he says, is not always front and center of some engineers’ minds.

“There are things that recording engineers do almost by default that falsify the sound a little bit,” he continues. “If a band comes to a fancy studio and they have all their old equipment with them, the producer or engineer might say ‘you should use this much nicer gear that’s already mic’d up’. Or ‘I see you have this quaint, strange little guitar amp, let me introduce you to the world of my Marshall stack’. Or the bass player, who is used to playing next to their amp and feeling the basslines, is plugged into a direct box. Or you might be used to playing together in

the room and the first thing they do is set up a click track for the drummer.

So, it’s no mystery that when you take a band with an identity formed through live playing and remove all of the elements that are under their control, they end up with a record that doesn’t sound natural. I start from a basis of not doing any of these destructive interventions. If the band is used to playing altogether at the same time, let them do that.”

So what are some of his personal favorite pieces of kit?

“There are some things that are just uniquely good,” he says. “There is a low frequency mic by Beyerdynamic called the M380. I use it on bass drum and bass guitar. They haven’t been made in years, but I use that every session. The mics I use on toms are Josephson E22s. I worked with David Josephson to develop the design of those mics because I needed an accurate condenser for drums that would be rugged enough to get hit by a stick and not cost me $1,000 every time. Lately I’ve been relying on a ribbon mic by AEA called

the N8. It has a head amplifier inside, which isolates the ribbon from the loading effects of the cable and transformer and input circuitry of the mic preamp, so it behaves very predictably, whereas previously ribbon mics were unpredictable. I use it on guitar cabs, vocals a lot; it’s just very consistent.”

This simplistic approach to accurately and efficiently recording the true sound of an artist has transformed from one that was largely seen as the reserve of the underground to a music industry standard.

“Now that the economics of the business have shifted, the way I have always worked, which is to move quickly and efficiently to get things done in the interest of saving my clients money, is becoming the norm in a professional studio environment,” he says. “One thing you’ll notice is people whose careers have spanned both eras are the ones complaining most about the contraction of the business and yelping about how nobody cares about craftsmanship anymore. It’s pure bullshit. Hearing a bunch of fossils complaining about ‘kids these days’ is excruciating to me. And I myself am an old fossil, so imagine being a 22-year-old and being lectured about craftsmanship!”

When Albini began work on Nirvana’s multi-million selling In Utero in 1993, the economics of the industry were unrecognizable from those he addresses today. So how did he feel when the biggest rock band on the planet approached him to make the follow-up to their breakthrough juggernaut Nevermind?

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ENGINEER

“I THINK ABOUT THE FINAL PLAYBACK IN THE CONTROL ROOM AND THE JUBILANT MOOD IN THE ROOM. I’LL CARRY THAT TO MY GRAVE.”

“I got the call from Kurt and spoke to him at length,” he recalls. “I said I thought the best thing they could do was make an album like they did when they were 20 – go into a studio on a short time scale, knock it out and don’t second guess themselves. And he agreed. They didn’t want anyone else involved in the process. That was a dangerous precedent as far as the label was concerned. If other artists became aware that they could do that then a whole tier of the industry would be out of work.”

The band’s decision to stand by Albini despite much alleged pressure from the label to drop him in favor of a bigger name triggered a farcical chain of events that would see Albini

and his involvement trash talked, despite the label requiring a major hit.

“There was an active campaign by the label to get Nirvana to scrap the record and do it again,” he says.

“People at the label were saying the record was terrible, unlistenable. The process was paradigm shifting and so out of their control that they were actively trying to tank the record before ultimately releasing it and saying they were behind it! It was bizarre. I can’t imagine the pressure Nirvana must’ve been under.”

Despite the controversy,, Albini has only fond memories of working with the band. As for those on the periphery…

“My experiences with the band were all positive,” he concludes. “Every other interaction I had was absolutely cringing awful – the worst people with the worst motivations. But I choose not to think about all of the corporate chaos. I think about the final playback in the control room and the jubilant mood in the room. I’ll carry that to my grave. Listening to their record, the way they made it, and they were elated about it.”

You can listen to our extended interview with Steve Albini by searching ‘Headliner Radio’ on your preferred podcast platform ELECTRICALAUDIO.COM

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RACHEL ALIX

HEADLINER USA

Making It Work

SOUND DESIGNER

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MAKING IT WORK

RACHEL ALIX As a sound designer at iZotope, Rachel Alix is directly responsible for creating and refining some of the most widely-used audio tools in the industry. Here she discusses the important role that she plays at the company, along with some cool new products and features on the horizon...

Having consistently been included in various ‘Top Places to Work’ lists in recent years, it’s no surprise to discover that Alix’ favorite thing about working at iZotope is the people.

Yet it wasn’t this factor that drew her to the company in the first place. A budding musician and songwriter in her teens, Alix quickly developed an intense interest in the recording process, eventually taking that passion to Berklee College of Music where she studied contemporary writing and production.

“Through that time, I was performing a lot and getting involved in the electronic music scene at Berklee, which led me to wanting to make the tools for people like me, particularly live vocal production tools,” she recalls. “That’s how I found iZotope - I started as a customer care agent,

and got an opportunity to play at a company party really early on.”

Hitting the ground running opened up a world of opportunity at the company: “I got to do the marquee video for VocalSynth 2, along with a whole bunch of company songs and videos that were played at company meetings,” she adds. “I eventually ended up on a project with Kimbra [a popular New Zealand singersongwriter] where I mixed one of her songs and talked through the production process with her. That was really cool, and that essentially landed me in sound design.”

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“WE’RE THE EARS THAT HEAR THE PRODUCT FIRST, AND MAKE SURE IT SOUNDS GOOD BEFORE USERS GET TO PLAY WITH IT”

I proceed to ask Alix what her role as a sound designer entails working for an industry leader in music production software: “As a broad description, any sound that the customer can make out of one of our products is something that has been fine tuned by the sound design department,” she explains. “Anything from the presets you’re hearing to the knob that turns your reverb up - we checked every parameter on that knob to make sure it sounded good and had a use case. We’re the ears that hear the product first, and make sure it sounds good before users get to play with it.”

And Alix’ work is as varied as it’s interesting. She currently works on three different product teams, the

first of which is iZotope’s Spire Studio hardware and app, she reveals: “We built a platform based on a mobile hardware recording device, and in the last year of the pandemic, we’ve put a lot more effort into making the app a really great experience, and have put a lot of iZotope DSP into it. I’d say we’ve seen a lot more interest in, and interaction with that.”

Alix also works on iZotope’s post production products, as well as some of its more creative tools such as VocalSynth and Nectar.

“On a busy day I’m usually in meetings, hashing out what a feature should be with our product managers and a group of developers,” she continues. “Or sometimes I’ll be

creating two hours of audio for our research department to work with. If we weren’t remote, I’d be in the studio with Spire, doing exploratory testing for a feature we’re planning to release, and then sitting down with Ableton making macros with raw DSP to try to make a feature come to life.

“When you say, sound designer, to someone, they think that it’s a very technical job, and I’d say that it is - but a lot of what I do is experimenting and trusting my intuition, or going with my gut, and then making a recommendation based off of that.”

So are there any upcoming developments at iZotope on which Alix can spill the beans?

“Keep an eye out on the Spire Studio front; we’ve been working like crazy to get some really cool FX and processing out to users to make the experience even more like a recording studio, and clean up audio and room noises,” she teases. “Also, if you’re a subscriber to the iZotope Producers Club, keep an eye out for some really cool vocal stuff coming soon.

“We’re really just taking this year to focus on beefing up the subscription model, and giving a lot of cool content and products to users which we hope they’ll love.”

IZOTOPE.COM

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MERGING TECHNOLOGIES

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MERGING TECHNOLOGIES HEADLINER USA

Merging Technologies have been around for nearly 30 years now and in that time have gained a reputation for excellent audio products. The company moved into Audio over IP (AoIP) with the launch of the Horus AD/DA converter in 2012, a RAVENNA interface with truly transparent conversion and outstanding quality mic preamps. Followed a year later by the HAPI, both units are now AES67 compliant and with audio network management software to route everything where it needs to be, the scene was set for something of a revolution.

In keeping with the gods of ancient Egypt, Anubis was brought back to life in 2019 as a desktop network controller and audio interface in the spirit of its ancestors, originally designed to monitor and route multiple AES67 streams at everything from major sporting events to remote broadcast studios. However could this small professional desktop audio interface soon be worshipped by us mere mortals?

When Anubis first shipped, its software was a one-size-fits-all interface called ‘Monitor Mission’, but with talk of more missions to follow. We at Headliner got hold of an Anubis around two years ago and it immediately became the audio interface of choice for all sessions in our Hertfordshire studio.

The interface, I might add, by which all others are judged. Such was the quality of AD/DA together with four outstanding quality mic/line preamps, multiple speaker and sub bass control; it was a no brainer.

Though aimed at the serious

professional, Merging’s Anubis is actually very competitively priced and represents outstanding value for money.

On May 20, an Anubis firmware update was released which included the brand new ‘Music Mission’, designed specifically with creatives and studios in mind. In other words, it’s now a recording studio as opposed to a post production or mastering suite. Of course this firmware is available to all current Anubis owners at no extra cost, but if you’re looking for a really comprehensive studio console in a small desktop box that you can control via a color touchscreen, computer or tablet — featuring pristine audio quality and fast latency free workflow — then read on.

The Music Mission effectively becomes the mixing console of your studio, and can include as many peered inputs as you have HAPI or Horus A/D cards. This allows you to control all functions of the additional mic pres with the bonus of a full four-band parametric EQ section, a range of Dynamics with a Gate, Compressor and Limiter as well as an internal reverb engine a must for putting your vocalist and sax player at ease.

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zero latency. Peering offers you expandability up to 48 channels, all 32-bit, at sample rates up to 192kHz, giving you the facilities, control and exemplary audio quality of a large format studio mixer in a small desktop interface and a couple of Horus 19” rack units.

It was interesting to note that the peering system still works even without a computer attached, which means you could potentially go do a live gig with the Anubis and a Horus or two, although you’d need a computer or a tablet of some description to help you navigate your way around.

There’s the ability to set up up to five stereo foldback cues (monitor sends) for the musicians. All of which feature additional bus processing of EQ and Dynamics.

Plus additional busses for three stereo Aux sends to either plugins in your DAW or via the peered audio interfaces for external hookup to analog devices. And all at near HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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Setting Up The System On March 8 2021, the HAPI MkII was announced, and I was delighted when Merging offered to send me one so I could get a clearer picture of what my new Anubis Music Mission is all about. I was also interested to find out if everything was as easy to set up as Dante, for example.

route and use ANEMAN, Merging’s RAVENNA AES67 network manager, and put virtual connections on a matrix patchbay, similar to Dante Network Manager. Alternatively there’s a handy UNITE button which takes the hassle out of making specific connections, and just works.

Upon glancing around Anubis’s new ‘Music Mission’, I dug out an old Cisco SG300 and swapped a Dante configuration for one from Merging’s website. There was a small issue with security settings using Apple’s M1 chip, but with that resolved, everything fired up and synced up pretty quickly. It was then just a matter of going into Anubis’s menu and selecting Peering.

Running a switch with PoE (Power over Ethernet) means you can do away with the power adapter, handy for keeping your desk cabling to a minimum, or you can use the power adapter as a redundant supply if you’re out on location.

You can select as many or as few of the available I/O on the HAPI MkII as you want to use. The RAVENNA driver for core audio features two options: You can go down the traditional

I could have written page after page at this point about all the functions and features of the Anubis. It’s such a clever controller, it’s much easier to tell you what it can’t do, so here I go: It can’t make tea and it can’t raise the dead.

Music Is My First Love In the words of the John Miles Classic! With the Music Mission, there’s a well designed and thoughtful approach to tracking and recording. Whether you’re a creative individual in a bedroom studio or an engineer in a small modern studio facility, the key to any musical journey is growth and expandability. Merging clearly has a vision when it comes to audio production and the expandability of your system.

HEADINER USA

At the heart of Anubis HAPI and Horus is class-leading 32-bit AD/DA conversion. Each of Merging’s mic preamps utilize a dual path, dual converter design featuring different gain structures which are DSP combined to increase headroom and reduce the noise floor, achieving a huge dynamic range of 137dB. With all the usual mic pre control including phase reversal, if

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“WITH THE MUSIC MISSION, THERE’S A WELL DESIGNED AND THOUGHTFUL APPROACH TO TRACKING AND RECORDING.”

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there’s a better mic pre out there, I’ve not heard it yet! It’s hard to describe just how good the result is at your speakers but if you imagine a sound with natural depth as well as width, even from a DAW like Logic, then you’re getting close. Some of the recordings that have been made in the Headliner studio with Anubis and Reaper have been beautiful. Seems the Reaper and the God of the Dead have more in common than first thought.

A quick mention to the two headphone outputs on the front, which are by default attached to Cue 1 and Cue 2;

HEADLINER USA

HAPI & Anubis

these are by far the loudest, sweetest and cleanest sounding headphone amps I have ever heard. Together with programmable crossfade, Anubis also supports MIDI (as does the HAPI) and GPIO functions via its TRS in and out jacks, which in theory means you can transmit MIDI punch-in punchout commands from a foot switch.

Perfect for the current climate where more than ever we’re forced to work in isolation and collaborate via the internet.

I understand there are plans afoot to set up an Anubis Exchange community

so people can share their user created presets to help quickly set up particular tasks. This means you could start out with a serious interface, including all the control and expandability you could ever need. And even at around £1500+, it’s unbelievable value for such a great interface.

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HEADLINER USA

Music Production Suite Pro / Part 2

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IZOTOPE In part one of this review we took a look at what makes iZotope RX the industry standard for cleaning and repairing your audio files. This time we’re focusing on Ozone Pro, and how this rather clever plugin and its components can not only assist you in mastering your own mixes but actually help in furthering your mastering knowledge. And while there can be no substitute for using your ears, we’ll also take a look at Tonal Balance Control, which can help act as your second opinion when you need it most...

One mastering engineer’s mastering chain can be very different to the next, often changing from job to job and genre to genre. Bearing that in mind, Ozone provides a very comprehensive list of modules to load up your Ozone Pro plugin with.

Let’s start with Ozone’s main plugin interface, Ozone Pro, of which the Master Assistant is its key feature.

The Master Assistant utilizes machine

learning to make informed decisions about samples depending on the specific genres of music that you play.

You also have the choice of playing your preferred or favorite tracks with a view to emulating the same style or sound. By selecting a section of audio which represents your track at its loudest or most dynamic, you’re giving the Master Assistant a good place from which to start building your mastering chain.

Ozone Pro is a bit like a rack of software versions of the mastering tools that you’d find in a mastering room, but with a couple of additions that you won’t have seen before, like the Gain Match and Bypass buttons, with which you can instantly compare your original mix with your master as you go.

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Ozone Pro Dynamic EQ is an incredibly flexible mastering tool.

It can be used as a multiband compressor to reduce those individual elements in a mix that stand out when they shouldn’t, like an overly loud tambourine or hihat. Conversely, it can be used to expand a defined frequency band that meets the threshold like a snare drum or a vocal line. This is such a great plugin, and I’ve found uses for

it on the likes of slap double bass and classical guitar. I also like the way iZotope cleaned up the interface with the compression and expansion arrows below and above the band marker, leaving more room to see the dynamic movement of your EQ curve as your track plays.

Next is Ozone Pro Dynamics which is a fully featured compressor/limiter.

With a limiting ratio of 2.5:1 to 30:1, a

compression ratio of 1:1 to 30:1 and 1: to 1:10 of expansion, there’s nothing this plugin can’t glue or tame. The Dynamics header features a view button on the left which lets you toggle through the three available views: Crossover, Gain Reduction and Detection Filter. You can also add up to four frequency bands, making this a very flexible multiband dynamics tool.

Totally Dynamic

The Regular Players Equalizer is just that; unlike the dynamic EQ which only makes its applied EQ active when a threshold is reached, this is your master buss EQ for when the mix needs more permanent EQ adjustment.

For that purpose, Ozone Pro provides you with two incidences of the same EQ for your Ozone Pro plugin. There are up to eight HEADLINER USA

selectable EQ nodes, which in turn have a further option from within their Pass, Shelve and Bell menus, offering endless scope for crafting your sound. The header also has a handy scaling tool which can reduce or increase all nodes proportionally; handy for crossreferencing and checking your work.

Ozone Exciter is another useful tool for adding a variety of selectable and useful distortions across the whole or particular frequency bands within your mix. There are four available bands which you can listen to in isolation; I’d recommend trying the different flavors or link bands. There’s also an oversampling button if you wish to increase the quality of Exciter,

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which options like Tape and Valve really benefit from.

Ozone Low End Focus is a really neat and simple plugin which I tend to use in Mid/Side mode to keep bass right in the center. The

target area to affect is set by two range selectors in the spectral view and can be from 20Hz up to 300Hz. There are two modes to choose from: Punchy which affects the percussive transients and low end attack of say an upright bass

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and kick drum, or Smooth, which looks at the bass information as a whole. Contrast simply adds with a positive value or subtracts with a negative value to lose low end focus, while Gain re-adjusts the level in the target range.

“SPECTRAL SHAPER WAS THE LAST OZONE PLUGIN I GOT TO GRIPS WITH, BUT IS NOW OFTEN THE FIRST IN MY MASTERING CHAIN, AND HAS QUICKLY BECOME A VERY USEFUL PROBLEM SOLVER.”

The Specialists Ozone’s Spectral Shaper was something of a mystery to me until I had some time to kill, and got to play with it as a standalone plugin on a couple of stems. I noticed how in Listen, it was picking up vocal ‘S’ sounds in a track which clearly hadn’t been de-essed at all well. It was probably the last Ozone plugin I got to grips with, but is now often the first in a mastering chain, and has quickly become a very useful problem solver.

This really is one where you need to use the Listen button to bring the threshold right down so you can hear what it’s finding, and then narrow your frequency range accordingly.

Start with a fairly slow attack time and reduce as necessary, and you can set the Tone to taste depending on what it is you’re trying to control.

Ozone Master Rebalance is an insane module/plugin. If you need to

use it you probably want to have a conversation with the mix engineer first, however this is one powerful plugin that simply defies logic.

Imagine you have a mix on which it is frustratingly difficult to hear the lyric, simply because it’s competing with a brace of guitars. Load up Master Rebalance, hit the vocal button and push up the fader; it’ll blow your mind!

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Then there’s Ozone’s four vintage plugins/modules: Vintage Compressor, Vintage EQ, Vintage Limiter and Vintage Tape, all of which have a really rich sound which draws on the warmth and soft distortions of the past.

Tonal Balance Control Pro meanwhile is a very handy tool for checking the tonal balance of your mix, no matter how good or inadequate

HEADLINER USA

your listening environment may be.

There are 12 tonal balance target presets covering all the major genres, which give you a clear picture of how your sound compares to your target preset. The ‘Select a Source’ button at the bottom gives you direct access to other Izotope modules and plugins in your mastering chain.

Of course, all rules are made to be broken, and ultimately your own

creativity and passion for your music should craft the track that you want to hear. As you can tell, there’s a huge amount to discover and master — excuse the pun — in Ozone. Head over to iZotope’s website and check out this monthly subscription package for yourself.

IZOTOPE.COM

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SOLIDSTATELOGIC Described as “a hardware plugin controller like no other,” SSL’s brand new UC1 plugin controller — seemingly the next logical step from the launch of the UF8 DAW controller — combines a swathe of features to offer the most creative, intuitive, and ultimately effective way of controlling the new SSL Native Channel Strip 2 and Bus Compressor 2 plugins within a DAW session.

HEADLINER USA

At the heart of every UC1 system is the SSL 360° Plugin Mixer, a place where users can view and control all of their Channel Strips and Bus Compressors in one place.

The idea here is to provide users with a new and exciting way of interacting with the plugins, and allow them to adopt a true consolelike approach to mixing in the box.

UC1 draws on decades of analog and digital console design to develop an intelligent and deeply integrated SSL plugin control surface that lets users focus on their production goals, rather than the process.

UC1’s layout of encoders, switches and color groupings offer professional SSL console

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ergonomics seamlessly integrated with the company’s most advanced Channel Strip and Bus Compressor plugins to date. Multiple parameters can be controlled simultaneously and precisely, equipping users with a production tool that nurtures muscle memory, provides superior sonic flexibility and inspires operator confidence.

The unit provides dedicated controls of all key Channel Strip 2 plugin parameters. EQ, Filters, Compressor and Gate/Expander controls offer the same configuration and visual feedback as found on large-format SSL consoles, allowing users to quickly home in on your channel processing sweet spot.

Users can also expand their hybrid workflow further with the addition of SSL’s UF8 Advanced DAW Controller.

Developed from SSL’s digital modelling of the renowned XL 9000K console, Native Channel Strip 2 is designed to give users everything they need to get that radio-ready, modern SSL sound in their DAW. SSL Native plugins are the only plugins designed by the team of

engineers at SSL HQ in Oxford, with exclusive access to the original data sheets and specifications from which the consoles were made.

For UC1, the company decided to revisit the original code once more, updating Channel Strip to include proprietary anti-cramping algorithms, which prevent any form of phase and amplitude wrapping.

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According to SSL, the result is “quite simply the best sounding SSL Channel Strip ever - full of punch, free of distortion and ready for anything you throw at it.”

And esteemed UK mixer Adrian Hall has recently been doing just that; taking his hybrid setup to the next level with UC1:

At the heart of UC1 are the Bus Compressor controls that talk directly to SSL Native Bus Compressor 2. The authentic layout and metering looks to make users feel like they’re controlling a hardware bus comp built into the centre section of an SSL console. With a classic moving-coil gain reduction meter as found on SSL consoles since the ‘70s, it represents the Bus Compressors time constants and gain reduction characteristics perfectly for producers and engineers to know exactly how it’s reacting with their instruments, sub groups and of course mix bus.

“The UC1 has actually changed the way that I mix in the box,” he reveals. “Now, I can get two hands on an EQ so I can cut or boost and find frequencies simultaneously instead of having to do it with a mouse one button at a time. It is quicker and more creative, since I can just sweep the EQ around and find the frequency that I want on a guitar or a keyboard.”

Depending on the task in hand, workflow often changes over the course of a session, so SSL has made sure that UC1 offers the tools, visual feedback and total synchronization between hardware and software required to allow users to work the way they want at any given time.

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Users can get hands-on with the UC1 hardware, adjust parameters with the mouse in the individual plugins or immerse themselves in the Plugin Mixer - changes are always synchronized across all software and hardware.

HEADLINER USA

The UC1 is available now, priced at $849 + Tax, £499 + VAT or €619 + Tax.

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REVEAL

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This month saw Sennheiser make its play for the mid-tier digital wireless market with the launch of Evolution Wireless Digital, a brand new product designed for use by those in need of high-end wireless audio performance, but who may not be expert in the field of RF and UHF technology.

Featuring an easy-to-use app-based workflow, Evolution Wireless Digital can be used in all manner of settings, ranging from small venues and theaters to schools and corporate events.

requirements for an entry-level user.

We told the app developers what it needed to do, and they made it possible. We then let people try it and it became clear we were on the right track, and we never left the right track.”

The central idea behind the product is simplicity, with the accompanying app enabling anyone to set up the wireless element of whatever event or application they are running. As Benny Franke, the man responsible for the software, says, “you don’t have to be the mechanic to drive the car”.

So how does it work? The app is described by the firm as an engineer in your pocket, which guides the user through various set-ups. An intelligent set-up automatically creates strong wireless connections, with the user able to name the channels as they see fit. In addition, Bluetooth Low Energy allows for remote access to the system and makes syncing with the receiver very straightforward. The app also comes with tutorial videos presented

by Franke.

As part of the research process behind Evolution Wireless Digital, the company visited a number of people spanning a variety of disciplines to find out precisely what they would require from such a product.

“We saw theaters, schools, bands playing in small rooms, and all of these people shared the same thing – they were not interested in wireless setups,” Franke continues. “They didn’t know anything about it and they didn’t want to learn. The common response was that they just wanted something they had to switch on and that’s it. With the app we fulfil maybe 80-90% of the

Meanwhile, Evolution Wireless Digital transmitters have an input dynamic range of 134 dB - five times more than the usual 120 dB, meaning they can pick up everything from a ‘whisper to a jet engine’ at 50 yards’ distance, eliminating the need for a sensitivity setting on the transmitter.

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The app also scans the environment for open frequencies. Featuring technology from Sennheiser’s highend Digital 6000 and Digital 9000 series, the wireless microphone systems do not generate any significant intermodulation products, therefore providing more room in a given frequency window.

Furthermore, it can simply set the wireless links at 600 kHz intervals without any frequency calculation so that it can fit in more frequencies than a standard mic system.

Though clearly targeted at the mid-tier of the market, Sennheiser’s product manager for Evolution Wireless Digital, Oliver Schmitz, tells Headliner that there is still plenty for HEADLINER USA

seasoned professionals and users to get their teeth into.

“There are features that are beneficial for pro users, too,” he explains. “We gave it to pro users to see if the product was still cool for them, or if they thought it was a kids toy, but they were very much onboard. They liked it and some said the automation was awesome, and that they didn’t need manual setup anymore – if it does what I would have done manually anyway, and it does it every time and it works, then I’ll just stop doing it manually. It serves so many applications. We call it our audio Swiss army knife. It’s really diverse in covering the demands of users on all different levels.”

With a selection of handheld, instrument, lavalier, headmic, combo and base sets available, Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless Digital is now shipping worldwide.

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A QUIET PLACE PART II

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The Silent Treatment

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A QUIET PLACE PART II At the time of interviewing sound editors Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl in early 2020, A Quiet Place Part II, the sequel to John Krasinski’s 2018 horror hit A Quiet Place, was due to hit cinemas a few months later, and the duo had just finished the movie’s audio mix. Little did anyone know that the film would not end up hitting the big screen until over a year later...

It turned out to be worth the wait: at the time of writing, the delayed sequel has become the biggest hit at North American box offices since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Quiet Place Part II follows what’s left of the Abbott family as they are forced to navigate and survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind monsters with a rather acute sense of hearing. After seeing how much tension can be created by a strategically placed nail in the first movie, I’m keen to hear what Van der Ryn and Aadahl have in store for audiences for round two.

As sound designers, what were your initial thoughts on the concept of the first movie, given that the characters can’t make any noise?

EV: When we first read the script, our first reaction was like, ‘wow, this is a sound designer’s dream’ – just the opportunity to tell so much of the story with sound; the importance of sound in the telling of the story was just incredibly exciting to us. Challenging, yes, but we were really excited by the possibilities inherent in the script. One of the big things that hit us right away was

the desire to explore the point of view of the deaf daughter, Regan.

What is it like for her on a day-today, moment-by-moment level to be living in this world where sound is critical, and where being able to hear is critical for your survival? If you make too much sound, you’re likely to be dead. That puts her in such an incredibly vulnerable position, and we realized that can be really powerful at times in the movie and we could find places to go into her point of view, sonically, and experience that as a viewer. We realized pretty quickly that this HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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“FOR US IT BECAME, ‘HOW QUIET CAN WE GET’? THE AMAZING EFFECT THAT HAS ON AN AUDIENCE IS IT ACTUALLY MAKES THEM MORE SCARED THAN IF YOU HAVE A BIG SOUND.”

would work and this can add a lot of incredible contrast moment-tomoment, as well as going a long way towards making the experience of watching the film incredibly interactive, intimate and personal.

EA: When we read the script, our jaws were on the floor! We thought that this might be one of the most challenging projects we’ve ever taken on, but it had the potential to be the most rewarding. Sound is a central character in the film, and we’re following the story of this family that’s gone through extraordinary lengths to survive by understanding sound and using sound as a survival tool, to the point where they’ve laid down sand on paths so they don’t make sound as they walk, they painted floorboards that are safe to step on and won’t make a creak. They use sound as a diversionary tactic, like an egg timer, or the waterfall which is the only safe place they can have a full conversation (because of the physics of sound, the louder sound will mask the smaller sound). It was built into the story, so it was the perfect toolbox of sonic play for us.

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Sound is a particularly powerful tool in horror movies; I find myself covering my ears when watching horror films, not my eyes. Do you think that says a lot about the power of audio design in this genre?

environment of incredible suspense where we can be hearing things happening off-screen that we don’t see...in a way, that can be more scary than when we’re actually seeing it.

EA: I agree with you that sound goes to the reptilian part of the brain – evolutionarily speaking, we develop the sense of sound before we develop the sense of sight. I think because of that, it goes so much deeper into our subconscious, and it’s an incredibly powerful tool in cinema. By working on scary films as sound designers we can become the puppet masters of the audience’s emotions in an invisible way, as opposed to the image. A great picture editor, Walter Murch had this wonderful saying along the lines of, ‘images come in through the front door, but sound comes in through the back door’. I love that metaphor, because it’s just so true.

EA: There’s been this trend in cinema to go bigger, louder: ‘how huge can you get with the soundtrack’?

This movie was an opportunity to completely invert that idea and flip it on its head. So for us it became, ‘how quiet can we get’?

The amazing effect that has on an audience is it actually makes them more scared than if you have a big sound. It can have the effect of making an audience hold their breath, and be afraid to breathe – just like the characters on screen.

We started hearing stories after the first film that people were afraid to eat their popcorn in the theater! That was thrilling for us to hear because it’s like, ‘Okay, this experiment that we tried actually works!’ We were able to literally make the audience hold their breath.

EV : Sound is such a great way to help describe suspense, which of course, is such a big part of this film in particular, and horror films in general. Just to be able to create this

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Which moments from the sequel work particularly well from a sound design point of view?

EA: I always love the strange dichotomy between Regan and the creatures: she’s a deaf person, and the creatures are kind of the opposite. They have extremely sensitive hearing – a hyper ability to hear, so it’s two different sides of the coin between them. I love moments where we can compare and contrast the creatures’ point of view and Regan’s point of view.

Without giving anything away...one of my favorite moments from the new film is going into the creature’s heightened sense of hearing and allowing the audience to perceive what it perceives.

EV: I’m gonna actually go with another moment, which, oddly enough, is another moment where we’re in Regan’s point of view.

She’s woken up from a nap and her hearing aid is gone, and so we’re in her completely silent sonic point of view. As she realizes, ‘oh my god, where’s my hearing aid?’ – it’s so intimate to feel like we’re that close to someone else’s experience. Just to feel her vulnerability in such a critical and visceral way is very powerful for me. I find it kind of ironic that both of us have honed in on moments that involve complete HEADLINER USA

silence, and how ironic is that for people who work with sounds to have our favorite moments actually be silent moments. To me it just points out the power of sound. Sometimes it’s not until we take something away that we fully understand the power that it has. I think that’s so true because so much of how we perceive sound is taken for granted, and by taking it away, we’re suddenly confronted with, ‘oh my god, sound plays such a huge part in my life and my experience of the world’. It’s not until we lose that that we realize what a powerful part of our experience it is.

What is it like experiencing the finished movie as people that have worked on it; is it able to frighten you?

EV: The experience of working on it definitely changes the experience because we don’t have the advantage of not knowing something scary is about to happen; we already know that surprise. That being said, I will say that there’s still a few moments in this new film where every time it goes by, I jump. I literally jump out of my seat.

There’s definitely moments that get me every single time.

E2SOUND.COM

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BALMORHEA HEADLINER USA

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Photographer: Bryan Schutmaat

The exponential growth of the neoclassical music movement has seen it expanding beyond Berlin, Reykjavik and...Texas? Indeed, Balmorhea of the city of Austin have been releasing their unique minimalist compositions since 2006, with their efforts rewarded by putting pen to paper with classical giants Deutsche Grammophon.

We spoke with the composer duo, comprised of Rob Lowe (not that Rob Lowe) and Michael Muller on joining forces with the legendary label for the release of their new album, The Wind.

While Lowe and Muller are the originators and mainstay of the group, writing the music and also the former playing guitar and piano and the latter guitar and bass guitar, Balmorhea is officially a six-piece ensemble, completed by violin, cello,

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drums, and vibraphone. Since their self-titled debut in 2007, they have released eight albums and have performed with artists including Sharon Van Etten, Efterklang and Fleet Foxes.

Despite the still, gentle nature of Balmorhea’s music, Muller grew up listening to heavier music and wanting to learn heavy metal guitar. “In high school I had my musical brain turned on its ear by bands like Tortoise and Mogwai, instrumental and experimental post-rock ensembles,” he says. “Then after university, me and Rob became acquaintances and ended up going to a lot of the same concerts and eventually making music.”

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Texan Transcendence

“WE’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 15 YEARS, AND YOU LEARN WHAT YOUR CYCLE IS CREATIVELY, YOU DO IT ENOUGH TIMES AND REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO JUST FOCUS ON WHAT YOU’RE MAKING.”

It’s from these humble beginnings we find the pair signing with arguably the world’s most famous classical music record label. “It feels great,” Lowe says.

“We’ve been doing this for 15 years, and you learn what your cycle is creatively, you do it enough times and realize that you have to just focus on what you’re making. There’s a lot about the business of making music and art that is confusing and difficult.

“We were introduced to Deutsche Grammophon when we were in Germany making the record. We shared a lot of the early demos with them, and they were always enthusiastic about the work we were doing. A lot of times you have to fight for things. But this felt very natural.

We’re still pinching ourselves about the relationship.”

I put forward my interpretation that this sound, often dubbed ‘neoclassical’, is viewed as a very European one, with Max Richter being British, Nils Frahm being German, and even two of its best known Americans in A Winged Victory For The Sullen saw their careers take off after relocating from the States to Europe. But with Luke Howard and Sophie Hutchings waving the Australian flag with their piano music, and now HEADLINER USA

this exciting label deal for Balmorhea, that stereotype may well be shattered very soon.

“Every sound begets another sound,” Lowe says. “When I was young there were artists already making this crossover sound that I think are very influential. A band that we reference a lot was called Rachel’s, from Kentucky. They were making music that was already exploring classical instrumentation with some more pop structures, avant-garde experimental sounds mixed in as well. Bands like Tortoise have been a big influence too.

Of course, someone like Nils Frahm has been so influential, he’s a good friend of ours, and we were touring with him in the early days, playing shows to about 15 people!”

Like any strong scene, the prominent neoclassical artists are as different to each other as they are similar. And it’s perhaps Balmorhea’s Americana flavoring that sets them apart, very much evidenced on their latest record, 2021’s The Wind. “We have a lot of acoustic and electric guitar mixed in with piano,” Muller says. “So we have this Western US sound ingrained.

And some of our record titles and artwork that we associate with is this

kind of wide-open American west, mixed with this historical classical leaning of instrumentations of stringed instruments and piano.”

His mention of these natural landscapes leads us into their latest album. “We wrote all this music in Texas in the hill country,” Muller continues. “So it evokes the physical space where we were making the music. In the opening and closing tracks of the record, there’s a field recording - that is actually the sound of the room and the wind chimes where we wrote a lot of this music. So you definitely can get a sense of place just from hearing that.”

That said, the album does creep into central European territory, due to some of the music being recorded in Berlin. Through their friendship with Frahm, Balmorhea had the unmissable opportunity to record parts of the album in his studio while he was touring, in the famed Saal 3 studio at the legendary Funkhaus.

COMPOSERS

Balmorhea like to prepare wellhoned demos before working with a producer, so I ask Muller which plugins he likes to use within Pro Tools. “We use FabFilter a lot,” he says. “Our go-to for EQ, compression and limiting. We love it and have had no problems with it at all. It has a really nice interface.”

And as so much of their music encompasses strings and other classical instruments, Muller is also a fan of Spitfire: “I have a few of their libraries which we like a lot. We often use their collection Pianobook which is also run by Christian Henson, where users can upload their own libraries

sampled from instruments at home.

It’s a great community and there are some great sounds to download, which are all free.”

“I don’t currently have an acoustic piano at home,” he continues. “So if I need to demo something I have Spitfire’s Felt Piano, sampled by Gwilym Simcock. I also have one of the Albion orchestral libraries. Its brass and woodwind pads are really nice.

I’ve played around with it a lot and it’s great fun, pretty extensive.”

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convinced it’s time to look outwards from Europe’s neoclassical artists and sample some Texan flavors. And with The Wind offering some stunning peace to those who listen, now would be an auspicious moment to do so.

BALMORHEAMUSIC.COM

If you’ve not checked out Balmorhea previously, hopefully you’re now

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Turning The Page

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TURNING THE PAGE

SK8

With his upcoming project, Pages, Taylor Gang singer SK8 marks his transition into punk rock while remaining true to his “hip-hop head” days, and it’s his best work yet.

“You can’t waste no time, because there’s always somebody working harder to be where you’re at,” begins SK8 when talking about

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how he’s spent the last year – lots of running and studio time, in case you’re wondering. “You’ve got to stay focused,” he points out.

At 15, you could find SK8 (real name Nathan Montgomery Maloley) in his room writing lyrics, and by his sophomore year, you could find him handing out CDs in high school. A

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few years later, he moved to L.A from Omaha, Nebraska and linked with Taylor Gang, first breaking into the mainstream with his 2020 EP sk8sounds.

“For some reason I always felt like I would get out of Omaha; I always had that kind of instilled in my head,” he admits. “There’s not much going on in Omaha – we don’t have a music scene, we don’t really have a professional sports scene, we don’t have a club scene. I wasn’t gonna get trapped in the box and I didn’t want to stay there. So the transition was cool for me.”

Born to a Lebanese father who introduced SK8 (which derives from a childhood nickname given to him by his mother) to Bob Marley and Eric Clapton, he later discovered 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Nelly and Wiz Khalifa, and by 2015, he had opened for Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and Rae Sremmurd and scored an RIAA certified-gold record with his Jack & Jack collaboration, Like That.

Today, SK8 is gearing up to release Pages, a personal project that will be released later in 2021. With more punk influence than ever before, he reveals that the new project drums up themes of rebellion, broken relationships, teenage nostalgia, and that unending need to rage against systems built to curtail his personal light.

“As a kid, I was really into hip-hop,” he states. “I really wasn’t into rock at the time. I was listening to Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Drake, Mac Miller, and old school hip-hop like Tupac and Biggie. I was a real hip-hop head. I was the guy that was going to the hip-hop mixtape sites and trying to find the newest artists before anybody did. Then I slowly started to broaden my listening spectrum, and for this album a lot of my influences came from listening to Nirvana, a lot of old guitar throwback

Photos: Michael Stryder

songs and classic rock songs. It just transformed into something that is so unique and genuine to myself. It’s been awesome, man. I really feel like I have created a sound that’s really genuine and unique to myself.”

With Pages, SK8 finally feels like he’s coming into his own, and says the main message is about pushing through your failures to grow into who you are.

“You’re always turning the page, and it’s about not looking back,” he explains. “No matter what happens, we can still all get on the same

page. Whether we’re going through something, we can always still figure things out through communication. If you really want something, you gotta go for it. You gotta say it. If you get aligned with everything in your life, you’ll be alright.”

SK8 shares that a song from Pages called One Day is one of the hardest for him to listen to due to him being in a dark place, mentally when writing it.

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Turning The Page

“This touches on a time in my life where I was pretty low,” he acknowledges. “A lot of people see celebrities or see people with Instagram followers and think everything’s sweet, but I think they really want to see how they can relate – we go through the same struggles as somebody that’s working a nine-to-five. This really hit deep because I was at my lowest and I feel like somebody can listen to it and be at their lowest, and we can get through whatever together. One Day is really special to me; that song is dope.”

The vibe of Pages won’t all be like this though, he assures me: “This is music for concerts. This is music for festivals. This is music for the masses. It’s some big, summer music. It’s a lot HEADLINER USA

of energy, and it’s super authentic to me. I’m very excited to release this body of work. It’s probably my best work.

I wouldn’t say probably; it’s definitely my best work,” he asserts.

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LUDOVICO EINAUDI

The Music Of Nomadland

Photographer: Ray Tarantino

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With a career spanning three decades, composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi’s captivating music has become some of the most recognizable in the world. Einaudi began composing film soundtracks in the mid ‘90s, and his melodic musings can be heard across a number of films and television productions, including This Is England, The Intouchables, I’m Still Here, the TV miniseries Doctor Zhivago, and most recently on the soundtracks to Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning films Nomadland and The Father.

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The Music Of Nomadland

It’s likely you’ve heard one of Einaudi’s more famous pieces already, even if you can’t quite put your finger on where exactly you’ve heard it. That’s because his emotive composition, Nuvole Bianche was featured in the horror film Insidious, popular British TV drama, This Is England ‘86, and in a poignant scene in Ricky Gervais’ TV series, Derek.

Reflecting on one of his most well known compositions from his home in the picturesque Italian countryside (surrounded by mountains and vineyards), Einaudi tells me that this particular piece is his very own gift from god: “It’s strange because when you write a piece of music, you can’t predict which piece is going to become popular,” he shares. “When I wrote all the pieces on Una Mattina, I didn’t know that Nuvole Bianche was going to become my number one piece. It’s the most popular piano piece in my repertoire. It was composed when I was enjoying the first beautiful grand piano that I could afford in my life. I just moved into a new flat and I had these big windows where I could see the sky, and I remember it was spring and those HEADLINER USA

beautiful white clouds were passing by like slow ships in the sky. The piece came about like this, without thinking too much. The best pieces come suddenly; you don’t even know how they arrive! I consider them gifts from god, because when you have to write a piece of music and you think too much that you must write a good piece of music, sometimes it doesn’t arise. I prefer to compose without purpose.

Sometimes it’s when you are not thinking too much, and your mind is more relaxed...it’s in those moments that you write your best music.”

Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland paints a sweeping panoramic portrait of the American nomadic spirit and its pioneering history. Following the economic collapse of a town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road, exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The film received six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Director, and the most prestigious honor of the ceremony, Best Picture.

The fim’s expansive, dreamy soundtrack features music from Einaudi, including tracks from his Seven Days Walking series, which

became the fastest-streamed album ever from a classical composer on its release. On searching for the right music for her film, Zhao explained how she came across Einaudi’s compositions: “I went online to search for classical music inspired by nature… [it led me to] a YouTube video for his Elegy for the Arctic. I then started listening to Seven Days Walking and was so amazed by how I felt Ludovico was walking in the Alps. I felt like he and [the character of] Fern were walking in parallel; their shared love of nature connects them, and I knew then his music would fit perfectly with our movie.

“I wanted the music [for Nomadland] to feel like the inner dialogue that Fern has with herself.

In this silent moment as she’s going through all these different landscapes, it’s as if she is talking to us, making us understand how she has changed.”

Einaudi shares that he immediately loved Zhao’s script, remarking how well matched his compositions were to the themes of the film.

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“THAT FEELING OF FREEDOM THAT YOU HAVE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THIS MUSIC IS PERFECT FOR THE VISION OF NOMADLAND, WHICH IS A FILM ABOUT THE FREEDOM OF MOVING AROUND AND ENJOYING LIFE WITHOUT BEING TIED DOWN.”

“I was very happy to be involved because I enjoyed the project so much, and for some reason the film’s vision of life is very similar to what I like about life; I love the vision of this film. With this music I wanted to create something that was very open and free. I wanted to create a feeling that the music is almost improvised, or created in the moment of the recording. Every time I was playing the themes, I was trying to approach them from a different angle, so I decided that I wanted to create a project that was divided into seven days, because every day there is a new version of the piece that comes back with a different form and a different interpretation.

“The idea is connected to walking, because when you do the same walk every day, it’s slightly different,” he explains.

“One day the sky is blue, and another day it is cloudy, or you could have snow. So it’s the same landscape, the same themes, the same pieces of music, but every time with a different shape, a different form, with a different approach. I think that feeling of freedom that you have in the interpretation of this music is perfect for the vision of Nomadland, which is a film about the freedom of moving around and enjoying life without being tied down with the cage of structured life.”

Once Zhao had finished filming, Einaudi shares that she was unsure about how to structure the film, but that his music helped guide her.

“The music is connected to beautiful moments of travelling, and Chloe told me that when she had all the material that she had shot, she was a bit confused on how she would edit the film and make it work,” he recalls.

“This is a nice thing to hear as a composer: I think that

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my music gave her the vision for the editing of how to put everything together. I can see that she used the film as architecture, like placing some columns in a building, and the building is built around the columns. The columns are the moments of travelling, and those moments of travelling in the films have those moments of my music.”

One of Einaudi’s favorite uses of his music in the film is a piece called Low Mist, which perfectly accompanies a scene where Fern takes a reflective walk by the sea, weighing up a big decision: “It’s a beautiful walk by the sea, and it’s very beautiful photography; she’s walking with the wind and she’s transported away with her thoughts,” he recalls. “It’s a beautiful combination and also it’s when she decides to keep going. She can decide to settle down and to stop living as a nomad. She decides to keep living her life in the van.”

You can hear all of these pieces and more on the recently released Cinema – a new, handpicked collection of Einaudi’s musical works from film and TV, which features 28 emotive tracks from the big and small screen, including from Nomadland, The Father, The Water Diviner, This Is England, I’m Still Here, Insidious and Doctor Foster.

“They say my music is cinematic,” he smiles. “It is always interesting for me to see my music combined with images; it is like rediscovering reading my music with a different perspective.”

LUDOVICOEINAUDI.COM

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TCHAMI

Confession Time

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ARTIST

Martin Joseph Léonard Bresso, better known by his stage name Tchami, came into widespread recognition after releasing a remix of Go Deep by Janet Jackson, and has since completed several supporting tours with fellow electronic artists such as Skrillex, Diplo, and DJ Snake. Regarded as a true pioneer of the future house genre, Tchami first started using the term as a tag on his SoundCloud posts - something that the music industry simply couldn’t ignore.

Here, the French record producer and DJ discusses how his spectacular debut album, Year Zero - released via his own label Confession - came together.

What have you been doing to keep yourself busy and productive this last year?

T: Well this year has been one of a kind. I undoubtedly spent more time in my studio making music. Sure, the first weeks were tough with all the uncertainty around Covid-19, plus my tour was cut in half. I’ve been working on the ‘Elevation Tour’ quite a bit since it was supposed to introduce my first album Year Zero to my fans. The album was supposed to air before summer 2020 but we decided to push it back to get a little more perspective on what was going on in the world and in what context it would land. I’m still very happy with the way it came out. Like every album or piece of music, it’s a product of its time and it only makes sense to experience it at its given moment.

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“LIKE EVERY ALBUM OR PIECE OF MUSIC, IT’S A PRODUCT OF ITS TIME AND IT ONLY MAKES SENSE TO EXPERIENCE IT AT ITS GIVEN MOMENT.”

wise. I also realized that I could expand my sonic horizon only if I did a longer project that would allow myself into certain musical digressions. I decided to run with it and it was super exciting to have that challenge to complete.

What kind of approach did you take from a writing, production and recording standpoint?

T: It’s really a matter of exploration.

There is a direction so to speak, but I never try to place too many guidelines. For a song to be special and unique, I think it comes with a sense of freedom in the first place.

I learned a lot about songwriting and how every songwriter has their own style of coming up with words and melodies. Most of my life, I have been the guy in the corner that makes the beats and wasn’t involved much in the writing process, so it was a breath of fresh air for me.

Had these songs been in the pipeline for a while or were they created during the pandemic?

There’s some real summery dance tracks on Year Zero as well as some more mellow vibes. Tell us about the crossover appeal on the album.

T: I never believed that I could do an album to begin with. Then a few years into this Tchami project, I realized that I had a lot of demos on my computer. When I start a track, it can end in a totally different ballpark - both genre and BPM

T: I always lived in between genres and I wanted my first album to represent that. I had to find the right balance between what would maybe be perceived as a musical caprice and the more regular

sound people are accustomed to with me. That being said, it wasn’t easy to combine everything in one sole project. I enjoy very functional records made specifically for clubs as much as I like a good song with verses and choruses, so when album time came I couldn’t just do one of the two. It had to be a blend.

How did the collaboration with Gunna on your track Praise first come about?

T: I had this demo that I was working on, and I wanted to add a vocal to it to make it more interesting. I didn’t have the drop yet so it was mostly the breakdown by itself. When my friend told me that he could have Gunna listen to the record and maybe do something, I was like ‘yes sure, I’m very curious to see what he can do’. Although I knew we do different styles of music, I really like and respect the fact that he was interested in working on something unusual for him. It took him no time to nail it.

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TCHAMI

Confession Time

Can you tell us about your production/mixing setup?

What else have you got planned for this year?

T: I run a hybrid setup, meaning that I do a lot in Ableton already then take it outside the box with effects, compressors, EQs and converters.

On the plugin side, I enjoy all the Fabfilters, DMG Limitless, KClip, VSC-3, Acustica Purple3, Diva. On the hardware side, I use a Fatso on certain things, and I also have a pair of Distressors that are very useful tools for tracking or resampling. My take on processing is that I go for clean and transparent unless I want something with a certain character that I know I can get with this specific plugin or piece of hardware.

T: Making more music for sure, but I would also like to do a follow up on the Confessions interviews. I did the first one in French with Vald a year ago and I think it’s time to do another one. This is meant to be a qualitative thing more than quantitative so I take my time.

Other than that, I would like to learn drums. This one has been on my list for a long time. Piano is more my thing but I’d like to learn another instrument.

I think it is a great skill to have. Overall the people that enjoy and look forward to hearing my music can expect a lot more. I am having fun in the studio these days and the studio is definitely my happy place.

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