One of France’s main proponents of electronic music and an influential member of the electro underground scene, DJ, composer and producer Benjamin Braxton has a new album and a new studio. Released on Sound4label – a record label and publishing company that he established in 2006 – Revolution is his third album release. Set in the Paris suburb of Suresnes, meanwhile, his new project studio features Prism Sound ADA-8XR multichannel AD/DA converters as their centrepiece
A member of SACEM (France’s Society of Authors, Composers & Music Publishers), Braxton has also produced records for various artists including HOLD UP, whose tracks were released worldwide and topped the French charts on many occasions.
Braxton’s studio, which was built with the help of Funky Junk France, is designed to ensure that he can take a project from composition through to final completion in the most efficient way possible.
‘My new set-up will allow me to produce more music each year,’ he explains. ‘I now have the tools to record, mix and master in one location and this gives me the freedom to capture exactly what is in my head – from the very first idea to the final result. Having Funky Junk on hand to help with the studio design and equipment choices was an added bonus because I am primarily a musician, not a sound engineer, so it was good to have input from pro audio experts. What we have achieved is a very professional and versatile set up that will be easy to use and manage.’
Based around a Mac Pro and Cubase, Braxton’ studio is equipped with a range of analogue synths including a Prophet 6, Microkorg XL and Korg Mininova. It also includes a 12-channel MCI 500 Pre/EQ rack with four Lunchbox modules integrating compressors from Wes Audio, Elysia and Funky Junk. A 32-channel summing box and converter is connected through a patchbay, while the mastering chain comprises a GML 8200 stereo parametric EQ, a Shadow Hills mastering compressor and an API 2500 compressor.
‘I also have my three Prism Sound ADA-8XR converters, one from my previous studio and two that I recently bought from Funky Junk,’ Braxton says. ‘I totally fell in love with the sound of these in 2008 when I was working at Atollo Studios in Naples – and that was when I bought my first ADA-8XR (with an AES module). I connected it to my summing box and master compressor and it gave me the cleanest and most transparent conversion possible. I also used it as a master clock for mastering and monitoring. At that stage I was only mixing in the box so it was a real progression to have a piece of equipment that allowed me to enter the analogue universe.’
Braxton two new units are being used together as a 16-channel hardware insert converter. ‘This means that I now have a quick and easy way to connect my Lunchbox’s module directly to my DAW without losing any quality,’ he says. ‘It also gives me the opportunity to try different mix options on each instrument by switching between different inserts. This is really cool and very creative.’
‘I’m thrilled with my new studio, especially the Prism Sound converters,’ he says. ‘Every day I’m discovering powerful possibilities offered by the 16 channels of hardware inserts that my two new ADA-8XRs provide. The AD/DA on these units is very accurate and they also have a fantastic dynamic range that gives me a really open, detailed sound that adds punch to my electro compositions.’
Braxton is currently on tour in France to promote his new album and is also planning a mix project in July for NRJ Radio. Any free time is spent in his new studio where he is producing a fourth album and mixing a single, ‘Higher’.
More: www.prismsound.com
