Ministry of Sound refurbishment
Recently refurbished, the main room at the UK’s iconic Ministry of Sound is now home to a KV2 Audio sound system designed by Technical and Production Manager Oscar Zammit and integration specialist, Louis Jemmott.
Case Study: Monitoring Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball
It’s been nearly 40 years since Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ introduced Bruce Springsteen to the record-buying public (and laid the groundwork for Manfred Mann’s ‘Blinded by the Light’ chart success.
And while not initially a commercial success, the album marked the start of one of rock’s most distinguished careers – as evidenced by his current round of three-hour-plus shows, sold-out arenas and glowing reviews.
Interview: Orbital's Chris Headlam
‘It is inherent in the nature of this business to hoard equipment’ – this business being equipment rental and the speaker being Chris Headlam. Specifically, high-end theatre equipment rental, as dispatched by Headlam’s London-based Orbital Sound operation.
Clearly, any rental company’s inventory is essential to its operation. But what happens when the inventory begins to handicap the company?
Hearing Damage: Whose Loss?
I could almost hear the gentle shuffle of feet and slow intake of breath while courage was gathered. A long pause. Then the news. A fellow audio journalist and good friend has been told that he needs hearing aids. It's a confession...
Another silence. It is an awkward moment at both ends of the phone. Although we are the press, we do audio. We love audio. The unspoken question, then – is it all over for him?
Advertiser or Adversary?
There’s something offensive about TV ads. They run roughshod over our viewing and undermine the work of the many people it takes to make a feature film or television feature.
They do not extend the respectful invitation of print ads, designed to succeed on merit and message, but force themselves on us like party gatecrashers. They were the first terrorists of the advertising world…
Heard not Seen: Autograph’s Signature Script
Obsessions and collections made a good start to my blogging on Fast-and-Wide. Dipping into the history of the ill-fated Birotron keyboard exposed the joys, absurdities and contradictions that a passion for recording and equipment almost necessarily invites.
But who would build a fantastically successful sound business based on that very same kind of passion, and then not want to celebrate it?
Imogen Heap: Green and Silent for Earth Day
Grammy winner Imogen Heap recently staged a live show that was as close to completely ‘green’ as possible.
Timed to coincide with Earth Day – an annual event intended to raise environmental awareness – the performance took place in the garden of Heap’s home in the UK, in front of 80 specially invited guests – plus an audience of 500,000 who watched a live relay via Facebook and the artist’s website.
Listen to the Sun; Watch Your Recordings
Apart from the mayhem a powerful electromagnetic pulse would visit on our technologically dependent civilisation, there’s growing concern that EMPs are an imminent threat to recorded music.
Our magnetic audio recordings would be among the certain casualties, along with many other aspects of our technology. But, strangely, sound may provide us with our best line of defence.
The Sound of Speed
A fearsome sound ripped through the busy street, turning the head of every passer-by. Earthquake? Explosion? Apocalypse? Actually, it was the sound of a small boy in a big red Ferrari 499.
Ten years old and with his foot stretched to reach the throttle, it was an unexpected thrill. An almighty noise and an indelible memory. But by the time he is old enough for his own supercar, it may sound very different.
Vinyl vs CD: The Wrong Conclusions?
‘People can say that they like the ‘sound’ of analogue, but to say that analogue recording systems are superior to digital systems is flying in the face of all the evidence.
‘I know that analogue tape recorders sound excellent on some types of recording, but they sound worse on others – and there are other ways of achieving analogue sounds, without suffering the sonic limitations that go with them.’
Case Study: Aida at the Royal Albert Hall
While not convinced by other aspects of the production, the Telegraph newspaper found praise for Isabella Bywater’s set design at London’s current production of Verdi’s Aida. It even made mention of Bobby Aitken’s sound design, declaring the amplification ‘properly unobtrusive’.
A look behind the scenes reveals the full extent of the technology and ingenuity so simply dismissed – and uncovers the secret of the sound localisation.
Audio Archives: Gone in a Flash?
The EMP accompanying a nuclear strike would mark the end of any magnetically recorded music within its reach – tape, disk or solid-state. If it targeted the traditional centres of music recording, it could wipe the recording industry’s archive of multitrack and master tapes clean. Welcome to the real No Music Day.
Termed ‘radioflash’ in British nuclear tests of the 1950s, an Electromagnetic Pulse is an archivist's nightmare. But it's not the only thing that costs them sleep...
Peregrine Andrews on the Sound of Sport: What is Real?
In 2011, I made a radio documentary for the BBC called The Sound of Sport. Although this was a radio piece, most of what it concerned itself with was television sports sound.
We think of the dominant sound of sports broadcasts as the commentator, but this is really about all the other sounds – the sounds underneath the commentary, the sounds of the event itself, and how they get onto your TV.