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Communing with sound

What, to you, are the main goals of recording, editing and mastering? Do you, for example. feel it important that a recording is a reflection of reality or is it by default artifice and therefore subject to its own rules? 

In sound production terms, I don’t believe in reality – I believe in a form of modulated or magic realism – the more experience one has as a producer, the more the techniques are used to create an artefact indistinguishable from magic. 

I don't think it's relevant whether it sounds real or not. It's an ignoble act to try and replicate reality, I don't see the point. The nature of recording is that it's going to change the sound in some way, the whole notion of increasing bit rates...you know...HI-FI is such an old fashioned concept to me. In my world of 3D sound-scape stuff, my notion of reality is to do with immersion within three-dimensional environments. I care whether it sounds like it's immersing you, creating a new sonic reality rather than trying to replicate reality. What’s real about a traditional stereo recording? It's completely artifice driven. That all emerged from proscenium arch staging and the idea that you have a sound stage in front of you and you witness the performance. There's never been anything real about Hi-Fi. This idea that you can get closer and closer to reality and that it's some kind of noble act is ridiculous. It's a fruitless activity especially when you consider the degrading forms of the reproduction of sound nowadays, like computer speakers and phones.

Recording can be related to a particular location, but thanks to technology, it no longer has to be. How do you see the relation between sound, location and space?

Sound, and perceived location and space are all constructs of the mind. All notions of reality is simply people's minds building an impression of some form of reality. How the sound originates and where it comes from could be the opposite side of the planet for all I care. It's just a matter of how we place that information into people's minds. 

In regards to what we're doing with Illustrious, using ambi-sonics and level-panning, our systems create a new reality or a kind of magic realism by placing sounds in 3D space. 

In how far are the objective, universal and measurable parameters for what constitutes quality in a recording?

I’m mainly interested in how the recording engages the listener – I’m not very interested in the traditional notion of ‘quality’ – what does it mean in a world where the majority of the audience listens to music on very limited sound equipment?

I work with Hi-Fi companies, like Bowers Wilkins and DMB for example, who are interested in our 3D systems. What is clear to me is that the higher up the ladder you get when talking to experts in the field of High-fidelity, there's a kind of glass ceiling. You can have equipment that accurately reproduces your intention and that's just one element of how sound can make an impression on the human perception. It all comes back to how real does it sound? Our system enables us to create something that triggers this sense of hyper-reality in the amygdale. I'm not fetishising gear, if it does the trick great. My view is that the better the technology the more invisible it should be. My ideal is that the magic occurs without any obvious appearance of technology. It's more to do with the experience rather than the technology. 

What are currently your main challenges and ambitions? 

Illustrious is about creating increasingly convincing, beautiful and often large-scale experiences for many people simultaneously, in a communal sense. So, for instance, the Copenhagen project in August which was a giant 3D sound field with a live orchestra, band and Mike Sheridan, within this circular apartment block, where the windows represented a pixel, the whole experience was about the synaesthetic connection between the lighting and the sound in space. It will be like a template for how we'll do it in the future. 

We're developing lots of proposals for stadium-size experiences, and if we had the money and logistics to do it, we'd perform in the Grand Canyon. I know that sounds slightly messianic so I only joke about it, but it gets across the scale of what we're trying to do with creating a new form of experience which has more in common with the old son et lumière techniques than the narrative imperatives of the 20th century. The last century was all about linear narrative through radio, TV and film and now I think there's an increased hunger for communal activity. We spend all day looking at a computer screen. Creating sonic magic takes time – time costs money – there is less money, therefore less time. It's my ambition to create experiences that are so beautiful and transcendental that people will never forget them. 

Tell us about your studio, please. What were criteria when setting it up and how does this environment influence the creative process?

My studio is currently at my home but I'm looking to move out because I've had enough. I want to be with people, bounce off people. I'm bored of sitting in a house on my own. It's efficient and it's cheap but I'm sick of it.

Location is important. Experience has taught me that. In the past we have recorded in different places. We did this recording in a residential studio and it was a disaster because what we do is urban music. What became clear is that we are what eat. I've always lived in an urban setting and I love cities. It's important for me to be in a stimulating environment, and that to me, is much more important than any technical aspect. 

What do you usually start with when working on a new piece?

When it comes to a piece, I normally start with a rhythm, an atmosphere, an abstract idea – more rarely – a title.

In terms of Illustrious, we start off with a brief generally, a commission of some description. You examine the location, the history, culture, all the contexts of the place. My working practice when we're creating stuff now, when we're doing something from scratch is very much research-driven, which is fascinating. You spend months sometimes, getting the ducks lined up as we say, and then everything's in place, you've got all the information you need and then it just flows, it's beautiful. 

 


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