Tell us a little bit about yourself: Where are you from? What do you study? How did you discover your passion for audio?
I was born in Turkey’s Capital, Ankara, where I also graduated from Atilim University as a civil engineer last year and then I moved to Istanbul for my Master’s degree. I'm currently studying Audio Technologies at Bahçesehir University. I'm also working on the CompMusic Project (Computational models for discovery of the World’s Music) as a research assistant for the Turkish Makam Music team.
In high school, I had a rock band with my friends. I both sang and played guitar. We attended many local and big competitions. This was my first experience with mixers, recording and live music equipment, at music studios and concerts. My interest started at that time.
I’m very new to sound technologies. I have been working in the studio for just 8 months: recording, mixing, and a little bit of mastering. I love working in the studio, but I'm also eager to learn live sound engineering.
Tell us about the production of your submission.
The project that I submitted, "Sabah", is one of Nil Ipek Hülagü’s songs. I told my supervisor about the Recording Competition and we asked Nil to record her to attend competition. Nil is a singer-song writer and famous in Istanbul. She has a great voice and has been working with great musicians. She will be recording an album this summer.
I recorded two of her songs for the Recording Competition, and “Sabah” was selected to be submitted. It was my first project as an engineer, which made it very special.
What was your most significant/funny/inspiring experience as an audio engineer?
One of these happened during Nil’s vocal recording session in the department’s music studio. I set up a condenser microphone and set its polar pattern to cardioid. But I didn’t recognize that I placed its backside to Nil. We were very short on time and I could not solve the problem for a while. It sounded like her voice came from the next room and I had to set the preamp gain very high to hear her. I was afraid that I broke Neumann U87 for a moment. Then we solved it and continued the recording.
Accidents happen: What was your biggest mistake in a production and what did you do to redeem the situation?
I once recorded a jazz trio for a documentary. It was my first time recording for a movie and I completely forgot to record it with 48kHz samplerate. It was not a major problem but the director did complain about it.
What’s your advice for engineers who are just starting out?
I’m also a very new engineer, but I would advise them to try new things, and not to depend on rules and books – just trust your ears, be patient, always listen and work hard.
Tech talk: What are your favourite pieces of equipment (microphones, outboard, plugins), and why?
Condenser Microphone: AKG C-414 because of its frequency response.
Dynamic Microphone: Electro-Voice RE20
Outboard: CraneSong STC8 Compressor because of its great presets, and Manley Massive Passive Stereo Tube EQ for tube color.
Preamp: Universal Audio 2-610 Tube Preamplifier, of also for the tube color
Apogee converters and Dynaudio Air Series for reference monitors.
Can you name one or multiple of your favourite recordings or productions and tell us why you like them/what you like about them?
Jamie Cullum's album "The Pursuit". It sounds very natural. I don’t like too processed works that damage the musicians' performances. I love its dynamic range.
What do you like about the AES? How does it help you to become a better and more successful audio engineer?
The AES brings together both academia and industry. Also, AES gives you the opportunity to meet, talk and listen to many exceptional and experienced people. This was my first time in both the convention and the competition, but I want to attend all of the conventions in future.
Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 136th AES Convention in Berlin!
The recording competition, of course. Presenting my work and receiving feedback from the judges was the highlight of the convention.
What is your favourite frequency?
2 kHz and the 'air' region are my favourites.
What do you do when you’re not in the studio or doing anything music related?
I spend time with my friends and my family. I go out to parks for walking or running with my dog and reading.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In a university as academic staff and in a studio as a sound engineer.
Listen to Hasan's submission here.
Posted: Monday, July 14, 2014
Tell us a little bit about yourself: Where are you from? What do you study? How did you discover your passion for audio?
I had my first experience with sound recording in 1994, at the age of 12, in my hometown Bagé in Southern Brazil. As a piano player, I formed a band with my two brothers and started recording rehearsals with a Tascam Porta One four-track cassette tape recorder given to me by my father. During the following years we wrote and recorded a number of tracks and submitted them to several record labels, which helped us to secure a deal with Antídoto/Polygram Records in 1996. Later that year, I did my first recording at ACIT studios in the city of Porto Alegre. That was a huge learning experience as I had the opportunity to observe and learn about recording techniques, microphones, analogue consoles and tape recorders, and got to work with professional sound engineers and music producers in a professional recording studio environment. In 2000, I started a degree in Marketing and Advertisement at URCAMP University in southern Brazil and simultaneously set up my own recording studio, called SG Studio, where I recorded local bands, produced jingles and created commercial audio content for radio and television.
In 2009, I came to the United Kingdom to undertake a degree in ‘Sound Engineering’ at SAE Institute London. There, I started exploring ‘Pure Data’ visual programming language to create interactive applications and multimedia works. Since then I have developed numerous applications strongly influenced by music, animation and cinema; usually mixing live performances and immersive environments with real-time interaction. I am currently developing new projects as well as working towards my PhD in Arts and Computational technology at Goldsmiths University in London.
Tell us about your project. What is it? What is the story behind it?
The ‘Interactive Art Gallery’ was my second entry in an Audio Engineering Society Student Design competition and I am trilled do have received the ‘Gold Award’ for the second consecutive year. This year, my project consists of an interactive screen-based platform to display works of art. My original idea was to translate paintings into sonic landscapes created with the combination of music score and sound design. During the development process I have also started exploring the use of narrative; ultimately, it opened up a new set of possibilities and after six months of work I created the ‘Interactive Art Gallery’.
Diego's App: The 'Interactive Art Gallery'. Shown here is an exploration of Picasso's Guernica
What's your advice for software or hardware designers who are just starting out?
Follow your intuition, work hard and be patient.
· What do you like about the AES? How does it help you to become a better and more successful designer and audio engineer?
The best thing about the AES is that it is a gigantic network. Therefore, it allows you to be in contact with other professionals and have access to the latest research and developments in the audio field.
Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 136th AES Convention in Berlin!
My favourite experience was the opportunity to display my work to a wide audience and to receive valuable feedback from recognised artists, engineers and researchers from the audio industry.
What are you up to when you're not doing anything related to audio?
I like being with my family and friends, reading, running and travelling.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In the recording studio.
Check out the Interactive Art Gallery and an excerpt from A Walk Through the History of Bagé in this video.
Diego's music production work:
Chapa / Glimpse of Light - Drums Recording @ SAE London
Chapa - interview (Creation Room)
If you want to get in touch with Diego, just send him an e-mail.
Posted: Monday, July 7, 2014
Posted: Thursday, July 3, 2014
Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014
Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014
Tell us a little bit about yourself: Where are you from? What do you study? How did you discover your passion for audio?
My name is Per Loenicker, I am 31 years old and was born in Hamburg, Germany. I started studying Media Technology in Düsseldorf three years ago. Prior to that, I worked as a sound engineer at the NDR (North German Radio & Television Network) and played guitar in a rock band.
Until I started studying I never thought I would become a software developer, having merely been a software user for years. I started playing guitar when I was seven years old and always wanted to become a professional musician. However, as I wasn’t interested in jazz or classical guitar, I decided to put more effort into sound engineering, and to keep playing guitar as a hobby.
An avid music producer, I find myself using a lot of software instruments, however I love my Dave Smith Instruments Mopho analogue synthesiser as well.
Tell us about your project. What is it? What is the story behind it?
My project, the CHAiOS SYNTH, is an easy to use synthesiser for iOS, which plays random melodies.
The idea for the CHAiOS SYNTH came to me when I was at a party at which the DJ was playing minimal electronic music. I thought it might be cool to develop a tool to create such music in an intuitive way, rather than playing single notes on a keyboard. So I developed an algorithm, which plays notes somewhat randomly but still follows certain rules so that the result doesn’t just sound like chaos.
I found some colleagues at university who were interested in participating in this project, so we became a group of five people, including me and David Bau doing most of the development. It took us about four months to design the initial version of the CHAiOS SYNTH.
Per's App: The CHAiOS SYNTH
There was one big problem: the synth wasn’t “tight”, meaning it played the notes sloppily, with many waveform discontinuities resulting in audible clicks. David and I kept working on it for another three months and finally released it on the Apple Appstore last November. Those last three months where very frustrating at times - especially during periods of not feeling able to solve all the problems - but we ended up with a great product that we are very proud of.
Another challenge was the communication within the team, and the fact that we had spent too little time on the initial design specifications. While that slowed us down in the beginning, we managed to improve greatly towards the end. As this was the first software project ever for all of us, there was a lot to learn.
Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 136th AES Convention in Berlin!
The 136th AES Convention in Berlin was my first AES convention, so that whole world is rather new to me. I really enjoyed it - especially meeting fellow students from all over the world at the SDA meetings.
Obviously, the most exciting moment was getting on stage after winning the gold award!
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Designing software instruments incorporates everything that has fascinated me in my life so far. It is both creative and technical and the product can be used to make music. That’s why I want to pursue it professionally in the future!
Check out CHAiOS SYNTH in this video teaser, and these hands-on video by thesoundtestroom and synthuniverse.com! Also, you can find demo songs on bandcamp!
Find out more about Per's App on Facebook!
!If you want to get in touch with Per, just send him an e-mail.
Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014
Please take a moment to thank SHIZUKA, one of our magnificent sponsors of the AES 136th Convention's Recording Competition! We can't do this without them!
Controlling standing waves and unwanted noise is essential both for enjoying superb sound and for listening comfort. The SHIZUKA Stillness Panel creates a silent space, which is enabled by its unique acoustic structure, and an environment for accurate monitoring that is of primary importance for mixing. Developed by a team of prominent professional musicians, recording engineers, and acoustic space designers, the SHIZUKA Stillness Panel is an optimal panel for creating an acoustic space at a sound studio, live music club, movie theater, or your own home.
Here is their website! http://www.hitori-shizuka.jp/????/??????-shizuka-stillness-panel/
Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014
After the very popular AES Central European Student Summit in Belgrade last year, AES student members are going to gather in Russia from September 12 - 14 later this year to engage in exciting audio and social activities.
The programme is going to feature workshops for both pop and classical music production alongside technical tours of several prestigious venues, and plenty of opportunity to connect to audio professionals, and students from all around the world.
AES student members can register for the free event on the following webpage: http://www.cess2014moscow.com/
It's promising to be an engaging and unique few days in Russia's capital.
Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Merging Technologies was a big supporter of the 136th Convention's Student Recording Competition. We're very excited to thank them for their generous support!
Merging Technologies SA is a Swiss manufacturer with over 20 years of experience in developing groundbreaking, professional Audio and Video products for a wide range of entertainment and media industries. With a dedicated user base in the elite end of the music, film, television, mastering and performances industries, Merging is committed to developing product ranges with unrivalled quality and flexibility, no matter what the application. Merging builds tools for people who want more from their systems, have an inherent need to push boundaries, and believe that quality always comes first, every time.
Check out their website: http://www.merging.com
Posted: Monday, June 23, 2014
There's a new video update from the Student Delegate Assembly: http://youtu.be/0a8Fk7Fly8w
The 136th AES Convention was a huge success.
Audio professionals, academics and students from all over the world gathered at the Estrel Hotel and Convention Center in Berlin to engage in workshops, lectures & other audio related activities, and network and socialise.
Further, Brecht De Man from the AES London Section was elected the new SDA Vice Chair for Europe & International Regions.
The Student Delegate Assembly would like to thank everybody who made AES136 such a great experience.
In other news the AES is going to return to Los Angeles for the first time in nearly 12 years later this year. Get ready for the 137th AES Convention from October 9th - 12th! For more information about this upcoming event, visit: http://www.aes.org/events/137/
Please like our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/AESsda
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AESsda
We cannot wait to see you in Los Angeles.
Posted: Monday, June 23, 2014
