Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

DPA microphones complement Roomful of Teeth’s vocals in recorded and live applications

From first listen, it’s obvious that amplified vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth is unlike any other performance group around today. As the ensemble’s Head Audio Engineer Randall L. Squires is no stranger to the band’s haunting, hypnotic vocals.

After starting with the group in 2015 alongside boss and mentor Damon Lange, Squires eventually took over full audio operations, including recording, mastering and FOH engineering. Most recently, the group entrusted Squires with recording its latest album, requesting that he create a new audio canvas from which they could work. To complement the sound, Squires turned to DPA Microphones’ D:facto 4018VL Vocal, 5100 Mobile 5.1 Surround and 4011 Cardioid Condenser Microphones.

“Roomful of Teeth is primarily a live act, so they’re used to amplification and having a handheld vocal mic on a stand directly in front of them”, says Squires. “I wanted to find a solution that still fit the look of the handheld mics they were used to, but with a higher fidelity. The D:facto felt familiar to the singers, allowing all the mic techniques for their overtone singing and yodeling to translate directly, while also giving them a more open sound. Hitting those higher notes and hearing the overtones is also easier with a D:facto than it is with a dynamic mic. They hear all the upper mid-range sounds that they can go for, and they hit them easier.”

Recorded at the Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), the group of eight singers were set up in a full circle, with the 5100 directly in the center, about sixty feet across from each person. One D:facto was then set in front of each singer along with a monitor and several 4011s were set directly behind them another twenty feet out to pick up room sound. There were additional speakers behind the 4011s, which Squires set up to face into the corner, allowing him to feed reverbs to the singers and change the feel of the room space.

After using the DPAs for this project, Squires made the decision to purchase ten D:factos, with plans to incorporate the mics into both live applications and recording projects. “The D:factos will be our main touring microphones, and we’re going to use them for literally everything”, says Squires. “Recently, we utilized the D:factos in support of Caroline Shaw’s ‘Microfictions, Vol. 3’ with the New York Philharmonic at David Geffan Hall, as well as to record the score for 2022 film ‘Catherine, Called Birdy’.”

(Photos: DPA Microphones)

www.dpamicrophones.com

© 1999 - 2024 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories