AMSR - Audio Media

Presented by
Dubai’s Funoon Al Emarat
which opened for
business in 1993, was the
first top of the range professional
recording studios to be built in
the Middle East. Fifteen years
on, under new ownership and
following completion of a major
refurbishment programme, it is
still very much in business.
“In many ways this was a
ground-breaking facility as it was
accommodated in a generouslyproportioned,
recently built
unit, and was realistically, if
not extravagantly, budgeted,”
says Eastlake Audio’s David
Hawkins, who was responsible
for the original design and
construction, and the update.
“It also commenced by
employing as Recording
Director, Moheb Milad, who
was an Egyptian engineer with
considerable technical ability
and recording talent.
“The building was basically
a large box without any
obstructions, so the ‘envelope’
in which the studio was
constructed was as near to ideal
for a recording facility as could
be imagined, and we were able
to do what we wanted. So we
gave it a good-sized control
room and live area, and a good
‘geometry’, with a clients’ lounge
above the control room.”
The studio’s new owner is
noted Arabic singer Hussain Al
Jasmi, who was a regular client
at Funoon Al Emarat before he
bought it. The facilities cater both
for his own recording projects
and commercial clients.
The refurbishment retains
many of the original features,
including the spacious live
recording area and its flexible
spaces, and the layout of the
control room. “It began as a
five-star recording studio, but
after 13 or so years of wear and
tear, it was looking shabby,” says
Hawkins. “As we still held all the
original drawings and records,
we knew exactly what materials
were needed for a refurbishment,
and so it was no problem.”
In addition to the cosmetic
improvements, there are major
changes within the control room.
The original installation featured
a Soundcraft analogue console
and an eight-track Studer tape
machine. The refurbishment
has seen a 16-fader Digidesign
D-Command mixing surface
and Pro Tools HD3 workstation
system installed.
The original Westlake/JBL
control room monitors have been
replaced by a Genelec system.
The outboard racks comprise
a long list, including a Manley
Slam preamp/compressor,
Manley Voxbox valve preamp/
compressor/de-esser/EQ, Manley
Massive Passive EQ, two Tube-
Tech MEC-1A valve preamp/
compressor/EQs, TL Audio Ivory
5062 valve preamp/compressor/
EQ, and two Universal Audio
1176LN levelling amplifiers.
The studio’s microphone
collection includes Neumann
M149 and U87 valve mics,
Manley Gold Reference multipattern
valve mics, and AKG
D112 dynamics among others.
In addition, a pair of AKG C414s
is permanently installed in the
large area of the live room for
ambience.
The live area has been retained
and can be divided using sliding
doors to provide acoustically
separate performance spaces.
As well as its studio, Funoon
Al Emarat has a composing/
programming room equipped
with a Digidesign D-Control and
M-Audio software for the use of
composers and arrangers, and a
video edit suite. It also operates
a CD replication facility for its
own productions.
For Eastlake, the
Middle East has
long been a key
business area and
the company has
been responsible
for the construction
of a number of topflight
facilities in
the recording and
broadcast sectors.
“Although we have
moved on technically
www.munro.co.uk
Funoon Al Amarat
Refurbished And Refreshed
One of the Middle East’s top recording studios has been given a complete
makeover, reports JIM EVANS.
a long way from the first build at
Funoon Al Emarat, the size and
layout is still perfectly appropriate
for the scale of recording that
takes place in the region today,”
says Hawkins. “It’s pleasing to see
this studio back in the top tier –
where it rightly belongs.”
He continues, “This is a market
that has grown steadily from a
very low base. Over the years
we have had the good fortune
to have worked in Bahrain, Abu
Dhabi, and Dubai as well as
Saudi, Egypt, and Libya.
“We first worked in Dubai
when it was in the early days of
establishing itself as a dynamic
Gulf trading state, and we built
what was the first reasonablysized
commercial studio there.
That became a magnet for
other Gulf recording activity,
and subsequently we’ve worked
extensively across the region –
including Kuwait City.
“Generally as far as pro
audio is concerned, the Middle
East is best described today
as a relatively mature market.
There is certainly growth in the
TV audio facilities sector because
of the increasing number of
broadcasters that are not now
subject to state control.
“Overall, I think the feeling is
positive in the region. In most
territories the income from oil
is constant and in GDP terms
it’s fabulous. In developing their
media facilities, there’s an interest
there that they can afford to
support, indulge and develop.
As we know, there are parts of the
area that are immensely stable
and there are other parts that are
best described as volatile.”
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AUDIO MEDIA SEPTEMBER 2008 17
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