John Kurlander Fairlight EVO - Audio Media

to prevent a repeat. Equipment-wise, everyone wanted tosend us everything to try – for instance, around ‘79/’80,EMI Research at Hayes built us a prototype digital mixer– that’s how ahead of the curve we were. It was quite aresponsibility. Given I was still engineering projects, I lookback now at some of my diaries and wonder how I did it.”The grass could not look greener in St. John’s Wood,although perhaps it did look a little more verdant in LosAngeles. “I’d been there on vacation around 1971 andafter some time hanging out at Capitol was offered ajob. Though I had turned it down, my appetite for theadventure of an exciting new lifestyle in film scoring wasstill nagging at me as I began to contemplate retirement.It was ‘now or never’, otherwise I’d have just gone straightfrom school to Abbey Road, done 35 years and thenretired in Harrow! So I got my green card and went for it.”Better Believe ItApparently, so impressive was Kurlander’s CV that someof his new prospective American clients thought it mightbe fictional, but it’s no surprise that his solid reputationwith key individuals led to personal recommendationsbringing a raft of new ventures. The list of movie scoreshe’s recorded or mixed or both is endless and lately, eventhe world of videogames has been benefiting from hisskills, for instance Jesper Kyd’s score for Assassin’s Creed 2(as featured in last month’s issue). Kurlander: “I really like theway the composers interact with the directors and visualartists in games, and I like the respect they’re getting.”about the small stuff because I enjoy it.”So, given he can to a great extent pick and choosegigs these days, what does it take to attract Kurlander?“There’s always somethingpositive about every project. Itcould be box office or criticalacclaim, but the ones that endup being an enjoyable experienceare the best ones and ultimatelyit’s about people. I thinkthe buzz for me is when you’vedone all the homework andyou stick all the faders up andit’s immediately wonderful.You’re not struggling – in factyou’re making it look easy.You’re in the zone – everything’sKURLANDER: SELECTED GEARworking and you know you’ve done a good job. If it thengoes on to have critical or market success, that’s really justthe icing on the cake.” For someone so notable, Kurlander is refreshinglydown to earth, shunning the limelight. “I’m actually veryshy so one of the original attractions of recording was aninvolvement with music without being a public performingmusician (out of the question!) although ironically,I mix better in a room full of people because it’s kind ofa performance – there’s more spontaneity. I get on wellwith people but I couldn’t possibly stand up on a podiumto speak or even work the room at a cocktail party. Peopletell me they hire me because I’m really enthusiastic abouttheir job – they say they don’t know anyone who takesas much care, and I readily accept I have a reputation forbeing fanatical about detail. They don’t have to worryAUDIO MEDIA APRIL 2010 29