John Kurlander Fairlight EVO - Audio Media

even if you’re in 5.1, what comes through thedoor is mono. One thing I learned in the ’60s– ALWAYS check in ‘one-speaker’ mono – putit all one side… On big projects, I’ll even havea ‘mono day’ sometimes.“I check my mixes at incredibly low volume– almost inaudible – it tells you a lot.“Above all, gain structure is so important– I think a lot of people can be overloadingstuff unawares at hidden stages when mixingin the box.”Epcot, Huh?One of John Kurlander’sfavourite press appearances was for anAmerican pro-audio mag'. When asked hisfavourite LA scoring stage he went for 20thCentury Fox. However, on receiving a copy ofthe magazine, he noticed something wrong.Bold as brass, it cited John Kurlander’sfavourite scoring stage as the Epcot Centrein Florida. The writer had got mixed up withanother piece about theme park music.Kurlander: “It didn’t upset anyone becauseit was so absurd, but I’ll never forget walkinginto 20th Century Fox and all the guys saying,‘Epcot, huh? You prefer Epcot?!’” Kurlander’s Modus Operandi“I always have a premeditatedapproach to recording – I imaginehow it should sound in my head and then findthe right gear to achieve it.“When I start off working with a produceror composer I try to get inside their heads soI can customise an approach and sound thatwill work for them. Sometimes people ask me,‘Do you always mic that thing that way?’, andI’ll reply – ‘Well I do for that artist’. I’m trying tocreate a sonic identity.“Every working relationship differs. Somepeople want to be your best friend and they’llcall you at night to discuss stuff and that’sfine. Others want to keep it nine-to-five. Youhave to find out how they want it to be.“Who you are as a person is as importantas your technical knowledge. I’ve seen manytactless people blow it by saying the wrongthing. Good engineers have the knack of sayingthe right thing at the right time – and timingis king. First you have the thought – thenyou think do they really want to hear this? Ifyes, then you think of the right time to say it –but only when the other boxes are ticked.”ProTools Anyone?When Kurlander moved to LAin 1996, the Sony 3348 was the 48-trkstandard ½” digital tape machine for orchestralcapture with ‘this 8-trk computer thing calledProTools’ mostly used by music editors forediting the DA-88 mixes. Occasionally two PTsystems would be hooked up for a mix.“I was working with David Newman andhis assistant Marty Frasu and we startedwondering if anyone had done more than16 channels on PT. We asked our friend TomGraham (now very senior in Digidesign)could he put together a 48-trk set-up andwe’d try an orchestral recording. And so (withtape back-up!) the first ever multi-channel48-trk orchestral PT recording was born.The rest is history.” AUDIO MEDIA APRIL 2010 31