simon honywill

making the world

a better sounding place

CONTENTS

ABOUT ME

FRONT OF HOUSE SOUND

PROJECT MANAGER/DESIGNER (AUDIO)

ACOUSTIC AND AUDIO CONSULTANCY

THEATRE AND CONFERENCE SOUND DESIGN

RECORD PRODUCER

R.G.JONES SOUND ENGINEERING

MARTIN AUDIO LTD.

FREELANCE SOUND ENGINEER

THE BEGINNING

SIMON HONYWILL AMIOA

7 Pr io ry Road, P lymouth, Devon PL3 5EN +447976 412286 s imon@s imonhonyw i l l . com

www.s imonhonyw i l l . com

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ABOUT ME Sound i s undoubtedly the pr imary human sense , and i t i s a source of

cons tant f rus t ra t ion to me that i t i s so o f ten over looked , s ide l ined and compromised . I be l ieve that the wor ld cou ld be a bet te r p lace i f peop le were bet te r equ ipped to make sense o f the son ic env i ronment in which they l i ve , and were prepared to th ink about sound in the same way they do about s ight . The modern wor ld is a no isy

p lace , and there is l i t t l e ef fo r t be ing made to contro l i t . Wi th a deeper unders tand ing of how sound a ffects us , t hose charged w i th des ign ing the bu i ldings , venues and pub l i c spaces , the sound sys tems that go in to them and how they can be

ut i l i sed to greates t ef fect , would be ab le to enhance the da i ly exper ience of everybody a t fundamenta l leve ls . To that end, i f I can use the sk i l l s la id out in th i s CV to make a d if f e rence , my t ime on th i s ear th w i l l have been jus t i f i ed .

I have been in sound fo r near ly 40 years , a career tha t I s tumbled upon by happy acc ident . My career has been ex treme ly var ied , and the fo l low ing pages shou ld g ive an idea of some of the h igh l ights. My work ha s inc luded m ix ing shows a t

the very h ighes t leve l , sound des ign fo r major f es t iva l s , co rpora te and theatre shows and ins ta l la t ions , sys tem des ign, eng ineer ing and commiss ion ing , reco rd product ion, aud io pro ject management and event product ion management .

I have a qua l i f i ca t ion in Acous t i cs and No ise Contro l a t the Ins t i tute o f Acous t i cs , and have been engaged as an acous t i cs and aud io consu l tan t a t a var ie ty o f venues , and mos t no tably w i th Vanguard ia Consu l t ing in London .

I have wr i t ten ex tens ive ly fo r the aud io industry press , cover ing events , product rev iews and ‘s ta te o f the nat ion ’ s ty le p ieces .

I f i rs t entered the pro -aud io indus try w i th no fo rma l qua l i f i ca t ions , as there were none to be had a t the t ime, a s i tua t ion that has s ign if i cant ly inf luenced some o f my act iv i ty s ince 2004 when I se t up the f i rs t HNC in L ive Sound a t Deep

B lue Sound in P lymouth. S ince then, th i s course has become a foundat ion degree , w i th many fo rmer s tudents now out in the indus try work ing, someth ing of which I am proud. Educat ion now p lays an important part in my work , and I am current ly deve lop ing a ser ies o f lectures des igned to bring together the soc ia l , ph i losoph ica l ,

a r t i s t i c and techn i ca l aspects o f sound in an enter ta in ing and exc i t ing way . I am fu l l y fam i l ia r w i th mos t sound equ ipment current ly in common use , as we l l as some that i sn ’ t . I have ex tensive exper ience wi th bo th PC and Mac

computer programs inc lud ing var ious DSP systems , ProToo ls , Log ic P ro , Reaper , Waves , EASE acous t i c des ign /s imula t ion, Smaart L ive ana lys i s , s tandard Windows o f f i ce programs and var ious draw ing packages .

My outs ide in te res ts inc lude p lay ing gu i ta r , l is ten ing to mus ic , cook ing, f i sh ing , cook ing the f ish I ca tch and sa i l ing . I have a c lean UK dr iv ing l i cense .

EDUCATION

1970 - 1972 Sherborne Prepara to ry Schoo l , Dorse t - Scho la rsh ip 1972 - 1977 A l lha l lows Schoo l , Rousdon, Dorset

7 ‘O ’ leve ls inc lud ing Maths & Eng l i sh 2 ‘A ’ l eve ls Geo logy , B io logy

2012 Dip loma in Acous t i cs and No ise Contro l , Ins t itute o f Acous t i cs , UK STATUS

Marr ied to Sarah , an a r t i s t , w i th our two ch i ld ren

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AS FRONT OF HOUSE SOUND ENGINEER… Go ldfrapp

Al i son Go ld f rapp and Wi l l G regory have , s ince they f i rs t pai red up fo r “Fe l t Mounta in ’ in 2000 gone on to produce some o f the mos t a r t fu l , in te l l igent

e lect ron ic mus ic to come out o f the UK . In 2017 , Wi l l asked me to m ix the l i ve shows accompany ing the re lease o f the i r mos t recent , and arguab ly bes t

a lbum, ‘S i l ve r Eye ’ . A l i son i s a un ique perfo rm er w i th a s tagger ing voca l range and s ty le , bo th sensua l and w i ld a t the same t ime. The shows are pumping f rom s ta r t to f in i sh, and an absolute joy

to m ix w i th p lenty of crea t ive opportun i t ies and the power to make people dance is in tox ica t ing . 2020 sees Go ld f rapp rev is i t ing the sem ina l a lbum Fe l t

Mounta in fo r i t s 20 t h ann iversary .

Wi ldwood Kin Wi ldwood K in i s a fam i ly a f fa i r , compr is ing s is te rs Em i l l i e and Bethany Key and the i r

cous in Megan Loney , a l l ha i l ing f rom South Devon. In 2017 they were s ig ned by Sony Mus ic who obv ious ly see the immense ta lent the g i r l s d i sp lay through gorgeous , e f fo r t less harmonies and t ight , punchy songwr i t ing . Through a c lose f r iendsh ip w i th the i r manager , the t i re less Sarah Woodward , f rom my t ime work ing w i th one of her

prev ious acts The Qua i ls , I have been invo lved in some of the i r key l ive per fo rmances inc lud ing a recent mag ica l n ight in the acoust i ca l l y cha l leng ing Exeter Cathedra l , which they sold out .

The band are a to ta l joy to m ix , and I urge anybody to engage w i th the i r wonderfu l mus ic , which oozes joy , emot ion and examines the deeper , more complex sub jects of

f am i ly , l i f e and death. I f there is any good in th i s wor ld , they wi l l be enormous , a F lee twood Mac fo r the 21 s t Century .

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The Nature of Why – The Brit ish Paraorchestra – f rom 2018 The Nature of Why has been descr ibed a ‘a modern ode to joy ’ . I t is an immers ive mix ture o f mus ic and dance l i ke no o ther . Char les Haz lewood fo rmed the

Parao rches tra as a veh ic le fo r d i sab led mus ic ians to be able to per fo rm in the i r own r ight , someth ing that he and many o thers f e l t was someth ing bad ly needed. The Nature o f Why i s a wonderfu l p iece composed by Wi l l G regory (Go ld f rapp) which invo lves the aud ience , mus ic ians and dancers a l l occupy ing the same space . As a

son ic p iece i t i s h igh ly cha l leng in g, as a lmos t a l l the sound sources a re in mot ion and there i s no t rad i t iona l re fe rence po int f rom which to hear the show. I t is mov ing a l l a round you, a l l the t ime.

A combinat ion of a f lown m ic r ig and personal rad io m ics prov ide the p ick -up, and a seven-po int loudspeaker sys tem re lays the act ion wi th in a 15m c i rc le . The mob i le mus ic ians a re dynamica l l y t racked us ing surround bus topo logy , ensur ing that the son ic image re la tes to the act ion as much as poss ib le .

The show has been per fo rmed in many venues a round the UK , and a t Per th Fes t iva l in W.Aus tra l ia . 2020 w i l l see The Nature of Why in Hong Kong and New York , amongs t o ther te r r i to r ies .

S ince com ing up w i th the unconvent iona l sound des ign fo r th is incred ib le show, I have m ixed every per fo rmance s ince i ts debut a t B r i s to l May fes t in 2018 .

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Jeff Wayne’s Musical Vers ion of The War of The Worlds – s ince 2009 This i s a majo r product ion in anybody ’s book . Over 100 aud io channe ls a t FOH, a 40

p iece o rches t ra , a 10 p iece band that inc ludes mus ica l legends, a s tel la r cas t o f s ingers , surround SFX and the i con ic vo ice of R ichard Burton come together to make up perhaps one o f the mos t cha l leng ing yet sa t i s f y ing shows that I have ever been invo lved in . Now re -wr i t ten and re - reco rded, the ‘New Genera t ion ’ sees L iam Neeson

tak ing over f rom Burton, and the who le p iece be ing g iven a 21 s t Century sound. Wi th some o f the bes t techno logy ava i lab le, the sound of th i s show has been acknow ledged as be ing ‘s tunn in g ’ and ‘awesome ’ by no t on ly the aud iences but by

some d ie hard indus try pros too ! I t has been my task to des ign a sound sys tem that de l i vers the requ is i te power and f ide l i ty , and deve lop methods to accura te ly and re l iab ly reproduce the complex surround s oundscape in some cha l leng ing son ic env i ronments .

Fo l low ing the 2012 tour , I was asked to m ix the surround soundtrack fo r the concert f i lm of Jef f Wayne ’s Mus ica l Vers ion o f the War of the Wor lds , re leased in c inemas in the US and UK in Apr i l 2013.

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London 2012 Paralympics C los ing Ceremony

The summer of 2012 was one to remember in the UK , w i th the crowning g lo ry be ing the Olympic and

Para lympic Games . Each was marked by ep ic ceremonies tha t conf i rmed

the UK ’s product ion i ndus try to be the bes t in the wor ld . I was fo r tunate enough to be asked to p lay

my part in the ‘f ina l hurrah ’ , a ceremony that l i te ra l l y burnt i ts way into

the memory in a fes t iva l of f i re . Wi th he lp f rom Co ldp lay , R ihanna and Jay -Z, a cas t o f thousands and a f lee t of veh ic les tha t would shame a Mad Max mov ie , the event was a f i t t ing c lose to the mos t v ib rant ce lebra t ion of spo rt , mus ic and B r i t i sh cu l ture ever seen. Euphor ia was

the overwhe lming emot ion a l l i ed to a sense of rea l p r ide in be ing a part o f someth ing t ru ly spec ia l .

Ch i ldren In Need Rocks The Royal Albert Hal l – December 2009 Gary Bar low put together an a l l - s ta r cas t fo r one o f the bes t shows of th is type fo r

some t ime. The show demanded a sound crew par -exce l lence , and a c lose kn i t team supported by a mass ive amount of equ ipment put on a fantas t i c show. As Gary Bradshaw was busy , they asked me to do FOH. I don ’ t m ind, because he missed out

on m ix ing Take That , Robb ie Wi l l i ams , Snow Patro l , Ann ie Lennox , Mica , Sh i r ley Bassey , D izzee Rasca l and S i r Pau l McCartney, a long w i th Take That ’s band and Steve Sidwe l l a r rang ing and conduct ing the BBC Concert Orches tra . I loved i t .

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AS PROJECT MANAGER /DESIGNER (AUDIO)… Consultant Sound Engineer, G lastonbury Fest ival

Desp i te i ts reputa t ion as an i con ic event , the fes t iva l i s no t exempt f rom the ru les and regu la t ions tha t now at tempt to m in im ise sound as a nu isance to those who l ive nearby , someth ing that i s increas ing ly commonp lace a t f es t iva l s everywhere .

P rev ious exper ience o f work ing w i th counc i l s and consu l tants a t sens i t i ve s i tes e l sewhere s tood me in good s tead when i t was t ime to choose new aud io prov iders fo r the Pyram id Stage in 2007 . Wi th R G Jones Sound Eng ineer ing as supp l ie rs and a

‘d ream team ’ o f f e l low eng ineers , we put together a crew and sound sys tem that has now been in p lace fo r an unprecedented 12 years , and covers four majo r s tages – Py ram id , Wes t Ho l ts and B lock9 Genosys and in

2019 IICON . Us ing Mart in Aud io ’s groundbreak ing MLA sys tems we can

de l i ver a fu l l y invo lv ing exper ience fo r the aud ience and sa t is f y the leve ls se t of f - s i te by the

counc i l and env i ronmenta l no ise consu l tants . So success fu l has the fo rmula

been that I am now contracted d i rect ly by the Fes t iva l as Sound Consu l tant , w i th a br ie f tha t covers the who le s i te . I have subsequent ly inves ted in some ser ious foo twear .

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Fathom

A r t i s t s Jane Grant and John Matth ias use sound in un ique and cha l leng ing ways , and

her pro jects br ing peop le in to contact by unexpected and fasc ina t ing methods , somet imes across great d i s tances . Fa thom is a wonderfu l p iece o f in te ract ive a r t tha t uses sound to immerse the aud ience under a fa tho m o f sea water , and enab les them to exper ience the sudden change in dens i ty and pressure when cross ing the boundary

between a i r and water . To rea l i se the a r t i s t ’ s v is ion, I des igned and dep loyed a sys tem o f Mart in Aud io MLA to crea te a son ic sur face a t a h e ight o f 1 fa thom above the f loo r – be low the sur face was a watery env i ronment made up of rea l - t ime and

reco rded sounds f rom the R iver Tamar and P lymouth Sound. Above the fa thom, the sounds of the a i r in which we l i ve and breathe , captured by m icrophones a t the water ’s edge. In 2018 , Fa thom was reborn as part of The At lant i c P ro ject , th i s t ime i n the o ld reservo i r a t Dev i l ’s Po int

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BTC Pipe l ine 2005 - 2006 – Headed by BP, an in te rnat iona l conso rt ium f in ished what has become known as ‘ the f i rs t g reat eng ineer ing pro ject o f the

21 s t century . ’ The BTC p ipe l ine runs fo r near ly 1800km, a lmos t ent i re ly underground, f rom the shores of the Casp ian Sea a t Baku, Azer ba i jan, through Georg ia v ia Tb i l i s i to Ceyhan in southern

Turkey on the shore of the Med i te rranean Sea . The s ign i f i cance o f th i s pro ject , economica l l y, env i ronmenta l ly and po l i t i ca l l y i s huge, br ing ing the

vas t o i l reserves o f the Casp ian to the Wes t w i th out hav ing to pass through the narrow and po tent ia l l y hazardous Bosphorous and Dardane l les St ra i ts by sh ip . I t a l so means that Europe does no t have to re ly so heav i l y on Saud i o i l and a l l i t s po l i t i ca l imp l i ca t ions .

My invo lvement was the p lann ing and exe cut ion o f sound fac i l i t i es fo r events o rgan ised by BP in the c i t ies o f Baku, Tb i l i s i and Ceyhan. These ranged f rom a rock concert in a s tad ium to a ga la even ing of majo r a r t i s ts f rom the three countr ies to

fo rma l speeches by the pres idents a t sens i t ive ve nues such as the a rchaeo log ica l museum in Tb i l i s i . The f ina l event , in Ceyhan, Turkey invo lved bu i ld ing an a i r -cond i t ioned, 1500 seat aud i to r ium at the o i l te rm ina l in temperatures in excess o f 30° .

Aga Khan’s Vis i t to Taj ik istan, 1998 – I t was a long t ime ago now but was such

an amaz ing exper ience tha t i t ’ s worth inc lud ing here . The Aga Khan is the sp i r i tua l l eader o f the I sma i l i b ranch of I s lam, preva lent in the a rea of N .Afghan is tan, SW China , Kyrgys tan and Uzbek is tan, a l l o f which surround the re la t ive ly sma l l ex -Sov ie t s ta te than i s now the independent country o f Ta j ik i s tan. Every three o r four years he

t rave ls to the a rea to v is i t the I sma i l i peop le and de l iver h i s sp i r i tua l messages and support to a country tha t has been ravaged by c iv i l wa r , drug t ra f f i ck ing and lef t w i thout a lack o f bas ic in f ras t ructure w i th the departure o f Sov ie t ru le f rom Moscow.

H is v i s i ts there requ i re the dep loyment of suff i c ient aud io sys tems to cover aud iences of thousands , some o f whom have wa lked fo r weeks to hear the i r leader , who

addresses h is peop le a t s i tes w i th s tages cons tructed f rom the very ear th and immense mounta ins which surround them.

For the Aga Khan ’s v i s i t in 1998 , I was fo r tunate enough to be respons ib le fo r the des ign and opera t ion of these sys tems , which had to be de l i vered to ex t reme ly remote

loca t ions in anc ient Russ ian M i l he l i copters f rom a centra l base in the sma l l town o f Khorog on the A fghan border . To say that the job was a cha l lenge would be gross

unders ta tement . The d i f f i cu l t ies to be overcome were huge in some cases – jus t get t ing e lect r i c i ty to power the sound sys tem cou ld mean d iver t ing i t f rom the neares t

v i l l age v ia a ser ies o f te legraph po le s e rected jus t fo r the event , and render ing the v i l l age , some 1 .5 m i les away , w i thout what l i t t l e power they had to s ta r t w i th . A l l of th i s in the shadow o f incred ib ly beaut ifu l s cenery on an ep ic sca le , and in one case overshadowed by the threat o f an uns tab le dam ups tream o f the v i l l age .

Th is was less a sound eng ineer ing job than an exerc i se in log is t i cs , communica t ion, pa t ience and endurance . The fact tha t the Imam was heard was a lmos t secondary .

I t was the t r ip of a l i f e t ime, never to be fo rgo t ten and s tand ing out amongs t the t r i v ia of the Wes tern enter ta inment indus try .

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AS ACOUSTICS AND AUDIO CONSULTANT VTB Stadium and Arena, Moscow, for Vanguardia

In 2016 I was contracted to Vanguard ia , one o f the top acous t i cs consu l tanc ies in the UK , as Sound Sys tem Des igner to work w i th the i r P r inc ipa l Acous t i c ian on the

acous t i cs and sound sys tems fo r th i s majo r rebu i ld o f the Moscow Dynamo foo tba l l s tad ium, inco rpora t ing a new mul t i - purpose arena a longs ide the foo tba l l s tad ium. The br ie f was fo r a fu l ly networked, h igh - spec i f i ca t ion ins ta l la t ion that would be

su i tab le fo r l i ve per fo rmance as we l l as genera l announcements . Acous t i c mode l l ing was a cruc ia l par t o f the process , and work ing in c lose co l labo ra t ion w i th the Pr inc ipa l Acous t i c ian was exc i t ing and h igh ly e f fect ive . We bo th wondered why i t d idn ’ t happen more o f ten!

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Baita l Futuh Mosque, Morden, South London

The la rges t mosque in Wes tern Europe i s the sp i r i tua l home of the Ahmadiyya Mus l im Communi ty , w i th whom I have a long re la t ionsh ip as the i r p r imary acous t i c consu l tant . As we l l as the mosque i tse l f , the annua l Ja lsa Sa lana event , he ld in

Hampshi re has a lso presented some d i f f i cu l t aud io cha l lenges which I have been ab le to so lve . As can be seen f rom the pho tograph, the men’s prayer ha l l in the mosque is a

l a rge room w i th a h igh centra l dome and many h igh ly re f lect ive sur faces . Sound i s incred ib ly important to those who a t tend the mosque as the words of the i r leader represent the i r l i f e credo , and as a c l ient the communi ty i s ex t reme ly demand ing whi l s t a l so generous and he lp fu l . The i r leader , Hadh ra t M i r z a Mas ro o r Ahm ad , i s a

qu i e t l y s po ken gen t l em an , and h i s p ro g re s s i ng y ea r s do no t a i d t he s i t ua t i o n . Th roug h unde r s t a nd i ng t he Ahmadiyya and the rhy thms o f the i r da i l y l i f e a t the mosque, and work ing very c lose ly w i th the Sami Bas r i vo lunteer team who

opera te the techn ica l sys tems , I be l ieve that th e aud io prov is ion is as good as i t w i l l ever get .

Th is has been ach ieved through care fu l cho ice of product , app l ied acous t i cs and ex treme ly cr i t i ca l sys tem eng ineer ing . The resu l t i s crys ta l c lear aud io f rom a

sys tem des igned to b lend in w i th the un ique s urround ings (no t shown in pho to !)

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AS THEATRE AND CONFERENCE S OUND DESIGNER Shaol in, Wheel Of L i fe - A theatre show fea tur ing the Buddhis t monks f rom

the Shao l in Temple in Ch ina , the o r ig ina to rs o f de fens ive mart ia l a r ts . The sound des ign ca l led f o r the creat ion o f “env i ronmenta l soundscapes” , as we l l as the marr iage of t rad i t iona l Ch inese ins t ruments wi th Wes tern o rches t ra t ions . In c lose conjunct ion w i th the composer , the show was brought to l i f e f rom scra tch and went

on to tour the wor ld severa l t imes . To create the sound of the spec i f i c env i ronments , I spent t ime research ing a t the B r i t i sh L ib ra ry and Nat iona l Sound Arch ive and managed to source reco rd ings o f Ch inese fo res t w i ld l i f e and the a tmospheres o f

Eas tern temples . The Royal Variety Performance – This bast ion of B r i t i sh l ight enter ta inment

i s reco rded every year a t a prom inent theatre in a majo r c i ty in the presence of a

sen io r member o f the Roya l Fam i ly , o f ten Her Majes ty the Queen herse lf . In my t ime I have des igned and opera ted the sound sys tem fo r th i s and o ther s imi la r events in the theatre many t imes , a l though my career has moved in a d if f e rent d i rect ion more

recent ly . The sound des ign requ i res tha t severa l cr i te r ia a re fu l f i l l ed: 1 – exce l lent coverage and c la r i ty 2 – a dynamic sys tem powerfu l enough to convey l ive mus ic and subt le enough fo r c lear speech

3 – inv is ib le loudspeakers tha t do no t in te r fere w i th camera sho ts and l ight ing 4 – m in ima l co loura t ion of te lev i s ion sound 5 – f l ex ib le and eas i l y dep loyed s tage moni tor sys tems

Industr ia l Theatre and Conferences – Fo r a la rge part o f my career I have been respons ib le fo r the des ign and opera t ion of sound sys tems fo r some very h igh -pro f i l e c l i ents and the mass ive ly expens ive events they s tage to launch products o r

mot iva te the i r s ta f f . Due to the g loba l economic c l imate , th i s a rea o f bus iness has waned recent ly , but i n a l l cases these events demand abso lute c la r i ty of speech and very o f ten there is a s ign i f i cant mus ica l content , be i t a band, an o rches t ra o r

someth ing a l i t t l e more o ff the wa l l . Some examples o f these would be ; L loyd ’s Bank – a majo r conference in B i rm ingham w i th keyno te speeches and a l i ve per fo rmance f rom The Corrs .

Rover 75 Launch – The Moto r Show, B i rm ingham – an important launch o f the las t mode l to be manufactured under the Rover name, fea tur ing a l i ve per fo rmance by the Roya l Ph i lharmonic Orches tra conducted by Car l Dav is on the s tand .

ICL Computers – a ser ies of ambi t ious events over a per iod o f severa l years tha t pushed the l imi ts o f indus tr i a l event des ign, inc lud ing mov ing aud i to r ia by var ious

means w i th the aud ience in p lace dur ing the event , e i ther ut i l i s ing mul t ip le sound sys tems o r in some cases ones which t rave l led w i th the aud i to r ium. App le Europe – a h igh leve l conference in Monaco i nt roduc ing the f i rs t genera t ion o f

iMacs and fea tur ing qu i te a lo t o f par ty ing to l i ve bands . Mob i l – ano ther Monaco conference , th i s t ime about o i l .

Toyo ta – the launch of an ent i re new range of veh ic les in Barce lona , w i th l ive mus ic , dance rout ines and the inev i tab le presenta t ions f rom Japanese execut ives .

Po rsche Stut tgart – an event to launch the Carrera 4 , which took p lace in the facto ry on the actua l p roduct ion l ine and in the anc ient wa l led town of Ro thenburg

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AS RECORD PRODUCER.. . . The War of The Worlds New Generat ion – L ive - f i lm presentation and DVD

Hav ing comple ted the 2012/2013 tour o f the new s tage product ion, I was asked by Je ff Wayne to m ix the 5.1 and s te reo sound t racks fo r the Un iversa l P i c tures

f i lm and DVD re lease . Cinemat ic presenta t ion o f l i ve events i s re la t ive ly recent , g iv ing aud iences the opportun i ty

to e i ther rev i s i t a memorab le show o r exper ience i t as c lose as poss ib le to actua l l y be ing there . Th is was a cha l leng ing job , invo lv ing creat ive use

o f 5 .1 surround sound whi l s t ma inta in ing the a tmosphere o f the show reco rded as i t was a t London ’s O2

Arena. The Quai ls – Master of Imperfect ion

Of a l l tha t I have done in recent years , my work as producer on ‘Mas ter o f Imperfect ion ’ , the second a lbum f rom Devon based rock band The Qua i ls has g iven me the mos t p leasure .

Recorded in jus t two separa te week - long sess ions a t the remote Sawmi l l s Stud ios in Cornwa l l , th i s a lbum is fu l l o f great tunes , raw energy and accompl i shed songwr i t ing and per fo rmance . In Dan Steer , The Qua i l s have a f ront man w i th

a l l the qua l i t i es you would want f rom a modern rock s inger , a great vo ice tha t enab les h im to scream l i ke a young Robert P lant and yet be sens i t ive when requ i red , and the image to go

w i th i t . The gu i ta r i s t , Max Armstrong, is qu i te s imp ly techn ica l l y br i l l i ant , and the rhy thm sect ion o f Sam Banks and Chr i s P rent ice de l i ver the requ is i te punch w i th commitment . Be ing on ly reachab le by water and we l l out of reach of any phone mas t , Sawmi l l s

Stud ios is per fect fo r focuss ing the m ind on the task in hand. The ba nd ’s re la t ive i nexper ience o f work ing w i th a producer was insp i ra t iona l as there was a c lean s la te, w i th the bas ic songs in p lace ready to be honed and shaped. I t was an exc i t ing and ar t i s t i ca l l y fu l f i l l i ng t ime, and I th ink the band and the album deserve s mass ive

recogn i t ion. T ime w i l l te l l . PS – wel l , t ime has to ld , the a lbum has gone the way o f so many and The Qua i l s have

sad ly sp l i t . I t ’ s the nat ion ’s lo ss. Dan Steer i s now a so lo a r t i s t s igned to Peer Mus ic , and a t the t ime of wr i t ing I am work ing w i th h im on the launch show of h i s new so lo a lbum.

Chris Rea – The Road To Hel l And Back Fo r an a r t i s t whose career has las ted as long as h i s , i t i s surpr i s ing that Chr i s Rea has never made a l i ve

a lbum. H is exp lanat ion i s tha t he has never fe l t conf ident enough in be ing proper ly represented as a per fo rmer. In over ten years o f work ing as h is l i ve sound eng ineer , I have bu i l t up suf f i c ient t rus t tha t he

commiss ioned me to reco rd , eng ineer and produce h is f i rs t ever l ive a lbum, The Road To He l l And Back , re leased in September 2006 .

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WITH R.G. JONES SOUND ENGINEERING My f i rs t job a f te r hav ing moved to London in 1979 was as a van dr iver w i th South

London sound equ ipment renta l company R G Jones Sound Eng ineer ing . My ent i re career s ince then has been connected w i th them in some way , whether as an employee o r as a f ree la ncer . I t was th i s company that gave me the un ique ground ing in the aud io indus try tha t few o thers have been lucky enough to exper ience . My

pos i t ions there have inc luded van dr iver , r ig ger , s to reman, jun io r eng ineer , sen io r eng ineer , sys tem des igner , sa les manager and pro ject manager . I am now a consu l tant d i recto r w i th the company but rema in se lf - employed. My c l ients come to

me, I go to R G Jones, the c l ient gets a great resu l t . I t ’ s a proven fo rmula tha t cont inues to be h igh ly successfu l . Over the years the work has ex tens ive ly inc luded c lass i ca l mus ic (someth ing fo r which bo th R G Jones and I a re renowned) , te lev is ion, conference , tour ing , and majo r pub l i c events . I t is an assoc ia t ion o f which I am

proud, espec ia l l y as the company has the enviab le reputa t ion as the o ldes t es tab l i shed sound company in the UK (s ince 1926) , and ho lds Her Majes ty The Queen ’s Roya l Warrant f o r aud io serv ices to the Roya l Househo ld .

Some of the pro jects in which I have p layed a majo r part fo r R G Jones inc lude :

C lass i ca l Spectacu la r , UK and Europe fo r Raymond Gubbay L td . S ince 1993

and s t i l l go ing s t rong

D-Day 50 th Ann iversary Commemorat ions, Normandy , F rance – th i s invo lved

the des ign and ins ta l la t ion o f a d i screet sys tem on the sens i t i ve s i te of the B r i t i sh War Cemetery in Bayeux , fo r addresses by Heads Of Sta te inc lud ing John Majo r , P res ident Bush and P res ident M i tte rand. I t was a l so necessary to ins ta l l a sys tem on the beach a t Arromanche between t ides fo r H .M.Queen

to address assembled veterans .

VE Day 50 th Ann iversary Ce lebra t ions , Hyde Park sa te l l i te s tages and

Buck ingham Pa lace fo r Majo r S i r M ichae l Parker KCVO CBE

K ing Husse in ’s Jub i lee Access ion Ce lebra t ions, Amman, Jo rdan fo r Majo r S i r Michae l Parker KCVO CBE

Open-a i r c lass i ca l concerts throughout UK fo r Leeds Cas t le , Roya l Opera , RPO, IMG, Wor ld Cho i r among many o thers

Hen ley Fes t iva l o f Mus ic and the Arts 1985 – p resent Myr iad telev i s ion shows , inc lud ing G lad ia to rs , M iss Wor ld , An Aud ience Wi th. .

Joy To The Wor ld 1992 – 1995 a t the Roya l Alber t Ha l l fo r Ma jo r S i r M ichae l Parker KCVO CBE

The Go lden Jub i lee Ce lebra t ions 2002 C i t tav iveka Buddhis t Temple , Sussex – des ign and commiss ion ing fo r a new

sound sys tem in the aes thet i ca l l y sens i t i ve Dhamma Ha l l . The sound sys tem is essent ia l l y inv is ib le .

HM Queen ’s Go lden Wedd ing Anniversary Ga la Concert , Roya l Fes t iva l Ha l l ,

November 1997

Papa l V i s i t , 1982

Opening of Thames Barr ie r by H.M.Queen 1982

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MARTIN AUDIO LIMITED – MLA ADVOCATE

Mart in Aud io is a B r i t i sh manufacturer of pro fess iona l loudspeakers a t the h ighes t level . Recent ly they in t roduced a revo lut ion in loudspeaker

des ign that threatens to turn the indus try on i ts head, in the fo rm o f Mul t i -Ce l lu la r Loudspeaker Array techno logy , MLA. The MLA range o f products i s such a

rad ica l departure f rom the herd that I wanted to be a part of the revo lut ion, and lend my name and reputa t ion to someth ing that f i t ted in w i th my ph i lo soph ies on how to make the wor ld a bet te r

sound ing p lace .

Wi th th i s sys tem i t is now poss ib le to accura te ly pred ic t and create the mos t ega l i ta r ian son ic exper ience fo r an aud ience yet . As a too l f o r cover ing an aud i to r ium i t has no equa l . As a dev ice fo r de l i ver ing the h ighes t f ide l i ty aud io , i t

has no equa l . I am now contracted on a re tained bas i s w i th Mart in Aud io as an advocate of MLA . Hav ing been us ing the sys tem s ince i ts inception some two years ago , I am we l l

qua l i f i ed to speak w i th author i ty on the massive advantages th i s sys tem has over a l l o f the compet i t ion.

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AS A FREELANCE SOUND ENGINEER..

Royal Mi li tary Tattoo 2000 – Ass is tant sound des igner and FOH. A majo r product ion a t Horse Guards Parade in Centra l London, summer 2000 . A very la rge d is t r ibuted sound sys tem was used to convey the s to ry of the defence o f G reat B r i ta in through h is to ry . The show had a m ix ture o f l i ve act ion and mul t i t rack reproduct ion,

supported by 300 march ing bandsmen, m iked to f i t w i th the reco rded mater ia l . The soundtrack inc luded the exp los ion o f a nuc lear bomb.

Janadriyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 1999 – Ass i s tant des igner to John De l Nero fo r a ce lebra t ion of the 100 t h ann iversary o f the re -un if i ca t ion o f Saud i Arab ia , produced by Majo r M ichae l Parker KCVO CBE .

13 t h As ian Games Opening & C los ing Ceremonies, Bangkok, Thai land, December 1998 – Sound consu l tant fo r s tadium PA sys tem, aud io m ix fo r broadcas t to a po tent ia l v iew ing aud ience of 1 .5 b i l l ion.

Moscow 850, Red Square 1998 – FOH fo r B r i tann ia Row Product ions . Th is was a theatre product ion, c lass i ca l concert , po l i t i ca l s ta tement , h i s to ry lesson and po tent ia l pub l i c d i sas te r a l l in one . Fo r tunate ly , on ly one member of the crew was

s tabbed, and i t wasn ' t me.

The C lass ical Brit Awards, Royal Albert Hal l – Sound des ign fo r a majo r awards show w i th a la rge l i ve mus ic content . A r t i s ts appear ing have inc luded Nige l

Kennedy , Les ley Garre t t and Ju l ian L loyd Webber . Karl Jenkins ’ Adiemus project – Sys tem des ign and FOH. Th is show

invo lves the mus ica l mould ing o f a t rad i t iona l o rches t ra w i th a la rge a rray o f e th n ic percuss ion, n ine incred ib le voca l i s ts s ing ing an invented language, so lo reco rders , gu i ta rs , p ipes and fema le voca ls w i th pre - reco rded percuss ion and c l i ck t racks. Kar l ’ s unique mus ic i s a very powerfu l son ic fo rce when p layed l ive , and is one of the mos t

thr i l l i ng m ix jobs I have ever had. Heineken Night Live 2001, 2002, Ahoy Stadium, Rotterdam – two la rge

sca le rock “var ie ty” shows fo r which I m ixed f ront o f house . Featured ar t i s ts were Madness, Steve Winwood, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Shaggy , En Vogue p lus many o thers

Songs And Vis ions, Wembley Stadium August 1997 – FOH fo r B r i tann ia Row Product ions . The show was a la rge product ion fea tur ing majo r a r t i s ts such as Rod Stewart , Jon Bon Jov i , Sea l, Robert Pa lmer (RIP) , Mary J B l ige & k d lang,

perfo rm ing w i th a band of the wor ld ’s bes t sess ion mus ic ians and an o rches t ra .

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Var ious events fo r the reco rd indus try , mos t ly fo r Sony and BMG, inc lud ing showcases by many es tab l ished ar t i s ts (A l i c ia Keys , Kosheen, John Mayer , Chr i s t ina Agu i le ra)

A few tours & shows I remember . .

Gary Bar low UK Tour – 1999 – FOH – I remember i t , but Gary would ra ther

no t A l l Sa ints UK Tour – 1999 – FOH – they sacked me, thank GOD. . . .

Boyzone - 1998 - FOH – cou ldn ’ t ge t i t loud enough to get above the screaming

Mid land ’97 Fes t iva l , Ba t te rsea Power Sta t ion fo r SSE – FOH – every th ing was f ine unt i l The Prod igy showed up. . .

Awards shows – everybody does these , here a re some I can reca l l Nat iona l Te lev is ion Awards , Roya l A lber t Ha l l

Wor ld Sports Awards , Sport ing C lub, Monaco

Wor ld Mus ic Awards , Sport ing C lub, Monaco (spent qu i te a lo t of t ime there

over the years – go t to m ix Stevie Wonder one t ime!) B r i t i sh Rock and Pop Awards – i n the ear ly 80’s , befo re i t became the B r i ts

Lord Of The Dance June 1996 - Jan 1997 FOH Eng ineer/Sound Des igner , M icha e l F la t ley 's Lo rd o f the Dance i naugura l

Wor ld Tour . Th is inc luded a majo r invo lvement in the creat ion of the show ’s soundtrack , f ea tur ing quad e f fects and mus ic combined w i th a l i ve e ight piece band, and adapt ing the sound des ign to f i t in to venues as the tour progressed.

And going even further back.. . Aida , Ear l ’ s Court 1989

Luc iano Pavaro t t i , va r ious European venues 1989 - 1991 Jean M iche l -Ja rre Dock lands concerts 1990

S i l k Cut Country Mus ic Fes t iva l 1988 M i l i ta ry Tat toos in Germany and UK fo r Majo r S i r M ichae l Parker KCVO CBE

TX sound ba lance eng ineer , L if es ty le TV

PA sys tems fo r the ex t inct ion of the d inosaurs

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THE BEGINNING.. . 1977 - 1979 Per fo rm ing mus ic ian, genera l boatya rd work , boat de l i very a round SW

Eng land, Europe and N .Af r i ca

CURRENT AMBITIONS To use my ex tensive exper ience and sk i l l s to in f luence good pract i ce in sound and

acous t i c des ign in a l l a reas o f the creat ive and pub l i c secto rs Be a bet te r gu i ta r i s t (s t i l l t ry ing af te r 40 years )

Be a good fa ther and grandfa ther Deve lop my sk i l ls as a husband

Be a bet te r cook To cons tant ly improve my creat ive ab i l i ty and ensure that i t benef i ts o thers .

To create a ground ing in educat ion fo r the indus try to which I have ded ica ted my work ing l i fe .

To drag the South Wes t o f Eng land k ick ing and screaming into the 21 s t Century o f event product ion.

I f you ’ve go t th i s fa r and haven ’ t dozed of f , you ’ re e i ther look ing fo r somebody who ’s

no t a sound eng ineer , o r you can ’ t f ind somebody to do a rea l l y spec i f i c job , l i ke ampl i fy the sound o f p lank ton o r someth ing l ike tha t . We l l , look no fur ther , because I ’ve done that too . Ser ious ly .