Former Decca chief engineer and two-time Grammy Award winner James Lock (pictured) is now on staff at O Ganho do Som Studio in Lisbon, Portugal as chief engineer and international business consultant. His main focus is bringing in international classical music projects.
“Lisbon is such a warm and sunny capital, and the introductory post-production costs at this studio are way below anything you can get anywhere in the world for the same high-end quality,” Lock says. “Besides, if I had a dream for the ultimate listening experience, this facility would be it. I had never heard my recordings sounding so damn good!”
O Ganho do Som studio is owned by film sound designer João Ganho. “To have James here is the cherry on top of the cake,” he says. “With our amazing monitoring acoustics and his master knowledge, we will create absolutely stunning recordings and [mixes], in stereo and 5.1. Once again, James will be the man everyone will learn from in what regards the future of the recording industry!”
Lock is planning to re-master some late-’70s recordings in 5.1 surround. He also plans to go back on the road looking for great acoustic halls and orchestras. “The industry’s craft lost this delicate balance between the performance space and the performers,” Lock adds. “Now everything is so up close and dry, or boomy. With this amazing technology we have nowadays and the right craft, we can recreate the performance and venue in peoples’ homes like never before. At O Ganho do Som, we will fight for that. We have the tools and the human factor.”
The studio is also planning to present annual lectures by Lock, in which Lock discusses his preferred recording and mixing techniques.
“To lose all this master knowledge that Jimmy has is something I can’t conceive of,” says Ganho. “I want him to pass his legacy to the future generation of sound engineers. And, in the age of [the] Internet, we will be looking for the chosen ones throughout the world, even giving them the opportunity of working with us. I also want him to go forward with his idea of writing a book about his amazing life and the experiences he was exposed to during 40 years of recording the great artists of the world. I know he doesn’t feel like one of them, but sunny Portugal will be the perfect place for James to discover it himself while writing this book.”
For more information, visit www.oganhodosom.com.
