Andy Richards, one of the most prolific and successful producers in the global music community, has just installed the world’s first Euphonix DREAM Console at his Out of Eden digital studio in London. Out Of Eden is a music facility for production, mixing, recording, composition, writing and programming. Richards now expects to offer an even more creative range of music and post-production services using the high-end automation and processing provided by the 96-track DREAM Console.
According to Chris Pelzar, CEO of Fairlight USA, the fact that the first Fairlight DREAM Console goes into music production is significant. “The thinking behind the Fairlight DREAM Console was to design a console that brings the highest levels of quality, performance and reliability to a price point that makes sense in the music industry, and then to integrate a Fairlight editor without impacting the cost to the user,” Pelzar said. “With the DREAM Console, we’ve done exactly this, and we’re truly taking Fairlight’s legendary heritage in music production to new heights. The fact that Andy is our first DREAM Console customer is very fitting in this respect.”
The new DREAM Console replaces Out Of Eden’s Fairlight FAME2, and Richards sees this as a natural upgrade. “I’ve been a longtime user of Fairlight products, ranging from their Series 3 16-bit CMI sampler/sequencer in the mid-’80s to today’s stunning DREAM Console. The Console is even more sophisticated and unique than the FAME2, and comes with an incredible high-end feature set. It allows me to work faster and smarter.”
The DREAM Console is a fully featured digital audio mix console with an integrated 48-track disk recorder and editor powered by Fairlight’s QDC Technology. In addition, the console offers 96 channels returned to 48 mix buses, with full 6-band EQ and filtering and two-stage dynamics processing on each input simultaneously. This channel structure delivers into a multiformat busing system, which allows simultaneous generation of multiple surround formats plus bus-to-bus mixing for multi-stem work, ideal for Out Of Eden’s 5.1 surround work.
Also important to Richards is the unique grouping and panning system in the console, which allows smooth and simple manipulation of the mix matrix, ensuring that the most complex surround sound mixes can be accomplished with ease.
Richards explained, “With the console, I can keep all of the audio in the digital domain to ensure absolute integrity. In addition, I am able to perform complex 5.1 editing and enhance mixes within minutes to create the highest-quality audio that my clients have come to expect.”
Richards has worked on many high-profile projects using the FAME2, including Bridget Jones’s Diary, Ali G in Da House and The Parole Officer, and will shortly start work on mixing Kylie Minogue’s new live DVD and double-live album using the DREAM Console and Fairlight’s new V-motion hard disk video player/recorder system.
For more on the DREAM Console, visit Fairlight at www.fairlightesp.com.au.
