Los Angeles, CA (April 5, 2024)—Composer, pianist and producer Leo Z deployed his personal collection of Telefunken microphones to record a new album by Italian handpan artist David Friello.
Friello, born in Florence, Italy, is a prolific touring and recording musician, composer and percussionist. The majority of the handpan selections on Friello’s fourth album, Amplexus, were co-composed by Friello and producer Leo Z.
The handpan consists of two metal half-shells welded together, a center tone field surrounded by a circle of at least seven tone fields on the upper side, with an opening in the bottom side. For the new album, Leo Z employed two M60 FET pencil mics on the side of the pan, two ELA M 260 tube mics with omni capsules above the pan, and an M82 dynamic mic underneath the pan.
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“The combination of these Telefunken mics beautifully captures the spacious and ethereal sound of the handpan,” says Leo Z, “while retaining the unique percussive qualities of this remarkable instrument.”
He continues, “The overhead ELA M 260s bring an airiness and transparency to the way we capture sound, especially for this type of impressionistic, acoustic and intimate type of music.” The 260 stereo set features two matched ELA M 260 microphones and a custom dual power supply powering both microphones. In previous recordings, Leo Z has used his 260s on piano, viola, violin and woodwinds.
