Paris, France (July 16, 2018)—Making a name for itself in the competitive Parisian recording scene, Jolokia Studio (named after a type of chili pepper) has been steadily growing since its start in 2014.
Studio owner and sound engineer Dany Maatouk runs the place with his girlfriend Katia Pereira de Almeida: “I look after recording, mixing and mastering whilst Katia manages the studio planning, accounts and often helps with some of the technical stuff.”
That team effort is beginning to pay off, with the genres that the studio tackles growing (“We’re producing a metal band, a funk band and a pop rock project right now, and work worldwide with a number of international artists, too”), and more artists returning to create new work within its confines.
“[I love] When I finish producing a project with a band or artist, and they come back to do some more—even if they had bigger opportunities,” said Maatouk. “The compliment we get a lot is that the musicians feel great with us in the studio and they can’t see themselves recording in another place.”
The studio’s mix room is centered around an ASP4816 console from Audient, which Maatouk chose after extensive deliberation. “This many possibilities in a 100 cm by 100 cm console is pretty amazing,” he said. “It is the only console that offers 16 channel strips with inline architecture, giving you the option to use it as a 40-channel mixing desk. In addition to all that, you add an amazing bus compressor, some very high-quality preamps and a ton of monitoring possibilities.”
Describing Jolokia Studio as a hybrid studio, Maatouk prides himself in being able to offer both fully analog as well as ‘in the box’ mixing services, the studio itself boasting analog gear to complement the Audient desk, along with plug-ins and an Icon Control Surface: “What I really like to do is to use the best of both worlds. I’ll start a mix entirely analog-style out of the box, and then continue it in the box using some crazy effects and automations.”
For the couple, running their own studio their own way is a dream come true, he said: “It wasn’t always easy, but today, when we see our work being appreciated by so many artists and know that we are managing to make a living out of it, we could not be more happy.”
Audient • www.audient.com
