Oxford, UK (January 18, 2019)—London-born DJ, songwriter, record producer and remixer Guy Robin—AKA Jonas Blue—has a new home-based facility centered on an SSL AWS 948 δelta console.
“It’s been an 18-month project, but it’s been well worth it,” says Robin, a Brit Award-nominee. “It’s a fully commercial space, which a lot of people are not doing these days, but I see the long-term benefits. I have always wanted to work with bands; I am producing a girl group at the moment, and I look forward to doing more of that kind of work in here.”
Robin’s debut single, “Fast Car,” sold over six million records worldwide, and was the biggest-selling single globally in 2016 from a debut British artist, securing the top spot in the iTunes Chart in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Australia. It achieved multi-platinum status in numerous territories, with a monumental one billion streams.
The new studio was built with Justin Spier at Studio Creations. It comprises three rooms: a control room, live room and synth room.
“Justin had seen my previous studio, which had no desk—it was based around an interface and my MacBook Pro—but I loved that way of working, because everything was in front of me the whole time. I wanted to keep that element, but bring in the SSL as my studio centerpiece, so we pulled the arms, arm rest and meter bridge off of the console and had a whole new frame built for it, which allowed me to put my Doepfer MIDI keyboard in, effectively as part of the console itself.”
Robin’s preferred vocal chain is a Neumann U87 vintage, into a Tube-Tech CL 1B compressor, into a BAE Audio 1083 preamp, then into the SSL.
“I already use the SSL for a whole bunch of different things, but the idea is that down the line, it will be used constantly when I am producing bands; I will have the full scope of the desk to be able to accommodate them,” he says. “The great thing about the AWS console is that you can have full control over Logic, and it creates a digital mixer that way, or you can actually use it for its true analog quality. If I’ve got musicians in, or if I’m recording vocals, I always put everything through the SSL, as it’s such an incredible sounding desk.”
Solid State Logic • www.solidstatelogic.com
