BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – JANUARY 2013: A successful Argentinean businessman and a splendid trumpet player, Jorge Fort recognized the need for a high-end recording studio in Argentina that successfully leveraged the strengths of both digital and analog technology. With the help of well-known Buenos Aires recording engineer Oscar Gimenez, he built and developed Fort Music over the last seven years to become one of the premier recording destinations in Argentina. Advised by SL Audio, API’s distributor in Argentina, Fort Music upgraded its existing 16-channel API 1608 to thirty-two channels with full automation. The new arrangement helped propel trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval’s recent release, Tango, Como Yo Te Siento, to popular success and a Latin Grammy win for “Best Tango Album.”
“Lots of now-famous Argentinean records in the Jazz, Pop, Rock, and Tango traditions have been recorded on Fort Music’s API 1608,” said Daniel Paracha, who, together with Sergio Levinsonas, are on staff at SL Audio and assisted with the original purchase, as well as the more recent purchase of the 16-channel expander. “But it was in the hands of Arturo Sandoval that Fort Music received well-deserved recognition in the form of a Latin Grammy. Sandoval and Fort produced and engineered Tango, Como Yo Te Siento.”
The album title translates to “Tango, As I Feel You,” which is an apt description for its heartfelt contents. Sandoval collected the world’s greatest tangos, all of which were composed by “true artists… true musicians” in Sandoval’s words. The great compositions are elevated by Sandoval’s masterful vision and the skills of a vast ensemble of world-renowned musicians. Many of the recording sessions involved huge, multi-mic setups that were made possible by the 32-channel API 1608. Its 500-series expansion slots are loaded with API processors and other VPR-approved units. Outboard gear includes an API 2500 Stereo Buss Compressor, and Pro Tools HD serves as the recording and editing platform.
“The recording sessions for Sandoval’s Grammy-winner consisted of renowned artists from many different genres,” expanded Paracha. “Indeed, there were as many as sixty-four musicians on any given song. Some moments feature fifty string players! The location is huge, and this is a recording without precedent in Argentina. A-list vocalists, such as Valeria Lynch, Patricia Sosa, and Raul Lavie, among others, also contributed to the project.” Fort Music’s upgrade to thirty-two channels makes it the owner of Argentina’s largest API console and is a decisive factor in attracting new artists and producers to work at the studio.
ABOUT API (AUTOMATED PROCESSES, INC.) Established more than 40 years ago, Automated Processes, Inc. is the leader in analog recording gear with the Vision, Legacy Series and 1608 recording consoles, as well as its classic line of modular signal processing equipment.
