THE INTERVIEW ON PROAUDIO ASIA WITH KAMAL MAHTANI -JAN FEB 08 Issue
(http://www.proaudioasia.com/paa/article.asp?cid=1085)
PRESS RELEASE // 14 February 2007
Recording Studio Promises International Sound for Singapore Talents - Singapore:
Recording Studio Sound Advice opens its doors to cater to up-and-coming talents in the Singapore music scene. Located in a colonial-era shop house within the 1.4km-long stretch of Joo Chiat Road, amidst quaint buildings bearing a rich history of a diverse mix of communities that add flavour to the area, Kamal Mahtani, owner and sound engineer of Sound Advice is thrilled to see his dream come true.
“I have been patiently saving up, discussing with local bands their recording needs, and of course looking for a place that will add spice to the location of my recording studio and it has finally come true,” says Kamal. Joo Chiat Road is famous for its delicious cuisine, eclectic architecture, and mix of interesting trades. On the second floor of one of these shop houses are the recording facilities of Sound Advice. Within the office is a spiral staircase that leads to a lobby featuring a unique skylight.
“This is our chill-out area, where we provide guests with plug-ins for their MP3-players or iPods. We also have a CD player and turntable available for them to listen to their own CDs and vinyl records if they want to,” says Kamal.
The lobby is between the Recording Room and the Mix-Down Room. Kamal is especially pleased with some of the equipment featured in his studio. “In our Recording Room, our Guitar Amps are from Orange UK. Most top British bands use Orange as it is a tube amp which offers a “fat and full” warm “Brit-pop” kind of sound. We are going to try and create the same sound for our local bands in our studio. We are also using top of the range Rode Microphones which, we are certain, will be a hit with the musicians.
“In our Mix-Down Room, we have a 32-channel Tascam digital console and a Steinberg Nuendo software, Genelec monitor speakers, and taking centre-stage is our set of Neve microphone pre-amps,” highlights a very pleased Kamal.
The “live” independent pop/rock music scene in Singapore has been seeing steady growth in recent years, with almost every month seeing several gigs featuring local pop or rock bands that often attract very sizeable audiences. The Singapore government’s support for local performing arts, as well as the success of talent shows like Singapore Idol, has obviously fuelled greater interest in the local music scene. Also with ever-growing sales of albums released by Singapore bands in recent years, no doubt there is increasing acceptance of “homegrown” music amongst Singaporeans. Kamal’s objective is to meet the needs of this growing talent scene in Singapore.
“We have the full capability to help bands with their demos and albums,” says Kamal.
In fact, one of the most critically acclaimed indie rock bands Singapore has produced, Electrico (http://electricomusic.com), has already been checking out the facilities at Sound Advice.
"We've been wearing in the equipment at Sound Advice and I’ve got to say, the room sounds amazing! The Orange amps are the best I have ever played, and the drum tones made me wet my pants! It really made us sound like the real deal! Sound Advice is the SEX!" says David Tan of Electrico.
Kamal himself is a musician and was involved in bands since his teenage years, including a stint as a drummer in the Singapore Armed Forces Band. In the late 1990’s, he was part of a band named Sherene’s Closet which mainly played Brit-style indie pop and released an album titled “Kept Secrets.”
“My passion for music started at a very young age since I was seven or eight. Even during my days at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE), I would always book the studios to hone my recording skills. Being a musician and a songwriter, and having been on the other side as a recording engineer, I believe that Sound Advice will be able to capture the essence of the songs through our recording and mixing capabilities for the local bands. We have the best equipment, competitive rates and the experience to create better sound,” concludes Kamal.
Working in tandem with Kamal, will be Peter Hendricks - the other sound engineer at Sound Advice. Peter has been responsible for a number of concert set-ups including those for Muse, Toto, INXS and Yngwie Malmsteen when these artistes played in Singapore. Peter has also engineered for a number of events, including for the Singapore Chinese Orchestra during the recent Singapore Arts Festival, the KDF Charity Show, as well as for “Music in the Park” by the American Association.
By Thomas Richard, Entertainment Magazine