#6: The Smallest Studio
After the short, generic video recorded by Aaron Kovatar, Matt and Karu took every trainee through Minarin Building, including recording booths, green screens, and photography stages. Then, they finished the evening, and everyone went home for the next day.
The trainees split into two groups: both groups would take composition and production at different times.
Karu led his small class, including Toren, into the smallest production studio. It had a timber-laid booth, and a grey carpeted room for the large mixing station.
“You might wonder why we have such a big mixer in such a small studio,” Karu began. “Smaller artists and producers use this studio to record, but some of those producers have pre-recorded parts of their music in another studio. I use this for tests. Though my background music is elaborate, it starts here with a synthesiser. Then, it evolves into a full orchestra, where I use a larger studio.”
He turned on the desktop computer, then plugged in a USB he kept in his pocket. “We use NMix 13. What I’m about to open for you may have a few changes to the original synthesis. It’s a mock-up of Tali’s Theme, which I produced back in NMix 3.”
A trainee raised her hand. “Do you have sheet music for that?”
“I do. But I played it all by ear yesterday.” Karu pressed play.
The theme was sweet, but the tone got progressively darker. It was an iconic piece from a movie, though opinions changed about the movie over the years.
He pressed the space bar. “That is, I did that here after you left. It took three hours and playback of a CD containing the original mockup. I can’t show you the original, as legacy file extensions are no longer compatible since NMix 9. Bad idea, if you ask me. How many of you have experience with NMix?”
Three trainees and Tor put up their hands.
“I have a drum set rigged so my son Toren can play while another records him. How many of you have Youth Care Cards?”
Another few trainees raised their hand.
“To work with Tor, even in my presence, you’re going to need it. Who wants to go first?”
“Why are we working with a child in the first place?” asked a trainee with a frilly gold satin shirt - one without a youth care card. She was deadpan, with her chin up, but at the same time slouching. “Shouldn’t he be at school?”
“It’s the evening, Mara. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Karu ushered Toren into the recording booth, then adjusted the microphone.
Toren put on the headphones, then pulled a pair of drumsticks from his belt.
When Karu returned to the mixer, he found the others closed-off in their body language. He raised his brow in a friendly way. “Who was going first again?”
A woman with a shaven head stepped up and created a new project. Karu guided her through each step from the interface to the mixing table, counted in the recording, and called Tor to action.
On ‘go’, Tor started an even beat, then mixed up the rhythm every so often. He continued for a minute, unknowingly mesmerising the woman recording him and the ones behind her. A smile grew on his father’s face, which he only caught a glimpse of when his sight landed on the window.
Karu pressed the communication buttons. “Stop there!” He turned around to the others. “If we don’t stop him now, he’ll play until the snare’s ripped through. Stop and play back.”