SW London, May 2010 – Musician, songwriter and producer David P Goodes has recently taken delivery of an Audient Zen, through which he recorded and mixed the ultramodern pop track ‘Tallula’ for rising star Natt Weller.
Son of Paul ‘The Modfather’ Weller, Natt is carving out a style very much of his own - not only with his androgynous looks but also in his musical taste. Goodes has worked with Natt and co-writer/producer Judie Tzuke on five tracks so far, and with the help of the Zen has produced a stylish retro 80s feel.
“Zen has made a big difference sonically,” says Goodes a month after its arrival in his SW London studio. “I really love the sound of it; the mixes have more depth and clarity and the top end is cleaner too.
“I was mixing in the computer before I had Zen. I now have 16 high quality analogue outputs going through Zen from Apogee DA 16X which show off the desk’s abilities even more.” According to Goodes, Zen’s features are manifold. “I love the built in mix bus compressor – I use it on all my mixes now. Having faders and mute and solo is so useful for quickly checking things whilst mixing. It’s also really handy to have the busses as well.
“The centre console section is very comprehensive: things like the mono switch, 3-way monitor selection and dim switch really streamline my workflow. The cue section is great too, and means I can give my vocalists no compromise monitor mixes to work with,” he enthuses.
At its heart Zen is a compact, classic analogue recording and mixing console. Separate inputs provide the mic, line and the DAW return paths, offering a flexible system for connecting to a DAW or stand alone recorder. With individual DAW record outputs, mono and stereo buses, auxes, a sophisticated monitor section and an optional digital output interface, Zen allows simple audio connection to the rest of the production set-up.
“Everything feels more hands on and real having a proper mixing desk in my studio,” confirms Goodes. His resumé is star-studded, having spent nearly a quarter of a century in the music business prior to his collaboration with Weller Jnr. Currently working with Sony Europe signed singer Victorious, (from Swedish outfit Sugar Plum Fairy) on his first solo album and on projects with his own band Alphaville, there’s a lot for Goodes and his new Zen to be getting on with.
To hear his production using Zen and watch Natt Weller’s video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2iGIRqnRok
For more information please visit www.myspace.com/davidgoodes