Atlanta Masters of Sound Event

Thanks to the generous support of KEF USA, and with the able assistance of the British Consulate in Atlanta, a thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by some 80 invited guests at the private residence of the British Consul-General in Atlanta. Kemela is honored that KEF chose to use this opportunity for the second in KEF's Masters of Sound series (the first was held in NYC earlier this year.) KEF's Jack Sharkey booked outstanding talent for the event - well known producer and recording engineer Ken Scott, and Grammy-nominated American folk music legends Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. More information about these very talented people can be found on Jack's blog about the event on KEF's website. kefblog

Ken's interactive audio and video presentation was a wonderful tour through the history of audio recor ding technology from the simple 4 track recordings Ken worked on for several of the Beetles albums to today's auto-tuned rigid beat "as many tracks as you want" productions. His main theme was about how, in many ways, technology had progressively taken away much of the heart of soul of music. We got to hear rare audio snippets including a very passionate vocal mic feed from David Bowie who Ken considers to be one of the greatest vocalists he has worked with. And his second theme; the need to feel sound pressure from a good set of speakers that is simply not possible with ear buds.

Ken Scott

The audience was, I suspect, even more ready to receive Ken's message because they had just been treated to several songs from Gillian Welch and David Rawlins including "Six White Horses" from the very successful 2011 album "The Harrow and the Harvest." Hearing live music and experiencing sheer musicianship directly is always a reminder about the depth of musical communication. It was impossible not to be drawn in and witness the artistic focused mindset, and how intention, phrasing, timing, and willingness to convey genuine personal empathy is shared with the audience. Many fashionable hits can be overproduced becoming lifeless, monochromatic and rigidly formulaic that don't translate into emotional depth.

Preserving the essence of musicianship is what good recordings and sound reproduction are all about. The best recording engineers don't let technology get in the way of the human qualities of artistic judgment to preserve the emotional communication.

David Rawlins and Gillian Welch

There is no substitute for live music; we can only aspire with our sound reproducing equipment. The Blades were fed directly without equalization from the instruments via a small mixing unit and did a splendid job in the environment: far better than most PA speakers with live music with more resolution and a lack of coloration. It was not obvious that they were reinforcing the sound in the space.

Blades

Pose for a quick photo at the end of a most memorable and enjoyable evening. More pictures of the event from UKTIs facebook

Consul-General and Mrs Pilmore-Bedford with Ken, David, Gillian and myself (left)