Patrick Wolf: iLive And Kicking

A live performance from a musician with the flamboyant creativity Patrick Wolf possesses demanded technical equipment that was not only flexible, but conveyed the quirkiness and rich sound of each track to the audience. And as the fans listened intently as the talented performer belted out new songs and old favourites in the underground East London venue Concrete; it was clear the audio kit had delivered on all fronts.
    At just 28, eccentric Londoner and classically-trained musician Wolf already has five albums to his name and lists Arcade Fire and Amy Winehouse in the catalogue of high profile acts he has played with. Categorising the artist’s repertoire of songs into a musical genre is difficult due to the array of instruments that he incorporates and the multitude of influences that are drawn on - from folk through to electro pop.
    Patrick’s performance at Concrete was no ordinary gig – the singer-songwriter and his band of musicians were starring in one of a series of intimate shows organised by Q magazine. The East London event, which followed on from a string of festival performances and the launch of Patrick’s latest album Lupercalia, was additionally being recorded for Q radio, making it crucial to capture audio of the highest quality.

CONSOLE OF CHOICE
FOH Engineer Fabrizio Piazzini and Monitor Engineer Jamie Hickey chose two Allen & Heath iLive-R72 digital mixing systems for the performance, connected via Audinate’s Dante audio networking solution with a split to record multiple channels. To capture the range of instruments and vocals - from sweeping strings through to the mellow sound of the bass clarinet - a total of 37 inputs, six stereo mixes for the players on stage, side-fills and a spare stereo mix were needed.
    “A specific type of mixing desk was selected to suit Patrick’s style and allow for the fact so many instruments were being played at once on stage. If we were mixing the show on an analogue desk, we would need something much larger. With all the outboards, racks and compressors; it would probably be a truck full,” Hickey highlighted.
    With the stage racks handling all of the digital signal processing, the system is digitally split for FOH and monitors, and then the digital interface option ‘Port B’ was used to open up the possibilities for digital mic splitting and multi-track recording. The onstage iDR-64 MixRack was chosen for monitors, whereas FOH made use of Allen & Heath’s iDR-16 as a local MixRack. “At FOH, I have XLR ins and outs for my local mixes, effects and recordings. The R72 offers us a total of 64 links each way that we can put anything into, but we decided to link the mics from monitor to FOH for this show,” explained Piazzini, who has worked with artists such as Kula Shaker, Tindersticks, VVBrown and Kano.
    According to Allen & Heath Product Manager Leon Phillips - who often provides support at gigs to engineers using the manufacturer’s equipment - one of the popular features of the R72 desk is how easy it is to configure: “There are so many tricks you can do with our system. For example, because it is network controlled, you can run the mixing console from a laptop. This means even if you haven’t got the desk with you or it is in an inaccessible place, if there’s a Wi-Fi connection you can use a laptop, iPod or iPad running our software and still mix.”
    The flexibility of the portable system proved invaluable in a small venue such as Concrete; fitting easily into the confined space near the bar from which Piazzini mixed FOH. Hickey found the desk offered him all the features he needed on monitors too: “When you’re mixing in-ear monitors there’s no get out of jail free card. If the musicians take their IEMs out they can’t hear anything, so all mixes have to be spot on. The R72 is so compact that when we played at T in the Park we just rocked up with the 19-inch wide rack, which had all our transmitters in it, a splitter and a surface. In terms of practicality, the iLive is fantastic and has enough user-defined keys and channels. It’s intuitive, flexible and sounds great.”

A DEMANDING MIX
Multi-instrumentalist Wolf is not one to stick to the conventional in his songwriting, presenting an interesting challenge for FOH Engineer Piazzini, who wanted the tracks to retain all of their unique style and presence.
    “Patrick has a very elaborate style, so it’s great the iLive R72 system has a lot of headroom and you can really drive the inputs. Even if he goes nuts and plays really hard, it’s not going to start distorting. With other systems, you would have to set your gains lower because you know you’ll start running out of headroom,” explained Piazzini.
    Like most artists, Wolf has a specific idea of the sound he wants to achieve when performing live. “He listened to my recordings at gigs and gave feedback. Patrick really knows what he wants, so it can be a challenge because it’s not my sound; it’s his. He has high production values and I always make notes of what needs to come up and down on the tracks. I also consider what we can get rid of, that is buried in the mix. Sometimes, there are so many layers in live music and you don’t always need them all,” said Piazzini.
    Both Hickey and Piazzini are fans of the desk’s control and channel layouts and extensive range of features that can be used to apply effects to vocals and enhance the mix. “In terms of on-board features, all of the effects are fantastic. I use the classic 480 Chamber on strings and Patrick’s vocal. I also use a delay, which is so easy - you just tap and it happens. There’s a great gated-plate for the snare too. You just dial it in and tweak it to produce the effect of an in-your-face ‘80s snare,” Piazzini added.
    Wolf’s fondness of tap delay led to it being frequently used throughout the performance, alongside other special effects including standard reverbs. Piazzini admits mixing the number of instruments that play in Wolf’s show is demanding: “You really need to control the dynamics and the albums are extremely well produced too. I need to give back, but it also needs to sound like a gig. Even though Patrick likes a clinical sound; he still wants it to be a bit dirty at the same time.”
    Due to the challenges presented when mixing multi-instrumentalists - who might play violin one minute and flute the next - at FOH, Piazzini made use of the iLive console’s ability to save and recall scenes: “I have one scene per song because, for example, one musician in the band plays sax, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute, the guitar and piano and it can become pretty tricky to mix.
    “At FOH, sometimes you’re far away with your head buried away so you can’t always see which instrument is being played - this is the beauty of scenes. If a set list changes, the bass player can talk to everyone -including me at FOH - using a switch mic. At the end of every song I put my headphones on and if the set changes, I dial in the right song.”

MONITORING WITH PRECISION
Before mixing monitors for Wolf, freelance Engineer Jamie Hickey worked with bands such as Tindersticks, Kula Shaker and David Gray. However, Hickey and Piazzini’s working relationship extends back further than Wolf’s current tour: “I met Fabrizio in 2007 doing my first job for PA company Britannia Row and we just clicked. We were working on an epic arena tour featuring large school choirs - up to 9,000 kids at one point - singing with a 14-piece band and guest soloists,” explained Hickey. “When Kula Shaker needed a FOH, I called Fabrizio; and then the same happened with Tindersticks. Fabrizio recommended me for the Patrick Wolf gig – it was kind of my payback. In this industry, it’s a very small world in which you mix and once you get on with people you tend to pull them into your circle.”
    Unlike Piazzini, Hickey prefers to mix on-the-fly and chooses not to use scenes in case of set list changes: “I’ve found some artists can get a bit thrown by the concept of scenes. By mixing on-the-fly, you learn the changes within songs and I find it keeps it more interesting and creative.”
    No on-stage wedge monitors were used throughout the performance, with Hickey instead opting for full in-ear monitoring. Three Sennheiser EW300 G3 IEMs were used by Wolf, the violinist and the wind instrument player; with Patrick also wearing JH Audio’s JH16 custom in-ear pieces. The drummer, bass player and keyboard player were using Shure P6HW Hardwired packs. “At festivals and larger gigs I use side fills just to add a little bit of extra clout to the kick drums. I’ve done this to keep the stage volume down; so the only noise coming off stage is the drum kit, which is a cleaner mix for FOH,” added Hickey.
    Having previously used the iLive T80 console on two European tours with Tindersticks, Hickey was dubious about changing to the smaller R72 and questioned whether it would have enough functionality. “I was concerned about flipping between layers. However, once you learn the layers, it’s really quick. One of the differences between iLives and other consoles is that you can fully customise the layout and you don’t need to have all your inputs on one side and outputs on the other. The feedback you get from Allen & Heath is great too - they’re really keen to interact with the engineers and every version of firmware that’s come out has had another new feature in it.”

SOUNDING SPOT ON
Having such a range of instruments on stage meant that an equally diverse selection of microphones were utilised throughout the performance. Two Audio-Technica AT4050’s were used on the overheads, with another Audio-Technica AT350 on the snare bottom. In addition, one Schertler A-Dyn contact mic was on the harp and two Schertler Basik mics on the bass clarinet and clarinet. Meanwhile, two of Sennheiser’s G2 500 radio mics with an E935 capsule on Wolf’s vocal and the spare vocal.
    “You can get a really warm sound from the Schertler microphones. We used to have one of them on the ukelele as well, but Patrick prefers having a jack in rather than an XLR for that. Sometimes we use them on the piano too and they sound exceptional,” said Piazzini.
    “Patrick also loves his Sennheiser 935 capsule vocal mic - he’s never looked back since I gave him one to try. It gives me the brightness and crispness needed and sits on the mix easy. It’s all about making it easy when there’s so much going on and multiple performers are playing.”
    The PA system for the performance was supplied by the venue; comprising a d&b audiotechnik rig with two Q7’s and two Q-Subs per side. Schertler’s contact microphone also delivered on the night, according to Piazzini: “The Swiss brand produces amazing handmade mics. It gives me so much dynamic on the harp and, even though it’s a small instrument, I can make it sit on the mix as loud as I need to.”
    For the drums, the Audio-Technica AT4050 multi-pattern mics were placed in a figure of eight configuration - giving them complete separation from the cymbals. The natural sound of the mics was the deciding factor for Piazzini: “When the drummer is playing the cymbals you feel like you’re on top of them listening. They’re not like some mics that add colour - that’s not what we’re after. We’re looking for a clean sound that is realistic instead of heavily processed with a lot of EQ and colour in it. It’s about capturing the real sound of the cymbal.”
    Additional microphones were incorporated into the performance, after encountering difficulties picking up the sound of the bass clarinet. The quietness of the instrument presented a challenge the crew tried to overcome by trialing a variety of mics. “We just couldn’t get enough level out of it so we put another Schertler contact mic on the reed and now it works fantastically. It’s a very unusual instrument that not many musicians use, but Patrick’s recordings feature it so we need to hear it when he performs live,” said Piazzini.
   
DANTE’S PEAK
When carefully selecting kit to use, the engineers took into account that a recording of the performance needed to be mixed down for Q radio. To complete the task, Audinate’s Dante virtual soundcard was installed on two MacBook Pro laptops to run multi-track recording software Reaper. Phillips explained: “This captures everything that has been sent from the system and records it onto the laptops to be mixed down later; with the second laptop acting as a backup. The beauty of Dante is that you can have multiple devices connected on it.
    “There were various options available: use MADI, which would involve external hardware and more expense, or use Dante, which Allen & Heath had recently launched. It was simple, just take out two screws, pop in the Dante cards and use the same CAT 5 connections.”
    Piazzini, who wanted to capture everything using Dante to mix down later, added: “It’s a small venue so it is not realistic to just record straight out of the system - it would sound strange and you need to give the listener what the band sounds like.”
     According to Phillips, mixing in a small room is always difficult because the crowd is near to the band, making FOH trickier to balance. The Dante soundcard allowed Piazzini to come away from the venue, set up a pair of speakers and then mix the audio back through the iLive console. “He will play it out of the Macs back through Dante and into the iLive; so he can mix the show without the band and it will sound exactly like it did when they played on the night. He can do all of the effects and mixing he wants with complete control and produce a nice mix down without having to worry about capturing it on the night,” said Phillips.
    Hickey, who had never used Dante before, was impressed by the options it and Reaper opened up: “I was astounded by how easy Dante was to set up; a few downloads, plug in a couple of Ethernets cables and you’ve got 64 channels each way. You don’t need any extra hardware; it just works from the Ethernet port of your laptop. Reaper is fantastic too because it has a secondary backup that records simultaneously to two drives, so if you have a glitch on one of the drives then the chances are the other one won’t have the same problem.”

TRANSPORTING TECHNOLOGY
According to Wolf’s Manager Sam Smith, in addition to an incredible band and team of people supporting him on tour, the tech set-up has been integral to how problem-free his recent appearances at UK and international festivals have been: “We started the year doing a few dates before the album was out and then Allen & Heath came on board after our engineers said they needed the iLive R72 desks; partly because they are so portable and can fit in small venues.
    “We’re ending the year with a 10-date UK tour and a three-week European tour. Throughout this, everything at the Concrete show will be used because it has performed so well. Patrick relays his trust to his team and, from my point of view, knowing something is portable and cheap is what sold it for me. It’s important we can take it with us internationally because quite often we are flying in and out to shows in one day.”
    This is something Piazzini agrees has been essential at this summer’s festivals; pointing out the system was chosen partly for its size and scalability: “At festivals, we often don’t get allocated a lot of space on stage or FOH. When we tell the organisers we’re bringing our desks, they are often skeptical. However, if we mention the desk is only 19-inches wide and that’s all we need at FOH or on stage, they say it’s fine.”
    The crew, who fly with the desks and hire racks locally, decided to swap the larger modular iLive-112 desk at FOH and the iLive-T112 consoles on monitors, which were used on tour, with the more compact R72 for smaller venues and festivals. Said Piazzini: “On the bigger desks, you can access some things slightly quicker without having to flip pages and there are more faders and buttons, but the R72 is ideal for smaller gigs and I wouldn’t change it for any other console.”
TPi

www.patrickwolf.com

www.allen-heath.com