David Richardson (audio engineer)
Encyclopedia
David Richardson, born in Harpenden
, Hertfordshire
, is an English music producer, audio engineer and musician. In 1968 he founded Sky Studios with rock band Jethro Tull
, the Studio later evolved to become leading facilities house, Sound Recording Technology (SRT).
and Ian Carr
, as a young producer he had production contracts with major labels like CBS
(now Sony Music) and George Martin
's Air label, distributed by EMI
. Apart from early roots in Jazz and Rock Music he also produced Pop records with artists that included Jet Harris
and The Tornados
and at the peak of their TV success, in the early eighties he co-wrote and produced Cannon and Ball
's Rock On Tommy album, receiving a Silver disc.
with business partner George Bellamy (former Tornado
and father of Matt Bellamy
of rock band Muse
). As an engineer he became interested and specialised in process control
as a challenge set to him by RCA
(now Sony Music), he created a method to produce a perfect 5 piece extrusion
moulding; the first perfectly playable audio Picture Disc. At this point no one had been able to create discs within a constant tolerance and without severe warping. In this procedure he was the first engineer to incorporate fuzzy logic
into the process control of the Record Press, by building his own logic controllers, thus he achieved RCA
's quality goal helping the factory to gain further substantial clients like Virgin
and Island
, the new system produced many very collectible chart topping products, ranging from Frankie Goes to Hollywood
, The Eurhythmics
and Boy George
.
started to decline, David turned his passions towards Digital Audio. Inspired by his experience in cutting the master acetate discs for vinyl record manufacturing, he became interested in developing Mastering for Compact Disc
. One observation he made was that many people were transferring analogue tapes raw to digital
, not realising the cutting engineer in the past would have added EQ
compression and even reverb
to the final disc cut. He found the using his skills as a producer and recording engineer he could add the final audio touch to the Digital Masters, his work on rapidly became a big success and the Audio facility grew to contain six studios. He was one of the first people in the world, in the mid nineties, to use 32-Bit
Digital EQ, David created the audio for a wide range of back catalogue and made a new success of many older recordings, some of which included the chart topping album One Step Beyond and the biggest selling Jazz CD of the nineties, Jazz on a Summer's Day, this made new hits of tracks like as Take Five
and The Girl from Ipanema
. Being an engineer at the start of the digital audio
revolution his work, plus the training of many technicians made a contribution towards establishing the present importance of Audio Mastering
, now a standard embellishment process, for most commercial audio products and in particular CD Audio.
Noise Shaping
; with a team of staff under his supervision he recorded over 120 high bit classical albums with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, working with some of the world’s leading performers and conductors, such as the late Yehudi Menuhin
and Sir Charles Mackerras. The narration for Peter and The Wolf
was produced by Richardson and recorded in London with the actor Sir John Gielgud. Sound Recording Technology's classical team recorded the RPO series on its own Mitsubishi 20-bit reel-to-reel machines in many locations, including CTS Studios in Wembley, Watford Town Hall, Abbey Road and at SRT's own studios in Edison Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire
. Each of the recordings were subject to 20-bit Sadie music editing, plus 32-bit
sound enhancements. The final outstanding recordings received critical acclaim in the leading classical publication The Gramophone
and most of the recordings are still widely available. In 1997, he and his music team collaborated with Buckingham Palace
to produce the official recording to commemorate the decommissioning of HMY Britannia
. The recording was of British music performed by the RPO
and Chorus conducted by Carl Davis
; it includes material such as Coronation Scot
, "Jerusalem"
and Rule, Britannia!
. The production team included, Music Producer; Matthew Dilley, Location Sound Recordist; Richard Millard, Editor; Andrew Lang and David Richardson who was executive producer. The final edited 20-bit master was treated with 32-bit sound processing and then scaled to the final master using a new format at the time, HDCD.
track for the original cult series The Prisoner
, which was re-released having been visually restored from the original film footage. David is presently Managing Director of Chapel Kensington an Audio Video Post facility. Sound Recording Technology in St Ives Cambridgeshire closed in September 2010, however; Chapel Kensington have purchased assets that include the domain brand name.
Harpenden
Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, is an English music producer, audio engineer and musician. In 1968 he founded Sky Studios with rock band Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, the Studio later evolved to become leading facilities house, Sound Recording Technology (SRT).
History
David learned piano from the age of four and developed a passion for electronics and sound recording. By his teens, he was already recording top Jazz artists of the day; this included names such as, Kathy StobartKathy Stobart
Florence Kathleen "Kathy" Stobart is a British jazz saxophonist. Her concentration is on tenor sax.Stobart first learned piano as a child. After picking up saxophone, she first played locally in Newcastle and then in London in the 1940s with Denis Rose, Ted Heath and Jimmy Skidmore. Later that...
and Ian Carr
Ian Carr
Ian Carr was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator.-Early years:Carr was born in Dumfries, Scotland, the elder brother of Mike Carr...
, as a young producer he had production contracts with major labels like CBS
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
(now Sony Music) and George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
's Air label, distributed by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. Apart from early roots in Jazz and Rock Music he also produced Pop records with artists that included Jet Harris
Jet Harris
Jet Harris, MBE was an English musician. He was the bass guitarist of The Shadows until April 1962, and had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with the drummer Tony Meehan....
and The Tornados
The Tornados
The Tornados were an English instrumental group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. Number One "Telstar" , the first U.S...
and at the peak of their TV success, in the early eighties he co-wrote and produced Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball are an English comedy double act consisting of Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham, Lancashire...
's Rock On Tommy album, receiving a Silver disc.
Manufacturing
In the mid-eighties he started a record factory in St Ives, CambridgeshireSt Ives, Cambridgeshire
St Ives is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England, around north-west of the city of Cambridge and north of London. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Huntingdonshire.-History:...
with business partner George Bellamy (former Tornado
The Tornadoes
The Tornadoes were a surf band from Redlands, California, the first to receive national airplay with a surf instrumental. The song was "Bustin' Surfboards", released on Aertaun Records in 1962, and it has since become a classic and mainstay of the surf genre...
and father of Matt Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
of rock band Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
). As an engineer he became interested and specialised in process control
Process control
Process control is a statistics and engineering discipline that deals with architectures, mechanisms and algorithms for maintaining the output of a specific process within a desired range...
as a challenge set to him by RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
(now Sony Music), he created a method to produce a perfect 5 piece extrusion
Extrusion
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile. A material is pushed or drawn through a die of the desired cross-section...
moulding; the first perfectly playable audio Picture Disc. At this point no one had been able to create discs within a constant tolerance and without severe warping. In this procedure he was the first engineer to incorporate fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
into the process control of the Record Press, by building his own logic controllers, thus he achieved RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
's quality goal helping the factory to gain further substantial clients like Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
and Island
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, the new system produced many very collectible chart topping products, ranging from Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
, The Eurhythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
and Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
.
Mastering
After vinylGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
started to decline, David turned his passions towards Digital Audio. Inspired by his experience in cutting the master acetate discs for vinyl record manufacturing, he became interested in developing Mastering for Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. One observation he made was that many people were transferring analogue tapes raw to digital
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
, not realising the cutting engineer in the past would have added EQ
Equalization
Equalization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
compression and even reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
to the final disc cut. He found the using his skills as a producer and recording engineer he could add the final audio touch to the Digital Masters, his work on rapidly became a big success and the Audio facility grew to contain six studios. He was one of the first people in the world, in the mid nineties, to use 32-Bit
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
Digital EQ, David created the audio for a wide range of back catalogue and made a new success of many older recordings, some of which included the chart topping album One Step Beyond and the biggest selling Jazz CD of the nineties, Jazz on a Summer's Day, this made new hits of tracks like as Take Five
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...
and The Girl from Ipanema
The Girl from Ipanema
"Garota de Ipanema" is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.The...
. Being an engineer at the start of the digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
revolution his work, plus the training of many technicians made a contribution towards establishing the present importance of Audio Mastering
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
, now a standard embellishment process, for most commercial audio products and in particular CD Audio.
Classical recordings
In addition to his work on commercial audio products he was also a leader in creation of the first 20-bit recordings and an early exponent of Sony's SBMSuper Bit Mapping
Super Bit Mapping is a Noise Shaping process, developed by Sony for CD mastering.Sony's SBM, a process that is intended to raise the standard of 16-Bit recording and playback quality...
Noise Shaping
Noise shaping
Noise shaping is a technique typically used in digital audio, image, and video processing, usually in combination with dithering, as part of the process of quantization or bit-depth reduction of a digital signal...
; with a team of staff under his supervision he recorded over 120 high bit classical albums with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, working with some of the world’s leading performers and conductors, such as the late Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
and Sir Charles Mackerras. The narration for Peter and The Wolf
Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
was produced by Richardson and recorded in London with the actor Sir John Gielgud. Sound Recording Technology's classical team recorded the RPO series on its own Mitsubishi 20-bit reel-to-reel machines in many locations, including CTS Studios in Wembley, Watford Town Hall, Abbey Road and at SRT's own studios in Edison Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire
St Ives, Cambridgeshire
St Ives is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England, around north-west of the city of Cambridge and north of London. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Huntingdonshire.-History:...
. Each of the recordings were subject to 20-bit Sadie music editing, plus 32-bit
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
sound enhancements. The final outstanding recordings received critical acclaim in the leading classical publication The Gramophone
The Gramophone
Gramophone is a magazine published monthly in London by Haymarket devoted to classical music and jazz, particularly recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie...
and most of the recordings are still widely available. In 1997, he and his music team collaborated with Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
to produce the official recording to commemorate the decommissioning of HMY Britannia
HMY Britannia
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing cutter built for The Prince of Wales...
. The recording was of British music performed by the RPO
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
and Chorus conducted by Carl Davis
Carl Davis
Carl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....
; it includes material such as Coronation Scot
Coronation Scot
The Coronation Scot was a named express passenger train of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway inaugurated in 1937 for the Coronation of King George VI which ran until the start of the war in 1939...
, "Jerusalem"
And did those feet in ancient time
"And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date on the title page of 1804 for Milton is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808...
and Rule, Britannia!
Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740...
. The production team included, Music Producer; Matthew Dilley, Location Sound Recordist; Richard Millard, Editor; Andrew Lang and David Richardson who was executive producer. The final edited 20-bit master was treated with 32-bit sound processing and then scaled to the final master using a new format at the time, HDCD.
Present
David left Sound Recording Technology in 1999 taking a break from the music industry and for a time hosted a late night chat show on Central Radio in Southern Spain where he lived for a number of years. David is now back in the industry mastering music for CD and Audio for Video, in 2008 among many projects he created a new 5.1 surround sound5.1 surround sound
5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
track for the original cult series The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, which was re-released having been visually restored from the original film footage. David is presently Managing Director of Chapel Kensington an Audio Video Post facility. Sound Recording Technology in St Ives Cambridgeshire closed in September 2010, however; Chapel Kensington have purchased assets that include the domain brand name.
External links
- Chapel Kensington - Facility House
- Sound Recording Technology
- http://www.soundrecordingtechnology.com/bio.htm