DPA records Chinese monks for Sa Ding Ding album
Published: ASIA
CHINA: Danish producer and engineer Hans Nielsen ( of Focus Recording Studios) recently chose DPA 4006A and 4011A microphones to record a choir of 500 monks in a Chinese temple that was over 4,000m above sea level. Mr Nielsen was recording an album with folk singer and songwriter Sa Ding Ding, who wanted to include the monk’s choir in her album.
‘I’ve always been a big fan of DPA Microphones and have used them regularly for over 25 years,’ commented Mr Nielsen. ‘When I realised this project involved recording at high altitude I knew I had to take my DPA microphones with me because they were the only mics I could rely on to capture the high quality sound I wanted in such extreme conditions.
‘We travelled to the temple, which was high up in the mountains near Tibet,’ he continued. ‘The monks were singing a mass and we captured their performance using nine DPA 4006A omnidirectional microphones and one DPA 4011A cardioid. Later that night we used the same microphones to record a choir of 100 monks so that their singing could also be incorporated into two of Sa Ding Ding’s album tracks.’
Two days later, Mr Nielsen also recorded a 50-person Christian choir for the album, again using DPA microphones.
‘I did have other microphones with me but only the DPAs were able to cope with the extremely thin air,’ he explained. ‘Everything else I tried was just too noisy and couldn’t cope with the atmospheric conditions. I was incredibly happy with the results – and so was Sa Ding Ding.’
Mr Nielsen completed the album in Beijing, recording some traditional Chinese instruments as well as Sa Ding Ding’s lead vocals.