Niels Lan Doky chooses DPA for Blue Note Tokyo performance
Published: ASIA
JAPAN: A recent concert at The Blue Note Tokyo club in Japan has featured microphones exclusively from Danish manufacturer DPA. The club hosted Danish Jazz legend, producer and pianist, Niels Lan Doky, who performed a series of concerts with Swedish singer and actress Edda Magnason. Mr Lan Doky’s own Jazz club in Copenhagen – The Standard – is also outfitted entirely with DPA microphones, which he insists on using both at home and on tour.
‘It has been two years since I was last in Japan and these concerts, which were an homage to the Swedish actress and jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, were much anticipated and sold out in advance,’ said Mr Lan Doky. ‘For this reason it was particularly important that I delivered the best show possible. To achieve this aim I knew that DPA microphones would have to be part of the mix. I have been using DPA microphones on piano since 1993 and since October 2013 I have used them exclusively on all instruments at all of the concerts at The Standard.
‘In my own club we are dedicated to an uncompromised top quality sound and we only use DPA there because they are by far the most detailed, precise and “true” microphones on the market,’ he furthered. ‘I cannot imagine a concert without them, and this is why we used them on piano, acoustic bass, drums and Edda's vocals at the Blue Note. These mics are so good that it would be a huge compromise to not have them on recording as well as live.’
Accompanying the pianist on tour were two halves of Mr Lan Doky’s Jazz trio – drummer Niclas Bardeleben and bass player Ira Coleman. Mr Lan Doky took his own DPA d:facto vocal microphone to Japan, along with his 3521 Cardioid Compact Stereo kit for the club’s grand piano. The kit comprises two d:dictate 4011ES Cardioid Compact microphones in a stereo L/R configuration.
‘For vocals I swear by the d:facto microphone,’ he continued. ‘It combines crispness, warmth and precision – all at the same time. Vocalist Edda Magnason who played with my trio has a lot of detail in the upper frequency spectrum of her voice. For her I can't imagine using any other microphone. We also took it with us for an appearance on a J-Wave radio show. It is just an amazing vocal microphone.’
‘I also use a d:vote 4099P Instrument Microphone stereo kit for piano, close to the piano's soundboard in one of the holes in the sound metal frame,’ added Mr Lan Doky. ‘This allows me to blend a direct close mic signal with a warm feel and different touch into the mix.’
The d:vote 4099P mic for the piano was supplied by DPA’s Japanese distributor, Hibino Intersound, along with an additional d:facto for Ms Magnason and a d:vote 4099B for the upright bass. For the drums, a d:dictate 2011C twin diaphragm cardioid compact mic, a d:dictate 4006A omnidirectional mic, and a matched pair of d:dictate 4011A cardioid mics were also supplied.
‘It all sounded so good,’ Mr Lan Doky concluded. ‘We had a fantastic time and want to extend our thanks to Hibino Intersound and DPA for helping us materialise the best possible sounding show at The Blue Note Tokyo.’