Audio engineer and scene curator Devonne ‘Knice’ Knight has been one of many key sonic and group architects of the trendy New York hip-hop scene. As senior engineer of Platinum Sound Recording Studios, Knice’s manufacturing work on breakout tracks by artists corresponding to French Montana, Wealthy the Child, and Desiigner have given a contemporary sonic signature to hip hop’s hometown. Along with his work within the studio, Knice has additionally been a passionate advocate for up-and-coming expertise, producing a welcoming ambiance in his studios and internet hosting vibrant, community-focused occasions corresponding to Move the Aux to encourage younger artists to become involved. As a part of his mission to present this new technology a contemporary voice, Knice has made the Loud audioEden, Atlantisand Clarion a key a part of his recording workflow.
The sound of perception
For greater than 18 years, Knice’s workflow has been constructed round delivering high-quality tracks to his purchasers at an usually astonishing degree of pace and high quality. A significant element in his recipe for fulfillment has been his give attention to constructing the arrogance of his artists and collaborators from the bottom up and inspiring them to ship their greatest in a really aggressive area. “You don’t need to need to persuade folks to attend till the blending stage for them to start out believing within the potential of a observe,” he defined. “You want one thing near the top product as rapidly as potential to get folks to imagine within the report and when you aren’t an engineer, you aren’t used to listening to ‘tough’ variations of music. For me, I’ve at all times centered on delivering the very best that I can from the get-go.”
“Our job as engineers is to encourage artists with sounds to get a top quality efficiency,” he continued. “Now we have loads of affect in that means, and if an artist is impressed on a sonic degree within the headphones, that feeds again into the efficiency you get.”
Inspiring perception in his collaborators additionally extends to giving them confidence in their very own voice by curating a sound that’s each slicing and highly effective on a observe. Having exhausted the usual microphone decisions, Knice discovered himself on the lookout for one thing contemporary that would present a brand new sound for his artists. “By the point I used to be working with Brandy and J. Critch I knew we wanted a brand new sound within the studio,” he mentioned. “I used to be so uninterested in the identical microphone assortment and I wanted one thing that would minimize via a observe with out an excessive amount of processing.”
“That was after I tried my first Lauten Audio Mic, the Eden, and we instantly fell in love with it.”
A brand new sonic signature
In his seek for the suitable vocal microphones, Knice favors those who match into his high-speed workflow without having extra processing to get the sounds required. In Eden, Atlantis, and Clarion, he discovered a trio of helpful variations on a selected sonic taste that serve that precise objective. “It’s that heat tube sound instantly, however it has a minimize that you simply don’t discover in different mics,” he defined. “The readability and the diction you get on them instantly cuts via and that issues greater than something when making music like this. Shoppers need to hear themselves sound good and also you get that instantly with Lauten.”
“You get hooked on the sensation of urgent play and listening to the completed factor and also you don’t need to saturate them or use EQ to get it.”
Though he’s discovered himself utilizing much less processing since he started utilizing Lauten, a part of the signature sound has been his strategic use of Lauten’s Multi-Voicing modes on Eden and Atlantis particularly. Not solely has this given him the signature ‘minimize’ that his tracks have, it’s additionally allowed him to present performers a special variation of the identical, inspiring sound to go well with other ways of performing. “The tone (Multi-voicing) switches provide the capability to get an artist comfy with a mic whereas additionally serving to them to higher perceive their very own voice,” he mentioned. “‘Ahead’ sounds wonderful on rapping and provides you all that minimize and readability, but when they need to sing, you simply swap it to ‘Impartial’ and it’s that clean, heat sound you need.”
“Having it proper there within the artist’s palms to assist make that alternative brings them into the method much more, and also you’re capable of study collectively whereas creating one thing.”
Creating one thing collectively stays on the core of Knice’s enterprise. Between slicing tracks, coaching artists and engineers, and internet hosting occasions in New York Metropolis that champion new artists, contemporary sounds, and a way of vibrant togetherness, he stays a passionate advocate for the group that’s on the core of New York’s hip-hop tradition. “There’s an enormous ecosystem in New York Metropolis particularly for music and after I say we need to curate the sound of a specific space, I imply that we need to do one thing with cultural significance the place we’re all making artwork with one another and everybody can play an element in it,” he mentioned. “I really feel very empowered with Lauten merchandise – constructing group, sonic imprints, schooling, and simply with the ability to excite folks exterior of the audio group about all of these items. That’s what it’s all about for me.”
About Lauten Audio
Lauten Audio is a family-owned maker of authentic, inspiring microphones. At present out there merchandise embrace the flagship “Eden” tube microphone, the award-winning “Atlantis” FET condenser microphone, the groundbreaking “Synergy Sequence” of noise-rejecting condenser microphones, and the brand new Sequence Black household of condenser microphones. Lauten Audio and its numerous household of customers may be present in studios, on levels, and in houses worldwide.
For extra data, go to http://www.lautenaudio.com or name 1-877-721-7018.
