I see music as a picture

Interesting interview with Mando Diao´s live sound enginner that I´d like to share with you!

Hi Dirk! Thank you so much for taking the time for this little interview. We've all seen you around and heard of you. But we barely know anything about you. Could you introduce yourself a little?

I am living in Germany close to a beautiful city called Heidelberg. I am touring as a live sound engineer and work as a producer mainly in my own studio.

How come that you work for Mando Diao?

Actually I started as a stage tech for MD. A friend of mine asked me to spare him for a couple of shows which was about 5 years ago. I jumped in here and there and after a while I became a member of the crew. Carlos heard that I also do sound so he asked me if I could do some shows mixing the band. And that´s where I am now since almost 3 years.

What do you consider the most challenging & annoying aspect about your work?

The most challenging aspect is to make the different locations sound as good as possible which is quite difficult sometimes. Beside a good venue I need special equipment to make the band sound as they should. But there are circumstances that makes it impossible to have all the stuff I need. So I have to improvise which can be a mayor challenge.
Basically I love almost everything about my job.

What´s your reaction when there´s a major problem with electricity or other technical problems during a show?

I try to be as focused as possible. I had some tricky situations in the past which have extended my understanding of what has to be avoided right from the start. We have a great crew and we are really fast in solving problems.

Looking back to all the concerts you've been in charge of - which is your favorite?

No doubt that the MTV-Unplugged was a blast. Beside that we had a radio show in Germany for 1Live which was very special to me as well.

What do you do to kill the time, before the concert starts? (between sound check an show)

It depends where we are. It´s easier to kill time at a festival where we have more chances to walk around and see other bands for example. When I am in the tour routine I do some office work and eat a lot of cake.

On big festivals like "Rock am Ring" a lot of bands play at the same day. Do they all have a sound check? And why do the bands in the early afternoon sound so much worse than the headliner?

A good question. On big festivals mostly the headlining bands have a real sound check which can be really early in the morning. The first festival bands that play have to go with a “Line Check” which means that all signals and microphones are going to be checked as soon as everything is in place on stage. The instrument technicians are playing a short phrase on each instrument that the sound guy on stage and at front of house can listen via headphone and check if the levels are right. If the sound guy has no digital desk where he has previously stored the whole setup he has to do the whole thing from scratch. That´s why often the sound might be a bit confusing at the beginning. It usually takes 2 or 3 songs until you got all instruments to where they belong in the mix.

Who wins in a discussion about the arrangement of an instrument in a song? You or the musician?

The band makes the music. If they decide for a certain reason to switch to middle age instruments like Bagpipe, Irish Hurdy Gurdy and Turkish Darbuka I have to make it sound good. My job is to bring all instruments in the right balance.
I see music as a picture. The arrangement is the landscape, the musicians are the colors and the sound is the frame that holds everything together...