Amon Tobin chats with legendary producer Sylvia Massy

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An ironically lo fi recording over Zoom of a conversation between Amon Tobin and Sylvia Massy premiering on July 30th 4 PM PDT (7 PM EST, Midnight BST, 1 AM CET.)
Amon Tobin speaks with legendary producer Sylvia Massy (Tool, Prince, Johnny Cash) about the creative process, the influence of recording equipment on the artistic mindset and the making of the album amongst other things.
Massy guided Amon on vocal production and recording for the album "The World As We Know It" by Figueroa, officially releasing July 31st.
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[@AmonTobinHQ]

that mic is making me blush a little

[@hijennwu]

haha!! can't wait to hear this talk.

[@masseybranscomb7430]

@@hijennwu same! So excited to hear philosophy's and hopefully a little technique leakage!

[@emiliospowerballer1441]

You made me fall in love with your music from Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. Thank you

[@adarshupadhyay877]

Give that mic a smooch

[@dlrdn7145]

Amon, tu fala português?

[@ericpeters0n]

The irony of the background hum coming from the holy grail microphone while talking to one of the world's preeminent recording engineers.... ;)

[@OUIJA_GANG.]

Amon Tobin is not a musician... He is an artist... A psychological & Audio genius who has mastered his craft...

[@arthurshat7793]

I absolutely couldn’t agree more!

[@Bas_Lightyear]

You were saying it on Reddit, in one of your AMA's! “I think it’s helpful to embrace the inconvenience in any creative process. There’s a price to pay for efficiency which is an impoverished experience.” - Amon Tobin I love that, I’ve got it saved as a quote on my phone to look at in times of self doubt and creative hardship.

[@JHess]

completely agree. there's something to be said for low fi and experimentation. i've been playing and composing music all my life, and i've never learned to read sheet music. you can know and feel music without knowing the technicalities of it. it's art, it's what you feel. i could tell she was really trying to force her view of knowing your hardware so you don't "waste time" and production, because obviously that's what she does ("those who can, do. those who can't....")......amon was butting heads with her but he very graciously bowed out of that conversation and went her way, talking less about the 'art' and more about the production/technical side. anybody notice the mic she sent to amon and her own audio sounded like...well, bad? i rest my case. i'm with amon ;) the album however was pure amon tobin brilliance!

[@spartacus8661]

he also said Dome of Doom was tops

[@she_wench9856]

So trueIsh, it can be most helpful as you don't know of the 'presets' or are not aware of the expected flow within the equipment you choose to use which can produce unexpected results outside of the expectations. Good and bad. Me tinks...

[@neatdiscoveries]

Amon should narrate a nature documentary

[@ThaddeusBigsby]

Amon Tobin is one of the greatest musicians of all time...quite possibly the greatest

[@adarshupadhyay877]

Greatest

[@robertradamant1801]

When I'm introducing Amon to someone who is into music but doesn't know Amons work, then I use to say that's evolution of music. And one of the greatest things about him is that he's really simple as a person :) And Silvia is also great with her work :)

[@raingirlcat2245]

@@robertradamant1801 I’ve introduced some people to Amon Tobin. They all really like Amon.

[@cjjones258]

Musical genius

[@NMROSTA]

Amazing dialog!

[@nicolapulvirenti2134]

Very good points. Love also the hum in ATs studio, literally sounding electro acoustic even during zoom chats lol

[@michealjaymurphy]

Wow really interesting convo wish it was longer

[@paradiddle16]

Great to see you reinventing yourself with each album! Respect!

[@jonathanmillercomposer]

Thank you for the inspired and intelligent dialogue!

[@jonathanbustamante6131]

Waiting to see you again in New York next month

[@oleksandrzuzuk6188]

Each of your works , are a masterpieces . Thank you for your art !

[@stevesmoke1221]

This is a dream come true ! Can't wait :)

[@shebschaf7608]

even when they would talk about buying groceries... i would still listen

[@ShaneCooperMusic]

brilliant, thanks Amon and Sylvia

[@samegan6542]

Well that was quite brilliant, thank you both for that talk!

[@cherithbrookkraber]

This is so encouraging. Thank you again.

[@OokOokEeek]

The exact thing you are worried about happens with photography, and I imagine most art forms. People chase the latest and greatest equipment trying not to be left behind. I'm a tech geek, so I knew I would be susceptible to chasing gear and would need to keep an eye on myself. With digital, the temptation is even worse, and was especially during the resolution war, but I went 10 years shooting with the same early digital camera before finally upgrading. A friend of mine has shot for Life, National Geographic, etc., but his favorite cameras are the oddballs and toy cameras, with plastic lenses and other quirky limitations. I was once told, "I love your photos. You must have a really nice camera!" Uh, thanks, I think. And sure, just like Leonardo had really nice paint brushes. (Ok, I'm not even close in skill, but you get the idea.) That said, I think having the right equipment that fits you and your process goes a long way towards assisting your creativity. Similar to what you said about the Neumann M49 giving you choices you didn't know you had. One of the best things I did for my photography was to take a class from another friend of mine he called "Finding Your Style", the idea being that style boils down to the choices you make. We often stumble into a style by making unconscious choices, but we can define, refine, and enhance that style by making some of those choices on a conscious level. I discovered I really love lots of bokeh, i.e. a shallow depth-of-field that puts only a narrow section of the photograph in sharp focus. The trick is that zoom lenses are crap for this unless you pay a handsome sum, and a cheap zoom is the typical kit lens included with a camera. You need a wide aperture to get really narrow DOF, and prime (non-zoom) lenses are the way to get that. I sold my zooms and replaced them with 50mm and 85mm primes. I haven't looked back since. As an added benefit, since I was only shooting at those two focal lengths, my framing wasn't all over the place and I learned to see the world in two modes which are perfect for the candid and environmental portraits I prefer to do. So I guess my philosophy is that, if a piece of equipment is going to allow a person to make more of the choices that they want or need, I say go for it. Just avoid the trap of expecting it to drive your creativity. That's putting the cart before the horse. Experimenting with a bunch of dials and sliders can be lots of fun, and that in itself my be worth the money, but in my experience you need an idea of where you want to go with it first if you really want your money's worth. Creating is making choices. What choices do you want to make? What do you need to make them?

[@braythirteen]

Keep making these and I will keep watching!

[@Micaelas]

Big up from Mexico

[@NMROSTA]

love from Sweden

[@TAProductions020]

Can't wait!! =D

[@amadeusakreveusmusic3356]

Who's here from Splinter Cell CT?

[@andyquinones85]

Excellent discussion. What brand and model condenser mic is that though?

[@nonex9266]

Ever figure it out? Nice combo! Thanks for any info

[@MrCamerontaylormusic]

Great Talk! What microphone is Amon Tobin's using? The one they talk about about as the holy grail at the start? Thanks!

[@AltusNoumena]

Have to say it. Has the world's largest microphone and uses the computer microphone for this interview

[@peaterrepeater4441]

awesome but why was it filmed with two potatos?!

[@Buhman32]

Russia is here , we are still waiting for ISAM )

[@feralNYC44]

So what kind of mic is it??

[@totemmechanics1]

Exactly. Totally appreciate they arent doing this to advertise but I got to test one if they say all that stuff about it

[@aterix]

What microphone is Amon Tobin speaking into?

[@trafficante78]

It's a Neumann , maybe an M149.

[@NomarkRecords]

@@trafficante78 Vintage Neumann M49

[@trafficante78]

@@NomarkRecords Nice! that was my first thought but it looked different from the one I used at a recording studio in the early 2000's.

[@gabrielamaral936]

Fofinhos

[@RandiOW]

[@YuleNevano]

are there fx applied to amons voice? or just mad background hummy noise?

[@sebasty6111]

I think it was just another glitch added by the meeting platform. I guess it was Zoom...

[@JerryGartnerPersonal]

It's just artifacts from low bandwidth stream. The video is a good indicator of this. This can happen on any streaming platform.

[@subterraneanbleuminds]

It only happens when the mic is engaged. Sylvia sounds fine

[@DionysoKostantinos]

but how much electromagnetic pollution is there in those studios??

[@camielpovel6290]

Very nice warm drone haha

[@trashcat3000]

Who is Sylvia Massy?

[@xanderpills]

A legendary producer / engineer all the way from the 90's. Known for her bizarre/unconventional methods of recording and using audio gear.

[@paradiddle16]

@@xanderpills Yep, she has a long list of credentials also and they are pretty much all varied. Much respect for her!

[@No.0.o.0]

Alright plugin devlopers, NO MORE PRESETS YOU FUCKS

[@AshleyGraetz]

Man great stuff but put some compression on your mic Desser much needed.

[@ELAPSE.]