One of Australia’s leading live acts, Birds Of Tokyo, have been using DPA 4099 clip instrument mics on their recent Broken Strings tour, for violins, viola and a cello. The mics were supplied by DPA’s local distributor Amber Technology.
The tour provided a unique opportunity to see Birds Of Tokyo in full acoustic mode, accompanied by a grand pianist and a string quartet. For two years, the band delicately and painstakingly reinterpreted their own music, arranging it for the Broken Strings tour with producer, composer and long-time collaborator, Anthony Cormican, who scored the entire concert specifically for an orchestral arrangement. Drawing on the 'unplugged' concept, they enlarged on the experience, performing with a host of instruments – from ukuleles to 12-string guitars – which were incorporated into the ensemble of string quartet and grand pianist.
The band’s monitoring and recording engineer James Newhouse heard about the 4099 series from Amber Technology’s product manager Filip Saelen, and lost no time in trying them out for the tour. Their transparent, natural sound and excellent off-axis rejection, were just what was required for this project.
The band were using in-ear monitoring on stage to minimise loudspeaker spillage and feedback issues, because the concerts were also to be recorded for DVD release. However during rehearsals, the DPA 4099 mics were put through their paces using the monitor wedges and could be heard loud and clear, without causing any problems.
"I was absolutely blown away by the performance of those mics,” says Newhouse. “Great tone and good gain when we were using wedges. They required very little EQ to sound natural, which is rare for string mics at close distance."
The Broken Strings CD and DVD are due out in February 2010. For more info visit www.birdsoftokyo.com