Hosted by Nic Harcourt, ‘Stories Behind The Sessions’ features conversations with music makers like INXS’ Garry Beers, Grammy award-winning Neal Pogue, and more. AKG, an industry leader in acoustics engineering for microphones and headphones, and a proud member of the HARMAN Professional Solutions family of audio brands, has formally launched the AKG ‘Stories Behind The Sessions’ web series on YouTube.

Radio and television personality Nic Harcourt hosts ‘Stories Behind The Sessions’ spotlights the producers, engineers and songwriters responsible for the music that defined the sound of popular music and the culture at large. With a candid one-on-one interview format, guests talk about their creative process, what it was like to collaborate with iconic artists and their reaction to watching their work become a hit in real-time.

In the latest episode, the first one recorded in the HARMAN Experience Center in Los Angeles, Harcourt sits down with musician, producer and INXS bassist, Garry Beers, to discuss the band’s iconic album Kick, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.

The first two episodes of the series were recorded live at the NAMM Show with the inaugural episode featuring Grammy award-winning producer Neal Pogue (Outkast, TLC, Nelly Furtado) recounting the late-night, marathon session to compose, record and mix the horns on “Waterfalls” by TLC, and the close collaboration between Atlanta’s best session musicians to bring the song to life. The second episode highlighted producer Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celene Dion) and the unconventional origins of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, which involved a live reindeer in the studio.

“At HARMAN we do more than make tools for artists to create their best work, but we also support their growth by introducing them to stories from those who have make among the most culturally significant songs of our generation,” said Frank Joseph, Senior Director Marketing in North America for HARMAN Professional Solutions. “We’re thrilled for AKG to showcase some of the most iconic producers, artists and more through the art of storytelling. We hope that these first-person perspectives on what it takes to develop groundbreaking albums, songs and recording techniques will inspire producers, artists and creators working on the next big hit today.”

Episode Three – Garry Beers

HARMAN Professional Solutions introduced its NAMM 2022 visitors to five game-changing pro audio solutions that were recently launched during the past year. The new products include JBL Professional SRX900 Series powered line arrays and subwoofers; JBL Professional EON700 Series portable PA loudspeakers and subwoofers with Bluetooth; JBL Professional EON ONE MK2 battery-powered column PA; JBL Professional PRX ONE all-in-one portable PA and the AKG Ara two-pattern USB condenser microphone.

JBL Professional SRX900 Series Powered Line Arrays and Subwoofers
The family, which includes dual 6.5-inch and dual 10-inch powered line array elements and 18-inch and dual 18-inch powered subwoofers, is ideal for rental companies, fixed installations and musicians seeking the ultimate combination of performance and portability. “With the SRX900 Series, we’ve brought JBL’s professional line array technologies to versatile, budget-friendly systems that can grow with customers’ needs,” says George Georgallis, HARMAN Professional Director, Performance Audio.

JBL Professional EON700 Series Portable PA Loudspeakers and Subwoofer with Bluetooth
With four models available, EON700 systems effortlessly scale with customers’ needs, from DJ performances and full bands to solo singer/songwriter gigs, presentations and worship events. “We’ve made it easier than ever for performers to sound their best without having to rely on outboard gear, thanks to built-in advanced dbx DSP and presets that are optimised for a range of scenarios,” says Brandon Knudsen, HARMAN Professional Product Manager, Portable PA Loudspeakers.

JBL Professional EON ONE MK2 Battery-Powered Column PA
JBL EON ONE MK2 packs a class-leading acoustic package, 5-channel digital mixer, comprehensive Lexicon and dbx DSP, Bluetooth 5.0 functions and full app control into a lightweight, rechargeable battery system. “It’s ideal for anyone from buskers seeking pro-grade sound without AC power, to educators and hospitality providers who want fast setup and ease of use,” says Brandon Knudsen, Loudspeaker Product Manager, HARMAN Professional Solutions.

JBL Professional PRX ONE All-in-One Portable PA System
PRX ONE meets the needs of a broad range of portable and installed applications, delivering unmatched power, acoustic performance and functionality in a sleek, compact package weighing just 56 pounds. “Whether you’re a singer/songwriter, DJ, corporate presenter or educator, sounding great is critical so, when we set out to design a new compact column PA, acoustic performance was top of our list,” says Brandon Knudsen, JBL Product Manager, Loudspeaker Professional Solutions.

AKG Ara Two-Pattern USB Microphone
AKG Ara lets content creators and musicians effortlessly capture studio-quality, 24-bit, 96kHz audio for superior speech clarity and stunning vocal and instrument tracks. Two pickup patterns focus on a single source or everyone in the room. It’s perfect for podcast hosts, bloggers, gamers, videoconferencing and for recording voice and instruments. “What’s really great about Ara is that it can accomplish so many goals for a variety of users. It’s perfect for elevating interviews and video blogs with its crystal-clear sonic quality and sleek looks,” says Chris Hansen, HARMAN Professional Solutions, Director of Recording and Broadcast.

The recording space and headquarters to the Grammy Award-winning band Foo Fighters, Studio 606, is a treasure trove for audiophiles and rock music fans alike. Specialising in analog and direct-to-tape recording methods, the studio also houses the custom Neve 8028 recording console from Sound City, the studio where countless artists recorded some of their most notable work. To provide artists with isolated and well-balanced headphones while recording and mixing, engineers at Studio 606 selected the comfortable and reliable AKG K371 as their over-ear headphone of choice. 

As the majority of bands who record at Studio 606 prefer to track while playing live in the same room, the studio required high-quality closed-back headphones capable of providing sufficient noise isolation and preventing audio bleed. Additionally, to ensure accurate sound for recording and mixing, the studio’s engineers needed headphones with a balanced and uncoloured frequency response. To meet these requirements, the studio purchased eight pairs of AKG K371 headphones.

“Usually the musicians we record are sitting in the room with the drummer, so it’s loud,” said Studio 606’s engineer Oliver Roman. “It’s a huge live room and there’s a lot of reflections, so you’re sitting in there just trying to combat the sounds of cymbals and stuff. We had these headphones that were great for a long time, but they were starting to fall apart and weren’t the best at isolating. If somebody was blasting a click track or the music in their headphones, you could hear it throughout the whole room, which caused a lot of sound bleed. We were looking to upgrade, and the AKG K371 isolates really well while still letting you feel the liveliness of the room.”

Featuring 50mm transducers with oxygen-free copper voicecoils housed in a lightweight shell, the K371 offers properly isolated audio and comfort so that musicians recording together in the live room can clearly hear their individual mixes while still hearing the rest of the room. A drummer using a click track, for instance, will need their headphone mix to be loud enough to rise above their drum playing but not cause the click to bleed into the drum microphones through the headphones. After trying out numerous brands, the studio found that the K371 offered the best output and isolation without distracting or hindering the artists while recording. “You have drummers under ten or fifteen microphones, and since they want to blast the click as much as possible, you’ll hear the click every time they stop playing,” explained Roman.

Additionally, with an even frequency response from 5 to 40,000 Hz, the K371 ensures that mixes translate accurately and consistently to studio monitors and other speakers. From careful listening in the studio to casual use at home, the K371 delivers clear and balanced audio in any setting.

AKG has launched a new desktop USB microphone called Ara. Aesthetically the Ara bears the same visuals as the Lyra which AKG released a few years back – a fairly feature-rich USB mic with four capsules for lots of pickup patterns and maximum versatility. 

The Ara is a simplified version of the Lyra aimed at vloggers, podcasters, live streamers and gamers – basically all manner of spoken word applications. The mic supports audio resolution up to 96kHz/24-bit, a maximum SPL of 120dB, and has a 20Hz-20kHz stated frequency response.

GET SET, GO

Setting up the Ara was literally as easy as plugging it in using the supplied USB C cable. Select it as the output device in your computer’s audio settings to use the 3.5mm headphones jack at the base of the mic. The lower knob adjusts headphone volume and can be pushed to mute/unmute the microphone monitoring through the output. 

My immediate impression of the tone of the AKG Ara was how much it sounds like a dynamic mic; smooth and un-hyped trebles with a radio-friendly focus on the midrange to gently push a voice into focus. As a podcasting mic the tone of the Ara won’t disappoint. Add a touch of high end to taste if you want to bring out more clarity. 

The Ara is capable of two pickup patterns: cardioid and omni, or as it’s written on the mic, Front and Front & Back. The cardioid (or Front) setting is directional enough to reject a lot of the ugly room reflections in my small workspace resulting in a clean presentation of my voice. The closer you get, the more proximity effect you introduce – which works to great effect until you’re a few centimetres away and plosives become a problem. Backing off further from the mic will make a voice blur into the room reflections quickly so unless your walls are covered with treatment, don’t keep it far away. 

Twist the knob over to Front & Back and Ara switches to an omnidirectional pickup pattern. If you have a table full of guests seated around a table just plonk the Ara in the middle and hit record. Although you won’t get the polish of having individual close mics on each presenter, it’s a nice feature to get you out of a bind.

The culmination of the NAMM 2021 virtual Believe in Music week came with the TEC Awards. Manufacturers are awarded for their products that excel in “Technical Excellence and Creativity” and CMI are very proud to be associated with the world-leading brands that have been awarded the prestigious TEC Awards this year.

For Harman, AKG and JBL Professional each have received two awards, in both the Sound Reinforcement and Personal Recording categories.

• Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers:
  JBL EON ONE Compact
• Amplification Hardware/Studio & Sound Reinforcement:
  JBL DSi 2.0
• Microphones – Recording:
  AKG Lyra
• Headphone/Earpiece Technology:
  AKG K300 Series