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Darryl LaVictoire has recorded and mixed all sorts of tracks, from
Craig David to gospel choirs, from London-based soul diva Hill Street
Soul to Lion King singer Brian Temba. Lots of amazing vocalists but
just one amazing mic, the sE Gemini…
“Music is in the bones when you come from the Caribbean,” says Darryl
LaVictoire as he explains how both he and childhood friend Dexter
Simmons have ended up with such successful careers in the business.
“Dexter worked on Michael Jackson’s last album and has also worked
with Destiny’s Child, Outcast and Brandy, to name a few. When Dexter
came to London to go to the School of Audio Engineering he stayed at
my flat and inspired me to do the same course and get into
engineering. I basically followed in his footsteps.”
After his engineering course, Darryl spent six months in a studio in
New York. “The music I like is R&B / Hip Hop and I wanted to see how
the Americans did it.” He then came back to London to work at Mayhem
Studios off Tottenham Court Road and eventually started work with
remixers Blacksmith, Ignorants and Steve Antony.
“I was very busy at the time. Whenever a pop record was about to be
released, labels would almost certainly allocate the urban remixes to
either Blacksmith, Ignorants or Steve Antony so I was engineering
every week. I’ve since mixed tracks for Sugababes, Blue, Misteeq, Big
Brovaz, Liberty X, Beverley Knight and Atomic Kitten among many
others. Ignorants produced most of Craig David’s album, Slicker Than
the Average and they called me in to engineer on a few tracks
including the hit single What’s Your Flava.”
Darryl has now worked with some huge names, but over the years he has
also had his fair share of bad vocal recordings!
“I get stuff that is already recorded and the worst thing is to get
vocals that sound terrible. But then I met producer Troy Antunes,
(bass player for Justin Timberlake). I asked him what mic he was
using as his vocal recordings sounded so good, he then told me about
his sE mics. It was refreshing to hear a vocal recording that was so
clean and warm.”
“I’m amazed by the clarity and the top end of the Gemini mic and very
impressed with the sound directly from it. It actually sounds like
it’s already been treated, that’s how good it is. I think: ‘hang on,
this is like I’ve put it through my tube tech compressor and Avalon
EQ’, but it’s straight from the mic! The Gemini is very special.”
Darryl is currently using the Gemini with artists as diverse as Hill
Street Soul (“she’s had rave reviews in Billboard and Blues & Soul
and she’s going to be big”), the 4 Kornerz gospel project and on
Brian Temba’s album (the lead singer in The Lion King Musical).
Brian’s voice is incredible, his register is quite high and could be
tricky in some circumstances, but the Gemini made it sound so warm,
lush and perfect…
“What I also like about the Gemini is that the sound is just there,
you don’t have the option to roll off any frequencies because you
don’t need to, with the Gemini you switch it on and it’s ready to go.
Also, the presence and detail in the headphones is very distinctive
compared to any other mic. That’s so important because when a singer
can hear themselves clearly they give a much better performance. One
of the worst things on a session is an unhappy vocalist, but that
outcome is not possible if you have a Gemini.
Darryl’s reputation is such that he is constantly in demand. “People
come to me for what I do – my work speaks for itself. “Later this
year I am working with Ali and Wayne Hector (who wrote Westlife’s,
Flying Without Wings) and also on Fundamental’s new album.”
And you can bet that the sE Gemini will be traveling with him...
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