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Modern trends in audio recording tend toward
the complex. Studio recordings typically
utilize at least one microphone for each
instrument, and the musicians themselves are
not infrequently separated in both time and
space. The recording engineer combines the
various tracks, adjusting their relative
volumes (and perhaps phase) to achieve the
desired result - a multi-mono representation
in artificial stereophonic sound. If the
artists were unable to produce a “perfect”
take, the engineer will (electronically)
splice together portions of different takes to
produce a complete song. Even in “live”
recordings it is common to use a multiplicity
of microphones, the final product resulting
from the after-the-fact combining of their
outputs. It is thus hardly surprising that
studio recordings differ so much from concert
performances. While complex, multi-mic’ed
recordings have become the accepted norm,
there are a number of individuals who are
dissatisfied with the results. Ira Norman
Segall is one such person.
I began this interview at Ira’s home in the
suburbs of Philadelphia. Ira lives on a
tree-lined street of old but beautifully
maintained stone houses. His home reflects
both his spirituality and his artistic nature
- from the subtle aroma of incense, to his own
paintings on the walls, to the various and
assorted artifacts, I felt comfortable and
relaxed as Ira shared with me bits of his
life, and how Unipheye Music came into being.
Ira’s father, Irving Segall, (www.irvingsegall.com)
was a thirty-one season violist with the
Philadelphia Orchestra, so Ira grew up
surrounded by music. As Ira expresses it, “I
know the sound of wood.” As is the case for
many recording engineers, Ira’s first
recordings were of the local basement bands he
played in, with which he used minimal mic’ing.
While this may seem to have been an act of
prescience on his part, Ira unashamedly
acknowledges that it was actually born of
economics; as a young man in his mid-teens, he
simply couldn't afford more than two
microphones! With the passage of time Ira’s
career took shape, with invaluable experience
gained through his participation in the
recording (for radio broadcast and archive) of
the Philadelphia Orchestra, both at their home
at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, and
in Saratoga Springs, NY during the summer
months. Although for the Orchestra more
complex multi-mic’ing was used, Ira felt that
the sound was superior on the projects that
the facility did for other, smaller ensembles,
which often utilized minimal mic’ing. Ira
believed in his heart that the Orchestra
recordings might have sounded better with
fewer microphones. For his own projects
outside the Orchestra, Ira always continued to
use only two microphones. Ira continued to
record projects at night, and feels that his
work designing high-end music listening
systems, and more importantly, his learning to
critically set them up with tape measure,
bubble-level and room acoustics, were an
integral part of his learning how to produce
natural-sounding recordings. His goal in
starting Unipheye Music was to capture truly
incredible players (for the immediate future,
chamber music, jazz and world music) - the
energy and passion of their performance - the
tonal brilliance of their instruments - and to
thus provide music lovers with an intimate,
involving listening experience. By doing so,
Ira hopes to bring people a bit closer to the
gift he felt he grew up with - a major
symphony orchestra right at his doorstep.
According to Ira, Unipheye Music’s most
valuable asset is the quality of artist to
whom he has unprecedented access - a result of
his father’s friends and former colleagues -
representing a level of talent unavailable to
most labels.
While elements of artistry contribute to all
recording projects, in no case is this more
true than with minimally mic’ed recordings;
any problems with the recording can’t be fixed
after the fact. I should point out that as is
true for many things in life, minimally mic’ed
recordings are not as easy or simple as casual
observation might suggest. A visit to Ira’s
studios gave me a glimpse into how the magic
comes about. While microphone placement is
important in any recording, this is especially
true for those which are minimally mic’ed.
Because the same microphones are used for all
the instruments, placement of the
musicians/instruments - relative to one
another and to the mics - is critical, as is
the position of the mics within the room. In
Ira’s studio the optimal positioning of the
musicians was indicated by numerous markings
on his studio floor. Ira explained that the
approximate positions were determined through
careful measurements of the relevant
distances, while the fine tuning was done by
trial-and-error listening, done in
collaboration with Ira’s friend Adam Sankin, a
recording engineer based in California. Ira
played for me excerpts of a test recording of
the highly acclaimed Johannes String Quartet
performing the Mendelssohn Op. 44 D Major
quartet. This was without question one of the
finest recordings I have ever heard.
Instruments had a more natural tonal quality
than I thought possible, and the sense of
space they conveyed was astonishingly
realistic - a pleasant change form the
artificial etched outlines we have become
accustomed to. I also heard a recording by
tabla expressionist Siddharth Mehta (who is
Ira’s tabla instructor) playing the hand drums
of India; the recording captured both the
attack of the percussion and its deep, rich
harmonics, as well as the positioning of the
artist (who played while sitting on the
floor).
Ira expects the first discs to be commercially
available by this winter’s end. Acoustic
Sounds has expressed interest in distributing
Unipheye Music recordings, amongst other
sources. I eagerly await their release.
UNIPHEYE MUSIC, LLC
P.O. Box 30148
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027
U.S.A.
Phone: 215-635-3499
www.unipheyemusic.com
info@unipheyemusic.com
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