Mic Check

by Rory MacDonald | 2:29 pm 11/07/2010

Last week saw the launch of NZMiC, or the New Zealand Music Industry Centre, at Albany Street Studios, coinciding with the start of New Zealand Music Month.

NZMiC is a collaborative effort between members of the University of Otago Music Department and Dunedinmusic.com Ltd, a local music company. It aims to act as a mechanism through which the Music Department can engage with the music industry, foster research outputs, and enable the recording of albums.

“Its role is to promote research and collaborate with industry to explore further research, creative, and commercial opportunities. We want to promote Dunedin as an industry hub with the University and local music industry driving it,” says Professor Henry Johnson, Head of the Music Department.

This goal involves making the studio available for bands or music groups that wish to record there, collaborating with performers and recording artists, and seeking to develop a research-based context for university-industry projects and partnerships.

NZMiC hopes to utilise the recently installed, world-class mixing desk, purchased from Solid State Logic, a company owned by Peter Gabriel of Genesis. The desk has over a hundred inputs, suitable for recording up to orchestral-sized groups, and has opened up a world of recording opportunities for the Department.

“The desk could … record over large distances, for example stream a live show or several live shows at once through a radio channel, whether they are happening at Albany Street, at the new Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza, or anywhere else in New Zealand, with a fibre-optic link.” Professor Johnston told Dunedinmusic.com

Following speakers from the Department and Dunedinmusic.com, the launch also included two musical performances. First up was Dr. Graeme Downs of the Music Department, who played with his band The Verlaines. They showcased a recording session in the new studio, allowing those present to get a feel for how the new equipment will be used. They were followed by Dark Dance/Electro Pop outfit Cult Disney, a local band made up of Otago music students, who blasted out a couple of original electro numbers.

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