Musician and producer, Christopher Harold Wells got himself an EVO 4 audio interface for his home setup, so he could resume work on his new band’s debut EP recorded at San Francisco’s Hyde Street Studios.
“EVO 4 is a game changer in my humble opinion”
Literally stopped in his tracks when the pandemic forced everything to shut down, he explains his predicament: “I came back to North Carolina for a quick break and have been on lockdown since then. There were still a couple of instrument and vocal tracks that needed to be finished, and I am now in the process of tracking the last songs’ vocals using EVO 4.”
Working alongside chart-topping – and fellow Hyde Street Studios producer, Jaimeson Durr (Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Train, Mickey Hart) on the record, he describes his band, The Neverlutionaries as “psychedelic soul mixed with catchy alt rock textures” made up of “a revolving cast of talented musicians, including legendary Kidrock guitarist, Kenny Olson.”
With the EP release date fast approaching, it was a real blow to have to stop everything. Getting hold of the EVO 4 audio interface however, meant he could get productive whilst staying put. His ‘pared-down’ setup now comprises an iMac 21.5, EVO 4, Studio One software, Auralex decoupling speaker stands/foam and AKG 214 microphones. “EVO 4 is a game changer in my humble opinion,” he says. “It’s super cost-effective and the small footprint is a major advantage where space is concerned.”
“The Smartgain feature is beyond cool!”
As with many of us, Christopher struggled to access his creativity early on during the pandemic. “These are serious times, and at first I was not able to play anything for a few weeks as I was a tad freaked out over all of it. Then I settled down and started to acclimatise to the new energy.” That’s when the ideas started bubbling up again – making it even more important to capture them fast, without fiddling around with setting levels.
Enter EVO 4. “The Smartgain feature is beyond cool! This allows me to get through the technical aspects within a few short moves and dive right into creating. I’ve used other interfaces in the past that were not user friendly and by the time you figure it out on the fly, the song idea has flown away!” he laughs.
“The convenience of having an instrument input on the front of the unit next to the headphone jack is also very nice. Being able to access the monitor controls and output with one button is great too! When they designed this unit, they took the time to ask all the right questions and deliver answers, as this is as user friendly of an interface as it gets.”
“[EVO 4] is as user friendly of an interface as it gets”
With his talents ranging from bass, guitar, vocals and production, Christopher has always been dedicated to his craft. “I’ve shared stages and jammed with so many cool artists from metal dudes, Metallica to rapper Bubba Sparxxx and members of The Roots,” he reminisces. Yet over the last weeks he seems to have broken new boundaries. “It has made me dig deeper than ever before, with everything from lyrical content to more emotion in everything I play,” he says, vowing to work even more. “I am using the darkness of what is happening to inspire light and hopefully the music I create will help entertain and heal.”
EVO loves that. Hear The Neverlutionaries’ new song, Ticking Away with Christopher’s vocals, guitars & bass all recorded using EVO 4. Follow the band on Instagram and Facebook.
