Audient’s iD14 and iD44 were essential pieces of kit for this summer’s writing camps hosted at Cenzo Townshend’s Suffolk-based Decoy Studios. Attended by industry giants including Ed Sheeran, Lewis Capaldi, Clean Bandit, Sam Smith, Anne-Marie, Stargate, Medusa, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Max Martin, Steve Mac, Billen Ted and many others, the writing camps have been so popular that further audio interfaces were needed to meet demand!
iD Series: “easy to use and quick to set up”
Attendees are spread across the four independent studios; live room, control room, library and writing room. Those that are set up in either the library or writing room only require a couple of mic pres – which is where iD14 comes in. Decoy Studios’ Camden Clarke explains what they love about the Audient interfaces in particular: “The pace of writing camps tends to be very quick. They need the equipment to be easy to use and quick to set up so that they can track top liners as ideas come to them.
“With the new iD14 you’re able to use phantom power without a power supply and don’t need to download a driver in order for the interface to be working. Clients often use this interface in series with a Sontronics Mercury and Distressor giving them great results.” Exactly what they’re after.
The live room – which has far more instruments on offer – comes complete with Audient’s larger iD44 audio interface. “This allows them four mic pres which are usually used for vocal, guitar and piano L + R.”
“Using either of the audio interface units with the Nero gives songwriters the perfect setup”
Each of the studio spaces can host between three and five songwriters. “The artist tends to jump between the rooms throughout the day, allowing them to collaborate with different groups of songwriters over a one to two-week camp. With this type of session we can expect anywhere between 5 and 20 writers using the studio,” continues Camden.
Decoy Studios also boasts the Nero from Audient, which centralises and connects all monitoring via one desktop controller. “Using either of the audio interface units with the Nero gives songwriters the perfect setup as they often request a monitor station which provides them with multiple headphone levels,” he says.
Writing camps are organised by the artists’ management or label, and according to Camden, have been a great success this year. “Decoy Studios offers well equipped rooms, naturally lit spaces and acres of beautiful surrounding countryside. This combination provides clients the workspace they need to collaborate talent, minimise distraction and maximise the creation of new music.”
A perfect setup indeed. Long may they continue!
