The S&V Interview

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The S&V Interview
HT Talks To: Mike Inchalik
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 18, 2006  |  0 comments
Mike Inchalik, Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at DTS Digital Images, Talks shop about film restoration.

Most consumers take for granted the awesome video quality of DVD. You might never consider the often decrepit physical condition of many of your favorite classic movies, which were shot on a variety of film stocks and have suffered any number of indignities over the ensuing decades. We discuss restoration frequently in these pages, but many readers want to know more. So, we went to the unrivaled experts. DTS Digital Images—formerly Lowry Digital Images—was founded by the now legendary John Lowry, whose name has become a seal of approval on well over 100 celebrated film restorations. Exclusively for HT, Mike Inchalik of DTS Digital Images pulled back the curtain on their closely guarded, much envied process.

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The S&V Interview
HT Talks To: Randal Kleiser
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 13, 2007  |  First Published: Jul 13, 2007  |  0 comments
A working director ever since film school, Randal Kleiser talks to us about his latest, his greatest, and his now famous USC roommate.

After years in television (The Boy in the Plastic Bubble), director Randal Kleiser earned a place in Hollywood history with his joyous adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease, soon followed by his updated ode to young love, The Blue Lagoon. He's kept busy in the ensuing years with an impressive slate of new projects and sequels—although the notorious Grease 2 was not his. We caught up with him as the DVD of his romantic comedy, Love Wrecked, which premiered on the ABC Family channel earlier this year, was being released on DVD from Genius Products/The Weinstein Company.

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The S&V Interview
HT Talks To: Sony Pictures Imageworks
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 28, 2008  |  0 comments
These guys make the image work: peter nofz, jonathan cohen, and spencer cook.

The most popular movie of the year and breaker of just about every box-office record, Spider-Man 3 owes much of its success to its seamless, high-impact visual storytelling. Vast portions of this were rendered in the computers at Sony Pictures Imageworks, the digital production studio that helped bring life to all three arachno-adventures. On the occasion of the release of this latest chapter on DVD—and the entire trilogy in a magnificent Blu-ray set—Sony invited HT to speak with three of the very dedicated men of Imageworks. Digital effects supervisor Peter Nofz, special projects computer graphics supervisor Jonathan Cohen, and animation supervisor Spencer Cook are all gifted artists and masters of their individual technologies. Each has different responsibilities, yet is proud of his role within the elaborate team. And their work speaks for itself—even when you don't notice it.

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The S&V Interview
Hysteria Blues: Going Delta Deep With Def Leppard Guitarist Phil Collen
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 29, 2015  |  0 comments
Dave Grohl is often acknowledged as being the nicest, coolest/cheeriest guy in rock & roll, and while I can indeed confirm Messr. Grohl is (to use a technical term) an absolute mensch amongst mensches, I also happen to think Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen could give Dave a run for his money. Collen is also passionate about sharing his creativity beyond the lighted stage, and he's the mastermind behind the self-titled debut of Delta Deep. “You could call it a punk/blues mixture,” Collen says of the album. “We just made music that made us feel great, and there are loads of people out there looking for that who appreciate that. There are a lot of people out there who dig real music.” Recently, Collen, 57, and I got together to dive on down into Delta Deep’s sonic origins, rediscovering the joys of vinyl, and the signal he gets when he’s in the right improv zone onstage. Pour some blues sugar on us, Phil.
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The S&V Interview
Ian Anderson on the Zealous Nature of Jethro Tull's Past, Present, and Future
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 04, 2022  |  1 comments
Ian Anderson has never taken his foot off the creative gas when it comes to both producing new music and harvesting the wealth of catalog material from Jethro Tull, the groundbreaking prog/folk hybrid band he co-founded in 1967.

That said, considering just how active an artist Anderson has been over the past six-plus decades, it might surprise you to learn the stalwart British collective's latest release, The Zealot Gene (InsideOut Music) is in fact the first new Tull studio album in more than 19 years.
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The S&V Interview
In the Court of Ian McDonald
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 30, 2020  |  0 comments
Mike Mettler sits down with British multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, who has laid down some of the most intriguing, instantly recognizable sounds that ruled the FM airwaves during the initial rock era of the late 20th Century and on into the next.
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CES 2024The S&V InterviewShows
Interview: Focal Aria Evo X Speakers
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 15, 2024  |  0 comments
With over four decades of innovation, Focal has continually set the bar for sound fidelity and speaker design. Today, we're diving into their latest creation, the Aria Evo X, and exploring how Focal's approach to developing and marketing audio technology has evolved and led to this exciting new update to the popular, but decade-old Aria speaker line.

Joining me are Cedrick Boutonet—CEO of Vervent Audio Group, overseeing both Focal and Naim, and Arnaud Hendoux—managing director for Americas at Vervent Audio Group. We discuss the strategic importance of in-house speaker development and manufacturing, a cornerstone of Focal's identity and success.

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The S&V Interview
Is There Sound on Mars?
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 24, 2018  |  0 comments
The concept of whether sound exists and actually could flourish in space — or not — was very much on my mind as I sat down with the creative and scientific teams behind National Geographic’s groundbreaking series MARS, which returns for a second season on the National Geographic Channel (a.k.a. Nat Geo) on November 12. I asked nine members of the MARS creative team about the aural choices they had to make about scoring the show, the science of sound in space, and whether they’d sign up for a mission to Mars themselves.
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Music and Soundtrack FeaturesThe S&V Interview
Jakko M. Jakszyk Balances Secrets, Lies & King Crimson
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 13, 2020  |  0 comments
Like most musicians, Jakko M. Jaksyzk was not planning on spending the bulk of 2020 at home. For one thing, the celebrated progressive-leaning British guitarist/vocalist was more than ready to continue with King Crimson's ongoing 50th anniversary tour that had begun in earnest in 2019. (Sidenote: most of Crimson's 2020 dates have since been reset for 2021.). Not only that, Jaksyzk had composed a short set of experimental, narrative performance pieces that were commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for him to perform solo during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, but that event was also scotched.
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The S&V Interview
James Guthrie on Mixing Roger Waters and Pink Floyd in 5.1
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 25, 2015  |  1 comments
Good things come to those who wait, as the saying goes. But when it comes to finally getting producer/engineer James Guthrie’s long-awaited 96kHz/24-bit mix of Roger Waters’ 1992 solo album Amused to Death in 5.1 on Blu-ray in hand, well… the word “good” isn’t quite good enough. “Great” is certainly a step up, but I’m going to have to go with a superlative along the lines of “stellar,” “outstanding,” and/or “stunning,” for Guthrie’s surround-sound treatment of Amused catapults an oft-overlooked entry in Waters’ storied canon of work into a new sonic stratosphere. Recently, Guthrie and I spent a fair amount of time going over his goals for bringing Amused into the surround universe and sharing his favorite moments from The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here in 5.1, plus he reveals exclusively what Floyd-related project he’ll next tackle in 5.1. It’s a miracle — another miracle.
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The S&V Interview
JD Souther Hastens Down the Hi-Res Wind
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 24, 2016  |  0 comments
Consummate singer/songwriter JD Souther pours a lot of history into every line he writes and records. “I can’t consciously put my finger on it, but I can remember probably every piece of music I’ve ever heard,” he admits. “But it’s just at certain times, not all at once. I’m sure bits of it come out in everything I write.” Souther, who's co-written songs and worked extensively with the likes of the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, also has an uncanny knack for making a melody all his own, and he has a critical ear for just how good the finished product has to sound. And now, thanks to Omnivore Records, we get to revisit Souther’s own recorded canon with the triple-threat CD reissuing of his first three heretofore hard-to-find solo albums: John David Souther (1972), Black Rose (1976), and Home by Dawn (1984). Souther, 70, and I got on the line to discuss the improved sonics of this reissue series, writing with Glenn Frey, sharing golden-ear minutiae with Ronstadt, and his passion for high resolution and great stereo gear. Some people call it music and some people call it gold, but nobody knows how to hone a mix quite like JD does.
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The S&V Interview
JD Souther on the Legend of Longbranch/Pennywhistle
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 10, 2018  |  0 comments
This is the ballad of Longbranch/Pennywhistle, the legendary 1969 collaboration between late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey and his longstanding songwriting compadre, JD Souther. We got on the line with Souther to discuss the reissue’s sonic-restoration process, whether he thinks Longbranch/Pennywhistle pioneered the country rock movement, the origins of a truly unique band name, and the singular legacy of Glenn Frey.
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The S&V Interview
Jean-Michel Jarre Dives Deep Into Equinoxe Infinity
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 28, 2018  |  0 comments
We got on the line with electronic music maestro Jean-Michel Jarre to discuss his adventurous new album Equinoxe Infinity, his far-reaching “multi-mono” surround sound goals, how to best harness the way music moves through space, and how he fielded a “spatial” performance suggestion from noted sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke.
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Reference TracksThe S&V Interview
Jim Kerr Sustains Simple Minds with a ‘Walk Between Worlds’
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 18, 2018  |  1 comments
When the time comes to record new music, veteran bands often run the risk of being trapped trying to replicate their past successes to a sonic T by playing it safe and serving up a relatively pale companion to the recognizable sound they’ve established over their careers.

It’s something that was clearly permeating the brainwaves of Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr and his songwriting foil, guitarist/keyboardist Charlie Burchill, as the pair began to construct the tracks that would comprise their new studio album, the aptly named Walk Between Worlds (BMG)...

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The S&V Interview
Joan Armatrading on Her Love and Affection for Quality Sound
Mike Mettler  |  May 28, 2015  |  0 comments
For musicians of a certain era, it was either The Beatles, Elvis, or the blues that inspired them to start making their own music. For singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading, all it took was the furniture in her house. “This is what I was born to do,” says Armatrading, who’s originally from Antigua. “My mother bought a piano and put it in the front room. She didn’t buy it because she thought somebody was going to play it; she bought it because it was a great piece of furniture. Literally on the day it arrived, I started writing songs.” To get a further, purer taste of her songwriting prowess, it’s worth checking out the two-disc Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975-1983) collection, mastered in 96/24 by Erick Labson, which showcases a key segment of her decade-plus run on A&M Records. The lost-in-scat-and-strings vibe of “Love and Affection,” the raw-nerve toucher “Down to Zero” (complete with wafty-cool pedal-steel support), and the ’80s-fueled fury of “(I Love It When You) Call Me Names” are all prime evidence that Armatrading has always been at the forefront of matching a songwriter’s emotional intent with a particular sound-quality standard, without compromise. During a recent tour stop in Chicago, I called Armatrading, 60, to discuss the nuances of her live show, her in-studio sound-quality inclinations, and her initial music-making inspirations. Everybody gotta know this feeling inside.
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