The S&V Interview

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The S&V Interview
Producer/Engineer Bruce Botnick Lights The Doors' 5.1 and Hi-Res Audio Fire
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 25, 2015  |  First Published: Jun 24, 2015  | 
Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Records, believes the key to The Doors' sound lies in how the band and its ace production team — producer Paul A. Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick — all pulled together to make sure the integrity of the band’s sound was preserved on record. “We made albums so carefully,” Holzman notes. “I think the attention to the detail and the fussing over getting everything just right and not letting it go out otherwise are some of the reasons The Doors have held up over time. We had it right to begin with.” I rang Botnick up in California to discuss how he helped orchestrate The Doors’ formidable sonic legacy, how he translated said legacy into surround sound, and why he also still digs vinyl. Their music is your special friend, until the end.
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The S&V Interview
Prog Giants Nektar Remember The Future from The Other Side
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 26, 2020  | 
Some bands have sonic innovation flowing through their veins, right from conception. Case in point: Nektar, the progressive European collective who initially made their bones in Germany in the 1970s, even though their founding members were all from the U.K. Early, mind-expanding Nektar albums like 1971’s Journey to the Centre of the Eye, 1972’s A Tab in the Ocean, and 1973’s Remember the Future were all said to have influenced the always exploratory likes of Pink Floyd. I sat down with Derek “Mo” Moore and founding drummer Ron Howden to discuss the enduring legacy of their deep canon and how they address their history on their recent album The Other Side.
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The S&V InterviewAudio Video News
Qobuz: Coming to America
Bob Ankosko  |  Jun 21, 2018  | 
15 Minutes with David Solomon

Move over Tidal. Qobuz (pronounced “ko-buzz”) is coming to the States this fall, armed with a 2-million-track arsenal of hi-res music and a web portal that makes Tidal’s slick homepage seem confined. We checked in with AV industry veteran David Solomon, newly appointed Chief High-Res Evangelist for Qobuz, to learn more about the music service and its unusual name.

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The S&V Interview
Rainbow “Since You Been Gone” Vocalist Graham Bonnet Opens a New Book
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 21, 2016  | 
Rainbow was looking for a hit, as bandleader/guitarist Richie Blackmore wanted to hear his songs on the radio. After scores of vocal auditions in 1979, they finally hit upon Graham Bonnet, who sang lead on Rainbow's breakout track, “Since You Been Gone.” Bonnet got on the horn to discuss his new solo album The Book, where he likes to hear his vocals in a mix, how he transformed “Since You Been Gone” from a pop song into a rock hit, and coming to grips with living in the streaming universe.
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The S&V Interview
Reese Wynans: A Consummate Sideman Fronts His First, Sweet Solo Release
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 20, 2019  | 
Keyboard maestro Reese Wynans called us from his homebase in Nashville to discuss how he and producer/partner Joe Bonamassa decided where his organ should appear in the final mixes of his first ever solo album Sweet Release, why he began listening to vinyl again, and how he had to instantly be on his A-game when he first joined up with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
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The S&V Interview
Remembering Sir George Martin: Producer Way Beyond Compare
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 11, 2016  | 
Sir George Martin passed away at the age of 90 in Wiltshire, England on March 8, 2016. Best known for his indelible, enduring, and daringly innovative studio work with The Beatles from 1962–70, Martin also produced a wide swath of artists including Peter Sellers, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Shirley Bassey, Ella Fitzgerald, The Bee Gees, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, America, Jeff Beck, and Cheap Trick. (The list could indeed go on and on and on...) Perhaps ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne (and onetime latter-day Beatles producer himself) said it best: “His productions were brilliant. He created his own sound.” I reached out to a number of musicians and producers to get their impressions of Sir George’s legacy from behind the board, as a trusted collaborator, and as someone who forever changed the way we listen to pop and rock music.
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The S&V Interview
Return of The Hunter: Jennifer Warnes Takes Us to Another Time, Another Place
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 06, 2018  | 
Photos: Herclayheart

Some vocalists turn everything they sing into pure audio gold. One such vocalist is Jennifer Warnes, who brings originality, style, and grace to everything her voice touches, as her new album Another Time, Another Place readily attests. Warnes got on the line to discuss the meticulous process she goes through in making her song choices, her special relationship with Leonard Cohen, and why she feels her voice continues to resonate with her listeners.

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The S&V Interview
Reviving a Classic: The Rebirth of KLH Audio
Bob Ankosko  |  Mar 16, 2023  | 

15 Minutes with David P. Kelley, CEO of KLH Audio

The return of the KLH was big news at 2018 CES. Industry pundits and audio enthusiasts looked on with great interest and a little skepticism. Could the iconic brand cofounded by hi-fi pioneer Henry Kloss in 1957 be resurrected in a way that would pay homage to its founder? We recently caught up with David P. Kelley, who acquired the brand in 2017, to learn more about what the new KLH has accomplished since then and to get a preview of what’s on the horizon. Indeed, the future is bright as Kelley reveals plans for a new speaker built around the acoustic-suspension principles Henry Kloss made famous.

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The S&V Interview
Richard Lloyd: The Countdown Will Be Televised
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 21, 2018  | 
We got on the line with iconoclast guitarist Richard Lloyd to discuss the vinyl-intended sonic template of his new laser-sharp solo album The Countdown, why Television’s seminal 1977 debut album Marquee Moon remains perpetually influential, and his take on creating sound in outer space.
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The S&V Interview
Richie Kotzen Seeds His Songwriting Future on Salting Earth
Mike Mettler  |  May 18, 2017  | 
Richie Kotzen is a human dynamo. The prolific triple-threat songwriter/guitarist/vocalist has just released his, yes, 21st solo album, Salting Earth, on his own custom label, Headroom-Inc., but he doesn’t view that somewhat stunning stat as any kind of milestone. “I started making records when I was 18 [circa 1988], so it all makes sense to me. I’m persistent and consistent.” I got on the horn with Kotzen, 47, to discuss how microphones and preamp choices are critical for getting the sounds you want in the studio, why compression is a good thing, and his views on streaming.
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The S&V Interview
Rick Wakeman: Variations on a Melody
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 09, 2019  | 
British keyboard maestro Rick Wakeman called us from across the Pond to discuss the current (and future) status of that cherished Yes/ARW collective, why he continues to endorse surround sound and vinyl listening, why he needed to get Brian May’s approval to cover “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and when’s the right and wrong time to wear his signature cape onstage during a performance.
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The S&V Interview
Rickey Medlocke Conjures the Next Generation of Blackfoot
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 05, 2016  | 
Rickey Medlocke's latest pet project has been to shepherd the next-generation incarnation of his beloved Blackfoot, who have committed their hard-charging sound to the grooves of a new album, Southern Native (Loud & Proud Records), that beautifully meshes traditional tones with modern sensibilities. I got on the horn with Medlocke to discuss the genesis of Southern Native, keeping true to his analog-centric inclinations, and what it was like working with his grandfather Shorty Medlocke back in the early days. It’s a highway song that keeps going on and on...
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The S&V InterviewAudio Video News
Ridding the World of Bad Sound
Bob Ankosko  |  Mar 09, 2017  | 

15 Minutes with Dirac Founder Mathias Johansson

Mathias Johansson, CEO and co-founder of Sweden’s Dirac Research, has devoted his professional life to developing technologies that improve sound quality—whether that sound is music heard over headphones or car speakers, or an intricate Dolby Atmos soundtrack played over a high-end home theater system. “Our passion is to invent new sound technologies that offer a better sound experience regardless of the sound system,” he says. “We want to be a quality seal for good sound, and we want to achieve this through scientific methods.” If the accolades the Dirac Live room-correction system has garnered among enthusiasts is any measure, Johansson is not only on the right path to elevating sound quality but making tangible progress.
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The S&V Interview
Rik Emmett on the Allied Forces Behind the Sound of RESolution9
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 19, 2016  | 
Rik Emmett is an artist who’s always reveled in the creative benefits of teamwork and collaboration. The former guitarist/vocalist of Canadian power trio Triumph has forged quite the formidable and far-reaching solo career since he left the band in 1988, but he’s quite adamant about the all-for-one, band-centric, and exhilaratingly electrifying flavor of RES 9 (Provogue Records), the forthcoming album from his new four-man collective that’s been appropriately dubbed Rik Emmett & RESolution9. I called Emmett, 63, to discuss the sonic impetus behind RES 9’s audio identity, how life experience informs his songwriting, and the ongoing impact of Triumph’s Allied Forces, which was released 35 years ago this past September. “I got a burning heart/I got a hungry soul,” Emmett sings on “Human Race.” RES 9 more than RESolves the pangs of those cravings.
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The S&V Interview
Robbie Robertson on the 50th Anniversary of The Band’s Music From Big Pink
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 12, 2018  | 
Photo: Elliot Landy (1968)

Released 50 years ago this past July 1, The Band's Music From Big Pink immediately set the world of popular music on its collective ear, and it's now being celebrated in a super-deluxe box set that includes a 24/96 5.1 mix of the album on Blu-ray. We get on the line with Band mastermind Robbie Robertson to discuss the secret to the overall intimacy of the Big Pink recording itself, the key elements that make the 5.1 versions of “The Weight” and “Chest Fever” instant benchmark reference tracks, and what Band album he’d be interested in having remixed in 5.1 next.

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