Feeling Dangerous with Dangerous Music

April 1, 2021 - News, Stories
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Electronic music grabbed me when I was 16-years-old and has yet to let go for more than 30 years now. I was one of the pioneers of the Israeli chill-out scene to perform worldwide as Kukan Dub Lagan, an electronic downtempo project. In between then and now I worked as a sound engineer for one of the top sound and light companies in Israel, and performed everywhere from Europe and Russia to Japan and New Zealand. I had been lucky enough to perform around the world in the underground scene, as well as at big-time festivals across the globe like Portugal’s Boom Festival, Psy Fi in The Netherlands, and Sziget & Ozora in Hungary just to name a few.

Over the years I have developed my unique production style & taste in music which also inspired me to create ¨Feel Life Music¨, a professional worldwide booking agency, based in Barcelona, concentrating on high-quality music, managing international bookings & representing top-level artists exclusively worldwide. I provide management & bookings services, lineup curations at events all over the world, mixing and mastering, and much more… This makes me be highly meticulous about music quality, how it sounds, how it was produced, mixed, and mastered. I love analysing mixing and mastering. I always like to check what equipment has been used and how it’s used in the production mixing and mastering process. When your standards are high, you recognise when top-quality equipment was involved in the productions you like and appreciate, and this is how I fell in love with Dangerous music.

Dangerous Music has always been an indication of extraordinary quality and prominence for me. Endless Grammy awards associated with their equipment, top engineers worldwide use it in their setups and this as well shows a proof of quality.

I wanted my music, mixes, and mastering to sound the best without losing any quality when converting to digital and to have the best exemplify analog sound back into the daw. The convert AD+ was the perfect choice for me. Wide and open sound, proper headroom so I can push the levels ( A bit ; )), It got dual analog inputs, where I capture the analog process, back into the daw, while I can plug a preamp ( or another analog chain ) into the second input and record it with proper headroom, depth, detail, and clarity. The AD+ offers flexible outputs to choose from. The Sonic benefits are amazing. You have a high-resolution stereo level meter which you can zoom up to 10db range, a great resolution to watch over while engaging the Clip guard, that prevents a digital clipping in the Daw. An important detail to know is that the clip guard is not a limiter. In fact, I have a limiter just before the AD+.

So, the best A/D converter, a superb mix bus processor, and a world-class master clock. There are Hammond transformers you can engage with the x former insert button, and emphasis dial controlling the harmonic sweetness. A prestigious final touch in my mastering chain. A unique audio signature. Couldn’t ask for more.

As soon as I dived into the Dangerous musical world, I was addicted! I follow this up by adding the Dangerous Compressor and the Bax EQ.

I love how the Bax EQ sounds and how its shapes your two bus. The hi-pass filter is nothing less than amazing! Super transparent and one of the most efficient EQs out there. I love to open with it the stereo image. I have it first in the signal chain, then the dangerous compressor. I wanted a clean sound without coloration as I have a saturator I can apply after the compressor when needed. The compressor is perfect for gluing the mix without over-compressing the sound. I feel that it is preserving the clarity of the frequencies without damaging the audio. Warm and open signal path. Polishing and enhancing the signal. Then I can add my saturators, analog limiter ( happy to use it more as a clipper ), and capture all with the AD+, includes adding a nice harmonic saturation with the x former button on the AD+, and dialling in the right amount of emphasis to create a proper sparkle in my sound.

My next ¨Go and get it!¨ will be the Dangerous Liaison, so I’ll be able to connect all my analog gear into one box saving time and hassle and enjoy the benefits of parallel process and changing the chain without running around dispatching cables. Great way to switch and swap between the equipment.

For sure I’m going also for the 2Bus+ for summing. It has great three analog coloration options that sound superb. This will require having a proper DA convertor. The convert 8 is perfect for this. The Master is also on my watch list, a great tool to work on the M/S mix with the Liaison. In general to have a complete Dangerous system is the main target. Dangerously addicting!!! 🙂

 

In all this process of taking decisions, the right advise is needed, and this would not be possible without the right guides. Full credit goes to Nick Litwin from Mastering Mansion, Madrid, and Stefan Heger from Mastering Works, Germany ( Dangerous Europe ), that support and advise for all my questions.
It is super important to have professionals that are honest and direct, sharing their knowledge and opinions freely helping you shape and colour your sound. Thank you.
Itay Berger aka Kukan Dub Lagan / Feel Life Music

Barcelona, Spain.