News
Keane on Neve
23 October 2009
1073s provide perfect sound for Perfect Symmetry
The album reached number one within a week of its UK release, and was voted best album of the year by the readers of Q magazine. They also gave the award for best track of the year to the title song. Which will have pleased Keane… and also gave no little satisfaction to the team in charge of producing and marketing Neve’s classic outboard units, which played a huge part in the recording process.
‘Pretty much everything we recorded while we were making Perfect Symmetry went through 1073s,’ explains Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley. ‘They gave both warmth and air to any sound we put into them, be it vocals, bass, synths, strings, or anything else. We found them especially indispensable for the lead vocals. Tom [Chaplin] tracked nearly all his vocals using a basic live mic in the control room, so the 1073's ability to finesse that source into a warm, zesty, top-quality sound was absolutely vital to the success of the songs.’
In fact, Tim Rice-Oxley was so pleased with the results that he later bought a racked pair of Neve 1073 modules for his personal studio. Others wishing to experience perfection have a clear choice: buy Keane’s album… or buy some 1073s and record your own.
