Nishan Daniel: The man at the controls
This week on The Local Scene, instead of featuring an artiste we speak to someone who works tirelessly behind the scenes to make artistes sound awesome! Meet Nishan Daniel, one of the key members of the production team working at Hit Factory - the music empire built by Ranga Dissanayake better known as the godfather of production in Sri Lanka. Nishan has been involved in music for a really long time and if you don’t find him in the studio you are bound to find him at some concert. Check out his take on life as a recording engineer.
What’s life like in the day of a recording engineer?
It's fun! Sitting behind a console all day and crafting the sound of a song till its just perfect.. It's more of an art form than actual "engineering"...
What defines a good song?
For me - good lyrics, catchy melody, effective music arrangement and "sound" production techniques all contribute to a good song! If one of these factors are bad then it's not a good song! (Typical recording engineer/music producer answer).
So far what has been the most memorable track you have produced?
Difficult to pick one... But if I had to, it would be "Awesome God (dub step cover version)" featuring Gehan Samuel which was the first Christian dubstep track in Sri Lanka and "Remember Me" by CC which I produced for the Hit Factory Sessions.
Do you get sick of a song having to listen to it over and over again?
If you are to be a good producer you need to be able to listen and appreciate all genres of music so no I don’t...(unless its a Bieber song).
Some of the best artistes you have worked with thus far?
Each artiste I have worked with is amazing in his or her own way so I can't compare them and say who is "best" but I have been blessed to work with great artistes like Devashri De Silva, CC, Sheaam Deen, Dilan Jayakody, Natasha Senanayake and Asiri Fernando to name a few.
What captivates you to go the extra mile and make a song sound more awesome than it should?
The search for the perfect blend of sounds in a song! It always drives me to strive a little extra to craft the sound to be as perfect as it can be!
What would you say to artistes who want you to "auto tune" them?
Depends on why they want it. My view on auto tune is very simple! I would never use it to fix the voice of someone who can't sing. I don't believe in "cheating" listeners so that I can earn a buck. I try to get the most out of the vocalist and I would use it as an effect or to pitch correct vocals that are minutely "pitchy".
Your thoughts on the English music scene in Sri Lanka?
The English music scene in SL is severely underrated. Artistes are hesitant to write their own music just cos they have been discouraged or been told "it doesn't work in Sri Lanka". I believe that the Sri Lankan audience needs to accept and be more receptive to original Sri Lankan English music than all the covers and commercial music.
Your toughest production to date?
TOUGH question! Any composition comes with its own complications. Anything my boss (Ranga Dasanayake) gives me to produce, well those are the toughest challenges, but he is a master at moulding and guiding talent which makes every production a learning experience!
By Reihan Stephen
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