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Deepsky Remixes with the Mackie UAD-1
LOS ANGELES,CA - December 3, 2002 - Jason Blum and J. Scott Giaquinta, the duo that comprises Deepsky, may be well known in the dance and electronica worlds, but they are on the verge of even greater recognition. In recent months, they have been called upon to remix the David Bowie single, I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship from his 2002 album, Heathen and Madonna's Die Another Day single from the James Bond movie of the same name. In an unusual move, that remix and single were released simultaneously, bringing even more attention to the sonic abilities of Deepsky. Deepsky's most recent album, "In Silico", reveals their production style - total production within the computer. And, given their approach, they were early on the waiting list for the Mackie UAD-1 and Powered Plug-Ins when first announced. "We were drumming our fingers until it hit the market," said Jason. Since acquiring the UAD-1, the pair has found it an indispensable part of their production process. On vocals, they rely on the LA-2A to, as Scott puts it, "make big sounds bigger". Jason adds, "There's really no other compression we've used in the digital realm that can "glue" sounds together so well. It's one of those transparent effects that you can hear, like a really high-end reverb. It almost isn't there, but because of that it makes the material sound so much better. Just using the LA-2A on things like vocals and lead sounds makes them smooth and present. You can really turn them up in the mix and yet they don't sound brash or up front." Like many UAD-1 users, Deepsky appreciate the advantages of achieving a vintage analog sound through DSP processing. According to Jason, "They're really so much like the original pieces of hardware - it's almost unthinkable that they would be able to sell this card for $700 where you can run 15 or 20 of these 1176s side by side, when it costs $2500 to buy one. You can't get that many units in a room without raising the temperature to like 150 degrees." Adds Scott, "The guy that designed those algorithms must feel like a stud." Deepsky found the Mackie UAD-1 and its plug-ins extremely valuable on both the Bowie and Madonna remixes, employing the 1176 and LA-2A for bus compression. They find both useful to "glue together" multiple electronic drum sources to create a cohesive sound. The Nigel amp modeler was also used on guitars in the Bowie mix. "It's some of the best sounding digital distortion that I've ever heard," said Scott. The recently released Pultec emulation found its way into both mixes as a bus EQ. According to Jason, "It's great for taking sharp edges off of highs and generally makes everything you run through it sound great. It's the magic box. If you had to open it up, you might find an empty box full of fairy dust." Scott adds, "We handled track-based EQ on both songs almost entirely with the EX1. It's a very processor-efficient plug-in that doesn't chew up too many cycles on the card, so we usually strap one across just about every channel. In spite of its efficiency, it still sounds better than any of the native EQ plug-in out there." Coming from the dance and electronica worlds, Deepsky embraces the blend of analog sound and digital productivity. "I like the sound of old analog equipment, but I like the things you can do with modern electronics. I think that the warmth that analog compressors give (or their emulations) is the kind of sound that we're looking for. We don't want to sound too digital and I think that the UAD-1 card has helped us to not sound as digital as we used to," said Scott. Jason elaborates on the benefits of their all-digital production style, "Being able to do music completely in the computer doubles our productivity. We're on the road so much that now we can work while we're traveling just like we're at home. Having that kind of power allows us to do more projects. And not only that, it's a cleaner sound; the noise floor is lower and it sounds better than anything we've done before." Deepsky is at work on another studio album, this time around with more song-based compositions and organic instrumentation. With the success of the Bowie and Madonna remixes, we can expect to hear more from this dynamic duo very soon. For more information on Deepsky, For more information on the Mackie
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