FEATURES: RECORDING
Both control rooms have been flawlessly executed
Inside one of the two control rooms
Cheung is an endorsee of, can be
found classic Telefunken U47s and
an AEA R44C mic.
Village Studios doesn’t end
here; there are also a number of
equipment storage rooms, fullyequipped maintenance rooms for
carrying out repairs and service,
an industrial kitchen, a large
dining room and a residential wing
incorporating six en-suite bedrooms
and a master apartment suite. There
are also several of ces lined with Mr
Cheung’s gold discs, tour artwork
and multitudes of awards, plus areas
earmarked for future projects such as
the artist’s intention to offer training
and workshops.
The three-year development and
construction project saw WSDG
carrying out the majority of the
design work remotely, utilising highbandwidth videoconferencing and
other shared design and simulation
tools.
‘A good example was our design
modelling and auralisation of
the critical listening and tracking
rooms,’ says Mr Storyk. ‘Sound les
were transferred back and forth,
demonstrating the various recording
signatures that would happen as
we altered the design of the main
tracking room; basically creating
The recording space
Some of Village Studio’s guitar amps
was well worth the effort. ‘I would
not characterise this as the easiest
construction project we ever
participated in,’ recalls Mr Storyk.
‘There were a few speed bumps
in the road – they are now only
memories! What remains is the
nished studio, which ultimately was
completed to all of our speci cations.
During construction we sent WSDG
supervisors to China from time to
time, particularly for the systems
installation portion of the project.’
The studio is now in regular use,
both for Mr Cheung’s private projects,
including his latest album, Pink
Dahlia, and several music videos,
and also for outside clients including
Sandy Lam, Alan Tam, Sun Nan,
Eason Chan, Prudence Liew, George
Lam, movie star Zhang Zi Yi, and the
Hong Kong Sinfonietta orchestra.
loving, methodical way it is displayed,
bringing a human touch to this
beautifully-executed facility.
‘The sheer size of this studio and
that it was created successfully in
China puts it almost in a league
by itself,’ says Mr Storyk. ‘It was
an honour to work with Hins – so
technically savvy while at the same
time working with us and respecting
us as only an artist could do. Music,
and making sure that it received
the highest amount of respect, was
always the most important part
of the studio design. We should
not forget the attention we paid
to ensuring that the large tracking
room had natural daylight, as well
as the fact that virtually all the
rooms can see into each other, while
being highly isolated environments
for simultaneous operation. The
a change in the signature RT60 of
the room. This was the rst time we
had done this as extensively and as
remotely with a client. In essence, we
created the space collaboratively.’
When it came to physical
construction of the studio, a team
of local contractors with virtually no
studio experience was assembled.
Although this was a steep learning
curve for all involved, the outcome
The Village’s - orchestra live room with Mr Cheung conducting
The studio even boasts an
industrial-quality kitchen
The courtyard area outside
the studio
The beautifully crafted recording area
108 PRO AUDIO ASIA July–August 2014
Studio manager Derek Kwan, who
is also senior mixing and recording
engineer, was recruited last year and
clearly loves his work at the studio.
A bass player who studied at the
Musicians Institute in Los Angeles,
Mr Kwan found himself drawn
towards the technical side of the
recording process. ‘I just love learning
about the equipment and what you
can do with it; it has become my life,’
he says.
Village Studios embodies a rare
quality in the world of commercial
facilities. Despite its size, highly
professional design and top-of-therange recording equipment, Village
also has a very personal touch,
like a supersized project studio.
This is largely down to Mr Cheung’s
collection of vintage equipment,
memorabilia and artwork, and the
fact that so much of the project’s
acoustic design was auralised and
previewed with real audio les made
the design process very spec