Genelec and Mick Sawaguchi experiment with immersive subjective audio

Japanese engineer Mick Sawaguchi experiments with the help of Genelec GLM monitors and calibration on the possibilities of “subjective immersion”.

Genelec has collaborated with the Japanese engineer Mick Sawaguchi to produce a series of immersive classical recordings high-quality recordings that capture the performances of a group of renowned Finnish musicians in the Room Sibelius de Lahti in Finland. The recordings, which relied heavily on Genelec monitors throughout, were premiered at the recent Inter BEE in Japan and will form a key part of Genelec critical listening sessions at global shows and events in the future.

Sawaguchi remembers how the project came about through conversations at last year's AES Spatial Audio conference in Tokyo. "I gave a lecture on immersive music recording and demonstrated several recordings from the Unamas label in the Genelec demo room. At the event I spoke with Genelec director Siamäk Naghian about the possibility of working together on an immersive recording that could become a benchmark album for the company."

A year later, the project had been further developed with professional double bassist and brand artist Genelec, Juho Martikainen, working closely with Sawaguchi on the concept. The couple worked to select music for the recording and classical musicians for the performance.

“It was a very natural process and there was a lot of freedom to decide who I would like to play with and what kind of repertoire to record,” says Martikainen. “Mick loves the sound of double bass and wanted classical performances, as he felt this type of music really suited the surround audio format.

“I went through many options when it came to choosing the pieces, but I decided to play it safe and go with Franz Schubert's Trout Quintet for the first piece, as it is an all-time favorite for me,” Martikainen continues. "Then we chose Jean-Baptiste Barriere's sonata number 10, which is a baroque piece, originally composed for two cellos, but instead we played an arrangement for double bass and cello. And then, of course, I had to play a piece composed by Giovanni Bottesini, as I believe he was a true master of the instrument. So I chose perhaps his most famous piece, Elegy.

spider tree

“We wanted to use the latest equipment, but keep the microphone as simple as possible,” adds Sawaguchi. "We opted for a spider tree setup with the artists placed around the main microphone, with other microphones placed to capture the rich sound of the room. This is what I call 'Subjective Immersion', since we are using microphones as tools to capture art."

The monitoring solution comprised a pair of monitores 8341 de Genelec located in the lobby of Sibelius Hall in Lahti, which functioned as a monitoring room for immersive recording before final mixing by Sawaguchi in his recording studio in Japan. In this type of ad-hoc monitoring environment, the GLM calibration software from Genelec has been invaluable in optimizing the 8341 for the space and minimizing any unwanted acoustic influences.

“With this type of on-site recording, monitoring situations can be difficult as it is very rare to find a recording location where there is a dedicated monitoring room with good acoustics,” observes Martikainen. “But the 8341s were the perfect solution, as we could all hear what we had played and what it really sounded like, which is ideal for musicians.

“I think that nowadays, in general, many recordings are too polished and end up losing the vibe and atmosphere of the current moment,” reflects Martikainen. "For us at Genelec, it's all about the music and this is the point we were trying to make. It's about creativity and being there to help inspire the best possible level of musical ability. I was very happy when I heard the songs and I think the system has captured this vibe brilliantly."

Following its first public performance at Inter BEE, the recordings will be used to help showcase Genelec's immersive systems at events around the world, and Genelec is also investigating what other types of platforms it can use for immersive material.

“I think there has been a huge increase in the popularity of immersive music and I am sure it will be the new format that customers will use and enjoy,” says Martikainen.

Looking back fondly on the experience, Martikainen concludes by stating that "working with Mick Sawaguchi on this project was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As a musician, it was a great thing to be a part of, and I feel incredibly lucky to have played with great colleagues in a great hall with great equipment... it doesn't get any better than that!"