New Zealand - Composer and music editor Stephen Gallagher installed an Audient Oria in his studio last year, just in time for him to complete the score for the new anime feature, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim which debuted on streaming services a couple of weeks ago.
“Audient has had such a great reputation for many years,” he says. “I didn’t end up getting my first Audient product until I was composing the score for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Our music editor, Alana Janssen, purchased an Evo 16 for her rig. I was so knocked out by it that I went out and got one for my home setup.”
Once he’d discovered what the 24 in/out Evo 16 audio interface was capable of, his eyes - and ears - were opened to Oria. “After reading the first stunning reviews of the Oria online, my expectations were high,” he says. He had already been mixing spatial audio but had found initial setups with other units quite complex. Describing setting up the immersive audio interface and monitor controller, Oria “shockingly (and welcomingly!) straightforward” however, he found his workflow instantly improved.
“Oria introduces a simplified set-up process, it allows me to effortlessly change between an immersive and a stereo monitoring profile with the monitoring app, the bundled Sonarworks software and mic mean that room/speaker calibration is a comparatively easy procedure.” He continues: “The Oria helps to streamline so much of the workflow. It is very efficient. Very slick.”
With the market and audience for immersive listening on the rise Stephen is enjoying getting to grips with it all. “I have to admit to still learning how to navigate in this environment,” he says. “I am very excited about what the immersive expressive possibilities for music could be.”
Based in Wellington, capital city of New Zealand, he describes his setup as fairly simple, comprising everything from computers, speakers and controller keyboards to favourite synths, guitars, a large teapot, the Audient Evo 16 and a cat named Cleo. And as of November last year, an Audient Oria.
The latest project he’s just completed was a TV show called Secrets At Red Rocks which he and composer David Long wrote together. It was also the first project where he has used the Oria from start to finish. “I compose in Pro Tools and the unit seamlessly integrates with this software. I tracked all my parts and vocals through the Oria's lovely mic pres, I mixed my cues using the ORIA as the monitor controller.”
