Selection of Wireless Mics Captivates Audiences on European Tour
James Lidell is a Grammy®-nominated writer, producer and singer who was signed to the UK pioneering label, Warp Records for 14 years before starting his own imprint, Jajulin Records. During his career, Lidell has released seven studio albums and performed all over the world, sharing the stage with such prominent artists as Prince, James Brown, Björk, Sharon Jones, Beck, Elton John and many others.
Over the past two decades, Jamie Lidell has captivated audiences across the globe with his unique sound and incredible vocals. Known for putting on an amazing live show, Lidell is passionate about delivering a memorable performance every time he takes the stage. To make that special connection with his audiences, Lidell relies on solutions from DPA Microphones.
“Earlier in 2016, I had seen Stevie Wonder perform and was blown away by the sound he was getting from his microphones,” says Lidell. “When I investigated further, I discovered it was DPA’s d:facto™ Linear Vocal Microphone. I must admit, most of the DPA mics I knew were more the precision condensers for studio use, so I was shocked to hear of a stage-ready mic. My last tour was the first time I tried DPA Microphones and they were amazing.”
Lidell’s current album, Building a Beginning was released in October 2016. Following the album’s release, Lidell put together a massive and incredible band known as The Royal Pharaohs, featuring some of the world’s best musicians, to tour around Europe.
“My primary focus for the tour was to use a wireless microphone as the front man,” adds Lidell. “I didn’t want a microphone that was locked to a cable. In addition, I was using guitar pedals on a second vocal mic, so I did not want to dangle a cable over the center mic setup. I have not enjoyed working with wireless mics in the past and knew I would need something with detail. The DPA capsule system I used was genius. We used a Sony wireless body with the d:facto™ MMC4018V Supercardioid Microphone Capsules and it was a joy. No compression and a wonderful tone every night. I can no longer use anything else.”
Lidell’s DPA microphone package for his recent European tour included d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones on the horns, bongo, conga, timbales, leslie and kick beater side, as well as the d:dicate™ 2011C Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphone on the guitar. He also used the d:dicate™ 2011ES Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphone with Active Cable on the snare and floor, d:screet™ SC4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphone on the inside of the kick drum, d:dicate™ 4015A on the drum and percussion overheads and d:facto™ Linear Vocal Microphone on lead and backing vocals.
“Getting heft from a closed kick is usually tricky, but the d:screet™ 4061 was a perfect addition to the setup,” says Lidell. “It is so small and nearly impossible to see, but the sound is huge. In addition, I don’t like music stands and being able to use these mics on a drum set is amazing. The look of the kit has vastly improved; that’s a big thing. The horns also needed mics that would clip on to bells and the d:vote™ 4099s were perfect.”
For Lidell, one of DPA’s biggest strengths in its microphones is its incredible sound. “One thing people might be afraid of with these omnidirectional microphones is the added bleed, but we found that the new ambience that was generated was well-received. It started to define the sound of the show in an excellent way. I think a great word for DPA microphones is detailed. With our DPA mics, a highly open picture of every instrument was achieved effortlessly. We had absolutely no issues with the DPA equipment on the tour at all. It all worked flawlessly. I plan on using DPA for all of my live performances moving forward, including future festivals in 2017 with the band.”
