News
Ray Davies performs impromptu gig with AKG
Rob Hughes Jun 26 2009, 11:22am
Kinks legend plays on the south bank of the Thames
Kinks legend Ray Davies recently performed an impromptu gig on the south bank of the Thames, London, with an AKG C5 microphone.
As the sun set, Davies, alongside the Crouch End Festival Chorus, performed his 1967 classic Waterloo Sunset on an electric piano. Using a simple PA on sticks, Davies’ live sound engineer for the last decade, Tristan Mallett, also miked the chorus with six of AKG’s C414 condenser mics.
“AKG has always been my brand of choice and Ray likes my C5. With the C5 you get great condenser quality, with great feedback rejection, at rock and roll sound pressure levels. I started using it when it first came out and have been hooked ever since.”
Mallett will typically mic larger shows with the C414’s on overheads and guitars, and he is presently testing AKG's drum mics. “We have a wide selection of AKG mics, including the AKG C416b accordion mic,” he added.
The South Bank event was in advance of the release of Davies's new album, The Kinks Choral Collection, on which, the Crouch End Festival Chorus also performs.
In addition, a new arrangement of See my Friends (first released in 1965), which appears on the new album, was premiered first by the choir and then in conjunction with Davies.
