Recording and Production in the News

Prism Sound helps David Hadzis capture Petula Clark's distinctive vocals

Geneva, Switzerland: Best known for her 1960s hits such as Downtown, Petula Clark is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the UK's most successful female solo recording artist, with more than 70 million records sold worldwide. This tally is likely to rise significantly on June 16th when Universal Music TV releases her latest offering - a greatest hits album entitled "Then & Now", which spans more than 50 years of her recording career.

Petula Clark at Athanor Productions in Switzerland

The album includes three new tracks, two of which were recorded at Arthanor Productions in Switzerland (www.arthanor.com ) in conjunction with studio owner, producer and composer David Hadzis. Hadzis has also restored and remixed most of her catalogue, which has been released over the years by Sanctuary Records in the UK.

"I've known Petula for quite some time and was delighted when she came to have a look at my studio, which has recently been completely overhauled by Swiss acoustician Joel Godel," Hadzis says. "She liked the studio so much that she decided to use it for these new tracks. She played me the songs on the piano and we then did all the recording here, including overdubbing the vocals, and spent more than 70 hours completing the project."

To ensure that her distinctive voice was captured in all its glory, Hadzis used Prism Sound ADA-8XR converters to feed the microphone inputs into his Pro Tools system.

"I use my ADA-8XR as a master clock and anything microphone related goes through it," he explains. "My studio is a multiservice facility and I do a lot of remastering and restoration work, so I also use the ADA-8XR as I think it's the best analogue to digital converter for ¼ inch transfers. What I really like about this unit is its sonic quality and clarity. The sound is so transparent that it helps me to get the most from any artist I'm working with and really capture talent at its best."

David Hadzis initially built his studio in the early nineties for his own projects but it is only in the last two years that it has become a commercial facility. In February of this year, Swiss audiophile sound conductor brand Vovox awarded it a coveted Purum quality label, which signifies that the highest standards of analogue sound signal transmission have been attained.

David Hadzis with his Vovox certificate

"The Prism Sound ADA-8XR was the one piece of equipment that I insisted on having because I always knew that I wanted it as my main A/D converter and master clock," he says. "I am eternally grateful to the Prism Sound team for the help they have given me. The studio now sounds amazing and my clocking is perfect."