With a career that spans nearly 30 years, guitarist Øystein Garnes Brun is behind Norwegian black metal supergroup Borknagar and its heavy successor, Cronian. He is also the man behind Crosound Studio, located in the countryside about 30km outside Bergen, home to Norway’s first PMC 6-2 monitors.
Crosound Studio was initially intended for Brun’s own projects, but as it developed it attracted other musicians wanting to use it to record, mix and master. The new PMC 6-2s replace the studio’s earlier PMC result6s.
‘I was very happy with my result6 monitors, which I bought four or five years ago,’ Brun says. ‘They introduced me to the sonic excellence of PMC and were a big step up from my previous monitors in terms of transparency and precision. For a long time, I thought they would keep me going for the rest of my career, but as my studio expanded and the acoustics in the room changed, I began to feel I needed bigger monitors with more low end and more focus in the mid-range – more power in general.’
Brun contacted Frank Oestrem at PMC’s Norwegian agent, Matrix Pro Audio, who recommended the PMC6-2, which is part of a new range of compact professional monitors launched in 2021. The range, which also includes PMC6, PMC8-2 and their associated subwoofers, has the same sound signature as the company’s main monitor products, which are to be found in many of the world’s top studio facilities.
Brun’s extensive studio time with Borknagar and Cronian informed his equipment buying decisions for his own studio where he wanted to create the best sound possible. He feels he has achieved this by combining analogue and digital technology and choosing equipment from top manufacturers such as Solid State Logic, Universal Audio, Steinberg and Dangerous Music.
‘PMC6-2 seemed like the perfect option for me as they fitted my ambition of creating a genuine mastering grade studio,’ Brun explains. ‘It’s in my nature, as a producing musician, to always move forward and seek perfection. These monitors truly delivered beyond all my expectations, and I love them. The first time I heard them they sounded so good that my jaw dropped to the floor.
‘PMC’s result6 monitors are great, but the clarity and focus of the 6-2s, especially in the mid range, is just beyond anything I have heard before,’ he continues. ‘Their full range power is impressive, but they sound beautiful at any level because they are so incredibly precise, transparent, and lively. They seem to trigger all my senses and quite literally invite me into the soundscape. Seriously, it almost feels as though I can touch the sound and move things around. That’s a crazy, yet satisfying experience, but it is what you want if you are a musician and producer.
‘Being the main composer and lyricist of Borknagar, I have always had a firm grip on our productions, as a producer or co-producer,’ he says. ‘I have worked in many studios, with many engineers, and have a lot of studio experience.’
After a year of intensive touring Brun is now back in the studio working on tracks for a new Borknagar album that is scheduled for release in 2024.
