Sri Lanka’s Pearlbay Institute has opened a new 16-station audio lab – Audient Creative Hub 2. Equipped with iD4 audio interfaces, the lab expands the institute’s Audient inventory, which already includes an ASP8024-HE analogue mixing console an ASP4816-SE console that will be in use soon.
‘Audient Creative Hub 2 is designed with a unique classroom concept where the lecturer is able to walk around and monitor classroom activities, while the students work on high-spec computers purpose-built for music production,’ says Pearlbay Music General Manager of Academics, Maheshwara Medawatte. ‘Each station is equipped with an Intel i5 computer with 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSDs loaded with four different DAWs as well as the latest plug-ins.
‘Students work with Nektar Impact LX49+ Midi keyboard/DAW controllers while monitoring on Beyerdynamic DT240 Pro headphones, and of course there’s the excellent Audient iD4 audio interface delivering console-grade recording and playback.’
Opened in December 2020, the Institute reckonsaims to produce a next generation of producers, engineers and artists, with almost 1,000 students to date, 12 of whom have completed the Higher National Level 5 Diploma programme, pending certification from Pearson.
‘Most of the students progressed to Higher Nationals with us and a couple even transferred to our university partner BIMM to start their bachelor’s degrees,’ Medawatte says. ‘All of them learnt signal flow and recording techniques on the ASP8024-HE console – the crown jewel of Pearlbay Music Studio.’
Today, a number of alumni are already garnering attention on the international stage. Medawatte cites Teshan Savinda as a rising star who has recently completed his HND. ‘He has been with us since the beginning, and won the ICMP university partnership music production competition in 2022. He is an exceptional music producer with a big future ahead of him. Kenula Kandanaarachi is currently in our second HND batch. He is a go-getter with a lot of talent and his original single, ‘4000 Miles’ charted in the YesFM Homegrown Top 15 for four months in Sri Lanka.’
Current Pearlbay student and iD44 interface owner, Isiwara Manthrirathna has also been inspired by Audient.
Medawatte confirms there is yet more to come from the educational division: ‘We have a few different course plans in the works, ranging from Electronic Dance Music Production and DJ Skills to Podcasting. There are long term plans to bring courses in other creative media fields but our primary focus is audio and music technology.
‘Additionally, we have been working to bring workshops from notable professionals. We had the pleasure of having Grammy-nominated producer and fellow ASP8024-HE user Romesh Dodangoda join us online for a workshop earlier this year which was a great experience for our students.’
Pearlbay Institute is a part of the Pearlbay studio complex and creative hub, which provides recording and production services, education and equipment retail all under one roof. Pearlbay Music Studio, which originally started out as a standalone recording facility, continues to offer a comprehensive, bespoke service tailored to the needs of the individual.
Catching the attention of young, Sri Lankan artists in the early days, Medawatte can attest to the studio’s continued appeal across the board: ‘We have accommodated some of Sri Lanka’s biggest music legends such as Rookantha Gunathilake and Nadeeka Guruge, as well as nationally bands like 2Forty2, Freeze and Naada. We have hosted commercial productions for Sri Lankan Airlines, Caltex and more, and even had the honour of coordinating with Penguin Random House, Canada, to record a chapter for Margeret Atwood’s audiobook, Burning Questions with renowned marine biologist, Dr Asha De Vos.’
More: https://audient.com
