A Conversation with Producer/Engineer Ian Cross
by Mr. Bonzai
Ian Cross is currently working exclusiively with Janet Jackson on her forthcoming much anticipated album, her first since “Discipline” (2008). To accommodate Jackson’s touring and recording all over the world, Cross has devised a powerful portable recording setup with Barefoot Sound MM27 monitors to assure sonic consistency wherever they choose to work.
Cross: They absolutely do. In fact,
Janet and I were sitting in this very room together and I was about to play her the Barefoots for the first time. I started playing a song called “I Get So Lonely,” and she stopped me and said, “Where is the low end coming from?” I said, “The speaker, that’s what you’re listening to.” She said, “Those speakers are the only thing we’re listening to right now?” I said, “That’s just the speakers.” She was instantly sold.
This was also during a time when Janet was not in one place at one time for very long. The Janet Jackson’s of the world can’t just spend their time in one studio in one city anymore. They’re schedules just demand it, so we had to put together a portable studio that we could take anywhere in the world. The second she heard these speakers I said, “This is my choice for our speakers for the album and we can take them everywhere, to every studio anywhere in the world, and we’re going to consistently hear the sound the way we want to hear it.” She agreed.
Barefoot Sound: You’ve been working in Qatar?
Cross:
We’ve been working in Qatar. We’ve been working in Paris, the Middle East, and now we feel like we can work anywhere. With the Barefoots and our little system that we have it’s a very powerful setup.
Barefoot Sound: Can you tell me the basic elements of your portable system?
Cross: The basic elements are Pro Tools, HD Omni on a laptop with a big screen, API Neve, API compressor, a gorgeous vintage 1962 Telefunken Ela M 251, a Tube Tech CL1B compressor, Sony headphones and the Barefoots.
Barefoot Sound: You’re happy campers.
Cross: Yes, we are. It’s a Ferrari.
Barefoot Sound: So now you can remove all the doubts and second guessing while moving from place to place. It makes a lot of sense. How’s the new album coming along?
Cross: T
he new album is going to be great. It’s a process. There’s a lot in store, yet to come. I can’t go into too many details but I think Janet Jackson’s fans are going to be very excited about the new album, and I think people who don’t know her as fans are going to be excited about it, too. The new paradigm of music, the real people in music now, are blending technology and music together. It’s becoming more and more seamless.
I find that the direction, not just of the music, but the concept of making albums is changing and developing so quickly and rapidly. We’re going to be doing things that are completely unexpected that nobody’s seen before. We apply that to the music in the album itself and that’s why we only want to work with the best of the best. We’re bringing in some of the best people on the planet to work on this record. We’ve got the best rig, the best speakers, and we’re doing a lot of new and interesting things. We’re hoping to do some really interesting things with Barefoot too by the way. It’d be really nice to find some ways to expand and extend our relationship.
Barefoot Sound: Well, it sounds like the Barefoot monitors are the one common element in your mixture of old school API console, analog gear, and classic microphone, all combined with the latest digital technology.
Cross: That’s right, absolutely. Again, I feel the Barefoots give us the most accurate representation of what we’re doing at any time. It doesn’t leave me or Janet with any second guessing. There is something special when the artist you’re working with is really, really comfortable with the way their voice sounds.
I can tell you Janet’s voice sounds completely marvelous on these speakers. I feel like before Barefoot there was no speaker that really presented her voice correctly, because she has so much detail, even when you’re around the 11 or 12K range that makes her voice really special. Yes, I think it’s the happiest she’s ever been. It’s certainly the happiest we’ve ever been with monitoring and listening to the music we’ve been working on.
