Audio engineering & acoustics are a passion with Didier

By Priya Menon

DIDIER Weiss’ office is tucked away in Auroville. But his skill in sound engineering and audio design have fetched him prime projects from all over. It is Didier's services whom AR Rahman used to build his latest recording studio "Shaafi Studio Five". And it is Didier who was the technical director for Mata Amritanandamayi’s 50th birthday celebrations.

Sound engineering has always been a passion with Didier. “I learnt on my own from books during holidays”, says Didier. At 14, he had his first release as a sound engineer, doing the recording of a French rock band called Dandelion.

He studied sound engineering in France, freelanced in recording studios in Paris and toured with French bands in France, Africa and India.

“I had my own studio”, says Didier. “When it became too small, I got a second one, then a third. And that’s how I learnt the basics of recording studio design”, he says.

His travels brought him to India. And Didier even got to spend half a day in Auroville. “I feel very happy to be connected to India, I feel at home here”, says Didier. “For me it was a plus that Auroville is in India”, he adds.

After his first visit, Didier decided to come back. But he had his own recording studio in Paris, “complete with employees and heavy loans”.

So he returned. “I met a client there and asked him if he knew anyone who wanted to buy a recording studio”, says Didier. “The day after, it was sold”. For Didier, that was a sign. So he came to Auroville with his wife to give it a try for six months or a year. They stayed on.

For four to five years, he stopped all professional activities. “When I came I was 30 and already had 15 years of full time involvement with sound”, says Didier, “I wanted a break”. So he planted trees and worked at the collective kitchen.

But after five years, for several reasons he thought of restarting something. In 1999, he set up Sound Wizard that does audio design and consultancy. It was around that time that Didier decided he wanted to design good recording studios. “It’s something I can do in Auroville, as 90 percent of the work is done here and 10 percent on site”, says Didier. He does the full works, from design, project management, equipment supply and installation to training the sound engineers.

The first studio he did was Sunshine Studio in Auroville, then in 2001 he did “Mahati Studios” for Mr. Mani Sharma.

Didier has worked on projects in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. “If it involves building the studio I work with my friend and architect Francois Grenier”, says Didier.

Though in the beginning he focused on recording studios, he later on extended the scope of his design to auditoriums and home theatres. “Often, architects build shells in compounds that I then have to convert into good auditoriums”, says Didier.

Didier’s current passion is home theatres. “It’s a new field to explore”, he says. “A lot of people are buying lakhs and lakhs worth equipment. In India everybody has a passion for cinema. And people are willing to invest into high quality leisure”, he says.

Often, people call him when they have an empty room in the house. “I do it from scratch”, he says. And it can be a challenge “especially if you want to watch Star Wars at 3 am and there’s a bedroom directly above”, he adds bemused.

Equipment selections, alignment, sound proofing - Didier does it all. And designing and setting up a home theatre can take anything from a week to several months, depending on how far the client is willing to go.

According to Didier, internal acoustics are of utmost importance - how sound travels in the room as well as the clarity of the sound. “The size of the space is important, like the height of the ceiling”, he says. “The final quality is 20 percent due to equipment and 80 percent due to the room”, he says.

The smaller the room, more problems you face. “Doing an auditorium is somehow simpler than a home theatre”, he says. “But I don’t compromise on quality and tell my clients so when it is not possible”, he says.

For Didier, in the end, it all boils down to passion, pleasure and good communication with the client. You need involvement at the technical, artistic and human level, he says. The priority is communication and happiness.

- Courtesy Indian Express -