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Le
Mobile Celebrates A Milestone
40
Years of Star-Studded Sound
On Wheels
Le Mobile's Guy
and Ian Charbonneau with Director
Steven Spielberg during the recording of Lincoln soundtrack by John
Williams
Shout out a 40-year roar to Le Mobile, the award-winning mobile
recording facility owned and operated by Guy and Ian Charbonneau.
Most recently producer/arranger Kristopher Pooley with Katy Perry
came in to record for her Witness Worldwide Finale.
Only if these wheels (rather walls) could talk...the artists recorded
here resemble Billboard's top twenty play list: Linkin Park, No
Doubt, U2, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, The
Offspring and Jane's Addiction.
Guy Charbonneau with Kristopher Pooley recording
for Katy Perry's
Witness Wordwide Finale
Its creator,
music pioneer Guy Charbonneau, attributes
his success and longevity to having passion for what he does.
In fact, Guy has been on the road for four decades recording artist
as diverse as Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Kanye and Andrea Bocelli.
Other legendary solo artists recorded by Le Mobile include Gwen
Stefani, Faith Hill, Eric Clapton, Christina Aguilera, Peter Gabriel,
and Kenny Chesney.
Documentary film "It Might Get Loud"
was recorded by Le Mobile
l-r: Jack
White, Jimmy Page, U2's Edge
A Sound Passion
According to Charbonneau Passion can take you to heights never imagined.
"From an early age, my life’s passions were cars, electronics
and music. I was lucky to combine all three with Le Mobile! I just
followed my passion. Unlike Dreams, your passion never stops. Le
Mobile is the proof," says Charbonneau who continues the business
with his standards of excellence, integrity and always staying current
and in the game.
Love Music
It
doesn't matter what genre of music Le Mobile is engaged to record.
Every artist gets the same focused attention and care. "One
day it's Bocelli, another day it's Kanye. We give each session the
same attention it deserves regardless of genre. I love to record
music and capture artists live. My approach is to create layers
of sound, it is like a painting for me. I want dimension and excitement,
remember I talk about recording live concerts. I am probably one
of the last engineers besides my son Ian to EQ and compress during
the recording (Like we used to do in analog)," says Charbonneau.
Le Mobile recording Bocelli with David Foster
Solutions
Neve meets Fiber
Guy thrives on solving problems and insists the best way to start
is to communicate directly with each band or artist's technical
crew and understand their requirements before each show.
What has changed? Over the years, the distance between the stage
and where Le Mobile is able to park has increased. In large part
this is due to changes in security but also to advances in digital
technologies. "So in order to compensate, I decided to create
a custom digital interface using a MADI fiber system with our prized
Neve 8058. This allows us to use the Neve Mic Preamp and EQ while
replacing the long analog audio copper snake that I had been using,"
says Charbonneau.
In fact this very unique approach has opened new doors for Le Mobile
and Charbonneau who believes in doing only "quality" work.
Le Mobile's custom MADI Fiber system interfaces with
its prized Neve 8058
Service
Le Mobile offers production packages and full mixing services based
on both audio or Video needs to include:
CD, DVD 5.1 surround, motion picture soundtracks, webcasts and Television
music specials.
Most will tell
you that when it comes to live recording it's best left to experts.
Why? You don't get a second chance!
In the words of a recent customer, Van Morrison's long time engineer,
Mick Glossop, "It's the reputation that leads to confidence
in great service." Show producer Alastair McMillan agrees.
"The audio sounds fantastic, in fact it puts me under pressure
to do a mix that justifies Le Mobile's work!"
Festival work is the most challenging. "With
multiple stages and bands (up to 12 a day) and no rehearsals, you
have to be alert and focused.
Musicians and show producers have relied on Le Mobile for live recording.
"We're also the favorite cost-effective choice to record and
walk away with a ready master," says Charbonneau.
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LeMobile Founder and Audio Pioneer Guy Charbonneau
celebrating a 40 year milestone in live recording
Work With The Best
To achieve his quality standards, Guy works with a combination of
various crews that he knows and trusts. "Over the years I've
created relationships with great stage crew and assistant engineers
who bring great dedication, passion and skill sets to our projects,"
adds Charbonneau. Le Mobile's experienced crew gets credit for handling
the most unexpected situations under time pressures while capturing
the magical performances we've come to hear and see.
Best Advice. "Do it right the first time for the best recording,"
Guy emphasizes.
Ian
and Guy Charbonneau with Annie Lennox and producer/Music Director
Mike Stevens
Fly Pak Meets
Pure Quality
An alternative to the full Le Mobile truck, is the high-quality
recording
Fly Pak system used in the Lincoln Film score for Steven Spielberg.
"My approach to recording live music has stayed the same through
the years. I’ve always tried to capture and preserve a live
performance in its purest form," says Charbonneau.
Relationships
Aside from Quality, Guy takes pride in the relationships he has
developed using two important ingredients in his business: Integrity
and trust . Le Mobile's relationship with Paul Tollett of Goldenvoice
and Coachella for many years is a good example. "Paul brought
us on board for his “Desert Trip” festival. Most of the
performers already had a relationship with Le Mobile so it was a
winning combination. Nonetheless many artists, engineers and producers
keep coming back to Le Mobile over the years to include: Garth Brook,
Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, Beyonce, Chicago, Andrea Bocelli,
Josh Groban.
Guy Charbonneau with Michael Bublé and
Gwen Stefani
History
Guy began his
career recording and mixing the Montreal Jazz Festival for television
broadcasts in the 70's. "This was the beginning of recording
multi-track and mixing for television. At the time, I worked closely
with the video editor." After
a 1977 recording at New York's Carnegie Hall for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, producer Phil Ramone saw Le Mobile and asked Guy to
record "One Trick Pony" movie soundtrack with star Paul
Simon in Cleveland. In 1984, Guy moved to the Southern California
where Le Mobile gained a permanent home. Over 40 years, Guy has
developed an unsurpassed style that allows the ambiance of a live
show to be recorded, without having to re-create it later in a studio.
According to Guy, majority of technological changes have occurred
in the past few years mainly with the transition from recording
on tapes to workstations. "Recording is easier in a sense,
but not always for the better," he adds.
Awards
Guy Charbonneau's long and prestigious career has brought him numerous
audio and TV industry music awards and worldwide recognition for
live remote recordings, production, mixing and his world-class facility.
Indeed Le Mobile has won numerous TEC Awards in the category of
Outstanding Institutional Achievement Remote/Location Recording
Engineer. Guy, a longtime member of The Recording Academy, was awarded
an Emmy at the 52nd Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Le Mobile
Le Mobile headquarters, Carlsbad, CA
So next time
you see a shiny black truck on the road, it's the heavyweight in
mobile recording. Hunk 4x for forty more years of Le Mobile delivering
magnificent music!
This monumental studio on wheels is headquartered in Carlsbad California
and ready to meet you wherever your music is staged.
Numerous gold and platinum awards grace the walls of Le Mobile,
attesting to its impressive history.
What
does Guy like to do when he's not on Le Mobile? According to son
Ian, that's simple. He's using Q-tips to clean the tread of the
tires, polishing it and always updating and modifying equipment.
"Of course, I have some car time to relax. I like to customize
my cars instead of leaving them the way they come from the factory,"
says Guy.
As for future
plans for Le Mobile?
Guy says: Record more music!
Contact: Le
Mobile
email: [email protected]
fn: (760) 734-4100
Grey Hawk Court • Carlsbad, CA 92010-6651
web: http://www.lemobile.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lemobile
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