Thomas Wolden on the art of classical recording and industry trends

Acclaimed sound engineer, classical recording specialist, and teacher, Thomas Wolden, discusses his career in music and audio, the guiding principles that have been pivotal to his success, and the role Merging Technologies solutions continue to play in his work...

When did your career in audio first begin? How did you get into the industry?

I moved from Trondheim to Oslo to study Audio and Music Production. Gradually, I built up my own small portable rig and started making acoustic recordings of jazz and classical music. I think I owned a pair of B&K (DPA) 4006 and Neumann KM184 mics, a Millenia Media 8-channel mic preamp, and a Tascam DA78 8-track recorder.

I was more interested in recording acoustic music in churches and concert halls than working in a studio. Through some mutual friends, I got in touch with a musician who was a freelance saxophone player in many orchestras and also conducted a brass band. He was interested in sound production, and we did some work together where he was the music producer and I was the technician. We continued to collaborate and made several recordings.

Later, I came into contact with Arne Akselberg, a former classical engineer at Abbey Road who had moved to Norway and was working with mobile recording. Arne was one of the founders of SIMAX Classics. I visited him during a recording session in Oslo. Arne was very generous with his knowledge, and it was incredibly helpful to see how he worked and the equipment choices he made. We have kept in touch and become good friends.

During a recording session Arne did in Oslo, I met his colleague Jørn Pedersen, who worked as a producer and editor at Abbey Road. Jørn mentioned that they had started looking at Pyramix at Abbey Road, which piqued my curiosity. I wanted to understand why it was more suitable for classical music production than Cubase and Pro Tools.

I kept in touch with Jørn, and we made several recordings together after he moved back to Norway from England. I also worked as a temporary on-call member at NRK (Norwegian Radio) for some periods.

Around 2005, I started working for Prolyd, the Norwegian distributor for many brands, including Merging Technologies. I was technically inclined and had good computer knowledge. Prolyd imports the most high-end brands in the studio industry. It was nice to have a more stable income while continuing to invest in more equipment.

In 2008, Vegard and I decided to start our own label, LAWO Classics. We made a lot of recordings, but it was difficult to get them released on other labels. The name LAWO Classics comes from our surnames, Landaas and Wolden.

Today, we have made over 500 recordings together. Here is a list of some of them: Thomas Wolden Credits. We have also worked with labels like Chandos, SIMAX, AVI, and ECM.

What were some of the breakthrough moments in your career?

It's hard to pinpoint a single breakthrough moment. However, a significant highlight was when Vegard and I started LAWO Classics. It's difficult to favor specific projects, but working with the Oslo Philharmonic and Vasiliy Petrenko was a major highlight.

We are constantly learning and experiencing new things. It's always exciting to visit new churches and concert halls, finding good solutions for microphone placement and acoustics. I have been fortunate to find a great partner in Vegard. We complement each other well.

Tell us about your current role.

In a small company like LAWO, I wear many hats. Our team consists of me as the technician and Vegard Landaas as the producer. Vegard handles post-production editing, while I focus on mixing, Dolby Atmos, and mastering. In 2024, LAWO plans to release around 50 productions, a significant increase from our usual 25-30.

We are one of Norway's largest and leading production companies for classical music. Our extensive microphone collection includes Neumann, Schoeps, and DPA microphones, allowing us to make orchestral recordings with up to 64 channels in DXD.

Our equipment includes three Pyramix Masscore systems, two Horus units, a HAPI, and six Anubis units. We frequently work in Bergen, equipped with a full orchestra rig that includes cables and stands, enabling us to travel with just microphones, preamps, and a computer.

Additionally, I hold a part-time position at Christiania College, where I teach classical music production. I enjoy sharing my experience with students and being part of an academic environment, which provides fresh perspectives and engaging discussions about Dolby Atmos and binaural audio.

What are some of the biggest trends you are seeing in your industry at the moment?

Dolby Atmos is a significant trend. In terms of technology, Merging Anubis and Ravenna are noteworthy. On the software side, Steinberg Spectral Layers and AI are very interesting developments.

Tell us about your Merging Technologies setup.

Our mobile rig is based on two Pyramix Masscore Premium systems, with a Mac laptop running Nuendo for backup when traveling. We use two Horus units with AD premium cards and one HAPI MK2. For the control room, we use two Anubis units. If we need more headphones for monitoring musicians, we add a small headphone preamp.

For orchestral recordings, we use an Anubis for talkback and spy mic. We are very impressed with the audio quality, mic preamps, converters, and headphone preamps on Anubis and other Merging hardware. Claude Cellier [Merging CEO] prioritized quality at all levels.

In the studio, we also have Pyramix Masscore systems and Anubis Premium units. Our Horus unit is from the first batch, and we have updated the mic preamp card to a newer generation. Merging offers the best compact preamp and solution for remote recording. No other manufacturer provides a 2U unit with 48 inputs, direct out, and DXD/DSD capabilities. It is robust and can withstand transportation.

What separates Merging from other products?

Merging stands out for its compactness, quality, and sound quality. Anubis is the most thoughtful solution for mastering, Atmos, and control room tasks (talkback, speakers, headphone preamp). Pyramix excels in file handling, making it easier to copy files to a backup disk on location. Its powerful source-destination editing and excellent sample rate conversion during album export are unmatched.

I have known many people on the Merging team since I started with Pyramix 4.1. They are fantastic listeners and have been great at adapting to user requests. While Pyramix is not the easiest program to learn, it is essential to get a good feel for it. Testing other programs only reinforces how good Pyramix is for location recording, mixing, and mastering.

How much demand are you seeing for immersive/Atmos services?

I have mixed several albums in Atmos, which is a very interesting format. However, it requires a different approach, and we are concerned that it must also work in stereo. We plan to set up our own Dolby Atmos room next year (2025) and will evaluate different speaker brands. Choosing speakers for music that is not close-miked is challenging.

What are you working on next?

In January, I will engineer TV sound with the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä. Additionally, we have other recordings lined up. We record around 30 albums a year, including orchestral, chamber orchestra, choir, and solo performances, along with some live recordings and TV/streaming projects. Next year promises many interesting projects, including Amalie Stalheim’s Haydn Cello Concerto with the Norwegian

Radio Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic with Vasily Petrenko, Bergen Philharmonic with Marc Elder, Tine Thing Helseth, and many more.

After NRK closed its studios in Oslo Concert Hall, we will also do some live recording of the concert for radio.