Dreamlands mastering

Converted garage becomes sound studio

The term “garage band” doesn’t evoke the feeling of sonic quality, but Heather Kirby’s conversion of a twocar garage into a state-of-the-art recording and mastering studio breaks the sound barrier. Her musical interests started at an early age when she learned how to play bass and guitar. She met fellow musicians while studying at Ryerson in the then Radio and Television Arts program, and was a member of the band Ohbijou, which toured across Canada, the US, Asia and Europe. She was also a member of the feminist cover band Vag Halen, taking a raging run at the male-centric heavy metal rock scene. More recently she has performed with her partner Lisa Bozikovic during a live performance at the Mustang Drive-in with Annelise Noronha. In fact, it was partly due to Kirby’s work on audio projects with Noronha that led to her and her partner’s decision to move to the County two years ago. “We knew more and more people that had moved out here, some of them being creative people and musicians, and we realized the idea of purchasing a property in Toronto was way out of reach, so we started thinking about ways to leave the city, but come somewhere that had a strong music community and that had space for the queer community as well, which was important to us,” she says.

While in Toronto, Kirby had been performing as a professional musician, at the same time running a freelance music production practice, and teaching at Ryerson University in the RTA School of Media. After arriving in the County two years ago, she worked from a shared studio space in the Armoury in Picton. “When COVID hit it became too complicated to share a space together and that’s when we decided to convert our garage into my studio space, and it’s just been a dream ever since,” she says. “I can do not only my own music work and sound work here, with mastering being the main work that I do, but I was also able to remotely teach my audio production courses for Ryerson.” The process of mastering refers to the final phase of sound production before the music is sent to digital streaming platforms, CD production, or being pressed to vinyl. “It is taking the final mixes after a band has been recorded together and mixed down, and you end up with a two-track stereo file. Mastering is the process between the mix and releasing it. It’s kind of the final ears on the project before it goes out to the world. The processes are both creative and technical. You are listening to see how you can enhance what it is the artist and producer are trying to accomplish. It can be bringing certain instruments to the forefront, working with the dynamics, and also making sure that you meet technical specifications.”

The mastering process requires a finely tuned listening environment, and Kirby had to do a lot of research into acoustics and acoustic measurements before starting the garage conversion. “The garage started off perfectly square, and that can be a bit of a nightmare for sound because it creates standing waves and flutter echoes and there’s all sorts of different sonic issues you can have. So it was figuring out a shape within that square to build a more ideal listening environment,” says Kirby. “We decided to build double walls. It’s not perfectly isolated, but it helps a lot, particularly when the woodpeckers are right outside the window! Once the room was built, it’s about placing sound treatment in right spots. There are panels in the corners called bass traps and they help trap bass frequencies that can otherwise be unruly and become booming in a space. There are panels at different reflection points to help control the sound environment. It’s about making sure I have the cleanest listening path and the most accurate music representation in this room.” Besides the physical characteristics of the room, the equipment had to be the best quality to produce the cleanest sound. This involves items like monitor speakers, digital to analog converters and sound mixing consoles. Digital technology has obviated the need for the massive mixing consoles of the analog era. “We can assign banks of tracks to a smaller digital mixer and flip through all of the tracks and have the same kind of access in a smaller device,” says Kirby, who for ethical and cost reasons acquires most of the equipment she needs from the used market.

With her mastering studio complete, Kirby has been working on a number of indie and folk projects with musicians from Toronto, and even some from the UK. She has also done some work on a live performance at Roy Thompson Hall, as well as with the Good Lovelies, and she is doing sound designs on a radio drama series to be aired on County FM.

She expects to work with local musicians in her studio space once the pandemic is over and it is safe to gather in small indoor spaces. For the most part, Kirby says that the County has been a welcoming and supportive place for her and her partner as a queer couple. They were troubled by the trans-phobic advertisement that appeared in this paper in March, and Kirby wanted to make clear her feelings on this issue. “When my partner and I thought of leaving Toronto, it was important for us to find a place that would be accepting of us. We had come to the County often enough to feel welcome and supported. For the most part it’s been fantastic, but not perfect. There are people everywhere that are not going to be super-welcoming, whether you’re in the County or in Toronto or anywhere, and I do feel it’s important to support the trans community. Trans women are more vulnerable to violence than any other group, and I look forward in any way that I can, with my space and what I have access to, to work with that community and be supportive.”

For more information about Dreamlands Mastering, please visit heatherkirby.ca.