Music Venue ‘Bimhuis’ the New Residency for Audio Engineer Attilio Pascal

Attilio Pascal is a world renowned audio engineer who has been at the Bimhuis one of the most renowned jazz and world music venues in Europe. Working with some of the greatest musicians and composers from around the world, Attilio continues to amaze audiences with his impeccable skills –and making the music sound amazing wherever he goes. We recently had a chance to meet with him and he was happy to share some of his most interesting experiences and knowledge of the industry from his point of view. Here is what he had to share:

How did you start to work at the Bimhuis?

In 2010 I moved here to Amsterdam and after a few weeks, I met Raphael Vanoli in a club after one of his concerts with the Knalpot, a duo that will literally blow your mind away. He had a connection with the Bimhuis since he played there many times and when he heard that they were looking for a new audio engineer to join their team, he called me straight away. So I immediately went for an interview and thanks to my background in recording a lot of jazz artists in Italy and a bit of luck, I got the job. It’s the case of always being prepared and finding yourself in the right place at the right time.

Can you elaborate more on the Bimhuis?

The Bimhuis is a live music venue part of the Muziekgebouw, which is a concert hall mainly focused on contemporary classical music. It’s an amazing experience! Every night I work with top notch artists in jazz and any kind of improvised music (electronic, ethnic, acoustic and big ensembles). It is one of the most unique venues in the world with an outstanding view of Amsterdam right behind the stage.

What kind of equipment do you work on?

The P.A. System is a Meyer Sound line array. The front of house station is equipped with an analog desk Midas Heritage 2000, effects from Lexicon, TC Electronic and some outboard compressors and channel strips from Focusrite, Dbx, Drawner and BSS. In addition, there is a magnificent in house Steinway and Sons grand piano and an array of amazing instruments from double bass to xylophone to various drum kits…

Do you enjoy working there?

Of course! It’s like the perfect school for a live sound engineer where every day you learn something new and there are always new challenges to overcome. Basically, technology wise is like being in wonderland, everything is up-to-date and well maintained by us, a team of ten engineers, managed by Jurre Wieman the head of the technical department. There is also a recording studio wired with the main stage to enable recording 48 separate audio tracks and creating a live DVD of the concerts.

Which artists you had the opportunity to work with?

I had the pleasure to work with an endless list of artists like: Tyshawn Sorey Quartet, Konrad Kosseleck Big band, Maria Markesini, Spok Frevo Orquestra, Joep Pelt and Mari Kvien among others.