David Konsky,Paul Armstrong and Matt Nikolic nominated for this years…

Maybe you heard already about this years nominees for the category International Imaging on Radio Summit on 27th and 28th of April this year. It is a true honor to get nominated, because you are getting picked by the jury and can’t submit production examples to influence the process. Anyhow, I am really proud of my three mates and to be honest in my opinion the jury picked the right guys. Konsky, Armstrong and Matt Nikolic are the influencers of an entire community of upcoming imaging guys and have basically become THE NEW superstars of IMAGING together with people like Michael Sideshow etc. I was able tow work a lot with two of them. Both Paul and David being part of the Benztown team is awesome and i can’t tell who I like more, cause their style and work is really diverse as well as the formats they do. Konsky working form and in Oz, rocking 2day FM and being together with me the Imaging guy for Benztown CHR and Paul, being the guy coming from a more alternative background and now doing a lot of freelance work for various formats, shows and stations. Paul is last years winner and we will see, if he can be the reigning champion again. I think itll be a tough race, because Konsky is an unbelievable talented guy, supporting a lot of people all over the globe with direct consultation. To me, Konsky is CHR in its purest form.

However the decision will be….It’ll be an awesome talent winning this year. Go here and vote for your favourite:

I interviewed both guys for you and here is what they had to say about the award, plugIns, imaging, tricks…Also check their outstanding audio!

1) How do you feel about being nominated?

Paul:

It’s cool and last years award makes an amazing door stop.

David:

Surprised and stoked. You look at the calibre of audio wizards on this list and it’s exciting to be part of it and respected by your peers worldwide.

2) What do you think about Paul / Konsky?

Paul:

Well, what can I say about Konsky that everyone else in the industry hasn’t already said… he’s awesome. The work he creates is inspiring to all and you know what, it just sounds “right” – you hear his work and 99.9% of the time you think to yourself “Yeah, he nailed that one”

Although I’ve never met, I also think we’d get on well over a beer – which is the number 1 factor in Imaging. Yep, that’s right, drinking a beer is KEY to imaging*

*As well as creativity… passion… hard work… and being anal when it comes to the smallest detail.

David:

He drinks beer – he had me at beer. His imaging is like a world-class brew  – goes down a treat and everyone wants a taste (not Fosters – we don’t claim that to be Australian by the way)

3) What is special about your style of Imaging?

Paul:

I’m not sure really… if Konsky has said something nice to question 2 about me, use that… if not… I’ll stick with “I’m not sure really”

David:

Paul isn’t sure cause he’d had too many beers when putting together his response! I’m only half way there on a Friday evening. A great analogy is – CHR radio is like McDonald’s – you know you’ll get your hits, but the key is to supersize your meal and make it more tasty than any other burger combo in the world. Know what your listeners “like to eat” and make it sound sweet!

 4) Any new plugIn recommendations for the blog readers? screen caps?

Paul:

Sure thing, here you go (I’ll attach some images of The Big Top 40 2012 Session or Import Export)

I’m actually going a little old school and playing around more with delays and EQs… so, although not a “crazy new plug-in” so to speak, they still give you some incredible sounds/fx for promos etc.

Then there’s always the L316 – that’s pretty sweet for picking everything up – just use carefully!

David:

Chris Lord Alge has a great series of plugins – his VOCAL FX are nice and punchy, plus utilising Waves Tune to pitch shift VO and artist ID’s to the key’s of the tune’s your rocking on the airwaves.

5) What was the most fun project you worked on this year (maybe send audio)?

Paul:

I’ve been lucky enough to work on projects ranging from Glastonbury on BBC Radio 1 through to The Brit Awards.

However, the most fun was probably a new show called Import Export which brings 2 of my favourite stations together – XFM and KROQ. The idea behind the show is pretty simple, but working on the imaging allowed me to merge the 2 styles together creating a cool yet epic-alternative feel to the show.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/23155415″ iframe=”true” /]

David:

End of year mega mashup (up on my soundcloud @ dkonsky) – putting together the hottest hits of 2011 in under 4 minutes!

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/30235374″ iframe=”true” /]

6)  Any new tricks or techniques to show our readers?

Paul:

I’ve got an amazing Card Trick, but it’s a secret.

David:

I can’t tell you or Paul will steal my idea. It involves a card trick

7) What are your sources of inspiration?

Paul:

Well apart from the obvious Movie Trailers, I listen to a lot of new music from different genres. Even if I’m not particularly a fan, it’s interesting to see how producers from genre “X” work differently to genre “Y”… and then using this in Imaging. So, why not use Pop style Production in Rock and vice versa…

David:

Music – from 70’s,80’s,90’s now – a piece that is relatable to my project, that will spark an emotion whether it be motivating, anthemic, or excitement!

8) London or Sydney?

Paul:

That’s a tough one. I was lucky enough to be in Sydney a few years back and it was great. I think the quality of life “Down Under” is fantastic, great weather and food… but c’mon, I’ve got to say London.

It truly is the best AND the worst place in the world… from the finest Michelin Star restaurants to full on “shit holes”… but still, it’s that diverse mix of the very best and the very worst that makes it amazing.

Actually… can I throw a spanner into the works and say Los Angeles instead? If not, how about New York?

David:

Melbourne… (shh – my employer in Sydney doesn’t know i’ve moved back for the last 4 years!)

9) Which station would be a dream to image?

Paul:

Wow, there are SO many stations I’d love to Image. Although, I’d have to say KROQ Los Angeles right now… the guys have built KROQ into legendary status in the Alternative world, so who wouldn’t want a piece of that? I also like the Sun… that’s one of bad things about London, we get about 23 promos worth of Sun per year – assuming each promo is 30 seconds.

David:

My own! I’d love to do a pirate station – rock my own tunes and my own imaging! And i’d let all my image mates around the world do whatever they ultimately dreamed of and desired that would never make it on commercial radio!

Thanks fro your time guys, I really appcreciate!