Imaging Spain – MEET Kike Vilaplana Jimenez!

I met Kike through my old friend Raul a lot of you guys might remember him. Kike is based in Madrid (but is  a big fan of Barca) and images a Rock station called Rock FM. Check Kike’s Audio example, production tricks, screen caps and learn how to rock Spain!

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1. Which production system do you use and why?

I work with Pro Tools, because is the established DAW in the company. The net sharing possibilities that the 11th version gives interconnects all the production stations. On my own, I spend a lot of time with Logic or Ableton Live, but for radio production Pro Tools is my favorite.

2. What are your favorite PlugIns? What is the perfect VO chain?

Waves is a fabulous Plug-ins Company that I use for all my productions. They have a visual interface (in the most of them) that makes me work fast and what is more important, with a very good quality.
A few months ago, I discovered FabFilter, which are more visual yet. I’ve been testing their trials and I found them quite different from Waves, but very good too. Intuitive, helpful and amused, I like them.

More or less, that’s my perfect chain:
– HPF cutting below 100 Hz.
– DeEsser to hold back some annoying frequencies and keep clear the voice.
– EQ, standing out the qualities of the VO, and hiding the weaknesses. I like the REq, but QEq sounds pretty good too.
– Compression. With a high threshold and a considerable ratio. Whit it, I try to improve the RMS of the VO. RComp is fantastic, but when I’m looking for a special sound C4 is very useful.
– Dynamical limitation. To expand through the level.

3. How do you schedule your work?

Unfortunately I can’t decide the work priorities because money talks, the commercials had to be done as soon as I can. But when I finish the ads, Imaging and promos are my favorite part of the job. At RockFM, we have a special kind of imaging that needs to be refreshed the faster I can, so I spend a lot of time making it. If it would depend on me, probably, I could spend all the time writing and producing promos, I love it.

4. What do you love about working on your own compare being the head of imaging for a rock station?

As I told in the question before, I can’t design my working priorities at RockFM, but yes in the jobs that I do by my own. That’s probably the best thing.
However I feel really lucky of producing the imaging of a Spanish rock station, because first of all I am a rock fan, and then because RockFM is the only rock station that covers the whole of the Spain territory. That makes my work at RockFM pretty attractive.

5. What is the best protools or production trick anybody should know?

I don’t remember when it happened, but one day, when I was going to the studio, I was listening on my iPod a Biffy Clyro’s album. I realized that all the voices of a particular song were doubled on L and R at the same time. Each one from a different take, but both through all the song. When I arrived at the studio I produced a promo doing the same in a few lines. It worked as I imagined and gave to that lines an impact that any other effect can match.
Talking about Pro Tools, when I’m trying to get an epic or heroic sound for a VO, I send it to a FX return track where a chain with an equalized delay passes through a short reverb, which creates the sensation.

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6. How do you get inspired and what do you use as source of creativity? What means the term “creative imaging” to you? What is different in Spanish speaking imaging compared to English speaking imaging?

“Creative Imaging” is the sense of our work. For me it means a person listening my productions and looking to other one like: “WOW, have you listened that?” In a music station, people want to listen the music you play, but between songs, I would like to make them sure that they are in the right place. That’s the “Creative Imaging”. And with this target, the inspiration it’s outdoor in the real life, in the things that happen to the normal people. First of all I love the radio, so I try to think always how I would like the imaging has to sound. That’s the source, feel as listener.
Spanish vs. English, English vs. Spanish, here lies an eternal question that I’ve doing myself for a long time. Because English it’s a more direct language, with shortest lines; but Spanish needs more words to get a concept. As I’ve heard many times “English is the language of the (modern) music”, on imaging terms seems to be as well.

7. Who were your radio production idols, who influenced your work as a producer?

When I started in radio producing, Dave Foxx was continuously the reference. I used to read and practice the tricks of his tutorials. But at this moment, Andy Jackson, Chris Hartgers, Hans Everling, James Lawson, Niels Franken people like them are a reference on the imaging trends.
However, I feel that stations like Detroit’s 94.7 WCSX or Washington’s Big 100.3 are pretty similar to RockFM in music and attitude terms, so I use to listen a lot both of them.

8. What would be your 3 key advices for a youngster?

Them would be the same 3 keys that I have for the whole I do in my life:
– Enjoy everything you do (radio production gives you an easy way).
– Never stop learning from the partners and from yourself.
– Love the radio.