Drake’s live sound engineer has been discussing what it was like sitting behind the desk on the Canadian star’s recent European tour - alongside PartyNextDoor - and it sounds like the role is even more demanding than you might have thought.
Demetrius Moore has been Drake’s FOH engineer since 2010, and he says that, because of the way the recent shows were structured, he was constantly making adjustments and responding to the kind of material being performed on stage.
“The beginning of the show is mostly his R&B records, so it starts with more of an intimate mix, like you’re in a theatre, and the crowd sings along,” Moore tells Mix Online. “Then after five songs, it’s the first rap song and it hits you in the chest! The dynamics change to a more bass-heavy rap show that moves the crowd, and it takes off from there. Then when he performs up in the 200 level, doing dance-type music, it’s like being in Ibiza. I cater my mix to whatever the music is, so it’s a very dynamic show.”
Moore was marshalling a massive audio system as Drake performed in the round, but he says that the rig was carefully designed to ensure that no one was made to feel uncomfortable.
“They feel the impact, that’s for sure, but a lot of people look at the PA and say, ‘Oh my God, this is gonna rip our faces off!’ No, it won’t. We did it this way for even coverage, even dispersion and to have power without killing people.”
Demetrius also discussed how creative his role is, and how essential his work is not only to the balance of the mix, but also the subtleties of the sound.
“My desk, I use it as an instrument,” he says. “It’s definitely an effect-heavy show. The first song is Marvin’s Room, and if you listen to the album, there’s a reverse gate reverb delay that is the whole vocal sound of that song - which we have to recreate live!”
Explaining how he does this, Demetrius says: “It’s three effects: The vocal goes into the reverse gate, which goes into the reverb and that goes into the delay. I sat there for I don’t know how long, tweaking it until it was as close to the record as possible. It was a little bit of a challenge trying to get it exact, but we’re damn close. Not every song has crazy effects like that, but there are a lot throughout the show.”
There’s a lot to be thinking about, then, but top of Moore’s priority list is always Drake’s vocal - and he says that it’s essential that this is on the money right from the get-go.
“To quote Prince, ‘If the first words out of an artist’s mouth when they hit the stage aren’t heard, you’re a horrible engineer,’” says Moore. “They came to hear the artist, and what are you going to do - wait ’til the third song to get it together?”
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