Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist (opens in new tab)
  • Guitar Techniques (opens in new tab)
  • Total Guitar (opens in new tab)
  • Bass Player (opens in new tab)
More
  • Lennon on Eleanor Rigby
  • Jimmy Page demos classic Led Zep gear
  • Classic rock riffs for beginners
  • Omnichord @ 70
  • SampleRadar: 163 tape loops samples

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Future Music

In pictures: Sharam Jey's plush studio

By Future Music
published 26 April 2010

  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Welcome

Welcome

With his 1997 remix of Energy 52’s Café del Mar once voted the greatest dance track of all time, you can be pretty confident that Cologne-based Sharam Jey knows his way around his studio. He’s also remixed for the likes of Moby, Mylo and Faithless, and founded his own label, King Kong Records, in 2001. There were plenty of reasons, then, for Future Music to pay him a visit…

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Synths

Synths

Sharam has several stands’ worth of keyboards, with the Roland Juno-60 [top right] being a workhorse that’s been used on every one of his tracks for “the last ten years”. The MKS-80 Super Jupiter [a refined Jupiter-8, bottom right] is another favourite, and isn’t the only Roland synth in Sharam’s studio…

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
More synths

More synths

These two were picked up second-hand from “a guy who retired from music and told me that he was selling some old gear. When I went to see him, I couldn’t believe what he had and I bought the OSCar [pictured on previous slide] the Moog Realistic MG-1 [top], Roland SH-101 [bottom] and Roland TR-909 [not pictured].”

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Desk

Desk

Mission control for Sharam is this Mackie console. “Of course, you don’t need a big desk nowadays,” he concedes, “but I’ve done music for so long and it’s always been about having a big mixing desk. I think you hear the difference when you mix on a real board. I can hear and feel a much fuller mid and low end using a console, plus it’s a much more hands-on experience.”

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
The rack

The rack

“I have so many demos and ideas that used this kit over the last ten years that I keep it and often dig out the sounds from the Akai’s [samplers] and so on,” says Sharam. “But really, over the last two years most of this stuff has rarely been used.”

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Computer and software

Computer and software

Like so many pros, Sharam has a Mac running Logic, but what are his other software favourites? “I’ve just discovered the plug-ins from TAL [Togu Audio Line]. They feature quite a lot of great instruments that are based on old Roland synths and sound quite a lot like the original models. I’m also using Sylenth1 from Lennar Digital.

“What I was finding really difficult to get were good and broad-sounding reverb plug-ins. But recently I found the Toraverb from D16 Group and I’m really happy that I managed to find it after searching for something similar for so long.”

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Monitors

Monitors

An overview shot of Sharam’s studio shows that he monitors with a pair of TannoyReveal 5s. “These are very old school, and they’re always the first thing people go on about when they see my studio. I’ve used them for so long and I know them so well. I used to use them in conjunction with [Yamaha] NS10s, which I loved, but when my NS10s broke, I really had to learn the Tannoys to be able to continue mixing.”

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Future Music
Future Music
Social Links Navigation

Future Music is the number one magazine for today's producers. Packed with technique and technology we'll help you make great new music. All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more. Every marvellous monthly edition features reliable reviews of the latest and greatest hardware and software technology and techniques, unparalleled advice, in-depth interviews, sensational free samples and so much more to improve the experience and outcome of your music-making.

More about tech
Chompi sampler

The Chompi sampler has munched through its funding target and raised a whopping $1 million on Kickstarter

james holden

James Holden: "I got really bored of making music. But the moment I discovered modular and Live and Max/MSP, it all opened up again"

Latest
Millenium MPS-1000 in white and natural finishes

Millenium expands its MPS-1000 full-shell electronic drum kit with a new configuration and two new finish options

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Was Paul McCartney the "best drummer in The Beatles"?* Listen to the fab 4 tracks he played on, and the isolated drum parts, and decide for yourself

By Will Groves30 March 2023

Jackson and Anthrax’s Scott Ian join forces for a signature X Series King V that pays tribute to Dimebag Darrell

By Jonathan Horsley30 March 2023

This is Wikipedia’s new audio logo, which is designed to be ‘The Sound of All Human Knowledge’

By Ben Rogerson30 March 2023

Marshall has been sold to Swedish speaker company Zound, ending over 60 years of family ownership

By Jonathan Horsley30 March 2023

Soundtracking secrets: How to get started writing music to picture

By Andy Price30 March 2023

Spectrasonics’ Keyscape 1.5 includes a Double Felt Grand piano, and existing users get this “#1 most requested sound” for free

By Ben Rogerson30 March 2023

Best hardware vocal compressors 2023: analogue studio hardware to suit all budgets and styles

By Simon Truss30 March 2023

Gear Expo 2023 is coming - tune in on 28 April

By Gear Expo 202130 March 2023

Hear the oldest guitar effects pedal demo ever from 1962

By Rob Laing30 March 2023

A drummer has recorded 75 new versions of the Amen break for you to use in your music

By Ben Rogerson30 March 2023

DW announces Alex Gonzalez ICON snare drum

By Stuart Williams29 March 2023

  1. Paul McCartney and John Lennon in 1966
    1
    John Lennon on completing Eleanor Rigby's lyrics for Paul McCartney: "It's his first verse, and the rest of the verses are basically mine"
  2. 2
    Hear the oldest guitar effects pedal demo ever from 1962
  3. 3
    A faulty mixing console meant that Prince’s The Ballad of Dorothy Parker was recorded ‘wrong’, but he used it anyway
  4. 4
    How to use the '3 reverb approach' to nail reverb in almost any mixing scenario
  5. 5
    An audio engineer shows you "how the pros mix vocals" and get that ‘glued-in’ sound
  1. The microphone brand enlisted engineer Darrell Thorp and drummer Joey Waronker for a fly-on-the-wall video session
    1
    Take a deep dive into drum recording at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 courtesy of Lauten Audio's in-depth video
  2. 2
    A faulty mixing console meant that Prince’s The Ballad of Dorothy Parker was recorded ‘wrong’, but he used it anyway
  3. 3
    Thom Yorke on his 'executive producer' role for Clark's new album Sus Dog: "I ended up being a kind of backseat driver"
  4. 4
    An audio engineer shows you "how the pros mix vocals" and get that ‘glued-in’ sound
  5. 5
    Hear the oldest guitar effects pedal demo ever from 1962

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).

  • About Us (opens in new tab)
  • Contact Future's experts (opens in new tab)
  • Terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
  • Privacy policy (opens in new tab)
  • Cookies policy (opens in new tab)
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers (opens in new tab)

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.