Making a Mobile Recording Studio
Buskers are always on the move, often playing on a different city corner each day. So if you’re looking to record an album with Europe’s best street musicians, you’re going to need a mobile studio.
Buskers are always on the move, often playing on a different city corner each day. So if you’re looking to record an album with Europe’s best street musicians, you’re going to need a mobile studio.
That’s why Marten Berger, a 24-year-old producer originally from Germany, is living in a converted VW bus for an entire year during his quest to find the Continent’s most talented buskers.
Marten Berger
This van is actually an old ice cream truck, it’s a year older than I am.
“The conversion was done piece by piece. My grandpa helped me insulate the whole thing,” he explained. “The whole van is powered by sun energy. I have solar power panel on the roof. I can literally run the whole studio on sunlight.”
Shure was glad to donate some recording equipment to support his project, which Marten has dubbed Smells Like Van Spirit. So now he can handle pretty much anything Europe’s buskers throw his way.
“As long as it’s not a full drum set, I can record everything in this van,” he said.
After a recording session, Marten uses his laptop as a 16-channel digital audio workstation to get the mix just right before heading off to the next city.
Watch the conversion from ice cream truck to full mobile recording studio below.
[youtube=ub1F1CqZKFY]
Backing Marten’s project with studio gear and financial support, Shure will be checking in with him throughout his journey. You can follow his progress here: www.smellslikevanspirit.eu
