Meet Clearcut Sound Studios' Latest Recruit: Dan Rimmer on Synths, Sound Design and the Magic of Soho
Dan Rimmer is Clearcut Sound Studios’ latest hire, joining the team as a junior engineer in early 2022. He met the Clearcut team while working his first industry role at Kidztalk, a children’s voiceover company, and felt like Clearcut Sound Studios was the right career move to help him develop his sound design skills in an environment that matches his client-focused attitude.
Dan grew up in a musical family, crediting his mum and grandad with instilling in him an appreciation of music. He started playing in a few bands during his teenage years (something he still does today) and learned all about the craft of music making. As far as his musical influences go, Dan is a lover of jazz, especially Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, and also Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso for their beautiful melodies and lyrics combined with experimental synth sounds.
Recently relocated to London, Dan is as excited about all the learning opportunities ahead of him at Clearcut Sound Studios - of which he’s already had a fair few - as he is about working in lively Soho. Today, LBB spoke to Dan about his passions and ambitions, what made Clearcut such an appealing place to work, and what’s interesting to him about the world of audio right now.
LBB> Growing up, would you describe yourself as a musical kid?
Dan> I grew up in a pretty musical household - my mum was in choirs for as long as I can remember and BBC Radios 3 + 4 were permanently on in the house. From about seven or eight, I was playing keys classically, but it wasn’t til 15/16 when I actually started to love music. I picked up jazz keys, started playing guitar and began writing my own songs. I feel really fortunate to have such a solid musical foundation - it makes bridging the gap between “inspiration” and a final product a more fun process.
LBB> How did you go from playing music to mixing your own? Was this always the plan?
Dan> I studied music tech and music A-level at college, where I started up a band with some friends. From then on I spent all my free time learning how to record and mix music, and, specifically, how best to capture the sound and feel of our group whilst spending no money! Having very limited equipment and money at an early stage has had a massive impact on my style of music production; in order to capture the right feel of a track, the driving force has had to be the raw audio itself. That means if I’m producing an intimate track - my go to sample might be a piano recorded on my phone, because techniques like that can close the divide between listener and songwriter. Sometimes, when you’re the most restricted, you end up being really creative!
LBB> You previously worked at Kidztalk, a children’s voiceover company, as an audio engineer and production assistant. Can you tell us a little about the role and what you learned from it?
Dan> It was my first official role in the industry and the best starting point I could have asked for because kids are some of the hardest talents to work with. Editing dialogue in the studio with clients on a call, whilst also keeping a 6-year-old kid focused on the task at hand is definitely a challenge. It took all my skills to a new level, and fed me some great opportunities, including my first TV music mix.
I was also a producer at Kidztalk, helping run the business as a whole, which gave me a great view of the inner workings of a business in the industry.
LBB> What made you decide to join Clearcut Sound Studios?
Dan> I didn’t go to uni, and I’ve always worked for big firms, where I’ve had no say in the day-to-day runnings, despite feeling like I have great ideas, and it’s always left me feeling unsatisfied at work.
Clearcut Sound Studios just felt right from the beginning - boutique, employee-owned, and in the absolute heart of indie-kid Soho. I actually came here as a voiceover artist last summer, and ended up having a separate remote link-up as an engineer with Ed De Lacy for a different session in the Kidztalk studio. The vibe I got from everyone I encountered led me to get in touch with Chris Wrigglesworth straight away and ask if there was a position available. The rest is history!
LBB> You’re at the start of your sound engineering/design career - what kind of support and learning opportunities is Clearcut giving you?
Dan> This was another reason why I wanted to work here. At the interview stage, I was honest about the level of experience I had running sound design sessions, and particularly under time pressure, but Chris and James (Clark) have really taken that on board. They’ve put in a lot of time letting me shadow, getting me used to the specific setup at Clearcut (Nuendo was a new DAW for me), and showing me everyone’s unique takes on sound design.
I wasn’t hired to work exactly in-line with everyone else - they hired me for my personality and my own take on sound design and mixing, and so my training has had a real focus on the best ways to translate my ideas into a finished product. It’s been fast-paced and hard work so far, but in return I’ve been given the freedom to experiment in a creative and uplifting space.
LBB> What kind of spots have you had a chance to work on since starting with Clearcut? What part of the process do you find the most interesting?
Dan> I guess it started with straight VO records and dialogue editing, because that's what I had experience in from working at Kidztalk, but I’m now doing anything and everything that gets sent my way - from short film mixes and sound design, to online and radio spots.
A few of my favourite projects so far have been Elixirr’s character-based consulting videos and Golf Now's 'A Criminal Drive'.
The most interesting part of the process for me is probably the nitty-gritty details involved with combining SFX and music - asking, 'Does an effect need re-tuning to sit more tightly? Where can I cut time within the music to fit a set time-frame without the listener noticing a change in flow?'
LBB> Tell us about your interest in music/sound outside of work?
Dan> I'm in a few different bands at the moment on a bunch of different instruments, trying to stimulate my brain as much as I can because what I'd love to be able to do is integrate sound design and music. It's fairly common in the sound world to have a composer and the sound designer as two separate things, whereas Ed here is like-minded in the sense that I think it's an invaluable skill to be able to combine the two. I'd love to get to the point where I could work on a music brief for someone, as well as the dialogue, SFX and mix - to be able to work on the whole piece. I think that's when you can be the most creative.
LBB> What’s an ad/film/TV show that has really impressed you with its sound design?
Dan> It's probably a bit of a cliché, but Stranger Things. It can't be faulted, the whole production quality is unbelievable. The audio is wild - the way they take these modular synth sounds to build tension, merging old tech and new tech together to give you a sense of nostalgia, but also in the most hi-fi way possible. Watching sci-fi from the ‘80s can feel a little two-dimensional but Stranger Things captures the feeling that you get from those shows in the most intense and exaggerated way.
LBB> Finally, what do you think is an exciting development in the world of audio and sound right now?
Dan> I watch quite a lot of stuff on YouTube and I think it's really cool seeing how online media is progressing into the mainstream and becoming more of a main way of consuming video and sound. There's a bunch of people on YouTube that I can see jumping into the mainstream and doing spots for TV like Matty Matheson (a wacky chef from Canada). The sound design on his videos is actually really creative, and really it’s built a brand for him sonically. Whilst TikTok influencers are having their phone-recorded day at the moment, I think it’s only a matter of time until we see more social media stars seeking a brand identity in the same way, and looking for a higher level of production quality.
