Damon Albarn

Visible in this photo of recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in 13 Studios, taken from this October 21, 2014 interview by the The Polymath Perspective.

As far as studio processing goes, there presence of six Empirical Labs Distressors in the racks clearly shows that the product is a firm studio favourite. "The Distressors are great compressors and very versatile,” agrees Steve. "They are good on drums and vocals and for general recording."

The EL8 was used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

"I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor." (...) "I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

The 3630 is listed in the inventory of Albarn's 13 Studio.

In a photograph from Polymathperspective, Damon Albarn is shown with a Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo on his shelf, indicating its presence in his studio setup.

In a photo from Polymathperspective, Damon Albarn's Roland RE-201 Space Echo is visible on top of a stack, positioned next to the Prodigy gear.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

In a photo from Studio 13's website, Damon Albarn is shown using the Crane Song HEDD 192, highlighting its role in his studio setup.

According to this article, Damon uses this in his recording studio.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“The vocals start at track 42, with Damon’s lead vocal. The main lo-fi telephone-like effect is the typical 2-D sound, because this is a 2-D song. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s done with hardware. The plug-ins on the inserts are a Waves Renaissance De-esser and RVox, and the Waves Kramer PIE [compressor], which I use a lot on vocals. Below are two tracks of lead vocals with delays.

While recording, I often use the SoundToys EchoBoy for delays, but I replace that with hardware delays to get more character. In this case these two tracks are prints of me running Damon’s vocals through a Roland SDE 2000. I was having fun with that, doing fast delays and delays with modulation. Then there are some Damon harmonies, and the yellow tracks are him singing the chorus, and some of these are pitched down an octave with the Little AlterBoy. I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor. If want to impose a lot of character I’ll engage an old Collins broadcast limiter. For reverbs on the vocals I often use the studio’s EMT 140 plate.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood", as mentioned by producer Tom Girling in the September 2001 Sound on Sound article "Recording 'Clint Eastwood'".

''We used the Neumann TLM170 for Damon's vocal, and we hired some gear when we went to Jamaica, so I think he probably went through an 1176 as well, or perhaps a Distressor," explains Tom. "We used a Neve 1073, which is an EQ with a mic amp on as well, so the mic was plugged straight into that, and then after that I think it was the 1176 and straight into Logic."

Used for Albarn’s vocals on the Escape to Plastic Beach Tour, as stated by Albarn’s longtime FOH engineer Matt Butcher in this July 15, 2019 article by Entec Sound and Light.

“There are quite a few echo and delay cues, especially on Damon’s voice. I have an outboard rack with a TC D2 and a couple of Lexicon PCM81s in it, plus I’m using some of the internal effects for reverbs and delay for snare drums.

“When I was using a Midas Heritage on the first shows we did, I’d mess around with the tone generator and echo, along with guitar pedals to get some weird lo-fi effects. It was all very analogue and suited what we were doing and I’ve tried it with the D5, but I don’t really have as much time to play with these days!”

Used for Albarn’s vocals on the Escape to Plastic Beach Tour, as stated by Albarn’s longtime FOH engineer Matt Butcher in this July 15, 2019 article by Entec Sound and Light.

“There are quite a few echo and delay cues, especially on Damon’s voice. I have an outboard rack with a TC D2 and a couple of Lexicon PCM81s in it, plus I’m using some of the internal effects for reverbs and delay for snare drums.

“When I was using a Midas Heritage on the first shows we did, I’d mess around with the tone generator and echo, along with guitar pedals to get some weird lo-fi effects. It was all very analogue and suited what we were doing and I’ve tried it with the D5, but I don’t really have as much time to play with these days!”