Delvinder Singh is the Maverick, the Audio Engineer, and the designer of sounds. He is the AntiFool.

Let’s talk about audio. Living through society, we can’t help but listen to a wide variety of sounds from the subtle creaking of doors to explosions from film. There is a profession that focuses on creating a narrative using these very sounds: audio engineers. Who better to find out more about this field than Delvinder Singh!

Del is the resident audio engineer at Maveriq studios with a wide variety of experiences under his belt. He assisted in the recording of different projects and films from Transformers: The Last Knight, Folklore by HBO, to The Ghost Bride on Netflix.

Music-wise he’s experienced as well, assisting in the recording of Ed Sheeran’s No. 6 collaborations project during his tour in KL. I was interested in Del’s story because I wanted to know more about the principles of audio engineering, especially as someone who is doing podcasts right now.

We talked about:

  • How he got his start diving into audio engineering, by listening to local bands
  • Using audio as a narrative, his favorite sounds, and the principles of audio engineering
  • Differences between audio production for commercials, films, movies and more
  • Sounds we take for granted, and training our ears to understand the environment around us
  • Getting into a call with Michael Bay for Transformers The Last Knight

Enjoy!

For the full transcript, click here

Timestamps

  • 04:06 How local bands encouraged him to dive into the audio world
  • 05:46 A 20-page book compelled Delvinder to start learning audio engineering
  • 08:04 Delvinder’s favourite sounds, and why Sci-fi is the best sound to work with
  • 09:14 Creating vehicle sounds for Prometheus
  • 10:29 What does an audio engineer actually do? The 3 aspects
  • 11:21 “I want to record an album. What’s the process?”
  • 12:56 “The less people you have the better it is” Delvinder on developing a relationship with the artist as a producer
  • 14:32 How first-time artists can get overwhelmed by the production process
  • 16:18 Making a Macho burger ‘macho’: Delvinder’s process in producing audio for the new McDonald’s Ad
  • 17:49 The roars, screams and big impacts for making a burger manly
  • 19:42 Sounds we take for granted: door creaking and more used in film
  • 22:02 Transformers The Last Knight, and recording Gemma Chan of Crazy Rich Asians
  • 24:21 Chatting with Michael Bay
  • 26:31 Choosing the right takes for voiceover, and Kylo Ren
  • 27:53 Anomaly, a horror game with sounds produced by Delvinder Singh
  • 29:52 Delvinder deep dives into how he produces audio for the game
  • 31:43 “The hardest sound to make was the one where I had to record my own reverb.”
  • 34:38 To work on games as a dream project, and Playstation in Malaysia
  • 36:33 The advantages of audio engineering in podcasts
  • 38:19 Improvement in technology leads to more appreciation for high quality sound design
  • 40:53 How to train your ear to listen for professional sound design
  • 43:14 Delvinder’s Memento: The 10-Year Microphone
  • 45:15 Walkaway Wisdom, mastery of the craft and to show up in person
  • 48:15 Audio epitaph: The sound effect that represents Delvinder’s life

Favourite sounds: