Creak Music's Brad King Calls on DPA to Capture Christian Music Duo's Latest Project Live at Their Family Farm.
With their home serving as a pastoral, inspirational setting, Christian music duo Jonathan and Melissa Helser chose to record their latest live worship album at their farm, alongside family and friends. To enhance the album, entitled The Land I'm Livin' In, the duo also chose to film the sessions, which added a personal touch. The Helsers turned to Brad King, engineer and co-owner of worship sound production studio Creak Music, for all the recording and mixing work necessary to achieve their artistic vision. Knowing it was imperative to capture the Helser's vocal stylings as well as the unique environment in which they were recording, King turned to DPA Microphones for the natural sound and clarity the new album deserved.
Having previously used DPA mics on live recording projects, King knew that the brand would be the best option for miking both the vocals and instruments properly. I've loved every mic I've ever used, he says. So, for this project, we started chatting with DPA about what to use, and we put together a whole list, which turned out great. Among the many benefits of using DPA is the small form-factor of the mics.
King selected the DPA d:facto 4018V Vocal mics for each of the Helsers' vocals, 2011C Twin Diaphragm Cardioids on kick and snare; 4099 CORE Instrument mics on toms and hi-hats; 4011A Cardioids for drum overheads; and a pair of stereo 4099s on piano. To help fight the reverb and pick up the overall sound and ambience of the room, King also deployed a pair of 4006A Omnidirectional mics overhead.
As worship musicians, vocals are often at the forefront of the Helsers' music and, King says, the d:facto is amazing. It is one of those microphones that you just kind of start using and don't have to do much to it. We've used that mic in the studio a bunch. For the right singer, it just shines on their voice. It sounds really great. Having the d:factos also helped King obtain isolated vocals in the wide open space, comprised of concrete floors, drywall, windows and a metal ceiling, which all reflected sound, despite attempts at enhancing the sound reinforcement and adding acoustical treatment.
The ability to hide the variety of mics proved essential during the album and video recording, which had an audience of about 70 people, to add to the live feeling. When you're capturing a crowd, you don't want the video to just have a bunch of mic stands and cables, explains King. Being able to hide the microphones contributed so much to the energy and vibe of the environment while we were recording. It didn't feel so much like a traditional studio recording, it felt like an experience.
King says that using the 4099s on drums was helpful because they were able to obscure the mics and cables cleanly and eliminated the need for mic stands. The 4099s were equally as effective with the piano, where the mics were hidden inside and the cable was run along the side, giving the illusion of it being completely acoustic.
As for the barn where they recorded, King installed 4006As to the outer edge of a second-floor loft space overlooking the large, rectangular main room. Those mics helped us attain a different, more even sound in the space, he continues. Being able to get the room a little more balanced was amazing. I love the capsule that comes on the 4006A; it gives a flatter response, which is really nice. Having the tight polar pattern and pickup of the DPA mics saved this project. Had we been using anything else, there would have been so much bleed. We would have had to overdub everything. Instead, we just sent the whole project to mix.
It was while working on a radio edit of one song that King discovered the true benefits of the mics on the end project. I was just isolating the drums and vocals, and there was almost no bleed. The amount of isolation we were able to achieve just by placing everybody correctly and using those microphones really made it all possible.
Best known for their 2016 album Beautiful Surrender, which peaked on The Billboard 200 at No. 54, Christian Albums at No. 1 and Canadian Albums at No. 67, Jonathan and Melissa Helser have been recording together since 2013. Their new live album, The Land I'm Livin' In is available on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and Pandora.
Creak Music was founded by Brad King, David Leonard and Seth Talley. The team has worked with worship artists such as NeedToBreathe, Baldwin, Brandon Lake, Maverick City, Brandon Heath and Cody Carnes, among others. The trio also produced their own instrumental cover music album commissioned by Integrity Music.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
Creak Music's Brad King Calls on DPA to Capture Christian Music Duo's Latest Project Live at Their Family Farm.
