A Passion for Audio
For many people in audio, it’s not only a science, a skill-set and an art-form, it’s a passion. For these people, a lifelong quest of training their ears to hear the minutest difference in the pursuit of perfection, and protecting the valuable sensory knowledge and attributes so obtained, become second nature.
Both Brent Finlayson Smith and John Gallen are musicians, with the former fortunate to have combined both audio and professional business in many of the positions he has worked in.
Radio New Zealand
Starting at Radio Northland 1ZN, New Zealand as an audio technician, he operated panel audio for early morning announcers and outside broadcasts before leaving in search of surf down South at Raglan, Waikato.
Sydney, Australia
He moved to Sydney, Australia, studied and received a certificate in audio engineering and worked for ten years in audio and audio-visual for large events, conferences, black-tie balls, brass bands, and concerts, including working on the Prince Charles and Lady Diana engagement visit Ball, and the official event for the George Bush Snr, Vice Presidential visit to Australia.
He became Assistant Technical Manager at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and also production manager (and an operational engineer) on many large and small shows and events, including the Australian Bicentennial celebrations.
During this time he was lead singer, songwriter and guitarist in two bands and produced several demos, also working as a roadie for some of the name bands of the era, and as an audio engineer for some smaller bands, during a magic time in Australian music.
Production in London
He moved to London in 1990 to take up a job offer and became Production and Technical Manager at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, managing 32 engineers and production staff on over 720 events per year, including live-to-air television spectaculars, Government, AGM, Benefit,and Royalty events, and major international conferences including the ’91 Press Briefings to the G8 Economic Summit with Mikhail Gorbachev in attendance. You can read more about audio and show production in New Zealand, Australia and the UK here.
Satellite Uplinks in Tierra del Fuego
He left the Centre after four years to become Satellite Events Manager for France Telecom (subsidiary Maxat) at the ITN Centre in London, travelling to Tierra del Fuego for the 1994 global launch of a new SUV, production managing the field event and operating international audio foldback for the VIP talent (Sir Robin Knox-Johnston CBE, and Helen Sharman OBE). You can read more about this event and sending audio around the world by satellite here.
Wireless Internet
Returning to New Zealand after 16 years, he became General Manager of Voyager Internet, and moved again six years later to Ireland, founding Clearwire Ireland, a wireless ISP, ultimately gaining significant foreign direct investment and serving on the Board of the Internet Service Provider’s Association of Ireland, engaging on such issues as digital rights management, abuse and fair use. During this time he continued to play and record music.
Ardán Audio Limited
After conducting a successful trial of new WiMAX technology, Brent left the company he had founded after six years, in June 09, to focus on several products in the audio industry he had long wanted to create, the result being Ardán Audio Limited.
He has long been passionate about fidelity in live performance sound and in recording, the development of analogue audio into digital forms, and retaining dynamics in recording and mixing. Brent plays guitar and sings occasionally in Dublin and is recording an album under the name Brent Finlayson in his home Pro Tools studio, set for wafting into the great unknown at the end of 2011. He regularly records, edits and mixes other musicians with a portable Pro Tools rig.