Recording ‘Be Love’: RIOPY on the Steinway D Spirio at Curtis Schwartz Studio

RecordingStories from the Studio
Written by Curtis Schwartz

RIOPY recording on the Steinway D Spirio at Curtis Schwartz Studio in Sussex.

French pianist RIOPY recorded his album Be Love at Curtis Schwartz Studio in Sussex, performing on the studio’s Steinway D Spirio piano. The album has already reached over 500,000 streams in its first two weeks.

Listen to American Dream from RIOPY’s album Be Love, recorded at Curtis Schwartz Studio.

RIOPY recording vocals at Curtis Schwartz Studio in Sussex beside the Steinway D Spirio concert grand piano.

RIOPY recording vocals at Curtis Schwartz Studio in Sussex.

RIOPY lives in Portugal, where he composed and first performed the music on his Steinway C Spirio. When it came time to record the album, he flew to Gatwick and spent a week at Curtis Schwartz Studio.

Using the Steinway Spirio system, RIOPY was able to reproduce the performances he made at home in Portugal precisely on the studio’s Steinway D Spirio. Some compositions even contained up to 17 layered piano performances, creating a rich, symphonic texture.

For the recording sessions, the Steinway was also tuned slightly lower than standard concert pitch, at 432 Hz rather than 440 Hz — a tuning RIOPY prefers for its emotional character.

Read more about the Steinway and how the Spirio system records and reproduces a performance.

Curtis Schwartz

Curtis Schwartz is a producer, mixer, recording engineer and composer based in Sussex, England. He runs Curtis Schwartz Studio, a private residential recording and mixing studio known for high-end production, stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mixing, mastering, and its 9-foot Hamburg Steinway D Spirio concert grand.

Curtis has worked across records, production music, television and film for more than four decades. His credits include YES, Steve Howe, Sezen Aksu, Stacey Kent, Bee Gees, Suede, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Go West, Cutting Crew, John Taylor, Gwilym Simcock and many others.

As a composer, Curtis has written extensively for KPM/EMI and West One Music, with work used internationally across television, advertising and broadcast media. His studio continues to attract artists, labels and composers looking for a calm, highly musical environment where records can be recorded, mixed, mastered and properly finished.

https://www.curtisschwartzstudio.com
Previous

Why a rough mix you thought was perfect can sound very different in a professional studio
Next

Creating the Dolby Atmos Mix for YES – Aurora