Pearlbay Student Inspired to Follow Analog Path to Audient

Pearlbay Student Inspired to Follow Analog Path to Audient

Sri Lanka – At 24, Isiwara Manthrirathna, music entrepreneur, producer and owner of iD44, is carving out a path for himself in the music industry. He was inspired by his studies at the Pearlbay Institute in Sri Lanka; he has completed his International Diploma in Music and is about to graduate as a sound engineer.

These courses gave him hands-on experience with Audient hardware, including the EVO and iD4 audio interfaces and of course the flagship mixing console, the ASP8024-HE. Isiwara finds the regular hands-on tasks of tracking, mixing and mastering on the large-format console very useful. “I particularly enjoy working with the ASP8024-HE because of its intuitive feel and excellent DAW controller functionality,” he says. “The hands-on tasks assigned during our courses were a fantastic opportunity for hands-on learning. They gave me the confidence to use any studio console effectively.”

His time at the Sri Lankan Audio Super Hub sparked a keen interest in Audient, so he equipped his own home production workspace with the iD44 20-in/24-out audio interface. “It’s fantastic,” he says. “I use all the outputs for my monitoring needs, connecting Focal Alpha 80s and Yamaha HS8s as my main monitors via the iD44. For headphone outputs, I use both outputs with my Beyerdynamic DT 990 and DT 700 Pro X.”

“The iD44 has really changed the way I play,” he continues, appreciating both the aesthetics of the hardware and the design of the software. “In my setup, the interface is not easily accessible, so the software control is very convenient. It fits perfectly into my workflow.”

When he’s not using his iD44 audio interface, he’s promoting Audient products to others. “A lot of my friends in the industry chose to buy the EVO 4 Start Recording Pack on my recommendation,” he laughs.

Following his analog path, his ultimate goal is to invest in an ASP4816 console for his own Serene Studio. He’s aiming high and wants to become a successful commercial studio offering its own recording, mixing and mastering services “like Pearlbay Music Studio,” he says. “Most studios here use digital audio interfaces, but I’ve been inspired by analog consoles.”

Alongside his studies, Isiwara was already making a name for himself in beat production, working under various producer names on the Beatstars platform as well as Spotify.

July 8, 2024