Meet Raphael and learn more about his life as a sound engineer for Stormzy, Hamzaa and Tinie Tempah. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
Raphael:
My job here today is to be the go to person for every artist that I work with regarding sound. Which is front of house and monitorsfor Stormzy and Hamzaa. The role of the sound engineer is to take a number of signals from the stage and process them and deliver it to an audience in loudspeakers for the audience, which is called front of house. And the monitor person delivers the audio for the person that's on the stage.
I've always wanted to be a musician realistically, because I've had musicians all around me, but mygifting is being in the background and engineering, so I stick to what I try to be good at. I actually started from a churchbackground. It's church that give me the foundations. I used to run my school multimedia, cos they got new kit, but nobody knew how to really use it. And then I moved on to college and I then I worked at a venue in Birmingham. I worked for an artist in 2009 while I was at university and literally, the week that I graduated, I got a call from Tinie Tempah - production. And I was with Tinie Tempah since 2010 and now.
I always say to get in the industry, it's who you know, but to maintain the industry, it's what you know. You have to be flexible and willing and persistent in whatever you do. Don't get swayed by the glamour, cos it's not glamorous over here. It's not about the engineers, it's not about the technicians, it's about the artist. The main thing is to make sure whoever is on the stage, that they're comfortable.
To get in the industry, it's who you know, but to maintain the industry, it's what you know.
- Raphael works as a sound engineer for artists such as Stormzy, Hamzaa and Tinie Tempah. He was inspired to follow a career in music through his church background. At school he also ran the multimedia as no one knew how to use the equipment, then he went to college and worked at a venue in Birmingham and for an artist whilst at university
- The week he graduated from university, Raphael received a call from Tinie Tempah's production team to work for him in music production
- Raphael advises to not be swayed by the glamour as being a sound engineer is not glamorous - it's all about making sure that the artist on stage is comfortable.
What to expect if you want to be an engineer
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Other resources
- See what type of engineering role might suit you with the meet the future you quiz
- Find out more about the different areas of engineering with this guide from Tomorrow's Engineers
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- Discover a practical new way to study via T-levels (England-only).
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