Paloma Faith’s appearance at the 2015 BRIT Awards was a major achievement – especially for DPA Microphones. After winning the award for Best Female Solo Artist, Faith performed Only Love Can Hurt Like This, using DPA’s d:facto Vocal Microphone, while singing the last verse and chorus in the pouring rain.
“We knew the water effect was going to soak her microphone,” Faith’s monitor engineer James Neale explains. “It was definitely more of a downpour than a shower. To minimize the risk we went for a cable version of DPA’s d:facto vocal microphone as we weren’t sure we could waterproof the electronics of the wireless version she normally uses. We were relying on the double protection layer between the grill and the capsule in the d:facto and luckily this proved to be very effective against the downpour of rain used in the effect.”
Neale, who has been working with Faith since 2014, is a fan of DPA microphones, especially the d:facto vocal microphone, which he first started using in 2013 with Ellie Goulding
“The d:facto has an amazing sound quality – I especially like the virtually flat response,” Neale adds. “The low frequency proximity effect is almost non-existent. Furthermore, it is ideal for singers who sing on and off the microphone. I would definitely recommend this microphone to my fellow sound engineers.”
Faith’s front of house engineer, Huw Richards, carried out some listening tests at SSE Audio Group in Redditch. He tried out a series of microphones and preferred the d:facto. “We tried out the d:facto with Paloma in rehearsals and she immediately liked it. She has been using custom decorated Sennheiser wireless handles for some time now, so we purchased a d:facto and adapter for that system. She moves all over the stage during her shows so her microphone really does need to be wireless.”