Han Cera

What did you do before joining dBs?  

I’ve been a freelance live sound engineer for about a decade now, and have worked in most venues and festivals in and around Bristol. I was also a tech Manager at BIMM for 3 years, and worked with a composer at BBC Nature creating loops and sounds for him to use in Kontakt.
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Why did you first get into live sound engineering?

It actually happened by accident. I studied sound engineering at SAE in Amsterdam, but it was purely studio-based. I stumbled into live sound work through a friend of a friend who was looking for cover at Old Market Assembly. At the same time, I was shadowing the tech manager at The Louisiana. Jobs kept coming in, I began to enjoy it more than studio engineering and I’ve never stopped.

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Any special areas of interest?

Sound Design, surround systems, and FOH mixing. I’m a passionate synth player and really enjoy building sounds. I recently started working at Dareshack, where they have a 22-speaker d&b Soundscape system, so I’ve been really enjoying getting into using that. I’m still a big fan of music production, and FOH is a great way of doing that in a live environment.

What do you love most about what you do?

I love the rush of having to think on my feet. Being able to interact with a different set of musicians each night, and having the freedom to experiment helps keep things fresh and exciting.

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Tell us about your proudest career moment?

We [Mutant Thoughts] were fortunate enough to record an EP with Sylvia Massy, and also played at ArcTanGent festival.

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What do you get up to outside of your role at dBs?

Most of my time is spent freelancing, if I’m honest. I work as a live sound engineer at Bristol Beacon, SWX, The Jam Jar, Trinity Centre, and I’m Tech Manager at Dareshack.

Outside of that, I love to travel when I can.

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Tell us something our students may not know about you?

I’m sponsored by Sequential, the synthesiser company in the U.S.

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