March 2nd 2026: For more than twenty five years, Donal Hodgson has worked at the highest levels of music production, live performance and audio engineering.
Donal’s career traces a path from the tape machines of London’s most iconic studios to building sophisticated playback systems for global tours, all underpinned by a consistent commitment to sound quality.
Donal’s journey into audio began at Trident Studios in St. Ann’s Court, just off Wardour Street. “I was very young, wide eyed and green, the whole experience was amazing,” he recalls. During his time there, Paul ‘Groucho’ Smykle and Mark Stent were recording Big Audio Dynamite’s second album, 10 Upping Street, with Cenzo Townsend assisting. It was an extraordinary introduction to professional recording, but financial reality soon intervened, and Donal was forced to leave London. Fortunately, he secured a position at Jacobs Studios in Farnham, within walking distance of his parents’ home. It was there that he encountered Greg Walsh sequencing on a Mac SE running Performer, a moment that proved pivotal. “I was transfixed.”
Over the years, Donal worked extensively as a studio engineer, particularly during the vibrant Britpop era. At Eden Studios in the 1990s, where he began as a tape operator before becoming house engineer, he found himself in the middle of a uniquely creative period. “We had Steve Lillywhite producing The La’s in Studio 1, the Happy Mondays in Studio 2 making Pills ’N’ Thrills, and Simon Law of Soul II Soul working in Studio 3. There was a real buzz, the tape machines whirring away.”
Today, there is no such thing as a typical day. Like many engineers shaped by the rise of the DAW, Donal now works primarily from a home setup, handling editing, programming and mixing. Archiving to LTO tape and recovery from legacy formats form another important part of his work. Alongside studio production, he has built a long standing collaboration with Sting that extends into live production. Donal designs and runs playback rigs, while also contributing to production management and tour management for one off performances. “Busy days,” he says, “but rarely the same.”
Among the many standout projects in his career, Sting’s Winter album remains particularly memorable. Much of the backing material was recorded at Sting’s home in Tuscany, vocals were tracked in Malibu, and overdubs completed in New York. He also recorded the first live performance of the project at Durham Cathedral for DVD release, using DPA microphones almost exclusively for the first time. Another defining moment was recording Sting at Red Rocks in Colorado during the Symphonicities tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a project that resulted in an Emmy Award.
Donal first encountered Prism Sound during Sting’s 2001 project All This Time. Although he had seen the company’s adverts previously, this was his first opportunity to hear the converters in action. “It didn’t take long to work out that they were by far the best converters on the market, and I would like to underline, they still are.”
At the time, Sting’s setup included 64 channels of Prism ADA 8. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, before in the box mixing became commonplace, breaking out to analogue still delivered clear sonic advantages. As workflows evolved, Donal began travelling with his own ADA 8 to ensure consistent monitoring and overdubbing quality wherever he was working. “I wanted to be able to overdub with high quality but also to hear with that great Prism stereo image.” He recalls carrying the unit to and from Colorado and being relieved to find it performing flawlessly on arrival in Los Angeles. “They are a solid piece of kit.”
While the ADA 8 delivered exceptional performance, it required significant infrastructure. Eight channels occupied a 2U chassis, with notable weight and heat output. Large installations demanded proper machine rooms and air conditioning, something that made it less practical for a home setup.
The arrival of the Dream-ADA changed that equation entirely. “What feels like a limitlessly configurable 2U unit with no heat issue and no need for a weight lifter to help move it, I think it’s an absolutely amazing product.” The integration of Dante has become central to his workflow and the unit now travels regularly between the UK and Tuscany. “Maybe I should get it an airline loyalty card.”
Reflecting on the wider industry, Donal recognises how both technology and listening habits have shifted over time. “I definitely went through what I now call the MP3 phase of ‘that’ll do’ audio wise. The heavy compression era, make it louder. I’m not a fan of over compressed pop music. It doesn’t sound good, it’s disposable.” Today, working exclusively in the box has helped him rediscover the importance of depth, detail and space. “We used to take time getting the right level onto tape, it affected the entire sound of a project. I’m feeling that way again, but with my DAW.”
Looking ahead, Donal is developing more of his own music under the name Suono Pura and is currently finishing a new library music album. Live work remains a major focus, with several projects in development. “It’s exciting, lots of different things happening and no two days the same.”
From the whir of analogue tape machines in Soho to Dante enabled touring systems crossing continents, Donal Hodgson’s career reflects a lifelong pursuit of accuracy and musicality. For him, trust in sound begins at the point of conversion, and that foundation remains as important today as it was when he first heard Prism Sound more than two decades ago.
