Engineer Profile: Wataru Matsui (Syo.D)

The story I told on the Home page has a bit more concrete background.

As a PA engineer and concert production staff, I was on the front lines of numerous projects, both major and indie. There, I was constantly required not only to have high technical skill but also the calm judgment and problem-solving ability to deliver the best results under tight deadlines and budgets.

However, I collapsed due to poor health from the harsh work, and I was left with paralysis on the left side of my body. It was around this time that I felt sound had lost its color from the world, as if it had gone behind thick glass.

The sound of the radio from that piece of junk, which I encountered in despair. That "genuine sound" gave me new ears and a new heart.

Because I experienced physical difficulties, I learned firsthand the value of the soul that resides in the imperfect. I believe my ears and heart can now hear the "unspoken thoughts" of artists much more deeply than before.

About the origin of the name "KuroNekoMusicStudio." The professional scene I was once in was so hectic it was literally "a race against time" (a play on the Japanese idiom "wanting to borrow a cat's paw"). This name combines that experience with my current stance of quietly yet sharply discerning the essence of sound, like a black cat stalking its prey in the dark.

The problem-solving skills cultivated in the professional field and the deep empathy gained through this body. Using both, I will fully support your music and your project.

An Engineer's Commitment: Breaking the CPU Wall

In music production, inspiration is a momentary flash. However, the moment we try to grasp that light, an alert indicating the PC's processing limit can mercilessly interrupt our thoughts.

"I want to add that warm texture (plugin) to this track too... but the CPU is at its limit."
"I'm one step away from the ideal sound, but any more and the PC will freeze."

Mixing within the "wall" of a single PC's CPU power is a constant battle with "compromise." The engineer must give up something between creative desire and the machine's limits.

KuroNekoMusicStudio began by destroying that "wall" itself.

The Core: A 58-Thread Distributed Processing System

What we call the "core." It is a custom-built PC cluster, our "Distributed Plugin Server x 5," boasting a total of 58 threads. This is not just a high-spec PC. It is a system where the entire studio functions as one "giant instrument" optimized purely for sound processing.

However, no matter how powerful the engine, it cannot show its true value unless it can be perfectly "managed."

To grasp and optimize the state of this 58-thread "heart" in real-time, KuroNekoMusicStudio develops and operates its own dedicated monitoring system, the "KNMS DigitalMixingEngine," using C and Linux knowledge.

The CPU load status of all servers is constantly fed back through a custom dashboard, ensuring absolute stability during production while pushing the system's potential to its limits.

Building and mastering the foundation of the production environment with our own hands, without relying on off-the-shelf products. This is also my commitment as an "engineer" to sound.

Liberation from Constraints: Achieving Real-Time Processing

This "overwhelming processing power" and the "iron-clad management system that supports it" enable sound creation without any compromise, free from the coldness or flat sound associated with digital.

The "dual constraints"—things that are physically or financially impossible with hardware, yet impossible to execute on a normal PC due to CPU limits. Our studio's system removes even those constraints.

This means the engineer never needs to "give up" on anything in pursuit of the ideal sound.

• Enveloping all tracks with the characteristic "warmth" and "unity" of an analog console.
• Adding rich, layered "harmonics" that enhance sound density and texture, giving depth to the sound.
• Reproducing the "living fluctuation" and "air" that only analog equipment possesses, which digital cannot achieve.

All of this is executed simultaneously with minimal latency, without hindering the DAW's operation at all.

Heavy processes that would force "waiting time" such as "freezing" or "rendering" in a typical environment are completely unnecessary here. Everything is completed in real-time.

Inspiration to Sound in 3 Seconds.

"I want to change the kick sound by 0.5dB."
"I want to add just a little more air to the vocals."

To be able to execute the flash of inspiration born in the artist's or engineer's mind in 3 seconds.
To never interrupt the creative "flow of thought" due to machine power constraints.

Responding instantly with sound at the very moment inspiration is at its hottest.
That is the greatest "commitment" and answer we have prepared to embody your soul in the best possible sound.