Blog Posts

AudioMango: the sound of podcast innovation

Find out how podcast enthusiasts AudioMango are making waves with their one-of-a-kind mobile recording studio – and a little help from Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Many businesses had to rethink the way they do business during the COVID-19 pandemic – some even found inspiration among the chaos. For Gavin Fenton – DJ, record producer and life-long lover of all things audio – lockdown meant not only a halt to his usual work, but also a lot more time listening to the podcasts others had produced. “I started getting frustrated.” Gavin says, “I loved the content, but found it difficult to listen to something that was so creatively put together well but unprofessional quality wise. People were missing an opportunity.“

And it wasn’t just the sound production that Gavin felt was lacking; the inharmonious nature of conversations recorded over loudspeakers and Zoom calls felt stilted and less comfortable to listen to. “That togetherness, that energy had disappeared,” Gavin says, recalling the vibrancy of post-pandemic podcasts. “But this is how things are now – and so I was asking how we can still keep doing what we like doing in this different world.”

The spark of an idea had been ignited and, after a conversation with a friend, Gavin’s solution came to life; AudioMango, a mobile recording studio which would allow a group of people to have natural, comfortable, real-time discussions in a professional setting. Gavin and his team set to work to see how they could make this dream a reality with their Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer. “Mobile audio studios are usually based on just one user which is usually a singer or MC,“ Gavin points out. “I wanted to make an environment where up to 5 people can talk about whatever they want, face to face”, Gavin explains. “I think it’s the only true way to get an honest and passionate conversation recorded. We can then post-produce the content on-location, making it ready to be streamed. We use established studio quality recording technics, like capturing each microphone separately so we can have total control in post-production, which we do on-location – so the finished professional sounding content is ready to be streamed within minutes.

The professional production and potential for flowing conversations were a clear sell for AudioMango – but bringing people together in a pandemic was another challenge Gavin had to face. “I had to respect COVID because that was the real reason studios were closing,” he says. “You couldn’t just nip into Soho and record your content all day, you couldn’t go to someone’s house to set up. That’s where the COVID screens and the plans for the sections all started to take place… the idea is that we’re self-contained.

Equipped with top-of-the-line recording and editing apparatus, including five microphones, comfortable seating and even a fridge for chilled refreshments, the mobile studio offers a secure, convenient way for podcast creators to carry on working.