Damien Quintard

Quintard was born in Paris. Inspired by his multicultural childhood spent across the globe in Mumbai, Hong Kong and Singapour, Quintard started to learn music theory and piano at the age of 3. He pursued his musical education in different conservatories and local music schools, where he developed considerable vocal skills as well as an expertise in guitar, bass, and drums. He returned to Paris in his teenager years and started a rock band, Dot Legacy, that successfully toured around Europe, Brazil and Canada winning the Best International Emerging Artist award at the Canadian Indie Week in December 2018. Fascinated by science, specifically maths and physics, he studied aerospace engineering before turning to audio engineering.

Quintard's first recordings were charity based for the National Institute for the Young and Blind (INJA) in Paris where his sister would often sing. He dived deeper into the world of sound and audio engineering and created his first professional recordings for the renowned studio Little Tribeca, where he worked as Studio Manager. During this time, he recorded and produced many award-winning productions such as Schumann, Schubert, Brahms with Lise Berthaud & Adam Laloum[2] and Johann Adolf Hasse: Siroe, Re di Persiaith Max Emmanuel Cenčić & George Petrou.[3] Through several productions since 2012, he developed a friendship with the renown orchestra director Teodor Currentzis who became his mentor and inspired him to research new ways of recording and mixing.

His work as Lead Sound Engineer in the European Olympic Opening Ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan granted him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Live and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing.[4]

Captivated with the idea of breaking sonic barriers and finding new ways of mixing and producing, he founded The Mono Company in 2018. The Mono Company's main focus is to deliver reference recordings and the development of new state of the art audio-technology supported by its unique partnerships with Audio Note ( world's finest home audio equipment) and Aston Microphones.[5]

Damien Quintard started recording, mixing and mastering the rising classical star Teodor Currentzis and his orchestra musicAeterna in 2012. Throughout the years, Currentzis became a friend and a mentor who helped improve Quintard's technique and detailed work. Their collaboration resulted in a series of recognized awards, particularly for Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony and Mozart's Don Giovanni that won respectively the Gold and Silver Record Academy Award in Japan[6] – that being the first time in 55 iterations that the same artist wins the top two prizes consecutively.

These recordings successfully won several awards, counting the Diapason d'Or (2017)[7] and the Gramophone Classical Music Award (2018)[8] for Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 as well as the BBC Magazine Music Award (2017)[9] for Mozart's Don Giovanni – amongst many others.

In 2015, he worked with Dimitris Papaioannou and Vangelino Currentzis on the production of the Baku Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Azerbaijan. The ceremony was nominated by the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences for an Emmy Award, granting the Sound Engineering and Production Department a golden statuette for Outstanding Live and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing.[4] This particular production focused on the unusual blending of different genres going from Lady Gaga’s live performance and interpretation of Imagine by John Lennon to Jean Sibelius and traditional Azeri music.

After meeting with Peter Qvortrup, CEO of Audio Note in 2016 in Zurich during the premiere of Verdi's Macbeth, they decided to work together on creating a revolutionary line of audio equipment. Qvortrup’s unique vision and knowledge of music was one of the most defining moments of Damien’s early career. Quintard and Qvortrup started developing these new technologies on Audio Note Music recordings with artists such as Vincent Bélanger and Edna Stern. At this date, Damien’s studio in Paris where he edits, mixes and masters all of his records is exclusively equipped with two Audio Note systems including Tomei AN-E Alnico Sogon and Meishu AN-E SPeHE.

In 2018, he co-produced with Les Films Jack Fébus as Lead Sound Engineer the broadcasting of the Sónar Festival in Barcelona, Spain where he recorded acts such as LCD Sound System, Laurent Garnier, Thom Yorke, Richie Hawtin and Gorillaz. During this year, he also recorded the Reworks Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece.

In 2019, DAU, a project quoted to be “the most insane shoot of all time” by the Telegraph[10] and “the most expansive, complicated, all-consuming film project ever attempted” by GQ[11] opened its world premiere in Paris. In an overwhelming sense of scale and history, the film director Ilya Khrzhanovsky and musical producer Vangelino Currentzis along with Damien Quintard joined their minds to create an experience blending live performances and complex sound processing during 30 days and nights. The general idea was to gather an incredible database of music, adaptations, experiments and emotions throughout the whole event.

For the Grand World Opening of the project happening between the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Théâtre de la Ville and the Pompidou Center, Quintard was assigned as Head of Production and Performances as well as Head of the Sound and Concerts Department where he worked with and produced artists such as Teodor Currentzis, Brian Eno, Marko Nikodijevic and Arca.  

"You can't categorize Damien Quintard. He has engineered huge acts, managed recording studios, produced huge events and helped broadcast massive festivals. He has now set up the Mono Company which does all of the above, and more, with the biggest names, the best equipment and no compromises…" - Aston Microphones[12]

• 2016 - Emmy Award - Lead Sound Engineer and Producer for the Baku Olympic Games Opening Ceremony[4]
• 2017 - Diapason D’Or - Producing, Recording, Edit, Mix and Mastering of Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony with Teodor Currentzis[7]
• 2017 - BBC Magazine Music Award - Recording, Edit, Mix and Mastering of Mozart's Don Giovanni with Teodor Currentzis[13]
• 2017 - Japan Academy Award Gold - Producing, Recording, Edit, Mix and Mastering of Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony with Teodor Currentzis[6]
• 2017 - Japan Academy Award Silver - Recording, Edit, Mix and Mastering of Mozart's Don Giovanni with Teodor Currentzis[6]
• 2018 - Gramophone Classical Music Award - Producing, Recording, Edit, Mix and Mastering of Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony with Teodor Currentzis[8]
• 2018 - Edison Award - The most prestigious price in the Netherlands was awarded to Tchaikovsky Symphony #6 with Teodor Currentzis[14]
• 2018 - Japan Academy Award (Best Album of the Year + Best Orchestral Work) - Mahler Symphony No. 6 with Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna[15]