Testimonials

Here's what my clients think of Bootcamp.

"Dave Keay's combination of technical knowledge, genuinely musical ears and a relaxed presence in the studio let us achieve a live feel to the session while maintaining truly top level sonic quality. An end result which in my experience many much pricier studios and engineers are unable to match."

Paul Harrison - Trianglehead

"I have worked with Dave Keay for over 15 years and can’t recommend him highly enough.

He is professional, organised, budget conscious, has a lovely manner with musicians and is a great sound man to boot. 

He has worked with us in the best of conditions and the worst (such as getting out during a downpour on a Hebridean Island!) and he maintains his good humour throughout.

He offers great live sound and recordings as well as other technical services such as lighting, projection and backline so he can really offer a one stop shop."

Fiona Alexander, Producer, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival

I first met Dave when he turned up to do sound for Moishe's Bagel. I have developed a bit of a short patience span with people who call themselves 'sound guys' because I realised that most of them were using the term ironically....doubly so because they seemed not to realise it themselves.

Straight away you meet Dave and realise he knows what he's doing. Some people just have that knack of making you feel ok to be in their hands. Dave is one of them. The sound check was so efficient and the gig so clean and audible at every level that we asked him to work with us on a permanent basis. We extended our band membership by one, to include him. From that moment on the Bagels went from being a quintet to a sextet and the success of the band is partly because wherever we went on tour, we sounded like we wanted to sound. 

Dave is that rare musician who knows how to work equipment. He has a great pair of ears and an instinctive understanding of timbre. Whats that word I hear you say? Timbre! Look it up. Dave knows how to listen and that is in itself a rare quality in a musician but he can convert that into real sound because he knows how to work sound and he knows how to listen! He understands the polyphonic nature of music and understands how to make it all clear for the listener.

He is just brilliant. And all of this knowledge and ability come to you in a person who is humble, funny, polite, professional, dedicated and brilliant company.

If you want to sound good and feel good, then make sure you get in touch with Dave Keay. 

Greg Lawson, Violinist - Moishe's Bagel and Section Principle, Second Violins, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Dave has been a close colleague and good friend ever since I arrived in Edinburgh 13 years ago. In that time, we have worked together in dozens of live situations and two studio albums. He is one of the best engineers I know - knowledgeable, highly professional, extremely creative and totally unflappable. He has a wide experience of different musical spaces, from intimate clubs to large stages, and knows how to get the absolute best from all of them. As a touring engineer he is organised, efficient, easy-going and a lot of fun, and as a studio producer he is imaginative, helpful, relaxed and in total control of his working environment. I cannot think of anyone I would rather work with, either live or in the studio.

Phil Alexander, Pianist - Moishe’s Bagel, Salsa Celtica, Eliza Carthy Band

DISCOGRAPHY

I've been lucky enough to have worked on many fantastic recordings over the years. 

Here's my discography:

2001 - Live Engineer - Live at Henry's by Brian Kellock - Caber Music

2003 - Studio Engineering and Production - Clever Subject Line 7" Single by Speaking in Capitals - Agony Acres

2004 - Studio Engineering and Production Shattered Dreams Central by Various - Agony Acres 

2004 - Studio Engineering and Production - Charm by Mckenzie Medboe Duo - Medboe 

2004 - Studio Engineering and Production - Scottish National Portrait Gallery by The Red Well - Fence Records

2005 - Studio Engineering and Mixing - Maths by Trianglehead

2007 - Location Recording and Mixing - Exit Strategy by Trianglehead

2008 - Engineering and Mixing - Amid Storms We Arrive by The Red Well - Fence Records

2008 - Mixing - Touch Me E.P  by Any Color Black - Fredag Records

2009 - Location Recording - Laphroaig-ian Slip by Ryan Quigley 

2009 - Production, Location Recording and Mixing - Epic26 EP by Epic26 - Fredag Records

2010 - Location Recording - Tune In by Nuala Kennedy - Compass Records

2010 - Studio Engineering, Production and Mixing - Uncle Roland's Flying Machine by Moishe's Bagel

2010 - Location Recording and Mixing - Hands On by Mario Caribe Quartet with David Berkman -  Krib@Music

2010 - Mixing - Vantage Points by Graeme Stephen Sextet - Fabrikant Records

2010 - Mixing - 2 feat. Silke Eberhard by Newt and Silke Eberhard - F-ire/Newt

2010 - Production, Location Recording and Mixing - Shoebox Memories by Bosie

2011 -  Producer - Hero as Riddle by Martin Kershaw 

2013 - Location Recording and Mixing - Newt North by Newt

2013 - Location Recording - A Wee Selection by Nuala Kennedy and Mike Bryan - Under the Arch Records

2014 - Mixing and Mastering - Impending Joy by Algorhythmical

2015 - Mixing and Mastering - Distances by Graeme Stephen and Zapp 4

2015 - Mixing - Salt for Svanetia by Moishe's Bagel