DPA Piano Kit Helps Jamie Harley Capture Yann Tiersen's Nuance On Tour

Presenting the full emotional breadth of a solo piano through a large PA is notoriously demanding, particularly with an artist as subtle and textural as Yann Tiersen. Tasked with unifying the show's acoustic and electronic chapters each night, Harley made the DPA Microphones DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit the cornerstone of his approach.

For the piano set, Harley employed the kit's stereo pair of 2015 Wide Cardioid Microphones, chosen for their natural voicing and disciplined off‑axis behaviour, to keep Tiersen's layered performance clear and balanced. "Yann plays in a very textural way," Harley explains. "He'll hold notes and build layers of tone. If you're not careful, things can get mid-range-heavy quite quickly. I was really interested to see how the piano kit would handle that, and it worked extremely well."

Positioned inside the instrument, the 2015s were set to capture both detail and body while maintaining tonal stability across the keyboard. Their wide cardioid pattern let Harley retain the piano's resonance yet limit bleed from the stage. "Having that directional control is a godsend," he says. "Especially when you're working with a very quiet, delicate instrument on a large system. You need microphones that keep everything tight and focused exactly where they need to be."

Harley highlights the mics' ability to deliver a polished signal without heavy corrective processing. "With cheaper microphones, you often hear the mid-range start to get fuzzy or unpleasant, and then you're reaching for EQ to fix problems the mics are introducing," he adds. "I didn't have to do that with the 2015s. There were small adjustments, of course, but nothing drastic. That's exactly what you want."

Low‑end solidity came straight from the piano, eliminating the need for extra transducers. "We experimented with other solutions for low-end weight, but in the end, I didn't need them," he explains. "If you position the microphones correctly and tune the system properly, you get more than enough warmth and power from the piano itself. Most importantly, it doesn't muddy the mid-range."

Beyond sound quality, Harley points to the practicality of the DPK2015 kit on tour. "It's absolutely rock-solid," he says. "The kit comes in a great case, and everything is well thought out. It held up brilliantly throughout the tour." He also values the mics' broader usefulness. "They sound fantastic, and the form factor is great," he adds. "They're not just for piano—you can use them in all sorts of applications. That flexibility is always valuable."

With a different piano, PA and room each night, achieving repeatable results is paramount. "Every piano is different," he says. "Some are brighter, others are warmer and still others are more aggressive. Your job is to listen to the source and reproduce it as faithfully as possible through the system you have. DPA makes that job much easier."

Harley's trust in the brand spans decades, from studio work with DPA's Brüel & Kjær lineage to live projects using 4099 Instrument Microphones and d:facto™ Vocal Microphones. "I've known DPA products since the early days in the studio," he recalls. "Even back then, they were superb. They've always been a sensible company making very high-quality products."

After the Tiersen run, the DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit has earned a permanent place in Harley's road case. "I had a really lovely time with the 2015s," he concludes. "They worked absolutely brilliantly, and I'd take them out again without hesitation."

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