AKG X70: History of Making History

On November 12th, AKG celebrated its 70th birthday party at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The event was hosted in Studios A and B (which can be opened up into a single large orchestral tracking room, or in this case, a party space!) in grand style, with food, drinks, and tunes classic and modern spun by DJs Kita Klane and Austin Millz. On display was the company’s recent Technical Grammy Award, vintage microphones, and the latest AKG K371 headphones, with stations where you could sit, listen and remix stems from Michael Jackson’s classic Thriller album. The occasion also marked the public debut of the AKG Lyra Ultra-HD Multimode USB Microphone.

Broadcast journalist Nic Harcourt served as the MC for the evening’s festivities, which kicked off with an in-depth interview with resident HARMAN (AKG) acoustics expert Dr. Sean Olive, that focused on the past, present and future of headphone design.

Multi-instrumentalist and YouTube sensation Jacob Collier gave a spellbinding and passionate performance of classic Quincy Jones-arranged and produced songs at the studio’s grand piano before the evening’s main event: the presentation of a lifetime achievement award to producer Quincy Jones. Meeting Quincy and talking with him for a few brief minutes was certainly a highlight of my musical life. Rumor has it that Quincy hung around the studio until well past mid-night, taking time to meet, greet, and engage with everyone who sought his time or even just a photo—a true gentleman.