1969 - when guitars were bigger
SOME CREDITS
UK
Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz), Abbey Road Studios, Lee of the Las, Thunderbirds Are Go!,
PRT Records and PYE Studios, Filmtrax PLC, Trident Studios, EMI Music, The Beat Factory,
Good Mood, N.Yorks CYC project, Plymouth University, Gorgeous Music, The Idea, Quickfix recordings, Tali Trow
USA
Spin Jupiter Spin (Dandy Warhols), Go-Kustom Records, The Kingsmen,
Elks Skiffle Group, March Records, SotoSoundz, Reivers Recordings,
7 Arcos Recordings, Milk, Kid Casanova
JAPAN
Big Fish Music, Microstar, Think Sync Intregral, Rika Shinohara, The Soundtracks
DENMARK
Embellish, Borsing Recording, Birdland Studios
SWEDEN
Peter Lindahl and Friends, Sara Rumar, Dead Frog Records
BELGIUM
Darling Nikkie (Lords of Acid), Roadrunner/Arcade
S. AFRICA
David Gresham Records Pty.
UKRAINE
Lunapark
NEW ZEALAND
Voodoo Music Studio
HISTORY
My first recordings as a
teenager were of my own bands, using a single mic and mono reel to reel
recorder. Funnily enough, I had no problem getting in the door with labels and
publishers. I didn't realize that at the time hardly anyone had demo recordings,
and it was seen as a mark of professionalism!
This led to a pro job in 1974, as a staff songwriter for Intersong Music (Polygram). They gave me a sound-on-sound deck, and a cheque every month, so I was able to learn how to write pop songs and be paid for it. They also funded my first real recording sessions, usually 8 or 16 track, where I'd play everything, and they'd often be impressed enough to mix it somewhere decent and try and sell it as a master. But by 1976 the scene was changing, and I put together what turned out to be one of the first powerpop bands - The Monos - signing the big record deal and all that.
Every possible mistake that
could be made, we made twice, and lawsuits flew (I swear we should have been
given a Golden Writ award), but we did work in some fine studios. Another band
and label or two later, it was clear that bands were not for me - making records
was what I was really interested in.
So I wangled a few sessions here and there, built a respectable show reel, and went full time into freelance production. After a modicum of success, I moved to the USA in 1989. I wasn’t impressed by the American approach to engineering, so I learned the tech stuff, (i.e. gear with big knobs sounds better), and pretty much run sessions singlehanded these days. I work internationally a lot; the web makes it easy to do the pre production at a distance, so by the time I arrive, everything is ready to roll.
I returned to the UK in 2003, and finally put together my own studio, possibly as an allergic reaction to everyone's records being protooled to death. I chose 4 track, a format I never got to use in its heyday. It’s not appropriate for everything, of course, but it's a very musical approach. I like having to make crucial decisions at the outset, and the challenge of severely limited gear. In conjunction with the studio, I offer mentoring and training to aspiring engineers/producers. Just about everyone has a home studio now, and judging from my demo pile, most could use some help!
1969 - when guitars were bigger
SERVICES
Song structuring and
revisions
Musical arrangements
Pre-production, coaching and routining
Recording, mixing, re-mixing
Editing and mastering
A&R consultation
Pro Audio mentoring and training
International and digital rights licensing
INTERNET
1999
to date:
Content
and development for vitaminic.com(USA)
Member
of Record Producer expert panel at Hitquarters.com
Happybeat Records
and Studios, owner
Poetry Cow Publishing, owner
US correspondent for Bandit A&R newsletter
All
material is listened to carefully, but do note I have a "no
returns"submissions policy