About Me
Record producer Fran Ashcroft has credits diverse as Damon Albarn, Lee of the La's and Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds. With a radical approach and unorthodox, back to basics style he's widely regarded as the Less-Is-More guru of the recording world.
His Happybeat studios feature an eclectic array of gear for recording, mixing and mastering, from high end digital formats to vintage tape machines, downright weird stuff, and purple psychedelic curtains.
"It’s an oversimplification, but traditional recording techniques focused more on the musical aspects than technological options. Not that modern methods are wrong – it just depends what kind of records you want to make.
What constitutes a 'good' record is very subjective, but it's never down to frequency response; it's about listener response. If you capture the right feel and emotion, it doesn't make much difference whether you use a humble cassette recorder or 148 tracks of Pro Tools."
See the video about his work at:
http://www.recordproduction.com/fran_ashcroft.htm
And more at: http://www.happybeat.net
"Your recording techniques are becoming the basis of my preaching about how we should all be working" Mike Banks, recordproduction.com, UK.
"It was a complete privilege working with Fran, who is at once gentle and assured, and masterfully put us completely at our ease in order to get the best possible performances out of us within an incredibly short time." Dawn Lintern, Tortoise Shout.
"Provocative and revolutionary" Peter Lindhal, ReVoXitoN Records, Sweden.
"The best producer in the world" Dan Driscoll, Oysterville Underground, USA.
