IN THE BEGINNING:
I was born in the middle of the '80s thank God (or which ever supreme being you may or may not believe in depending on your personalised theory of existentialism)... so by the time I got into music we had arrived at that wonderful period affectionately known as Brit Pop (cough). Well... I went back to The Beatles actually and obsessed over playing the bass like Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones.
Whilst trying to choose a career, I discoverd that if you threaded some string through the bottom of an empty can and talk into the can you could hear it down the string in another can if you put that other can near your ear (lots of cans you may have noticed)... amazing. This got me thinking, 'if only there was some way to immortalise this vibration'. So I started experimenting with wet string this time and nails and my mum's hairdryer, and low and behold I did it. I recorded my first words onto what I called 'The String Machine".
Then someone pointed out that mics and recording equipment had been around to years. If only I'd been born earlier. So, now I spend my time sticking these "microphones" in front of musicians and "recording" it on to "Pro Tool" (bring back the tin and the wet string I say).
ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE:
After Studying for 4 years at Leeds College of Music and SAE London, and gaining 2 diplomas and a 1st Class Degree in recording arts, I setup PINNA Studios with fellow SAE graduate Kevin James Feazey, in 2005. From here I have been able to launch a career working with many talented artistes and producers in genres such as Rock, Pop, World, Jazz, Country, Folk, Blues, and other weird and wonderful stuff too.
My work with Portico Quartet was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2008, which I was rather pleased about being my first Co-production credit. I've also worked in many studios around the world, including Livingston Studios, RAK, Metropolis, Mayfair, Watercolour, Scotland as well as Egrem Havana, Cuba and Xippi Dakar, Senegal.
I'm passionate about making records with musicians. I thrive on working with people in rooms and recording as much live as possible. I love to bring people together to have a good time making a record, no matter what the style of music. I enjoy the challenge of working with new styles and helping get peoples idea down on to "tape".
Though I have worked with some well established and accomplished artistes and musicians, I take great pleasure in working with new and unsigned artistes, within the challenges and constraints that debut records bring. My years as a performer and singer-songwriter help me to understand what musicians and artistes are going through and translate this on to record. I'm just as at home with helping with arrangements and instrumentation as I am with the technical aspects of running a studio.
Please contact me if you would like to know more about me or my work. Thank you,
Sonny.
