97 is the new 35......!
I've been recording music professionally for far too long.....yet still the buzz is there.... I've been lucky enough to have had the privilege of working with artistes as diverse as ( in no particular order...)Libertines, Gerry Rafferty, Sex Pistols, Roger Chapman's Short List,Thin Lizzy, Sandii & the Sunsetz (Japan), Denise Nolan, The Dolly Mixtures, HeeBeeGeeBees,Christopher Rainbow, Trampolin (Switzerland)Jimmy Jimmy, Jimmy Nail, Joanna Carlin, Jokers Wild, Makonde (Kenya), Max Merritt and the Meteors,J.A.L.N band, Mike d'Abo, Mamedi Kamara (Sierra Leone),Paul Jones, Nikki B, The Kilimanjaro Band (Tanzania),Paul Brett, Holian and Milliard, Positive Noise, Paul Quinn, Antena (France),Sham 69, Tasty Tim, Tom Robinson Band, Touch, Vincent Crane, Zodiac Mindwarp, The Truth, Sidekick, Billie Davis, Vittorio Vergeat (aka Vic Vea aka Vic Vergat), Elkie Brooks, Expo (Switzerland), The Bombers, Dave Goodman and friends,Ray Carless, Gonzalez, Desmond Dekker,Ronnie Wood, David Byron (Uriah Heep), Killer (Switzerland), Kenny, Jimmy Pursey, Orange Juice, Hot Orange Band, Alan Love, Linx, Thor, The Ruts, Ricky Peppertree, Black Lace, PHD, Steve Hackett, Pyro (Switzerland) Rosetta Stone, Miquel Brown, Earlene Bentley, The Chosen Few, John Holt, The Pioneers, The Tremeloes, Varese (Italy), The Vibrators, Voice of The Beehive, Paul Young + the Q-Tips, Terraplane, Billy Bragg, Havana 3 AM, Chris Farlowe.... and many, many more ( I recorded The Specials demos when they were The Automatics..!)
I'm very proud to have worked on recording sessions with many world-class players, but I've deliberately omitted the names of ALL the great players who I'm fortunate enough to call my friends, - in case I unintentionally omit someone. They know who they are, and they know the high regard in which I hold them both personally and professionally.
When I started recording, studios didn't specialize in particular musical genres. One day you recorded a Heavy Metal act , and the next day a Reggae project. Then you might record a straight commercial pop artiste. When you recorded jingle sessions in the mid-1970s with a rhythm section you had literally 5 MINUTES to get all the sounds properly together (including the drum sound.....) and the headphone mixes. Probably good training.... I've spent a lot of time in Europe recording rock music (Killer, Trampolin, Vic Vea, Varese, Pyro et al), Killer .... and a lot of time recording UK punk bands in the punk era, and all through I've retained my love of soul music, Motown, and the blues -if it's funky then I love to work on it.... I spent a year once just freelancing out of a reggae studio recording nothing but reggae.
In my late teens I was a pro blues guitar and bluesharp player in the band Rare Amber, before spending a few years building what are now the vintage Trident "A" and "B" series mixing boards, followed by building Berwick Street Studios in London as a tech engineer, and becoming a house recording engineer there until I went freelance in 1979. I've written several articles on recording guitar for Guitar magazine.I've been a big fan of Telefunken/TAB V76 tube mic pres since the days when I could buy them in Germany for 40 Deutschmarks each and bring them home to restore... I have periods of doing studio tech stuff on Harrison, MCI, AMEK,Trident,Soundcraft and Helios boards and I've been involved in the design and build of quite a few studios over the years, including Woodside Studios near Uckfield, East Sussex. Woodside are currently offering quite amazing deals to unsigned artistes, and they've now managed to get hot young engineer Richard Purkiss on the team, - so if you are an unsigned band or vocalist I would seriously recommend you check them out at www.woodsidestudios.com before the rates go back up again! I was the "tech guy" from the inception of Islington Music Workshop in London, and was Chief Engineer there teaching recording for a few years until returning to the commercial sector. Queen's Brian May was kind enough to give me a tech credit on his last album.My favourite board for sonics is the Cadac, and I like Schoeps mics.I've recently started to get interested in 5.1 mixing.
I'm very seriously interested in drums, and making "integrated" recordings of kits, (which hopefully don't sound like a bunch of disparate individual drum sounds thrown together) and various ways to record drums for different styles of music. I've been lucky enough to have recorded top British session drummers like Richard Bailey(Jeff Beck), Bilbo Berger (Heatwave), Neil Conti (Mick Jagger and David Bowie, Prefab Sprout), Mel Gaynor (Simple Minds), Ted McKenna (Rory Gallagher),Jose Joyette (Sister Sledge, Mother Earth and see video below of Jose blowing up a storm at the 291 club at the age of 10...)), Trevor Murrell (Wham, Sade, Robin Trower), Dave Mattocks (Fairport Convention), Simon Philips (The Who, Toto), Charlie Morgan (Elton John) Clem Cattini (The Tornados), Pete Lockett..( credits would take ½hr to list..:-) Michele Drees (Seal . Mica Paris) Stuart Elliot,Tony Beard, Liam Genocky, Glen Lefleur, Graham Broad, Preston Heyman, Ian Mosley, Barry Morgan, Harold Fisher,John Marshall, Barry de Souza, Tom Newman and many others.Trevor Murrell has said "Gwyn makes crap cups of tea - but great drum sounds". Thanks Trev...:-)!US Drummers whose playing I'm particularly fond of are Steve Gadd ( well....of course:-) , Dennis Chambers,Ricky Fataar (GREAT player - OK he's from South Africa, and was actually to my astonishment a member of The Ruttles!) Harvey Mason, Billy Cobham and Max Roach and in a rock context Aynsley Dunbar, - who's English anyway but who's been in the USA for many years. As of 28th July 2006 I'm adding a Swede to my list - Wasa Express drummer Åke Eriksson, having just done a great drum session at Startrack studio in London with him for Swedish artiste Anders Helmersson. Åke is a top-table drummer, and like most of the great players a really nice guy.(In my experience when players get that good they have nothing to prove.....) I look forward to working with Åke again in the future! Youtube have removed the Dennis Chambers video I had here, so check these ones out - Steve Gadd demonstrating his groove for "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" - AWESOME! plus the astonishing Tony Royster Jnr soloing when he was 12 years old and one from him years later and - "Stud Drummer"... and if anyone out there has a a Trevor Murrell drum solo on video I WANT A COPY NOW, - AND I MEAN NOW! I haven't yet worked out how to get the Myspace video of Jose Joyette aged 10 at the 291 club up into the drum videos bit where it belongs , so to see it go to the bottom of the page, and check out the Muddy Waters film from the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival.
Pavarotti and James Brown - unmissable!
Tony Royster Jnr shows his chops at age 12....
...and here he is at 21!
Steve Gadd dismantles his "50 Ways.." groove - a classic!
Stud Drummer - just watch his hands!
Muddy Waters classic performance of "Hoochie Coochie Man" from the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival
Junior Wells and Buddy Guy teaming up with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
Check this one out - Bob Dylan joining the Byrds for "Mr Tambourine Man " at the Roy Orbison memorial gig!
Here's the trailer for one of my favourite films - the 1949 film "The Third Man"
Guess there ought to be some outstanding bass players I've worked with here too to keep the drummers company.... so I'll kick off with Dave Cochran John Giblin,Kuma Harada,Camelle Hines,Norman Watt-Roy and Gareth Morgan - and expand the bass list when I've got some time ...
I'm now based out of Intimate Studios in Wapping , London, (checkout http://www.intimatestudios.com )where there's a 72-channel Neve VR board with all the options, Protools HD3,Otari MTR90 2" analogue and Radar 192KHz, so there are lots of toys to play with.... From 1990 until September 2006 I had a recording studio in London called Odessa Wharf. Now R.I.P. Time to move on.... At Odessa Wharf we recorded everything from Hot Orange 20-piece Latin-funk big band , to Psychobilly act Demented Are Go, Chris Farlowe
Taiko-To-Tabla, Blade, Dollshouse to David Grey to reggae legends Owen Gray, Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson, several albums with Leeds-based band Cardboard Cowboy, and Americana artistes The Arlenes, and who of course could forget AntiProduct , Plastic Heroes,The Fleapit Orchestra, and the amazing Kilimanjaro band from Tanzania?.
We recorded one hell of a lot of tracks by upcoming young rappers, and over 30 titles with the quite astonishing rapper Teqila. I cut the first series of tracks with The Libertines ( and found them a drummer) - and Pete slept on the couch in the studio reception for some months when he had no money..:-).
In the last few years I've recorded The Arlenes "Stuck on Love" album , and recorded and co-produced the Cicero Buck album "Delicate Shades of Grey" ,( both very fine Americana artistes), a seriously interesting all-percussion album by Taiko-To-Tabla (.... definitely the most technically challenging recordings I've ever made!) ,one with The Fleapit Orchestra, - and several projects with the inimitable Rauf Adu, sometimes co-producing him with my old friend Mel Gaynor from Simple Minds, and I've worked on a great album by the wonderful Tanzanian band "Kilimanjaro Band".
I recently listened to the album "Addicted" by the UK prog rock band Revelation, which I produced and engineered back in 1995 . I hadn't heard it since, and normally I hate everything I do ( because it can always be better!) but I have to say this album really surprised me, and there is some seriously good playing and some great arrangements on it.
I like ANY music that has attitude. Since the age of 10 I've loved classic records , and my professional ambition is to produce at the very least one classic track or album. If I had to name my personal favourite artiste it would be without any hesitation Curtis Mayfield.
I've formed a producer/engineer work team with Bartrum, who somehow manages to combine being a formidably talented recording engineer (and great human being) , with coming from Birmingham, so I guess that proves it can be done..:-) Together we've made David Saw's debut album "Different Story" , (and got some great reviews for it -checkout http://www.davidsaw.com/reviews.htm ) , US singer/songwriter Chris Kahl's latest album ( also getting some great reviews in the USA -2 titles have ended up in the "Top 10 best Florida songs of the last year"), plus his previous UK CD projects, and worked with Indie bands Flipsiders and Cast of Thousands.
The first album by the Blackpool band The Coustics is finally out now, and you can get a sneak preview of some tracks on their Myspace site. This album has been a labour of love, but a very long, hard road We love these guys! They are wonderfully talented songwriters and great performers.We've had the privilege of working with some great musicians on this album, in fact the best players we know have come and played like hell on it, bringing some absolutely wonderful stuff to the table. Thanks guys!In 2006 I produced 3 titles with a young unsigned funk band from South London called Size 9. I'm into this band very seriously indeed - and engineer Richard Purkiss has learnt from this project that there are often 32 hours in a day! Size 9 are a bunch of great musicians fronted by the stunningly good vocalist Breezy - who has the sort of voice that you have to be born with - vocal coaching won't give it to you, and you certainly can't buy it! Think Tower of Power fronted by a raunchier version of Joss Stone and you are getting the direction....
During the last few years I've often mastered projects for artistes with whom I've been working such as the "Stuck on Love" album by The Arlenes...and now the mastering thing seems to be gearing up! Recently I've mastered Kate Shortt's eclectic solo album "Something to Tell You" (check Kate out in my Myspace friends...) , "Dedication" the latest album of big band jazz by the Ian Pearse Big Band,tracks by rock band Brewing Calm, and albums for artistes I've produced like The Coustics and Chris Kahl. I've mastered quite a lot of titles by Ghanaian artistes over the last 2 or 3 years (Nov 2006 I've mastered the new album by singer Ben Brako) and the Kwesi Pee album I mastered last July is doing very well in Ghana at the moment.I'm keen to get into online mixing and mastering, so artistes from anywhere in the world can send me their tracks to mix and/or master. I've recently mastered American jazz singer Sandii Russell's new album , on which some top US and UK players are backing her, and I've just mastered an album for Indie-Rock band Velofax -check them out on myspace!