LEARNING FROM THE MIX DESK MASTERS
The annual NZ Music Producer Series helps local producers lift their studio game, under the guidance of world-renowned industry veterans
FOR THE PAST three years, internationally acclaimed record producers have been invited to work with local studio alchemists whose role it is turn sometimes rough ideas into polished chart contenders.
With seminars and hands-on production, engineering and mixing workshops, those who have helped craft the sound of artists like Radiohead, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Motorhead, FKA Twigs, Frank Ocean and many others have passed on their knowledge and techniques to established and aspiring New Zealanders.
Because there are so many selfproduced artists in this country, the opportunity to get alongside those who’ve done it is invaluable.
As Estére observes, “It’s great to learn some more skills that will enable me to raise the bar in terms of what I can do... it also encourages you to just persevere and do what it is in what you personally look for in music.”
This year the series was again curated by Greg Haver who has worked alongside local artists such as Opshop, The Chills, Joel Little, Kimbra and Devilskin. Names on his international CV include Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, John Cale and dozens of others.
The international guests were Grammywinner Gil Norton from Britain who sprung to attention with fellow Liverpudlians Echo and the Bunnymen, went on to work with Australia’s Triffids, then most notably the Pixies (Doolittle, Bossa Nova, Trompe le Monde), Foo Fighters, Patti Smith, Gomez, Counting Crows and more.
Norton’s name is synonymous with great production.
Coming from the US was Sylvia Massy whose credits include engineering on albums by Prince, Aerosmith, Seal and others, then working with Rick Rubin on projects by Smashing Pumpkins, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash and many more.
Her work is notable for how she manipulates sound from behind the desk.
Also passing on knowledge was New Zealand’s Clint Murphy, now based in Britain but who got his start at York Street in Auckland, won Tui awards for the Blindspott self-titled debut and Devilskin’s Be Like the River. He has recently worked in the UK with Melanie C, Thunder, Codes and emerging artists Courts, Keir and Moses.
Just a glance at the diversity of those artists’ names these people have worked alongside – different musical styles, very different temperaments – shows how much a producer has to juggle the technical aspects of the work with nurturing, encouraging and sometimes herding the performers in the studio when they are working under pressure of time and expectation.
The innovative NZ Music Producer Series is a programme of professional development but also an inspiring few days for New Zealand producers who can pass their ideas on to the next generation.