Highly Recomended ... bits for bands
So you're in a band, you're looking for a real studio with some talented professionals to give your albums, demos or ep's that crucial edge, you've gigged your a*** off for months and you've finaly scrapped the cash together for your first promotional video or ep...where do you go? Who is the most trustworthy ? Who is our most highly recomended..?
Well you might have noticed our plans to set up a new fund to help out new , gifted and aspiring artists but until we either get some responses back from a few governmental agencies or take a few of our featured superstars down the pub or saloon and get them deleriously drunk and generous (...the new perfume from Irelands 'Ham Sandwich' on Supergroups 1.6 should help out alot on that project) then the chances are that in the current financial 'credit crunching' climate , we wont be organising too many trips to the studios ourselves just yet...But when we do - or, if you have the funds to hand to do so yourself - here is a growing list of some of our highly recomended international heroes of sound , animation, film, and music production....
In my younger days, I had a few disturbing experiences with East End wide boys who were full of chat, promised the world and tried to give out the impression that the entire music industry revolved completely at their own say so and instruction. The truth was that the only thing that did revolve around these wise guys with their gold chains, medalions, excess aftershave, bimbo's and boastfull mouths were the aroma of blatant dishonesty and perhaps something sticky that you might expect to tread in if you were tied to the rear end of a bull. Empty promises can cost the unsuspecting 'mark' an awfull lot of money...and sometimes, if you're gullible enough, it could cost you your entire future. Nowadays the very sight of excess bling or medalion men claiming to be 'in the buisness' or 'connected' sets instant alarm bells ringing in my head along with a strange urge to 're connect' such people to their own sence of mortality by shaking every ill gotten shekel out of their pockets, preferably, while dangling them upside down over the edge of a very high bridge.
So if you're ever introduced to a man who is supposedly in the buisness, says he has worked with all the greats, knows everything that there is to know about 'the industry', has a slighly 'essex-ish' or 'east of London' accent , a nice gold medallion hanging round his neck and a contract he'd like you to sign without even hearing you sing first..just tell him that you're still using your internal organs and would rather keep onto them for the time being.
There is however, just one man in the entire world who could quite happily boast to having worked with and produced nearly all the greats , to know all the ins and outs of the music industry intimately , the ability to record your works to the highest possible standard and has, on occasion, even been known to wear the odd gold chain and medallion (though it is usualy a gold star of David) and his name is Stuart Epps.
Stuart left school at the age of fifeteen to sign up as an 'office clerk' with Beatles music publisher DJM music in 1967 - but it wasn't too long before his flair and interest in the mixing desk quickly elevated him to being the 'Chief Engineer' at the labels studios where, throughout the early seventies, he mixed the soundtracks for the lives of an entire generation worldwide by mixing, mastering and producing albums for and with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Bill Wyaman, Barry White, Kiki Dee and Elton John (with whom Stuart has been a close friend to since the very beginning of his career and also toured with as a PA in the States in the early seventies). When the world famous Mill Studios were built on the banks of the Thames in 1974 it was Stuart who was installed by Gus Dudgeon to be the studio's manager, top producer and chief engineer. He continued to work with all the top artists of the era and even made a guest vocal appearances on quite a few tracks too ( which included solo albums by Kiki Dee, Bill Wyman and even Chris Rhea's 'Fool If You Think It's Over' in 1978).
When the studios were eventualy sold to Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page in 1981 it was conditional on Stuart staying on as the Studio's Manager and chief producer (and recording their final album CODA which was released in 1982). Stuart continued to mix and produce along side Page and was the sound master behind Jimmy's soundtrack for Death Wish 111 and The Firm (Page's semi solo venture with Paul Rodgers). The advent of the compact disc in the eighties found Stuart remastering all of his previous releases for the new format in between stints at Abbey Road and Hollywoods 'Capitol Studios' and the nineteen nineties also found Stuart mixing and mastering tracks such as Robbie Williams 'Angels' as well as work alongside Marc Owen and a memorable stint with Noel and Liam Gallagher - otherwise known as Oasis.
Stuart recently had his own studio installed at his home in Cookham, Surrey in the UK from where he is still continuously mixing and producing albums, CD's, ep's, singles and professional demo's for many up and coming UK and international bands and solo artists which have recently included Denmarks Juliet Gough (who is also Stuarts partner), the UK's Claire Toomey, Canada's 'Brea', some excellent tracks for up and coming UK band 'The Fores', as well as his own
recent highly acclaimed personal musical venture among the peoples of Africa's Surma Tribe for the Discovery channel - due for album release soon.
So if you're looking for a dedicated and hard working UK producer, mixer and sound engineer then look no further. Prices for recording/ mixing at Stuarts home studio start at approximately £250 UK per day (which for a professional of such a high international standing is almost miraculously affordable) and Stuart also uses and has access to a number of other professional studios throughout England and Wales and can also mix and master samples 'online'.
To find out more or book some studio time with one of the most experienced engineers and producers in the world then follow the following links....
Stuarts studio website
Stuart Epps Tribal Music
Stuart Epps MySpace
If you're in a band then and at the point of recording then finding a gifted producer is as rare and valuable as finding the best lead guitarist in the world. Producers and 'sound men' are not just extras, they're vital members of a bands line up...so the next time you hear a fantastic album or single - remember that - and make sure you make a note of who the producers, mixers and sound engineers are.
In the not too distant past I remember once reading a story about a hospital consultant in charge of an IVF programme who not only oversaw and carefully managed the fertility programs for hundreds of couples, but he also 'cheated' by carefully and craftily using his own ..er ...um ..samples ( just to ensure the 'success' of the fertilisation process). By the time his misdemeanors were discovered he had 'fathered' hundreds of children and had left 'his mark' just about everywhere. He was eventualy 'struck off ' for his furtive antics but in a strange way those very antics are a perfect example of how a brilliant producer spreads their own seed musically, as more often than not, by the time their works are discovered and exposed they have left their mark absolutely everywhere! Our next sound wizard has not only left his mark everywhere over four continents (Australasia, Europe, Asia and the Americas) but he is also at the helm of what must currently be one of the most 'mis - named' studios in the world...It's Dave Thompson of Canada's 'Digital Underdog' and for the last few years this truly world class producer has been 'quietly' seeding and conquering the world from the comfortable seat of his studio's mixing desk. But his influences in the world of music doesn't just stop there, he is also a gifted songwriter himself, he's a prolific musician himself and more than competent as a professional drummer, keyboardist, bass player and an exceptional lead guitarist who has toured with countless professionals, been a major inspirational force on countless billboarding albums and the principal composer behind half of Universals, Fox's and ABC's film and TV theme tunes too.
Dave first started playing bass, guitar and keys at the age of fifeteen and even though he was stil playing Van Halens 'Jump' in pantamic scale he managed to land himself a professional spot as a musician and was promptly thrown 'straight in at the deep end' touring the continent with the Australian chart topping band the 'Motherless Suns'. By the end of the first tour he was not just a professional by name but by nature and was well on the way to being a master of all three instruments. Successive Australian tours with the nations top professional Pink Floyd tributes and cover bands further honed his skills on both the stage and also on the mixing/sound desks where Dave was often became the reliable set of ears and fingers on the dials when it came to delivering the best live and studio sounds.
After touring the world and becoming a reknowned session musician Dave eventualy made a permanent move to Vancouver, Canada where he opened 'Digital Underdog' studios eight years ago and his achievements in 'seeding' the world of music have been quite phenominal in the last few years. Since his time at Digital Underdog he was worked closely alongside reknowned sound engineers and producers such as Sir Don Bartley (INXS , Alanis Morissette etc ), Craig Wadell (Sarah MacLachlan, Fear Factory), Rich Chychi ( Aerosmith, Pink, P.Diddy etc), Ian Bodzasi (Nelly Furtado etc) , Ken Lewis (Lenny Kravitz, Kayne West, Janet Jackson etc) Sheldon Zaharko (Geddy Lee, Marylin Manson etc) and Dan Brodbeck ( Delores O'Riorden, Jesrsey etc). Some of the exceptional musicians he has worked for include Charlie Morgan (the internationaly reknowned drummer famous for his tours alongside Elton John and Kate Bush), SAGA, PJ Wilson, High Holy Days (with whom Dave has toured with on and off scince 2004 as bass player as well as recording for in London - keep an ear out for the exceptional track River of Styx among the sound sample's of Dave's website), Leslie Carter, Shelley Beeston, Brittany Spears (everytime), Justin Timberlake (senorita) Jessica Simpson (angel)and also Ben G - Winner of 'The most popular Rock Act' at the 2008 London Music Awards ( Dave played all instruments on and co - wrote Ben's debut ep). Dave also specialises in working alongside solo artists and songwriters where he has proved invaluable in drawing the musical vision inside songwriters heads out into the open and accurately on to the masters (with recent songwriting and music ventures alongside US no1 songwriter Christine Connoly as well as Liesa Norman and Michelle Carter-Leis). As well as currently working on his own solo project 'HalfHalo' (where Dave writes, sings and plays all instruments) he continualy writes jingles and themes for most of Canada's and North America's sports TV programmes and is a regular on tours with a number of artsists and events with a personal tally of well over 4,000 concerts.
To hear some classic samples, book some studio time in Vancouver or to arrange a musical collaberation as a solo artist then browse and contact Dave Thompson via the Digital Underdog Site
More musical heroes of sound, mastering , production and video to follow in our further upcoming 'Highly Recommended' pages soon....
All articles copyright 2006/07/08 Mairtin O'Riain and Martin Ryan , The Ryan O'Riain22
permissions freely granted to featured article artists (or by non featured via written requests )
