Howard Gray Producer | Podcast

Howard Gray gives us a fascinating look behind the scenes of recording and engineering some of the biggest tracks of the 80s. James Gardner chats to him about his journey, starting out as a tape op through to becoming a highly regarded freelance engineer.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:48 - A Tape Op At Manor Studios
02:25 - A Typical Day At The Manor
03:45 - The Engineers And The Bands
06:01 - Tape Editing
07:56 - Switching To Digital
09:18 - From House Engineer To Freelance
09:42 - Hugh Padgham and Steve Lillywhite
12:24 - Early Sampling
13:03 - Using An SSL Desk
17:45 - Scritti Politti Cupid and Psyche
18:25 - Synchronising MIDI and Tape
22:24 - Getting The Scritti Sound
23:48 - Working With UB40
28:01 - The Age Of Chance
28:15 - From Tape To Digital To HD Recording
29:09 - Working With Slave Reels
30:48 - The Change To Digital Tape
31:58 - Preferred Recording Medium
33:02 - Engineering Apollo 440
34:31 - Recording A Jazz Quartet
35:59 - Using Logic and Plug-ins
First published April 2022
www.soundonsound.com/people/h...
Howard Gray Biog
Howard started out in the early 80s as a teenage razor-sharp tape operator at Virgin Records The Manor, before graduating to house engineer at Townhouse one of the first Solid State Logic console equipped studios. Sessions there included Kate Bush, Phil Collins, XTC, OMD, PIL, The Stranglers, Japan, Rip Rig & Panic, Van Morrison and ABC. He worked on countless classic 80’s records with producers like Mick Glossop, John Leckie, Hugh Padgham, Steve Lillywhite, Adrian Sherwood and Trevor Horn, engineering albums such as Simple Minds’ Sparkle in the Rain, and the paradigm shifting Cupid & Psyche for Scritti Politti... full biog at www.soundonsound.com/people/h...
James Gardner Biog
A composer, synth programmer, researcher, and broadcaster based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), James was born in Liverpool where he played and programmed synths in London during the 1980s. In 1990 co-founded the band/remix team Apollo 440. Following encouragement from Michael Finnissy, he left the group in 1993 to concentrate on notated composition. Moving to Aotearoa/New Zealand in 1994, he established the contemporary music ensemble 175 East, which he directed until 2010... full biog at www.soundonsound.com/people/h...
Website: www.gardnercomposer.com/
Twitter: @JEGcomposer
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[@RobDouganOfficial]

Great interview. Amazing records.