Dan Grech-Marguerat | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 11 July 1981 Bedford, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1991-present |
| Known for | Audio mixing (recorded music) |
| Awards |
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| Website | www.dangrechmusic.com |
Daniel James Grech-Marguerat (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English-Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer.
Grech has worked with Lana Del Rey, [2] Keane, [3] and Moby. [4]
Dan Grech started working at RAK Studios in St John's Wood, London as an assistant recording engineer. [5] He worked with record producer Nigel Godrich for two years, [5] participating in records with Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Divine Comedy, Beck and Radiohead. [6] He won a Grammy Award for his work with Godrich in 2009 [1] for his work on Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' which picked up 'Best Alternative Album 2009'. [7]
In 2006 he mixed the Scissor Sisters second album Ta-Dah , including the single I Don't Feel Like Dancin' , [8] co-written by Elton John, which went to number one in 8 countries, and top 10 in 20 countries. [9] Later that year, Grech mixed the debut record for the band Dragonette, [10] starting a long-term relationship with the band.
In 2007, Grech produced two tracks for the Radio 1 Established 1967 [11] anniversary album, one for The Kooks and one for The Kaiser Chiefs. [12] Following on from this he went on to produce several tracks for The Kooks second album Konk . [13] He also mixed the Moby album 'Last Night [6]
In 2010, Grech produced the debut album for The Vaccines, What Did You Expect from The Vaccines? . [14] [15]
In May 2012, Keane released their 4th studio album 'Strangeland' , which Grech both produced and mixed. [16]
In 2013, Grech produced Long Way Down , the debut record for Tom Odell, winner of the BRITs Critics Choice Award. [17] In 2013 Grech also produced The Brink, the second album for the Australian band The Jezabels. [18] [19]
In 2014, Grech worked with Liverpool-based guitar band Circa Waves. He produced and mixed their debut album which entered the UK charts at number 10 in April 2015. [20] Singles from the album included Fossils and T-Shirt Weather.
In 2015, he produced and mixed the Birdy and Rhodes duet Let It All Go. [21]
At the start of 2016, Grech worked with Mumford & Sons. He recorded the Johannesburg EP in South Africa with the band. [22]
Grech's releases in 2017 included Liam Gallagher's debut solo album As You Were , he produced 8 of the 12 tracks including the single For What It's Worth. On working with Grech, Gallagher said, “I’ll play him a tune very badly and he’ll go, ‘Yeah, I get where you’re coming from’ and get the acoustics down and away we go.” [23] The album was released on October 6. [24]
In 2018, Grech mixed Staying at Tamara's , George Ezra's second album. [25] In the same year, he also mixed releases for Rae Morris, Mikky Ekko, and Tom Grennan. [26]
Grech has additional production and live credits on 2021's Rag'n'Bone man and Pink single Anywhere Away From Here . He contributed additional production and mixing for the radio single and worked with the NHS choir on the live performance at the Brit Awards. [27]
Grech won UK Mixer of the Year 2021 [28] at the Music Producers’ Guild Awards.
In 2021, Grech began working with Sam Ryder, [29] mixing Sam's debut EP Sun’s Gonna Rise. Grech mixed and produced the UK Eurovision entry song for 2022, Sam Ryder's There's Nothing but Space, Man!. [30] [31]
Grech opted for a simple, streamlined mixing process when working on George Ezra's Paradise. In the Paradise session, Grech used 73 tracks, cntaining additional elements such as kick sample tracks and a snare track. Several auxiliary tracks were included, adding delays and reverbs. Grech condensed individual instrument parts such as bass, guitar, synth, and piano into single stereo tracks. The backing vocals initially spread over approximately 20 tracks, were consolidated into six.
Grech divided the lead vocal track into two segments to apply varying treatments to the pre-chorus sections. Despite the simplified layout, the session included hundreds of plug-ins, heavily concentrated on the Akai MPC loop, bass, guitar, and vocal tracks. Grech used colour coding to organise the session.
Grech uses busses sparingly, claiming that the desired sound should be realised with no more than 10 inserts per Pro Tools. At the time, Grech's go-to audio plug-ins were the UAD API compressor and the Waves Audio's RCompressor to achieve specific effects and control frequencies across the tracks. He frequently uses a high pass filter to manage low-end frequencies and prefers plug-ins with graphical interfaces.
Grech has a particular stance on handling vocals, where he usually prefers to remove pre-existing audio plug-ins to shape the vocal sound from scratch, except in instances where a unique effect that adds value to the track is present. [25]
Grech played a significant role in producing the Scissor Sisters' first album. Trained at RAK studios in London and having worked with renowned producer Nigel Godrich, Grech initially joined the project to assist with recording live instruments but eventually took on a larger role, including mixing.
For the Scissor Sisters' first album, the goal was to build upon the existing electronic essence by integrating a richer depth and warmth by adding live instruments. Grech-Marguerat recommended Sear Sound for recording, citing its quality equipment, including vintage microphones and a desk created by Rupert Neve, which expanded the band's sound.
However, the decision to retain the entire project in Apple's Logic Pro, a software they used for ongoing writing and recording, presented a significant challenge. Grech-Marguerat would have preferred transferring the programming to Pro Tools, a platform he found more user-friendly for mixing and audio editing. Grech circumvented this issue by creating a parallel G5/Logic setup. Although this required the cumbersome process of reinstalling and licensing numerous plugins and virtual instruments.
Despite initial difficulties, the setup eventually proved effective, allowing for a fruitful collaboration with band member Scott Hoffman.
Recording sessions were conducted at Sear Sounds Studio A, with the inputs channelled through two MOTU 24 I/O audio interfaces. To accommodate the recording needs, they expanded the system to have 48 inputs and outputs, facilitating intricate recordings such as dedicating 12 inputs solely for drums. [32]
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as the Rain, the group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll (drums), with Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher joining as a fifth member a few months after their formation. Noel became the de facto leader of the group and took over the songwriting duties for the band's first four albums.
Travis are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran Healy, Dougie Payne, Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose. The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson from the film Paris, Texas (1984).
Nigel Timothy Godrich is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters and Arcade Fire.
Scissor Sisters are an American pop rock band formed in 2000. Their members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real as drummer. Scissor Sisters incorporate diverse styles in their music, but tend to sway towards pop rock, glam rock, nu-disco, and electroclash. Forged in the "gay nightlife scene of New York", the band took its name from the female same-sex sexual activity tribadism.
Stuart David Price is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer. His acts include his own band Zoot Woman, Les Rythmes Digitales, Paper Faces, Man with Guitar, Thin White Duke, and the parodic French moniker Jacques Lu Cont.
The Kooks are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard, Hugh Harris and Alexis Nunez (drums).
Absent Friends is the eighth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 2004 by Parlophone in the UK and Nettwerk in the U.S. Two singles were released from the album in the UK: "Come Home Billy Bird", which features former Kenickie vocalist Lauren Laverne on vocals, and the album's title track.
Regeneration is the seventh studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 2001 by Parlophone/EMI. Three singles were released from the album: "Love What You Do", "Bad Ambassador" and "Perfect Lovesong", the latter failing to make the top 40.
Hopes and Fears is the debut studio album by the English alternative rock band Keane. It was released on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and topped the UK Albums Chart upon release. It was the UK's second best-selling album of 2004, behind the Scissor Sisters' self-titled debut album, and has since been certified 9× Platinum by the BPI. The album returned to the top of the charts after winning a Brit Award for Best Album in February 2005.
An audio engineer helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer… the nuts and bolts."
"All in White" is a single by English indie rock band the Vaccines, the fourth to be released from their first album, What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?.
"Nørgaard" is the fifth single from English indie rock band the Vaccines from their debut album, What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?. The single was released on digital download and 7" vinyl in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2011. Prior to its single release the song appeared in the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules on 25 March 2011, two weeks after What Did You Expect from The Vaccines? was released.
Strangeland is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Keane, released on 4 May 2012 through Island Records. It is their first full-length album since Perfect Symmetry (2008), as well as the first to feature bassist Jesse Quin as an official member.
The Brink is the second studio album by Australian indie rock band The Jezabels. It was self-released on 31 January 2014 and internationally, through PIAS Recordings and Dine Alone Records. The album was recorded in London with producer Dan Grech-Marguerat. Lead single "The End" was released on 18 October 2013, with its music video uploaded on the group's official YouTube channel on 14 November. The track reached number 81 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The album debuted at number 2 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. It received generally mixed reviews from critics.
As You Were is the debut solo studio album by English singer and songwriter Liam Gallagher. It was released on 6 October 2017 by Warner Bros. Records. A critical and commercial success, the album debuted at number one in the UK, outselling the rest of the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart combined and achieving gold certification in its first week. It has since been certified platinum in the UK. It also achieved the highest single-week vinyl sales in 20 years, with 16,000. In part for his work on the album, producer Greg Kurstin also won the 2018 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
Staying at Tamara's is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter George Ezra. It was released on 23 March 2018. The album reached number one in the UK as well as the top ten of several other countries including Australia and New Zealand. The album includes the singles "Paradise" and "Shotgun", which peaked at number two and number one on the UK Singles Chart, respectively.
Possession is the third studio album by American indie rock band Joywave. It was released on March 13, 2020, through their own Cultco Music label and Hollywood Records. The album was supported by five singles prior to release; "Blastoffff", "Like a Kennedy", "Obsession", "Blank Slate", and "Half Your Age".
"Black Hole" is a song by British singer-songwriter Griff, from her mixtape One Foot in Front of the Other. The song is written by Griff, Peter Rycroft, and Frederik Castenschiold Eichen and produced by Lostboy. The song was released on 18 January 2021 on the Warner Records label.
Gold Rush Kid is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter George Ezra, released on 10 June 2022 by Columbia Records. The album was promoted by four singles: "Anyone for You ", "Green Green Grass", "Dance All Over Me" and "Sweetest Human Being Alive". It became his third consecutive number-one album in the UK.
There's Nothing but Space, Man! is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Ryder, released on 9 December 2022 through Parlophone Records. The album was written and recorded by Ryder before and after his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, working with writers and producers including TMS, Tre Jean-Marie and Jamie Hartman. Primarily a pop and pop rock record, with elements of other genres including dance-pop and folk, it features guest appearances from David Guetta and Sigala.
