Jeff Ellis (recording engineer)

Last updated
Jeff Ellis
Birth nameJeffrey Charles Ellis
Born (1984-07-16) July 16, 1984 (age 40)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Origin Scottsdale, Arizona
Genres Pop, contemporary R&B, electropop, pop-rap, rock
Occupation(s) Recording engineer, mix engineer
Years active2008–present

Jeff Ellis (born 16 July 1984) is an American recording engineer and mix engineer. [1] His most notable work was featured on both of Frank Ocean's critically acclaimed albums: Channel Orange , [2] and Blonde . [3]

Contents

Career

In 2009, after changing careers from finance to music, Ellis garnered an internship at EastWest Studios, formerly United/Western Recorders, where artists such as Frank Sinatra and The Beach Boys once recorded. When his internship ended, Ellis was asked to join the staff as an assistant musical engineer. [4]

In 2012, Ellis became the engineer for recording artist Frank Ocean when he arrived at EastWest Studios to record a track for his debut album, Channel Orange. Ellis developed a working relationship with Ocean and was offered the opportunity to freelance full-time on the remainder of the project. [4] Channel Orange was a critical success, earning Ellis a 2013 Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album, as well as a nomination for Album of the Year. [5] The album also includes the Record Of The Year-nominated track "Thinkin Bout You" a song that Ellis mixed. [6]

Ellis continued to work with Frank Ocean from 2012 to 2016 on his follow up album Blonde . [3] Ellis has also worked with such notable artists such as Akon, Skylar Grey, Nick Jonas, Pernille Rosendahl and Kate Nash, whose album Made of Bricks hit #1 on the UK album chart in 2007. [4]

Awards and nominations

YearOrganizationAwardWorkResult
2013 55th Grammy Awards [7]
Record of the Year [8] "Thinkin Bout You"Nominated
Album of the Year [8] Channel OrangeNominated
Best Urban Contemporary Album [8] Won

Notable credits

YearArtistAlbumDetails
2024 JPEGMafia I Lay Down My Life for You Mixer (with JPEGMafia) [9]
2023 JPEGMafia and Danny Brown Scaring the Hoes Mixer (with JPEGMafia)
2018 Kali Uchis Isolation Mixer
2018 Kali Uchis "After the Storm"Mixer
2018 The Neighbourhood The Neighbourhood Mixer, Track 10 "Reflections"
2017 Jesse Rutherford (singer) & Mixer, Master Engineer
2016 Frank Ocean Blonde Engineer [3]
Nick Jonas Last Year Was Complicated Mixer [10]
SWMRS Drive North Mixer [11]
Pernille Rosendahl Dark Bird Mixer [12]
2013 Earl Sweatshirt Doris Engineer [13]
Kate Nash Girl Talk Engineer, Vocals (Background) [14]
Skylar Grey Don't Look Down Vocal Engineer [15]
2012 Frank Ocean Channel Orange Engineer, Mixer [14]
Odd Future The OF Tape Vol. 2 Engineer, Mixer [14]
Shoshana Bean O'Farrel Street Mixer [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammy Award for Record of the Year</span> Award presented by National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to sales or chart position." The Record of the Year award is one of the four "General Field" categories at the awards presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.

For commercially released singles or tracks of new vocal or instrumental recordings. Tracks from a previous year's album may be entered provided the track was not entered the previous year and provided the album did not win a Grammy. Award to the artist(s), producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) if other than the artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammy Award for Album of the Year</span> American music industry award

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards, and is one of the four general field categories alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album</span> Honor presented to recording artists for quality alternative music albums

The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position". In 2023, it was joined by a companion category, Best Alternative Music Performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammy Award for Best Country Album</span> Annual award

The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

James Ryan Ho, known professionally as Malay, is an American record producer, songwriter, and audio engineer. He won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards for his work on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange (2012).

Om'Mas Keith, also known simply as Om'Mas, is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, musician, composer, engineer, and songwriter from Queens, New York. He has worked with Frank Ocean, Erykah Badu, John Legend, Jay-Z, Kevin Abstract, and Vic Mensa. He is also known as a member of The Sa-Ra Creative Partners, alongside Taz Arnold and Shafiq Husayn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Ocean</span> American singer (born 1987)

Frank Ocean is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He has been credited by several music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist, among other accolades; two of his albums have been listed on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">55th Annual Grammy Awards</span> Event held on February 10, 2013

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the second time by LL Cool J. The "Pre-Telecast Ceremony" was streamed live from LA's Nokia Theater at the official Grammy website. Nominations were announced on December 5, 2012, on prime-time television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night", a one-hour special co-hosted by LL Cool J & Taylor Swift and broadcast live on CBS from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Fun, Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Dan Auerbach received the most nominations with six each.

<i>Channel Orange</i> 2012 studio album by Frank Ocean

Channel Orange is the debut studio album by the American R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra the previous year, Ocean began writing new songs with Malay, a producer and songwriter who then assisted him with recording Channel Orange at EastWest Studios in Hollywood. Rather than rely on samples as he had with his mixtape, Ocean wanted to approach sound and song structure differently on the album. Other producers who worked on the album included Om'Mas Keith and Pharrell Williams. Its recording also featured guest appearances from Odd Future rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator, vocalist/songwriter André 3000, and guitarist John Mayer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album</span> Grammy Award Category

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Mikaelin 'Blue' Bluespruce is an American, New York City based mix engineer and record producer. He has worked with notable artists of many different genres including: Solange Knowles, Nas, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Skepta, Dev Hynes, Marsha Ambrosius, Alloe Blacc, Common, & Prince Royce.

James Edward Fauntleroy II is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for numerous songwriting credits and guest performances on songs by high-profile artists including Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Drake, J. Cole, Vince Staples, Jhené Aiko, Big Sean, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake. In 2014 and 2018, Fauntleroy won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.

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References

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  2. Himmelman, Jeff (7 February 2013). "Frank Ocean Can Fly". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Pitchfork (21 August 2016). "Frank Ocean's Blond: 6 Things to Know". Pitchfork .
  4. 1 2 3 Baker, Craig. "Making Music with Grammy-winning audio engineer Jeff Ellis". The Money Side of Life. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. C.R.A.S, The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences. "Grad Spotlight: Jeff Ellis". The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. Clinch, Danny. "Grammys 2013: Full nominations list of the 55th Annual Grammy Awards". New York Daily News. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  7. "Grammys 2013: Complete list of nominees". Los Angeles Times. December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 The Recording Academy. "55th Grammy Nominees and Winners". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  9. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  10. Discogs. "Nick Jonas* - Last Year Was Complicated". Discogs .
  11. RollingStone (27 May 2016). "Meet SWMRS: Punk's Progressive, Pop-Friendly Saviors". Rolling Stone .
  12. Hi-Fi Klubben. "HI-FI SCENEN MED PERNILLE ROSENDAHL".
  13. "Earl Sweatshirt - Doris - AllMusic Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 AllMusic. "All Music Credits Jeff Ellis". All Music. Retrieved 16 July 2013.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. "Skylar Grey - Don't Look Down - AllMusic Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  16. Discog. "Shoshana Bean - Discog Credits". Discog. Retrieved 16 July 2013.