Lee Prebble

Last updated

Lee Prebble
Born
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
Other namesDr. Lee
Occupation(s)Recording engineer, producer
Years active2001–present
Known forFounder of The Surgery Studios
Website www.surgerystudios.co.nz

Lee Prebble (also credited as Dr. Lee) is a New Zealand recording engineer and producer, and the founder of The Surgery Studios in Wellington. He has received 19 Aotearoa Music Awards (AMAs) nominations, winning six for engineering and production. Prebble is known for long-term collaborations with The Black Seeds, The Phoenix Foundation, Fly My Pretties and L.A.B. He has also worked with artists such as Mel Parsons and Dave Dobbyn. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Background and early career

Prebble was born in Hawke's Bay and studied radio broadcasting in Christchurch. [3] After a six-month internship at Marmalade Audio in Wellington, he was employed as a full-time engineer, largely recording advertisements. [5] There he met Barnaby Weir, frontman of The Black Seeds, who was recording commercials for Radio Active [6] . The connection led to Prebble engineering the band’s debut album, Keep On Pushing (2001), [6] [7] which achieved platinum certification. [8]

Prebble began collecting studio gear and analogue equipment, much of it acquired from Radio Active when the station transitioned to digital. [9] [10] He mixed live performances for The Black Seeds, Trinity Roots and other Wellington bands, using reverbs, delays and other effects. [11]

In 2001, while still at Marmalade, he worked after-hours with Trinity Roots on their debut album True (2001), recording in the band’s basic basement studio in Newtown. [12] During these sessions, the band nicknamed him “The Doctor” for his ability to solve technical problems and improve sound, a moniker that evolved into "Dr. Lee." [13] [10] As the sessions progressed, the space accumulated more of Prebble’s gear, and by the end of the project they recognised they had established a functioning recording studio, which they named The Surgery. [5] [14] True achieved platinum certification [15] and Prebble toured Europe with Trinity Roots as their live mixer. [16]

Career

2000s–2010

During the early 2000s, Prebble engineered and produced albums for artists associated with the “Wellington Sound,” most notably The Black Seeds and Trinity Roots. [17] In 2004, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) described his work as “landmark local recordings.” [13] Prebble rejected the idea of a fixed “Wellington Sound,” saying it was simply “what happens” when musicians make music they enjoy within the same environment. He attributed his success to being fortunate to work with talented and open-minded bands who shared his preference for “not too clean” sounds and “interesting tones” shaped by dub and reggae influences. [18]

Prebble subsequently left Marmalade to formally establish The Surgery Studios, expanding the basement space into a dedicated recording and rehearsal hub for Wellington musicians. [1] [10] His work spans genres such as roots, jazz, folk, rock, and Te Reo Māori music. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

Prebble was nominated for Best Engineer at the 2004 AMAs for The Phoenix Foundation's debut album Horsepower (2003). He continued to receive nominations throughout the following years, winning Best Engineer and Best Producer in 2008 for The Phoenix Foundation's Happy Ending (2007).

In 2010, he won Best Engineer for the band's album Buffalo (2010), which received eight nominations and won four awards. [24] He was also nominated for Best Engineer, and for Best Producer with Barnaby Weir for Fly My Pretties: A Story (2009). In its coverage of the ceremony, The New Zealand Herald described Prebble as a “dark aural lord of sonic magic.” [25]

2010–present

In 2012, the original Surgery building was demolished. [1] Prebble designed and physically built the new facility inside a former warehouse in Newtown. [26] Barnaby Weir described the studio as ‘having the feeling somebody’s loved it and built it from the ground up,’ noting that ‘there’s a lot of [Prebble’s] personality in The Surgery." [19]

He has consistently received recognition at the AMAs, winning Best Engineer and Best Producer for The Phoenix Foundation's Fandango (2013) with Brett Stanton. In 2014, RNZ highlighted his contribution to "some of the capital's most iconic albums" of the 21st century. [1] In 2015, he won Best Engineer for Mel Parsons' Drylands (2015) with Oliver Harmer.

Prebble is known for long-term collaborations and has worked on every major album by The Black Seeds, Trinity Roots, The Phoenix Foundation and Fly My Pretties since their debuts. [19] [27] [28] [29] [4] Since 2017, he has worked on all six of L.A.B.'s studio albums, [4] which have achieved multi-platinum certification, alongside 20 multi-platinum and 12 gold singles. [30] [31]

Musicianship

Performances and collaborations

Beyond his studio work, Prebble is also a musician. He played lap steel guitar with The Woolshed Sessions, a collective featuring Age Pryor, Dream Chambers (then known as Jess Chambers), and other Wellington artists. [32] Their self-titled 2009 album, which Prebble mixed, [33] was nominated for Best Roots Album at the AMAs and included the APRA Award–winning single "Stringing Me Along". [34] He has also performed live with Fly My Pretties, a collaborative performance collective featuring a rotating lineup of prominent New Zealand musicians. [35]

Remix work

In 2024, Prebble contributed remixes to Dub & Fire (2024), a dub version of The Black Seeds’ 2022 album Love & Fire, alongside Jamaican producer Scientist (Hopeton Brown). [36]

Education and outreach

Prebble has worked to increase accessibility to the recording industry through workshops for women and young adults, held both around the country and at his studio, working with organizations including Recorded Music New Zealand, YAMI, and RecordEnable. [37] [38] [39] [40]

Aotearoa Music Awards

The Aotearoa Music Awards recognise outstanding achievements in New Zealand music.

YearRecipient / WorkAwardResult
2004The Phoenix Foundation – HorsepowerBest EngineerNominated [41]
2005The Phoenix Foundation – PegasusBest ProducerNominated [42]
2006Fly My Pretties – The Return of Fly My PrettiesBest EngineerNominated [43]
2008The Phoenix Foundation – Happy EndingBest EngineerWon [44]
The Phoenix Foundation – Happy EndingBest ProducerWon [44]
2009The Woolshed Sessions – Lee Prebble on lap steelBest Roots BandNominated [45]
Spartacus R – When The Fever Takes HoldBest EngineerNominated [45]
2010The Phoenix Foundation – BuffaloBest EngineerWon [24]
Fly My Pretties – A StoryBest EngineerNominated [24]
Lee Prebble & Barnaby Weir – Fly My Pretties - A StoryBest ProducerNominated [24]
2013Lee Prebble & Brett Stanton – The Phoenix Foundation – FandangoBest EngineerWon [46]
Lee Prebble & Brett Stanton – The Phoenix Foundation – FandangoBest ProducerWon [46]
Iva Lamkum – Black EageBest EngineerNominated [46]
2015Lee Prebble & Oliver Harmer – Mel Parsons – DrylandsBest EngineerWon [47]
2016Lee Prebble & Samuel Flynn Scott – Dave Dobbyn – Harmony HouseBest EngineerNominated [48]
2020Lee Prebble & Ara Adams Tamatea – L.A.B – L.A.B IIIBest EngineerNominated [49]
Ria Hall – Manawa WeraBest EngineerNominated [49]
2021Lee Prebble & Ara Adams Tamatea – L.A.B – L.A.B. IVBest EngineerNominated [50]
2022L.A.B – L.A.B VBest EngineerNominated [51]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Emma (19 July 2014). "The Surgery" (audio interview). RNZ. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Melody (11 March 2017). "The Mixtape: Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 Pepperell, Martyn (20 May 2013). "Dr Lee Prebble". Audioculture. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Surgery Studios". Surgery Studios. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 03:13.
  6. 1 2 "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 21 July 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 04:11.
  7. ↑ "The Black Seeds - Keep On Pushing". Scoop. 29 June 2001. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "The Black Seeds". Select Music. 26 November 2025. Archived from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 09:22.
  10. 1 2 3 "Our History". Surgery Studios. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 05:05; 06:10; 09:05.
  12. ↑ "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 10:34.
  13. 1 2 "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble". RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "Trinity Roots". Bandcamp. 19 June 2002. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  15. ↑ McKee, Hannah (7 June 2016). "Trinity Roots moves on from 'Barbecue Reggae'". Stuff. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 19:35.
  17. ↑ Pepperell, Martyn (18 December 2024). "Vibe Check: Taking the Pulse of the Wellington Music Scene in 2024". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  18. ↑ "Musical Chairs - Dr Lee Prebble" (audio interview). RNZ. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 25:09.
  19. 1 2 3 McKee, Hannah (22 January 2017). "Us Two: The Black Seeds frontman Barnaby Weir and sound engineer Lee Prebble". Stuff. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  20. ↑ "Star Time (WLG) Arrive With Debut Single 'Moto Moto'". NZ Music Month. 21 July 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  21. ↑ "Announcing the finalists for 2023 Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa Best Folk Artist". Recorded Music. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  22. ↑ Downs, Sarah (28 November 2024). "The Phoenix Foundation Return with 'Whistling in the Darkness'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  23. ↑ "Māori Supergroup Te Tokotoru Packs a Punch on New Waiata 'Ka Whiua Ngā Ringa'". NZ Music Commission. 15 November 2024. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 28 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  25. ↑ Sundae, Hugh (1 September 2010). "Clean sweep for technical music awards". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  26. ↑ Smith, Emma (19 July 2014). "The Surgery" (audio interview). RNZ. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025. 02:53.
  27. ↑ Scott, Samuel Flynn (28 October 2023). "A weird nostalgic trip': 20 years on from the year that changed everything for The Phoenix Foundation". The Post. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  28. ↑ "Fly My Pretties Drop A New Studio Recording". Loop. 31 March 2023. Archived from the original on 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  29. ↑ Lochrie, Conor (26 January 2024). "L.A.B Announce New Album, Share New Single 'Ocean Demon'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  30. ↑ "L.A.B". Official Aotearoa Music Charts. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  31. ↑ "L.A.B". Loop. 29 November 2025. Archived from the original on 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  32. ↑ "The Woolshed Sessions / The Woolshed Sessions". National Library. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  33. ↑ "The Woolshed Sessions – The Woolshed Sessions". Discogs. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  34. ↑ "Best Country Music Song Award". APRA AMCOS. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  35. ↑ "About Fly My Pretties". Fly My Pretties. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  36. ↑ "Dub & Fire - The Black Seeds Meets Scientist & Dr Lee". Bandcamp. 18 October 2024. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  37. ↑ "Studio Skills Workshop Pōneke 2025". RecordEnable. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  38. ↑ "Aotearoa Music Producer Series announce guests for the 2022 regional workshops". APRA AMCOS. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  39. ↑ "Lee Prebble LP". Wānaka SounNZ. 28 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  40. ↑ "Aotearoa Music Producers Series". Recorded Music. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  41. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  42. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  43. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  44. 1 2 "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  45. 1 2 "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  46. 1 2 3 "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  47. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  48. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  49. 1 2 "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  50. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  51. ↑ "Explore Our History". Aotearoa Music Awards. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
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