Martin Terefe

Last updated

Martin Terefe
Birth nameMartin Terefe
Born (1969-04-18) 18 April 1969 (age 55)
Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation(s)Record producer, audio engineer, musician, songwriter
Years active1984–present

Martin Terefe (born 18 April 1969, Stockholm, Sweden [1] ) is a Swedish record producer and songwriter, now living and working in London, who has produced Grammy, Brit and Juno award -winning albums with artists like Jason Mraz, James Morrison and KT Tunstall. He is also a member of the group Apparatjik.

Contents

Biography

Terefe spent his early years in Caracas in Venezuela, where he learned to play the guitar, before moving back to Stockholm in 1979. [1] At the age of 15 he was signed up to a publishing deal and briefly fronted a rock band, but soon realised that he preferred a role writing and producing for other people. [2] He travelled to the UK and the US, where he met Michael Dixon, the manager of singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, and who later became Terefe's manager.

Terefe's early productions in Stockholm were for Swedish artists Sara Isaksson, Ardis and André de Lange. In 1996 Terefe moved to London and set up his own recording studio, Kensaltown Studios, named after Kensal Town, the district of west London where the studios are located. He produced several of Sexsmith's albums during the 2000s and has gone on to write and produce songs and albums by KT Tunstall, a-ha, Jason Mraz, James Morrison, [3] Martha Wainwright, Train, Cat Stevens, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Cullum, Alyssa Bernal, Beverley Knight and Westlife. Terefe's productions won two awards at the 2010 Grammy Awards as a producer, for "Make It Mine" by Jason Mraz (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat (Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals). [4]

In 2008 Terefe and Dixon set up Kensaltown Records. The label's releases included Ron Sexsmith's album Exit Strategy of the Soul , the debut album by American singer Dawn Kinnard, [5] and the charity album Songs for Survival . The Songs for Survival album included the first song by Apparatjik, the supergroup of a-ha's Magne Furuholmen, Coldplay's Guy Berryman, Mew's Jonas Bjerre and Terefe. The group continued to work together, releasing their debut album in 2010 and the follow-up in 2012. [6]

In 2009 Martin Terefe was ranked as the Number 10 most successful music producer of hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [7]

Terefe and songwriter Sacha Skarbek (who is also managed by Michael Dixon) wrote the UK's entry for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, titled "Love Will Set You Free" and sung by Engelbert Humperdinck. [8] [9]

In December 2020, Terefe and Bruce Lampcov assembled a band of British jazz musicians to play on the Bitches Brew -inspired, self-titled album London Brew , which is set for release on 31 March 2023 by Concord Jazz.

Discography

Selected production, mixing, recording credits [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Sexsmith</span> Canadian musician (born 1964)

Ronald Eldon Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has since recorded seventeen albums. He was the subject of a 2010 documentary called Love Shines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magne Furuholmen</span> Norwegian musician and visual artist

Magne Furuholmen is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. Also known by his stage name Mags, he is the keyboardist of the synth-pop band A-ha and co-wrote hits such as "Take On Me", "Stay on These Roads", "Manhattan Skyline", "Cry Wolf", "Forever Not Yours", "Analogue ", "Minor Earth Major Sky", "Touchy!", "You Are the One", "Move To Memphis" and "Foot of the Mountain". A-ha has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Berryman</span> Scottish bassist (born 1978)

Guy Rupert Berryman is a Scottish musician, songwriter, producer, businessman and designer. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he started to play bass at an early age, drawing inspiration from James Brown, the Funk Brothers and Kool & the Gang. His projects beyond music include The Road Rat magazine and Amsterdam-based fashion brand Applied Art Forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonas Bjerre</span> Musical artist

Jonas Bjerre Terkelsbøl is a Danish musician and visual artist from Copenhagen, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Mew. Bjerre creates animated videos for Mew's live shows. He has an uncommon vocal range, above the average pitch, which has helped contribute to Mew's unique sound, and earned him a Danish Music Award for Danish Male Singer in 2006.

<i>Beauty Has Grace</i> 2005 studio album by Jaci Velasquez

Beauty Has Grace is the ninth studio album by Contemporary Christian music singer Jaci Velasquez. It marks a departure in style from her previous albums, having been recorded in London, England, with Martin Terefe. She co-wrote six of the ten album tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)</span> British pop singer (born 1936)

Arnold George Dorsey, known professionally as Engelbert Humperdinck, is a British pop singer described by AllMusic as "one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers around". He achieved international prominence in 1967 with his recording of "Release Me".

<i>Stay Under the Stars</i> 2006 studio album by Teitur

Stay Under The Stars is the second album by Teitur Lassen, released in Scandinavia in May 2006, and in the rest of the world in September 2006. It was recorded in London at Kensaltown Studios and produced by Martin Terefe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concha Buika</span> Equatoguinean singer (born 1972)

María Concepción Balboa Buika, known as Concha Buika or just Buika, is a Spanish singer. Her album Niña de Fuego was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and La Noche Más Larga was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014.

<i>Orphan Music</i> 2006 studio album by Sarah Slean

Orphan Music is the first official live album by Canadian singer, songwriter, and pianist Sarah Slean, released on October 31, 2006

<i>Exit Strategy of the Soul</i> 2008 studio album by Ron Sexsmith

Exit Strategy of the Soul is the eleventh studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, released on 8 April 2008, through Kensaltown.

<i>Songs for Survival</i> 2008 studio album by Various artists

Bruce Parry Presents Amazon - Tribe - Songs for Survival is a double album released by Kensaltown Records in support of a tribal peoples charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apparatjik</span> Multinational electronic band

Apparatjik are a multi-national band formed in 2008. The band is a supergroup that consists of bassist Guy Berryman from Coldplay, guitarist/keyboardist Magne Furuholmen from a-ha, singer/guitarist Jonas Bjerre of Mew and drummer/producer Martin Terefe. The band's name literal translation is "agent of the apparatus". Apparatjik is based on apparatchik, which is a word of Russian origin and is used to describe "an official or bureaucrat in any organization" but has in the past had other meanings, including "Communist agent or spy".

This is a summary of 2006 in music in the United Kingdom.

Samuel Dixon is an Australian record producer, songwriter and musician, based in London. Dixon has produced and written with artists including Adele, Sia, Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera, Paloma Faith and Jack Savoretti. He is a multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as a bass guitarist.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Love Will Set You Free" written by Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek. The song was performed by Engelbert Humperdinck, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Humperdinck was announced as the British entrant on 1 March 2012, while the song "Love Will Set You Free" was presented to the public on 19 March 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Will Set You Free</span> Swedish ballad sung by Engelbert Humperdinck

"Love Will Set You Free" is a ballad written by Swedish producer Martin Terefe and Ivor Novello Awards winner Sacha Skarbek. As sung by Engelbert Humperdinck, it was the United Kingdom entry to the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it ultimately placed 25th. The song was unveiled by the BBC on 19 March 2012 on its Eurovision homepage.

Quad Studios Nashville was a four-studio recording facility established as Quadrafonic Sound Studio in 1971 on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, US. The studio was the location of numerous notable recording sessions, including Neil Young's Harvest, Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville", Joan Baez' "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and Dobie Gray's "Drift Away". The studio's location has been the home of Sienna Recording Studios since 2014.

Thomas Juth is an audio engineer who specializes in mixing and mastering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolaj Torp Larsen</span> Danish musician (born 1973)

Nikolaj Torp Larsen is a Danish musician. He is also a producer, film composer and writer, who has played keyboards, piano and Hammond with numerous artists on tour and on many successful records, including Adele's "Skyfall" which won the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards, as well as a Grammy, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award.

<i>Stand Still</i> 2011 studio album by Emmas Imagination

Stand Still is the debut studio album by Scottish female singer-songwriter Emma Gillespie, recorded under the moniker Emma's Imagination, released in 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 Biography on a-ha's official website
  2. ↑ Biography on Martin Terefe's official website Archived 30 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Salmon, Chris (28 July 2006). "James Morrison, Undiscovered". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Searchable database, Grammy website
  5. ↑ Lester, Paul (6 November 2007). "New band of the day No 220: Dawn Kinnard". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Michaels, Sean (24 November 2009). "Coldplay and A-ha side project announce debut album". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Year end charts, Hot 100 Producers 2009". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "Engelbert Humperdinck to represent UK in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest". BBC. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Plunkett, John (1 March 2012). "Engelbert Humperdinck rides to Britain's rescue at Eurovision". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "Martin Terefe Discography". MartinTerefe.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Nielsen-Soundscan's Top 20 Digital Songs / Top 10 Albums for 2010". Nielsen. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  12. ↑ 21st Century Liability (liner notes). Yungblud. Geffen Records. 2018.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.