Matt Ross-Spang | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | January 14, 1987 Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Website | Official website |
Matt Ross-Spang is an American Grammy award winning record producer, engineer, and mixer. His credits include such artists as Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Al Green, John Prine and Elvis Presley.
Matt Ross-Spang, born in Memphis, Tennessee, began working at the Sun Studio when he was just 16, working his way from an intern to the Chief Engineer. Wanting to capture what made Sun Studio great, Ross-Spang championed hard to find, install, and use the same period equipment that Sam Phillips engineered with from the 1950s. [1] His 11 years of dedication to Sun, and its signature sound, garnered national attention when it was featured by Lester Holt on NBC's Nightly News [2] and The Today Show , as well as NPR's All Things Considered. [3]
In 2015, Ross-Spang left Sun Studio to venture out on his own as an engineer and producer. His first project post-Sun was to engineer and mix Jason Isbell's Something More Than Free for record producer Dave Cobb. [4] This record earned him his first Grammy Award. [5] The record broke several records debuting at #1 on the Country, Rock, Folk, and Indie Charts. It also broke Americana Radio chart records, staying #1 for over 25 weeks. The record won Grammys for Best Americana Album and Best Americana Song ("24 Frames").
Ross-Spang continued engineering for Dave Cobb on records by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chris Isaak, The Rival Sons, Corb Lund, Lori McKenna, Brett Dennen and the album Southern Family.
Other recent releases include the latest Sheepdogs record, Future Nostalgia, [6] and the debut album by Margo Price. Price's album, entitled Midwest Farmer's Daughter , was recorded in 2014 at Sun Studio [7] and released on Third Man Records. Engineered, mixed and co-produced by Ross-Spang, [8] the record debuted this year in the top 10 Billboard country charts to critical acclaim.
In 2016, Ross-Spang was hired by Sony Records to mix 18 previously unreleased songs by Elvis Presley from his historic 1976 sessions from the Jungle Room at Graceland. [9]
Later that year, Ross-Spang mixed and engineered the Lori McKenna album, The Bird and the Rifle , which later went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Album and Best American Roots Song by the Recording Academy.
2017 has seen the release of Sean Rowe's new album, Lore, which Ross-Spang produced and engineered. American Songwriter magazine gave the record 4 out of 5 stars. [10]
In September 2018, Ross-Spang participated in Amazon Music's first 'Produced By' series, which asks producers to develop music exclusively for Amazon customers. His contributions include tracks from Al Green, Margo Price, John Prine, Erin Rae, and William Bell. [11]
Ross-Spang has been a regular collaborator with The Mountain Goats, engineering their album In League With Dragons (2019), and producing both Getting Into Knives (2019) [12] and Dark in Here (2021). [13]
In 2020, Ross-Spang's mid century modern home was featured in Memphis Magazine, "From the tile floors to the original light fixtures, the 1957 home is remarkably preserved." [14]
In 2021, Ross-Spang opened Southern Grooves, his 3,000-square-foot recording studio. The building process started in August 2020, with acousticians Steven Durr and Matt Schlachter. The studio occupies space, on the second floor of Crosstown Concourse. The studio consists of a live room, control room, a long hallway (for reverb) echo chamber, a lounge, office, tech shop and an EMT plate room. [15] "The undulating ceiling and lack of 90-degree angles or parallel surfaces in the live room reportedly give the impression that the space is a lot bigger than it is". [15] Memphis Business Journal quoted, "One of the most distinctive features of Southern Grooves is the small, closet-sized echo chamber. The walls are designed at odd angles, and they're heavily plastered". [16]
Matt Ross-Spang worked as the engineer on The Fluffy Jackets' debut album Fighting Demons featuring producer/ guitarist Manny Charlton (Nazareth) and bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake). The album won the Best Studio Album of the Year Award for 2014, voted by listeners of The Blues Hour show in UK and France.
One year later, Ross-Spang won a Grammy Award for Jason Isbell's " Something More Than Free in 2015.
The City of Memphis named him one of its "30 under 30" Memphians in 2015 [17]
In 2016, Ross-Spang was awarded the Key to the City of Memphis. [18]
He was featured on the Working Class Audio podcast with Matt Boudreau. [19]
For their January/February 2017 issue, Tape Op magazine interviewed Ross-Spang about his past and the future of music production. [20]
At the 2017 Grammy Awards, Lori McKenna's The Bird & The Rifle (engineered and mixed by Ross-Spang) was nominated for Best American Roots Album, Best American Roots Performance, and Best American Roots Song. [21]
At the 2018 Grammy Awards, Ross-Spang received a Grammy for his work on Jason Isbell and the 400 unit's album, The Nashville Sound . The album received a Grammy Awards for Best Americana Album. Additionally, "If We Were Vampires" won the Grammy for Best American Roots Song.
At the 2018 UK Americana Awards, Emily Barker's album, Sweet Kind of Blue, was nominated for Best Album of the Year. [22]
At the 2019 Grammy Awards, John Prine's The Tree of Forgiveness (engineered by Ross-Spang) was nominated for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song,
At the 2020 Grammy Awards, Iron & Wine / Calexico received two nominations with their Ross-Spang produced album Years to Burn. [23] That same year, Don Bryant received a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album forYou Make Me Feel, mixed by Ross-Spang. [24]
| Year | Album | Artist | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Carried Away | Cyrena Wages | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2023 | Jubilee | Old Crow Medicine Show | Co-Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2023 | Weathervanes | Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit | Co-Engineer |
| 2023 | Come Back to Me | Peter One | Co-Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2023 | Angels in Science Fiction | St. Paul and The Broken Bones | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2023 | Lori | Iron & Wine | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2023 | Elvis on Tour | Elvis Presley | Mixing |
| 2023 | Twenty on High | Drayton Farley | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2023 | Should've Learned by Now | Lucero | Co-Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2022 | Whatever You Need | Johnny Ray Daniels | Guitar |
| 2022 | Wellswood | Thomas Dollbaum | Mixing |
| 2022 | Welcome to Club XIII | Drive-By Truckers | Mixing |
| 2022 | The Devil Don't Like It | Dedicated Men of Zion | Guitar |
| 2022 | The Alien Coast | St. Paul and The Broken Bones | Producer, Mixing, Additional Engineering |
| 2022 | Made in Muscle Shoals, Vol. 2 | The Revivalists | Recording |
| 2022 | I Got a Love | Elizabeth King | Guitar |
| 2022 | Paint This Town | Old Crow Medicine Show | Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Recording |
| 2022 | Avondale Drive | Nicki Bluhm | Composer |
| 2022 | This Mess We're In | Arlo McKinley | Producer, Mixing, Engineer |
| 2021 | Never Too Late to Call | Paul Thorn | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2021 | When You Found Me | Lucero | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2021 | Living in the Last Days | Elizabeth King | Guitar, Mixing |
| 2021 | Headwaters | Alexa Rose | Mixing |
| 2021 | Dark in Here | The Mountain Goats | Producer, Engineer |
| 2020 | From Elvis in Nashville | Elvis Presley | Mixing |
| 2020 | You Make Me Feel | Don Bryant | Mixing |
| 2020 | Waiting Out the Storm | Jeremy Ivey | Mixing |
| 2020 | Tiny Little Movies | Will Hoge | Mixing |
| 2020 | Live at Alice Tully Hall (January 27, 1973 - 2nd Show) | Lou Reed | Mixing |
| 2020 | Die Midwestern | Arlo McKinley | Producer, Engineer, Guitar, Mixing |
| 2020 | The Unraveling | Drive-By Truckers | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2020 | The New Ok | Drive-By Truckers | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2020 | Nobody Lives Here Anymore | Cut Worms | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2020 | Made in Muscle Shoals | The Revivalists | Engineer |
| 2020 | Getting into Knives | The Mountain Goats | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2020 | The Unraveling | Drive-By Truckers | Mixing, Recording |
| 2020 | Bone Structure | Ron Pope | Mixing |
| 2020 | Josh Ritter & The Milk Carton Kids | Josh Ritter, The Milk Carton Kids | Mixing |
| 2019 | Down To The River | The Allman Betts Band | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2019 | 99 Cent Dreams | Eli "Paperboy" Reed | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2019 | The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, August 23, 1969 | Elvis Presley | Mixing |
| 2019 | Call Me Lucky | Dale Watson | Mixing |
| 2019 | Front Porch | Joy Williams | Engineer |
| 2019 | The Flood In Color | Joe Pug | Engineer |
| 2019 | The Dream And The Dreamer | Jeremy Ivey | Mixing |
| 2019 | Years To Burn | Calexico, Iron & Wine | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2019 | In League with Dragons | The Mountain Goats | Engineer |
| 2018 | The Tree of Forgiveness | John Prine | Engineer |
| 2018 | Lonesome as a Shadow | Charley Crockett | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2018 | Don't Let The Devil Ride | Paul Thorn | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2018 | Ancient Noise | Patrick Sweany | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2018 | To Rise You Gotta Fall | Nicki Bluhm | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2018 | Elvis Presley: The Searcher (Original Soundtrack) | Elvis Presley | Mastering, Mixing |
| 2018 | Encore | Anderson East | Engineer |
| 2018 | Among The Ghosts | Lucero | Engineer, Co-Producer, Mixing |
| 2018 | To The Sunset | Amanda Shires | Engineer |
| 2018 | Once In A Blue Moon | McKenna Bray | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2018 | Elvis Was A Love Affair | Dale Watson | Mixing, Recording |
| 2018 | Produced By: Matt Ross-Spang | Erin Rae, Margo Price, John Prine, Al Green, William Bell | Producer |
| 2017 | The Nashville Sound | Jason Isbell | Engineer |
| 2017 | All American Made | Margo Price | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2017 | New Lore | Sean Rowe | Producer, Engineer |
| 2017 | Walk into a Storm | The Lone Bellow | Engineer |
| 2017 | Sweet Kind of Blue | Emily Barker | Producer, Mixing |
| 2017 | Love Light Orchestra | Love Light Orchestra | Producer |
| 2017 | 639 Madison | Susan Marshall | Producer |
| 2017 | Weakness | Margo Price | Producer |
| 2017 | This Son Is A Stranger To You | Rich Minus | Producer, Tracking |
| 2017 | Paper Cowboy | Margo Price | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2017 | West Coast Town | Chris Shiflett | Mixing, Recording |
| 2017 | Eli Paper Boy Reed Meets High & Mighty Brass Band | Eli Paper Boy Reed | Producer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2016 | The Bird and the Rifle | Lori McKenna | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2016 | American Band | Drive By Truckers | Engineer |
| 2016 | Hollow Bones | Rival Sons | Engineer |
| 2016 | Midwest Farmer's Daughter | Margo Price | Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Wah Wah Guitar |
| 2016 | Por Favor | Brett Dennen | Engineer, Mixing, Recording |
| 2016 | Southern Family | Various Artists | Engineer, Mixing, Recording, Stomping |
| 2016 | Way Down in the Jungle Room | Elvis Presley | Mixing |
| 2016 | Memphis Ukulele Band | Memphis Ukulele Band | Producer, Mixing, Ukulele [Baritone], Mellotron, Percussion |
| 2016 | My Piece Of Land | Amanda Shires | Engineer |
| 2016 | Ain't Who I Was | Bonnie Bishop | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2016 | Shine On Rainy Day | Brent Cobb | Mixing, Recording |
| 2016 | The Things That We Are Made Of | Mary Chapin Carpenter | Mixing, Recording |
| 2015 | Future Nostalgia | The Sheepdogs | Engineer |
| 2015 | Things That Can't Be Undone | Corb Lund | Engineer |
| 2015 | Something More Than Free | Jason Isbell | Engineer |
| 2015 | Decorations Of Red | Susan Marshall | Producer, Engineer |
| 2015 | Trinity My Dear | Mark Edgar Stuart | Engineer |
| 2015 | First Comes The Night | Chris Isaak | Engineer |
| 2014 | Fighting Demons (Sun Studio Session) | The Fluffy Jackets | Engineer |
| 2014 | Hillbillies and Holy Rollers | Jason D. Williams | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2014 | Scaredy Cat | Grace Askew | Engineer |
| 2014 | If You.... | Dale Watson & Hillbilly Casino | Engineer |
| 2013 | The Sun Studio Session | The Howlin' Brothers | Engineer |
| 2013 | Grey Goose: A Tribute To Leadbelly | Daniel Eriksen, Sting Sjøstrøm | Engineer |
| 2013 | Let It Rock: The Chuck Berry Tribute | The Refreshments | Engineer |
| 2012 | Live From The Legendary Sun Studio | Grace Potter & The Nocturnals | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2012 | Monsters | Onward, Soldiers | Mixing |
| 2012 | The Sun Session | Grand Marquis | Engineer |
| 2012 | Neptune City | Nicole Atkins | Engineer |
| 2011 | The Sun Sessions | The Texas Two/Dale Watson | Engineer |
| 2011 | Shiloh | Sean Martin | Engineer, mixing [25] |
| 2011 | Beyond The Sun | Chris Isaak | Assistant Engineer |
| 2011 | The Sun Session | The Border Blasters | Recording, Engineer [26] |
| 2009 | Glass Half Full | David Brookings | Producer |
| 2007 | Obsessed | David Brookings | Assistant Engineer |
| 2007 | EP | The Splints | Engineer |
| 2005 | Chorus Verses The Bridge | David Brookings | Engineer |
Samuel Cornelius Phillips was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips played a major role in the development of rock and roll during the 1950s, launching the career of Presley. In 1969, he sold Sun to Shelby Singleton.
Lucinda Gayl Williams is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, Ramblin' on My Mind (1979) and Happy Woman Blues (1980), in a traditional country and blues style that received critical praise but little public or radio attention. In 1988, she released her third album, Lucinda Williams, to widespread critical acclaim. Regarded as "an Americana classic", the album also features "Passionate Kisses", a song later recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter for her 1992 album Come On Come On, which garnered Williams her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994. Known for working slowly, Williams released her fourth album, Sweet Old World, four years later in 1992. Sweet Old World was met with further critical acclaim, and was voted the 11th best album of 1992 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent music critics. Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 6th on his own year-end list, later writing that the album, as well as Lucinda Williams, were "gorgeous, flawless, brilliant".
John Edward Prine was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, as well as serious songs about melancholy tales from his life. His songs would often have elements of social commentary and satire. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death.
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums like Elvis Presley's 1969 From Elvis in Memphis and the 1985 debut album for The Highwaymen. Moman won a Grammy Award for co-writing "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", a 1975 hit for B.J. Thomas.
Lorraine McKenna is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit single "Girl Crush" performed by Little Big Town. In 2017, she again won Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for writing "Humble and Kind" performed by Tim McGraw. McKenna along with Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey wrote the second single off the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born called "Always Remember Us This Way.” McKenna performed backing vocals along with Lindsey and Hemby, and the song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Reggie Grimes Young Jr. was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician.
Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis is a live album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Records in July 1974. It was recorded on March 20 of the same year at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, Presley's hometown. The cover features a photograph of Presley's home, Graceland.
From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee is the twenty-third studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Records in May 1976. It became Presley's fourth album to reach #1 on the Billboard country music album sales chart within the last four years.
Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell has won six Grammy Awards.
Amanda Rose Shires is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being Take It Like a Man in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music supergroup called The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby and has also performed as a member of the Texas Playboys, Thrift Store Cowboys, and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as well as in a duo with Rod Picott. Along with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Shires won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for their 2017 album The Nashville Sound.
The Americana Music Honors & Awards is the marquee event for the Americana Music Association. Beginning in 2002, the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the music community. Six member-voted awards and several Lifetime Achievement Awards are handed out while over 2000 artists, music-loving fans and entertainment industry executives look on.
Dave Cobb is a 9 time Grammy Award Winning American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Take That, and Rival Sons.
Margo Rae Price is an American country singer-songwriter, producer, and author based in Nashville. The Fader called her "country's next star." Her debut solo album Midwest Farmer's Daughter was released on Third Man Records on March 25, 2016. The album was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, and was engineered by Matt Ross-Spang. The album was recorded in three days. On tour, she is backed by her band The Pricetags.
Midwest Farmer's Daughter is the debut studio album by American country singer Margo Price. Released on March 25, 2016, it was the first country album to be released on Third Man Records. Despite the album's limited commercial success, peaking at No. 189 on the Billboard 200, it is considered by many publications and music critics to be one of 2016's best albums.
The Bird and the Rifle is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lori McKenna, released on July 29, 2016, through CN Records. It includes the song "Humble and Kind", which was written by McKenna and first recorded by Tim McGraw for his 2015 album Damn Country Music. Despite the album's limited commercial success, it earned critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Americana Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Way Down in the Jungle Room is a compilation album by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released on August 5, 2016 by RCA Records and Legacy Recordings. The album features master recordings and outtakes from two recording sessions on February 2–8, 1976 and October 28–30, 1976 in the Jungle Room, a recording studio set up by Elvis in the den of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. The first disc subtitled The Masters features material from these sessions that were later released on From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976), and the subsequent final studio album, Moody Blue (1977). The second disc, The Outtakes, features outtakes and "in-the-studio dialog" newly mixed by Matt Ross-Spang at the Sam Phillips Recording Studio.
The Nashville Sound is the sixth studio album by Jason Isbell, and the third credited to "Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit". It was released on June 16, 2017. The album was produced by Dave Cobb, who had produced Isbell's previous two albums: Southeastern (2013) and Something More Than Free (2015). At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won the award for Best Americana Album, and the song "If We Were Vampires" won the award for Best American Roots Song.
Yolanda Claire Quartey, known professionally as Yola or Yola Carter, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Her debut studio album Walk Through Fire (2019) received critical acclaim and earned her four Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist. Her follow-up, Stand for Myself (2021), received similar acclaim and earned her two more Grammy nominations. Yola made her acting debut in 2022, portraying "godmother of rock n roll" Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrman’s biopic Elvis.
Walk Through Fire is the debut album by Yola. It was released on February 22, 2019, on Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound label and distributed by Nonesuch Records. The album's title references both a fire which damaged Yola's home and an abusive relationship from which she escaped.
Arlo McKinley is an American country singer and singer/songwriter. He has released three albums, the most recent release being This Mess We're In on John Prine’s record label Oh Boy Records, released July 15, 2022.