Rafa Sardina

Last updated
Rafa Sardina
Background information
Birth nameRafael Sardina
Born1968
Bermeo
Spain
Occupations
Spouse(s)Tamara Ovejero

Rafael Sardina, known professionally as Rafa Sardina, is a basque recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer known for his work with Alejandro Sanz, Luis Miguel, Calle 13, D'Angelo, The Clare Fischer Big Band and Lady Gaga. [1] [2]

Contents

Sardina has won 5 Grammy Awards [3] [4] and 14 Latin Grammy Awards. [5] He is the current governor of the Recording Academy, Los Angeles Chapter [6] and has served on the board of trustees of the Latin Recording Academy. [7] [8] Sardina is a founding member and vice chairman of the Latin Recording Academy's CPI (Círculo de Productores e Ingenieros), equivalent to the Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy. [2] He was the executive producer of the 2017 and 2018 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year galas honoring Alejandro Sanz and Maná, respectively. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Early life and career

Sardina was born in Bermeo, a fishing port in the Basque Country located in northern Spain. Sardina's interest in music started at a young age. At the age of 6, he secretly played his younger sister's guitar and later told his mother he wanted to become a professional musician.

His parents moved to San Diego, California when he was 15. After a couple of months, Sardina returned to Spain, finished school and started playing in bands. His first experience in a recording studio was at the age of 16, when he attended a recording session of his cousin's band in San Sebastián.

Sardina joined medical school at age 16. During his second year of school, he started working as front of house and monitor engineer for local acts. During his fourth year of school and right before taking the final exam, Sardina decided to drop out. He saved up for a three-week recording certification program at The Recording Workshop school in Chillicothe, Ohio. Sardina then went back to Spain and continued saving until he enrolled in a program at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida.

In 1993, four weeks before graduating with a Valedictorian Award, [13] [14] Sardina organized a 24-hour trip to Los Angeles. He did interviews at Record Plant, Westlake Recording Studios and Ocean Way Recording, where he later started working and became assistant engineer. During his time at Ocean Way, Sardina recorded artists including Celine Dion, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dr. Dre and David Foster.

In 2001, after working for 5 years at Ocean Way, Sardina founded Fishbone Productions and started working as an independent engineer, recording at his studio "AfterHours". Sardina became better known for his work on Pop, Rock, R&B and Latin records, although he also works on a variety of genres including Jazz, Orchestral, Gospel, World and Film/TV soundtracks. He continued working with artists including Alejandro Sanz, Luis Miguel, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga and D'Angelo. [1] [2]

Sardina engineered the album "Symphonic Soweto: A Tribute To Nelson Mandela", which won the South African Music Award for Best Contemporary Album in 2018. [15] [16]

AfterHours Studios

Sardina founded AfterHours Studios to record his projects. AfterHours was first located at his previous house. Sardina describes it as being "just a tiny room, tracking little things like drums in the hallway".

The studio is now located in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where he remodeled a two-story three-car garage and an adjacent room. The live room, control room and isolation booth are on the first floor, while an office and a lounge are located on the second floor. The studio operates around a Solid State Logic Duality console and incorporates multiple outboard processors into a digital recording system. [2] [17] The studio was featured on Mix Magazine's Class of 2017. [18]

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

YearCategoryNominated workArtistResultRef.
2004 Best Latin Pop Album No Es Lo Mismo (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Won [3]
[19]
[20]
[21]
2006 Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album México En La Piel (as engineer) Luis Miguel Won
2008 Best Latin Pop Album El Tren de los Momentos (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Won
2016 Record of the Year "Really Love" (as engineer) D'Angelo & The Vanguard Nominated
Best R&B Album Black Messiah (as engineer)Won
2017 Best Latin, Rock, Urban or Alternative Album L.H.O.N.(as engineer) Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas Nominated
Best Latin Pop Album Buena Vida (as engineer) Diego Torres Nominated
2020 #ElDisco (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Won
Best Latin, Rock, Urban or Alternative Album Indestructible(as engineer and producer) Flor de Toloache Nominated
2021 Best Regional Mexican Music Album (including Tejano) Hecho En México(as engineer and producer) Alejandro Fernández Nominated

Latin Grammy Awards

YearCategoryNominated workArtistResultRef.
2000 Album of the Year Amarte Es Un Placer (as engineer) Luis Miguel Won
Best Pop Vocal Album Won
2003 Record of the Year "Hasta Que Vuelvas" (as engineer)Nominated [22]
2004 "No Es Lo Mismo" (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Won
Album of the Year No Es Lo Mismo (as engineer)Won
Best Male Pop Vocal Album Won
Best Engineered Album Won
2005 Record of the Year "Tú No Tienes Alma" (as engineer)Won
Best Ranchero Album México En La Piel (as engineer) Luis Miguel Won
2007 Album of the Year El Tren de los Momentos (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Nominated
2009 Best Rock Solo Vocal Album Miedo Escénico (as engineer) Beto Cuevas Nominated
2013 Album of the Year La Música No Se Toca (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Nominated [23]
Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album Won
2014 Album of the Year MultiViral (as engineer) Calle 13 Nominated [24]
Best Urban Music Album Won
2015 Album of the Year Sirope (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Nominated [25]
Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album Won
2016 Record of the Year "Iguales" (as engineer) Diego Torres Nominated [26]
Album of the Year Buena Vida (as engineer)Nominated
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Nominated
Best Alternative Music Album L.H.O.N.(as engineer) Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas Won
Producer of the Year Rafa SardinaNominated
2017 Record of the Year "Quiero Que Vuelvas" (as engineer) Alejandro Fernández Nominated
Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album Rompiendo Fronteras Nominated
2018 Best Engineered Album 50 Años Tocando Para Ti(as engineer) Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá Won [27]
2019 Album of the Year #ElDisco (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Nominated [28]
Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album Nominated
Record of the Year "No Tengo Nada" (as engineer)Nominated
Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album Indestructible(as engineer and producer) Flor de Toloache Nominated
Best Singer-Songwriter Album Amor Presente(as engineer) Leonel García Nominated
Producer of the Year Rafa SardinaNominated
2020 Record of the Year "Contigo" (as engineer) Alejandro Sanz Won [29]
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Mirándote A Los Ojos(as engineer) José Luis Perales Nominated
Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album Hecho En México(as engineer) Alejandro Fernández Won
2021 Best Tango Album Tinto Tango Plays Piazzolla(as producer)Tinto TangoWon [30]
2023 Best Alternative Music Album Bolero Apocalíptico(as producer and engineer) Monsieur Periné Won [31]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Rafa Sardina | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Producer/Engineer Rafa Sardina". Mixonline. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  3. 1 2 "Rafa Sardina". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  4. ↑ "D'Angelo". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  5. ↑ "20a Entrega Anual del Latin GRAMMY". Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  6. ↑ "AES New York 2018 » Presenters: Rafa Sardina". www.aes.org. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  7. ↑ "The Latin Recording Academy elects new Trustees". Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  8. ↑ "The Latin Recording Academy® elects new officers to its Board of Trustees". Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  9. ↑ "Anitta, Nacho Arimany, Diego "El Negro" Álvarez, Ismael Fernández, Siudy Garrido, Manuel Medrano, Jesús Montoya, and José Antonio Rodríguez join the 2017 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year gala honoring Alejandro Sanz". Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  10. ↑ "Alejandro Sanz named 2017 Latin Recording Academy® Person of the Year". Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  11. ↑ "Gala to honor Alejandro Sanz with 2017 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year™ distinction will showcase performances by David Bisbal, Camila Cabello, Santiago Cruz, Alejandro Fernández, Luis Fonsi, Juan Luis Guerra, Jesse & Joy, Juanes..." Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  12. ↑ "Maná named 2018 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year™". Latin GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  13. ↑ "Seventeen Alumni Credited on Latin GRAMMY Nominated Projects". www.fullsail.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  14. ↑ "Panelist Biography". www.imsta.org. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  15. ↑ "AES New York 2018 » Presenters: Rafa Sardina". www.aes.org. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  16. ↑ "#SAMAs 2018: Full list of the winners from this year's awards". The South African. 2018-06-03. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  17. ↑ "It's Always After Hours for Rafa Sardina". ProSoundNetwork.com. 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  18. ↑ "Class Of 2017". Mixonline. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  19. ↑ "Diego Torres". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  20. ↑ "Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  21. ↑ "62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  22. ↑ "2003 Latin Grammys winners and the tribute to salsa queen". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "NOMINADOS 14a Entrega Anual del Latin GRAMMY". LatinGrammy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  24. ↑ Cobo, Leila (September 24, 2014). "Calle 13 Lead Latin Grammy Nominations". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  25. ↑ "La lista completa de nominados a los Latin Grammy 2015" (in Spanish). infobae. September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  26. ↑ "NOMINADOS 17a Entrega Anual del Latin GRAMMY". LatinGrammys (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  27. ↑ "19th Latin Grammy Awards Nominations" (PDF). latingrammy.com. 21 September 2018.
  28. ↑ Ryan, Patrick. "Latin Grammys: Camila Cabello, Alejandro Sanz, Rosalía, Luis Fonsi score 2019 nominations". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  29. ↑ Huston, Marysabel (29 September 2020). "Latin Grammy: J Balvin lidera la lista de nominaciones con 13, le sigue Bad Bunny con 9". CNN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  30. ↑ "22nd Latin Grammy Awards Nominations" (PDF). September 28, 2021.
  31. ↑ THE LATIN ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS & SCIENCES, INC. 24th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards® FINAL NOMINATIONS (PDF).
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