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Russell Elevado (born 1966 in the Philippines) is a recording engineer and record producer based in New York City.
Russell Elevado is a multi-Grammy award winning [1] record producer and recording engineer, born in the Philippines in 1966. his family immigrated to the United States in 1972 and grew up in New York City. Elevado's career started in 1986 when he started an internship at producer Arthur Baker's studio called Shakedown Studios in New York City. Elevado worked at various studios as assistant engineer eventually ending up at Quad Studios where he made his engineering start and was a staff engineer there from 1989 to 1991. Upon leaving Quad Studios Elevado went independent.
Elevado is known for his use of analog equipment exclusively and prefers recording to tape for his productions.
Russell Elevado has a catalog of 50 full albums from the over 100 albums in his discography.
Elevado earned a Grammy Award [1] in 2000 for his production work recording and mixing contemporary R&B recording artist D'Angelo's critically acclaimed album Voodoo . Voodoo is now considered a classic album in the contemporary R&B genre and paved the way for the neo soul movement. Elevado's "old school" engineering and production techniques and preference for using mostly vintage equipment gave the album a sound reminiscent of classic soul or funk records fused with hip-hop textures and psychedelic treatments heard on classic 1960s and 1970s rock records.
In 2009, he received a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album [1] for engineering Al Green's Lay It Down .
In 2015, he won a Grammy for Best R&B Album [1] on D'Angelo's Black Messiah , the long-awaited follow-up to Voodoo.
In 2020 Elevado won a Grammy in the Best World Music category for mixing Angelique Kidjo's "Celia" album. in the same year he also received a nomination as producer/engineer/mixer for the band Lettuce in the Best Jazz instrumental album category.
Elevado's shows his broad range of styles among artists when he received the Grammy award for Album of the year [1] for Jon Batiste's album We Are in 2022 which also won numerous awards that year.
From 2003 to 2006 Elevado produced, recorded and mixed 3 albums for the late jazz trumpet player Roy Hargrove. The band was called Roy Hargrove and the RH Factor which was a fusion of jazz, soul and funk. All of which were recorded and mixed all analog with minimal overdubs in a time when Elevado's contemporaries were embracing digital recording and mixing. These albums are a prime example of Elevado’s sound, creativity and vision.
Elevado mixed a few songs for Bilal's controversially unreleased second album, Love for Sale . [2]
His work with Questlove, The Roots and Common is also very notable, pushing the limits of organic hip hop with creative mixing and production. he's worked with some of the most popular and influential artists and producers of his era like Alicia Keys (Elevado mixed her hugely successful debut single “Fallen”), Jay Z, Rick Rubin, Tony Visconti, Mark Ronson, Erykah Badu and J Dilla to name a few. What sets him apart from his peers is his commitment to analog and organic method of creativity. He has been quoted in many interviews about his dissatisfaction with the digital recording medium and the way it has changed the industry and the creative process of artists and production. Elevado does not use any plug-ins (digital effects and processing) and uses analog equipment exclusively for processing. His dedication to analog has defined his career attracting a wide range of artists from different genres.
Full albums
Michael Eugene Archer, better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" for R&B supergroup Black Men United. His debut studio album, Brown Sugar (1995), was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and received widespread acclaim from music critics, who have credited the album for ushering in the neo soul movement. His third single, "Lady", reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
Voodoo is the second studio album by the American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, released on January 25, 2000, through Virgin Records. D'Angelo recorded the album during 1997 and 1999 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, with an extensive line-up of musicians associated with the Soulquarians musical collective. Produced primarily by the singer, Voodoo features a loose, groove-based funk sound and serves as a departure from the more conventional song structure of his debut album, Brown Sugar (1995). Its lyrics explore themes of spirituality, love, sexuality, maturation, and fatherhood.
Roy Anthony Hargrove was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles of jazz in 1998 and 2002. Hargrove primarily played in the hard bop style for the majority of his albums, but also had a penchant for genre-crossing exploration and collaboration with a variety of hip hop, soul, R&B and alternative rock artists. As Hargrove told one reporter, "I've been around all kinds of musicians, and if a cat can play, a cat can play. If it's gospel, funk, R&B, jazz or hip-hop, if it's something that gets in your ear and it's good, that's what matters."
Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues. The album has been viewed by critics as a female companion to neo soul artist D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000), which features a similar musical style and direction. Critics have also noted that while Badu's first album Baduizm contained its share of cryptic lyricism, Mama's Gun is much more direct in its approach, and places the artist in a subjective position more than its predecessor.
Michael Francis Barbiero is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and songwriter.
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group was first formed by singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer, composer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, and producer, rapper and composer J Dilla. They were later joined by singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, and rapper-producers Q-Tip, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Slum Village. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective, whilst Q-Tip's original group A Tribe Called Quest served as another inspiration behind the Soulquarians.
Djin Djin is the eighth studio album by Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo. It was released on April 27, 2007, on Razor & Tie. The album won Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Chalmers Edward "Spanky" Alford was an American gospel, jazz, and neo-soul guitarist. Alford was born in Philadelphia. He was well known for his playing style, utilizing chord embellishments. He had an illustrious career as a gospel quartet guitar player in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with groups such as the Mighty Clouds of Joy. His most notable contributions are to the D'Angelo album Voodoo, and his contributions to music from other popular artists including Tupac Shakur, Roy Hargrove, and The Roots.
"Untitled (How Does It Feel)" is a song by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo. It was released on January 1, 2000, by Virgin Records as a radio single in promotion of his second studio album, Voodoo (2000). Written and produced by D'Angelo and Raphael Saadiq, the song was originally composed as a tribute to musician Prince. "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" contains a vintage style and sound similar to that of Prince's early musical work. The song's lyrics concern a man's plea to his lover for sex.
"Left & Right" is a song by American neo soul musician D'Angelo featuring fellow American rappers Method Man & Redman. It was released on October 19, 1999 via Virgin Records as the second single from the singer's second studio album Voodoo. Recording sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Written by D'Angelo, Method Man, Redman and Q-Tip, it was produced by D'Angelo himself. An accompanying music video was directed by Malik Hassan Sayeed.
An audio engineer helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer…"
"Send It On" is a song by American R&B recording artist D'Angelo. It was released by Virgin Records on March 25, 2000, as a radio single in promotion of D'Angelo's second studio album Voodoo (2000). He wrote the song, with his brother Luther Archer and R&B singer Angie Stone, in 1998 at a recording studio in Virginia after the birth of his son. It was produced by D'Angelo at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Hard Groove is an album by the American musician Roy Hargrove, released in 2003. It was credited to his group, the RH Factor.
"The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, Voodoo, which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's Electric Lady Studios during sessions for the album.
Black Messiah is the third studio album by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, credited to D'Angelo and the Vanguard. It was released on December 15, 2014, through RCA Records, more than a decade after his previous solo release Voodoo. The album was produced and mostly written by D'Angelo, who collaborated with musicians including percussionist Questlove, bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, and horn player Roy Hargrove. He pursued an entirely analog and murky funk sound for the record, lending it comparisons to the 1971 Sly & the Family Stone album There's a Riot Goin' On.
Marc Urselli is an Italian-Swiss freelance New York City & London-based audio engineer, music producer, mixing engineer, live sound engineer, remixer, sound designer, composer, musician, contributor, and blogger.
This discography of D'Angelo documents the release of studio albums, live recordings, compilation albums, and other songs.
Clif Norrell is an American record producer, recording engineer, music mixer, and musician. He has worked with many prominent artists including Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Jeff Buckley, No Doubt, Rush, Faith No More, Shania Twain, Mick Jagger, Dave Grohl, Sting, Paul McCartney, Gavin Degraw, Joss Stone, Selena Gomez and The Police.
Stuart White is a recording and mix engineer. He is best known for his work with Beyoncé, namely on studio albums Beyoncé, Lemonade, Renaissance, and Cowboy Carter. White has three Grammy awards and has been nominated ten times.
Ben Kane is a producer, engineer and mixer best known for his work with D'Angelo and his studio, Electric Garden.