How would you define your main role on most of the projects you work on at the moment?
Currently, the majority of my work consists of stereo and immersive mixing although, I can handle pretty much any project or requirement that comes my way.
Please tell us a bit about your musical background. How did you get started in the music industry? What was your pathway to your current role?
I’ve been involved in music pretty much all of my life. From a very early age I played various brass instruments and in my teens/early 20’s I discovered the double bass and electric bass guitar. It was also at this point that I got heavily into analogue tape recording and embarked upon my studies in Music Technology. After graduating from York University with a BA (Hons) in Music Tech, I moved to London to start an MA in Ambisonics. In order to fund this, I picked up lots of assisting and engineering work in various studios in and around London but eventually the studio work took over and inevitably, I had to put the MA on hold.
What or who inspired you to follow this path?
After moving to London I became involved with The Who, which is where I met their chief engineer Bob Pridden. Bob and I hit it off and he took me under his wing and taught me so much – not only from a mixing and/or production perspective but he inspired and instilled a world class work ethic and ‘can do’ attitude that has remained and is ingrained in everything I do. Bob and I have been good friends for many years now and we still work on projects together – he’s an absolute legend!
Are there any highlights from your work that you are particularly proud of?
Throughout my career I’ve been very fortunate to work on many incredible projects but mixing Quadrophenia in 5.1 (and later in atmos) was a bit of a milestone. Quadrophenia is such an amazing album with lots of complex layers and is compositionally closer to a classical score than a rock n roll record.
What’s one tip you can share with other MPG members that could help their workflow?
Always try to improve, upgrade and move forward In order to better yourself and the product/service you provide. I’m not suggesting regular drastic overhauls but tiny manageable tweaks. Over time these ‘small changes’ accumulate and amount to massive improvements.
What’s one tip you would like an MPG member to share with you?
It’s no secret that I’m a ‘work-a-holic’ haha, but managing my down time and life balance is something I’m always trying to address.
Do you have any words of wisdom for people wanting to get into a similar music production role to yours?
Working in the music industry can be a relentless and thankless pursuit but don’t give up, always bring your A game and eventually you’ll get the opportunity to show how bright you can shine.
Richard’s website: https://www.starboard.audio/
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