Cicely Balston – Full Member

How would you define your main role on most of the projects you work on at the moment?

Mastering engineer.

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 grew up playing instruments – I played in bands, in orchestras, in big bands – all sorts of things! And I didn’t think I was wanted to be a professional musician (nor did I have the discipline to practice…) but I got interested in the background of what was going on during the recording process. We had a little studio at school & I was lucky to study Music Tech at A level, which then led to me doing the Tonmeister Course at Surrey University (studying music & sound recording) and it all proceeded from there really. I started out working at Gearbox Records, where I first learned to cut vinyl masters and also learned a bit about the process of releasing music through the record label and then a job came up at in the mastering department at AIR studios, which I started in 2016, assisting at first and then eventually mastering in my own right.

What or who inspired you to follow this path?

I guess first and foremost my parents – we listened to a lot of music at home growing up, and also I had some really inspiring instrumental teachers particularly in my teens – Nikki Yeoh, Daisy Coole & Pete Fraser to name a few. To see your teachers from Saturday morning Jazz Band then playing gigs around London – in Camden, or at the Southbank Centre or The Vortex – was amazing. I also found my early jobs in mastering really inspiring. I worked with Darrel Sheinman and Adam Sieff at Gearbox, both of whom have an infectious love of music and vinyl and then I have a lot to thank mastering engineer Ray Staff for. He hired me at AIR and I got to spend hours watching and listening to him in mastering sessions and learning all I could.

Are there any highlights from your work that you are particularly proud of?

I’m pretty proud of it all! Releases that really stick out from last year are Girli’s Matriarchy album, which I still listen to pretty regularly, Sarah Kinsley’s Escaper and Max Richter’s In A Landscape – they were both a total joy to work on, and ones where I really felt part of the team. There are already a few I’m excited for coming out this year – David Gray’s new album Dear Life is definitely one to look out for!

What’s one tip you can share with other MPG members that could help their workflow?

Look after yourself!

What’s one tip you would like an MPG member to share with you?

…Also look after yourself??

Do you have any words of wisdom for people wanting to get into a similar music production role to yours?

Do as much listening as possible – really get to know your equipment (which includes your ears!) and think about how different music sounds different across formats and playback systems.