The process of creating prerecorded music has always been shrouded in a fair amount of mystery; one of the most curious figures in the production chain is the role of the mastering engineer. Once a recorded album is completely finished, it is sent to that person who uses their magical and mystically unique skills to tweak the overall sound of the music and inject that otherworldly quality that most professionally recorded materials contain.
To help us demystify this enigmatic process is Grammy award winning mastering engineer Michael Graves. Mr. Graves has recently remastered the entire Blondie catalog for a sprawling box set highlighting Blondie’s complete recorded output, including many rare tracks that have never seen the light of day. Graves discusses not only his work on the Blondie project, but also his lauded output for Analog Africa, Omnivore Records, Dust to Digital, and other highly respected labels. He also mastered my most recent album, The Show.
Michael Graves isn’t just any mastering engineer, he’s also an audio restoration expert. While many listeners love hearing their favorite professionally recorded albums, remastered to sound even better than the originals—if that’s possible—just remember that there is much wonderful music that has been forgotten. Oftentimes, those tapes, records, cassettes, and CDs are not in the best physical condition. So, it takes an audio restoration expert like Graves to resurrect those recordings so that they sound the best that they can.
Show Business is an industry of sleight of hand, a world of illusion where everything is not always what it appears to be. There are a few insiders who are adept at using the tools necessary to create that final sheen of professionalism. Join us as Michael Graves gives us a quick peek behind the curtain to understand a few tricks of the mastering trade.
Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.
