There have been many famous recording engineers and producers that have had a big impact on not only the music industry but also the world. These engineers and producers have worked with some of the most prolific artists to ever exist, and have helped them take their music to the next level. I’m going to do an in depth analysis of one of my favourite producers and also one of my favourite engineers.
Engineer: Gimel Androus Keaton
Gimel Androus Keaton is an audio engineer, producer, DJ and record executive from Delaware, United States. The man better known as the ‘Young Guru’ was born on the 27th of February, 1974 and has worked with huge artists such as Jay-Z. The Wall Street Journal called him ‘the most famous and successful engineer in the history of Hip-Hop’, and there is some tough competition there. From a very young age Gimel had a fascination with music. In the early 90’s he bought himself his own amplifiers, microphones and lights which sparked an interest in music technology. Not the path that people usually go down. He began DJing in 1996 in and around Washington DC. At this time he met rapper Nonchalant who had a top 20 single at this time. He the became her tour DJ. He used the money he had received from the tour to fund a six-month music recording course at Omega Recording Studios in Maryland. This greatly impacted him. Big artists such as Mary J Blige and Faith Evans saw the young engineers potential and invited him to come to recording sessions with them back in Washington. It is through these recording sessions that he first met Jay-Z. Since then he has worked with huge artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Ludacris, GhostfaceKillah, Freeway, Cam’ron, Redman & Method Man, Mariah Carey, Pete Rock, Fabolous, Talib Kweli, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and T.I. This takes us up to modern day where he is still working on music and winning big awards.
Producer: Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in England to Lauren Ronson. She had a fascination with music from a young age and knew she was going to bring Mark up in the same way. He is one of the most famous producers to live and has created some incredible music. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Adele, Lily Allen, Duran Duran, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, and Bruno Mars. He has acquired 7 Grammy awards which is a huge accomplishment for any artist, no matter how popular they are. His most popular work was the production of ‘Back To Black’ a studio album by the amazingly talented Amy Winehouse. While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He charged $50 per job which was a lot for him back in the day. He grew a large following pretty quickly by using obscure genres in his set lists. Some of these genres include Funk and Rock and Roll. He was frequently booked for high-profile events and parties. He would DJ at parties with some of the most well known celebrities. It is during this time that he met people like Amy Winehouse. Its crazy how these social events turned Marks career around.
There are many other huge engineers and producers that i could name, but these two are some of my favourites. I have devoted a lot of time reading into how they became who they are, and it is a great blueprint for any aspiring musician to follow. There have been many great producers and engineers in the past, and there are some emerging from the shadows as I write this. With the introduction of the Digital-age, it is more appealing then ever to get into this line of work.
Reference list
Wikipedia. (2021a). Mark Ronson. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ronson
Wikipedia. (2021b). Young Guru. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Guru