I Master Experimental Music!

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I worked with Olefunken on a track - that really worked. We got on great, it is the personal touch that counts; we are not a faceless corporation.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Sorry, all signed with an NDA.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Hybrid - best of the old and the new.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: We will keep going as long as you need us to, unlimited revisions but we thinkn we nail it on the first attemp made public to you.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I can work late in to the next morning and not have to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for 9am later on.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: "Do you master for vinyl?" There is no need for a mastered-for-vinyl and a mastered-for-CD version; one master works for one track, not mastering two masters for one track.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: The biggest misconception about what we do is that we are musical snobs.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: If they have not specified in their intriduciotion, we ask them to name a song in circulation that they hope their master has the same characteristics as.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: We are not the cheapest, but we will work with you until you are happy with the result; there are unlimited revisions, but we reckon we will get it correct on the first attemp presented to you.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Neumann Monitors, Mac Studio, Raven screen - cigarretes and beer.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: Allan has been an audio engineer since school, working his way up from sound boy to studio owner - there is not much he doesn't know about editing music. Andy has been working for over a decade in media production and audio distribution. They both decided to put their respective heads together and so was born Sigil Of Brass.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Open minded and we have the tools to operate. We have a broad listening spectrum that allows us to work with you, without forcing our opinions on the artists we work with.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Bjork.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Listening - on a good system, with an open mind.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: We admit that we really dig experimental and avant-garde compositions and recordings. We love working with forwward thinking artists and their management.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Listening.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: If you think of the musician as the carpenter buikding, say, a desk. The mixing engineer gets rid of most of the jagged corners and the mastering engineer smoothes it all down, giving the desk / song a final finish - we make good songs sound great.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: We admit we do a lot of third party work for underground labels. This is all signed with a Non-Disclosure Agreement so we can't really comment on it. We are more than happy with our work on Soundbetter.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: We have a studio in a small part of an enclosed warehouse, corklined and good as sound proof. We have, amongst other equipment; Nuemann and Adams monitors and a lot of RME outboard equipment.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: As Sigil Of Brass, here are some mastering engineers who inspire us: - Bob Ludwig: Renowned for his work with major artists like Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Radiohead. - Bernie Grundman: Known for his influence on the sound of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince's Purple Rain. - Emily Lazar: The first woman to win a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. - Greg Calbi: Celebrated for his contributions to albums by John Lennon, David Bowie, and Bruce Springsteen. These engineers embody the precision, creativity, and dedication we strive for in our own mastering services.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: We work with artists who are working on their second release, after having success with their first hit. We are priced affordably and have a specialist studio in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.