Published 4/9/07
SOS competition winners visit Jon Astley's mastering facility
Winners of the SOS March 2007 mastering competition were recently treated to a day behind the desk with top mastering engineer Jon Astley. Jon cut his teeth as an engineer in the ’70s, working with the likes of the Eagles, David Bowie and Eric Clapton, and has picked up mastering awards for his work with Led Zeppelin and the Who. Today, Jon is one of the leading mastering engineers in the UK, and he currently owns and runs Close To the Edge Mastering, in Twickenham, Middlesex.
The winners of the competition were (in no particular order) Axis Of Love, a Radiohead-influenced band from Lincoln; Jimmy Fitz, an Irish reggae artist; Welsh pop/country artist Rob Ash; Californian blues player JP Fitting; and “out there” Devon-based band Arcades. Arrangements were made to visit Jon’s mastering facility (with the exception of Californian JP Fitting, who rather sensibly chose to send the high-resolution files using FTP) and mastering sessions ensued.
After his day with Jon, Rob Ash commented “I had a great time with Jon and my material sounds great. I will be working on coming up for a day to master the rest of my material”. Rachel and Nik from Lincoln band Axis Of Love said “We love the sound of the tracks; there’s a lot more clarity and separation, and the tracks sound more consistent with each other.”
JP Fitting was thrilled with his masters, adding “I just listened to the CD, and I love it! It’s so thick and glued-together sounding! The low end is fantastic and the timbre of the drums with the acoustics is perfect.”
Jimmy Fitz, who flew over to visit Jon from Ireland, was pleased with his mastered tracks, and is now in the process of getting them released. “Since becoming one of the competition winners and spending studio time with Jon, a lot of interest has being generated, with two major UK publishing houses now interested in hearing my material.”
Let’s hope all the winners have success as a result of the competition. For more information on Jon Astley and Close To The Edge Mastering, check out the web site, or call Jon directly.
Track listing for the above media player
1. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
3. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
4. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Close To The Edge Mastering +44 (0)208 892 9236
www.closetotheedge.biz
The winners of the competition were (in no particular order) Axis Of Love, a Radiohead-influenced band from Lincoln; Jimmy Fitz, an Irish reggae artist; Welsh pop/country artist Rob Ash; Californian blues player JP Fitting; and “out there” Devon-based band Arcades. Arrangements were made to visit Jon’s mastering facility (with the exception of Californian JP Fitting, who rather sensibly chose to send the high-resolution files using FTP) and mastering sessions ensued.
After his day with Jon, Rob Ash commented “I had a great time with Jon and my material sounds great. I will be working on coming up for a day to master the rest of my material”. Rachel and Nik from Lincoln band Axis Of Love said “We love the sound of the tracks; there’s a lot more clarity and separation, and the tracks sound more consistent with each other.”
JP Fitting was thrilled with his masters, adding “I just listened to the CD, and I love it! It’s so thick and glued-together sounding! The low end is fantastic and the timbre of the drums with the acoustics is perfect.”
Jimmy Fitz, who flew over to visit Jon from Ireland, was pleased with his mastered tracks, and is now in the process of getting them released. “Since becoming one of the competition winners and spending studio time with Jon, a lot of interest has being generated, with two major UK publishing houses now interested in hearing my material.”
Let’s hope all the winners have success as a result of the competition. For more information on Jon Astley and Close To The Edge Mastering, check out the web site, or call Jon directly.
Track listing for the above media player
1. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
3. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
4. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Close To The Edge Mastering +44 (0)208 892 9236
www.closetotheedge.biz
