One of the most rewarding CDs I’ve ever recorded was for Flossie Malavialle, a French-born singer who lived in the North East of England from 2002 until 2019, before returning to home. At the time, I didn’t know Flossie very well—she was another brilliant musician introduced...
When Keith Donnelly introduced me to Ursula Holden Gill with the idea of recording her first album, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. Keith explained that she was a “storyteller” and, honestly, I thought, how hard can that be? Put a...
I have hosted a wide range of projects in the studio—musicians, audiobooks, corporate podcasts, meditations—but one of the most profound has been a deeply personal one: recording my wife Louise Bates and her podcast, A Gift for Grief. A Podcast Born from Personal Loss Louise created A...
If you know annA rydeR, you will know she is special. A super musician. A mult-instrumentalist. An extraordinary song writer. She really is that good! I have known annA for years, in fact we lived in the same road in Warwick, although I always said she lived at the posh...
One of the most joyfully ridiculous recording sessions I’ve ever had the pleasure (and occasional panic) of being involved in was capturing Keith Donnelly’s epic take on Nathan Evans’ sea-shanty smash hit, Wellerman. Now, recording Keith is nothing new—I’ve done it hundreds of times. We’ve recorded...
While recording podcasts in the studio, I’m usually jotting down notes about the recording so it will be easy to edit later. Sometimes, I’m absolutely enthralled by the story—and this is always the case when recording Catherine Williamson, the host of the radio show and...
I don’t often talk about the artists I work with. I tend to keep a low profile, quietly doing my job in the background. I don’t favour one artist over another, and I’m not chasing the next gig. I only take on a project if...
Over the past few months, I’ve had the incredible privilege of working on Golden Threads: Women's Shared Wisdom from the Tapestry of Life—a powerful book written by fifteen extraordinary women. Each of them shares deeply personal stories of courage, healing, and self-discovery. These stories are...
Over the years at Heathcote Studio, I’ve had the pleasure of recording a wide range of highly skilled professional musicians. Their technical precision—whether it’s nuanced vocal control, intricate guitar finger picking, expressive piano phrasing, or tight performances on instruments like bouzouki, fiddle, banjo, accordion, or...
“I don’t like the sound of my voice” is the most often phrase I hear when recording. And yet I have yet to hear a horrible voice. Except my own voice. I sound horrible! Because let me tell you a secret: everyone thinks their own voice...