Industry Insider doesny fuck about. The next unsung hero on the hit list is the role of the producer. Who better to chat to than Edinburgh's go to indie/alternative/all round
anthem producer, Mark Morrow. With a roster that includes the likes of Vistas, Retro Video Club, Lost in Vancouver, Indigo Velvet and many more he's made a strong name for himself in the Scottish music scene. I went along to the Mark Morrow Audio studio for a wee chat with Mark himself about his career in sound production.
Summarise the role of a producer.
'Generally a band will come to me and already have the song written 90% or fully. When they come in here we start recording it and I'll give my input on it, that may be a rearrangement of some sorts or it might just be cutting a bit out, that sort of thing. That's where it starts then we work to turn it into something which I guess is more commercial by trying to pick the best bits and showcase that. It's basically working with the band/artist to create their vision.'
How did your career in sound production begin?
'Back in high school really, we had a studio in the music department and I just spent lots of time in there instead of going to classes'
(fair to say it worked out for the best anyway, get it roond ya school)
'I then went on to do an honors degree at uni in audio technology in Glasgow which was good and that kind of taught you the physics behind sound and audio and why does that sound like that when you put a microphone here, or what happens when you change the shape of a room. During that time I was in a band and recording all our stuff, it was getting picked up by a few radio things even Radio 1.'
(Aye mate just 'a few radio things', just BBC Radio 1, no big fucking deal.)
'The bands that I knew would ask where we recorded and I would tell them that it was me so then I started recording other bands on the side. I started a studio in my parent's front room just as a space to record as I looked for somewhere else and that turned into 5 years of being there with bands coming in and out all the time. Finally moved in here about 5 years ago and just been doing it ever since.'
The music industry is one of the most competitive out there, did you ever doubt you could make a stable career out of it and what kept you going?
'Yeah all the time.'
(would of been a lot easier to pack it all in and work in Sainsbury's eh.)
'It is hard but if you just think outside the box and create your own wee niche somewhere because it is a thriving business with a lot going on you need to just kinda work out where you fit. I never had a plan B so like as I was getting older I was like I either need to make this work or get a job but what kept me going was I just loved doing it!'
Who were producers that inspired you and influenced your work?
'All sorts really, mixers as well, the role of producer now or certainly at my level anyway is a bit broader than like a high end producer would be. I'm doing mixing and recording with the band as well so I took inspiration from a lot of mixers and producers who worked with my favourite bands but there was nobody in particular I was striving to sound like.
Do you have any signature styles in your work that make a track a 'Mark Morrow' track?
'I like big and clear recordings, I'm really into mixing electronic stuff with rock music at the moment so I always try and throw in some interesting sounds that aren't usually associated with a rock band, if the band are up for it of course. I like experimenting with not staying in a genre.'
Tell us a wee bit about the start up of your studio here in Edinburgh?
'I was really lucky in that I could record in my parent's house and they weren't charging me rent to record whereas if I moved straight into here I'd be having to pay rent every month and I'd struggle really. Luckily I'd been working at my parent's house for 4/5 years to make sure this was a legit thing I could do full time so moving in here I already had my clients basically so it would of been a lot harder if I hadn't had that.'
(So basically you owe your mum and dad a REALLY fucking good Christmas present.)
What advice would you give to someone starting out in sound production?
'Learn as much as you can! I'm glad I went to uni but you don't need to. Learning on the job is the best way of doing it, like get a band in and just figure stuff out. Even now the main obstacle I get is if there's a problem is trying to come up with a solution to fix it, that could be anything from an equipment fault or a song just not sounding right. If it sounds good it sounds good, some people are purists but it doesn't matter if it's a guitar going through an amp through something else then getting edited back out, just try things until it sounds good.'
(Exactly, it's no your problem once it goes live, that's their problem!)
'Yeah! Create something that is impossible to play!'
So what are your upcoming projects and future plans for the studio?
'Just finished a new 'Indigo Velvet' single so got that coming out soon. The 101 have and EP coming as well a band called 'The Eves' who I'm working with the now. Lot's of cool things coming up! I think I've got 1 day off between now and Christmas but yeah lot's of cool stuff and it doesn't seem to be slowing down.'
Cheers to Mark for finding the time for a wee chat with me in his busy schedule and for helping me out being a pure fud not being able to work my own phone. Best of luck to him in his future work and we canny wait to hear what's still to come from his studio.
LINKS N STUFF:
Website: https://www.markmorrowaudio.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markmorrowaudio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markmorrowaudio/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/markmorrowaudio