Happy 2016!
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and got to enjoy some downtime with family and friends. I’m happy to introduce you to my new website! I’m very excited about it and about the opportunity to share some of the music I’ll be working on over the new year. There will also be fun posts featuring exciting new artists and projects as well as media from fellow producers, musicians, and artists that I think are inspiring or relative. I’ll also likely be including some of my thoughts and experiences over the year that I think might serve as inspiration in some way.
To get things started right I want to say that I truly believe 2016 is going to be a great year for music! We’re seeing a renewed interest in vinyl and music fans seem to be embracing the full album format again which is exciting! I can’t help but notice Barnes and Noble’s vinyl section growing with each visit I make… We are also seeing sales of some major artists exceeding expectations as well! The younger artists and music lovers I come across are also uniformly much more interested in quality and don’t seem to mind paying fairly for it:-) Even TV seems to be interested as next month we will see the premiere of a new series on HBO titled “Vinyl” (directed by Martin Scorsese) about the music industry in the 70s… I was recently working at NY’s Avatar studios where they were recording original music for the show with some of my favorite artists and I’ve heard nothing but good things!
I personally have a lot to be excited about. I’m kicking off the year working with a few really exciting new artists that I’ll be writing more about very soon (and posting audio as well). I’m also getting to see some long term projects get released early this year which is exciting as well. I’m thrilled to finally get to share some of this music on this website in the coming months! There will be a lot of diversity in 2016 as well which is all the more fun! From folk to pop, theater to alternative artists it’s all going on this year:-) I continue to stay active in the TV and commercial world as well with a new spot kicking off next week…
The studio (Engine Sound) has undergone some major upgrades over the break as well. With an all new computer and software of every variety as well as some of the best new sounds and plugins I’ve heard yet, things are going to sound better than ever. I plan to continuously raise the bar on quality and efficiency as I move forward in 2016. There are some great new analog front end pieces of gear that I’ve added and a few custom pieces that I’m building and tweaking as we speak to elevate the overall sonic imprint of all this years masters.
On a somber note I learned with most of you this morning about the passing of music legend David Bowie yesterday. We were fortunate enough to have been the audience to one of the most important, fearless, prolific and enduring artists of the last 50 years. My personal favorite Bowie album has always been Hunky Dory…can’t get enough of that album! His music, poetry and productions will continue to bring joy and be an inspiration to me always… I’m thankful. Let the Oblique Strategies inspire many this year!
On a much more positive twist I want to wish my brother and fellow producer & audio engineer extraordinaire Brian Anthony a very happy Birthday today! He is truly one of the best in the game and an inspiration to me on every level:-) Happy Birthday brother!
I feel lucky to be working in this field that I truly love so much. I’m fortunate to be able to work with so many talented and wonderful artists, writers and friends as well. This year I hope we’re all inspired to create the best music we’ve ever created! I’m honored and happy to be a part of it! Here’s to 2016, a great year for music! My best to all of you.
-MA