I recently had the joy of mastering the new Widesky release for the FutureSequence label. It’s a richly dense listening experience from an artist as genuine as they come. Get it digitally from the label. Highly recommended!

Check out a sample:

If you are interested in having me master a future release of yours, please contact me. I love all styles of music. As an artist myself, I know that money is not a commodity most of us have in abundance. But, that doesn’t mean the end product of your work should suffer. I’ve got quality gear and lower than average rates. Let’s talk. =)

swartzet(at)uttereast(dot)net

I recently had the honor of mastering the latest release by Windy & Carl for the Kranky label. It’s a fantastic album from a couple who have been masters of their craft for years. Get it digitally, on CD or Vinyl from the label, iTunes, Amazon or elsewhere. You won’t be disappointed.

Check out a sample:

If you are interested in having me master a future release of yours, please contact me. I love all styles of music. As an artist myself, I know that money is not a commodity most of us have in abundance. But, that doesn’t mean the end product of your work should suffer. I’ve got quality gear and lower than average rates. Let’s talk. =) 

swartzet (at) uttereast (dot) net 

I recently walked into a deli with a colleague who proceeded to order a hot panini sandwich. We stood there chatting while we watched them make it. It looked great. Fresh red onion, tomato, lettuce, marinated grilled chicken, bacon and garlic herb mayo. It was then placed in the panini press. We heard some slight sizzling and it smelled great. The person making the sandwich walked away for a few minutes to attend to a customer. He returned, took it out of the press, put it on a plate, handed it over the counter and said “Thank you. Have a great day.” Once we sat down, we realized the sandwich had been pressed too hard  and was now a flattened, buttery mess. It still tasted ok from what I was told, but certainly not as exciting as what we saw being constructed before us after it was ordered.

On my way back to the studio and just hours before my new record was to be mastered, I realized that what happened in the deli was the same thing countless recording artists subject their art to every single day in the music industry. It’s called “brick wall” mastering. This is the over compressing of audio in the mastering phase of a recording project in order to achieve maximum loudness so as to stand out on the radio dial.

Let’s list some of my main issues with this.

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