Let’s talk about recording royalty. There are certain engineers and producers who transcend the average and create work that sets the standard for others to follow. One such person is Bruce Swedien. With credits including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Natalie Cole, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Sarah Vaughan -and let’s not forget the best-selling album of all time, Thriller by Michael Jackson, as well as his 13 Grammy nominations and five Grammy wins – Swedien’s legacy is firmly established. And he continues to engineer and produce stellar projects today.
I’ve had the good fortune to know Bruce for a number of years, and despite all his accomplishments, he could not be a more humble, genuinely nice gentleman. Sweetwater was very fortunate to have Bruce as our keynote speaker at last year’s GearFest, and we were even more fortunate to be able to sit down with him and conduct a video interview. There’s more wisdom contained in his words than you’ll find in dozens of recording forums!
You can view Bruce’s GearFest ’08 keynote address here.