SOS presents an ongoing collection of informative articles where each month a music producer and/or sound engineer reveals how their favourite recorded instrument or sound treatment was created, miked up, programmed and captured for posterity.
How I Got That Sound: Davey Badiuk
Canadian Davey Badiuk is a composer, producer, mixing engineer and remixer, known for his unique ability to modernise organic music.
How I Got That Sound: Luke Smith
Record producer/mix engineer Luke Smith details how he got his favourite sound on ‘Spanish Sahara’ from Foals...
How I Got That Sound: Michael Brauer
Asked to pick a favourite sound to dissect, American mix master Michael Brauer chooses the vocal sound on Elle King’s ‘Ex’s & Oh’s’.
How I Got That Sound: Stephen Street
Stephen Street has worked with the Smiths, Blur, the Cranberries, the Pretenders, Babyshambles and Kaiser Chiefs, and here he details his favourite sound from Blur's 'Song 2'.
How I Got That Sound: George Seara
Canadian mixer and recording engineer George Seara chooses the vocal on ‘Treat You Better’, by Shawn Mendes, as a favourite sound from his catalogue.
How I Got That Sound: Tom Lord-Alge
Three‑time Grammy Award‑winner Tom Lord‑Alge has an extensive list of multi‑platinum landmark albums and singles to his credit...
How I Got That Sound: Samuel Dixon
Grammy-winning Samuel Dixon picks his favourite sound from the records he’s made, focusing on Australian singer‑songwriter Meg Washington’s track ‘Switches’.
How I Got That Sound: Leo Abrahams
Asked to choose a favourite sound to dissect, Leo nominated the track ‘Harm Organ’ from his 2021 solo album, Scene Memory 2.
How I Got That Sound: Ed Stasium
American producer, engineer and mixer Ed Stasium nominates the drum sound on Living Colour’s ‘Love Rears Its Ugly Head’ as a particular favourite.
How I Got That Sound: Bob Clearmountain
American record producer, engineer and mixer Bob Clearmountain unpacks Neil Finn’s vocal from the Crowded House track ‘I Feel Possessed’.
How I Got That Sound: John Feldman
Producer and mix engineer John Feldman details how he got his favourite vocal sound on the Used’s 2002 debut single.
How I Got That Sound: Andy Wright
London‑based record producer, programmer and session musician Andy Wright chooses the drum sound from ‘Dirty Mind’, on Jeff Beck’s 2000 album You Had It Coming.
How I Got That Sound: Richard Chycki
Multi‑platinum mixer and engineer Richard Chycki details how he got Geddy Lee’s bass sound on ‘Caravan’.
How I Got That Sound: Tyler Bates
American musician and producer Tyler Bates reveals how he created his favourite recorded sound.
How I Got That Sound: Chris Shaw
Four‑time Grammy Award‑winning producer, engineer and mixer Chris Shaw has worked with some of the biggest and most...
How I Got That Sound: Matt Squire
Asked to pick a favourite sound from his huge discography, Matt Squire nominates the track ‘On My Teeth’ from Underøath’s 2018 album, Erase Me.
How I Got That Sound: Alan Parsons
Asked to pick a favourite from the innumerable sounds he’s committed to tape, Alan nominates the unique keyboard sound on ‘The Eagle Will Rise Again’, from the third APP album Pyramid.
How I Got That Sound: Stabbing Westward
Asked to pick a favourite sound from the band’s influential catalogue, Walter Flakus dives into the track ‘Drugstore’, from 1998 album Darkest Days.
How I Got That Sound: Poo Bear
Poo Bear, the American two‑time Grammy Award‑nominated songwriter, producer and principal collaborator of pop megastar Justin Bieber, chooses his own favourite vocal on a track from Bieber’s Changes album.
How I Got That Sound: Carl Bell & Ben Grosse
How they recorded the solo on ‘Solace’ from Fuel’s second album, Something Like Human (2000).
How I Got That Sound: Thorsten Quaeschning
Asked to nominate his favourite sounds he’s created on record, the Tangerine Dream leader picks a track composed for the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto V in 2013.
How I Got That Sound: Howard Benson
Grammy Award‑winning American producer Howard Benson discusses how he achieved the drum sound on POD’s 2001 hit ‘Youth Of The Nation’.
How I Got That Sound: Tom Syrowski
Recalling his favourite sound, LA‑based producer and mixing engineer Tom Syrowski chose the vocal on Incubus’ 2011 track, ‘In The Company Of Wolves’.
How I Got That Sound: Danny Elfman
Elfman recently released his latest solo album, Big Mess, and chose a track from the album as his favourite sonic achievement.
How I Got That Sound: Andrew Maury
New York‑based engineer and producer Andrew Maury, when asked to pick a favourite sound that he’s worked on, nominates the drum mix he created for Lewis Del Mar's ‘Loud(y)’.
How I Got That Sound: Martin Landquist
Landquist reveals how he got his favourite sound on A‑ha’s ‘Lifelines’, the 2002 title track to the Norwegian synth‑popsters’ seventh studio album.
How I Got That Sound: Tim Palmer
When asked to pick a favourite sound that he’s worked on, English producer and mixing engineer Tim Palmer nominates the radio speaker guitar intro from Pearl Jam's ‘Black’.
How I Got That Sound: Chris Sheldon
English producer and mixer Chris Sheldon, when asked to pick a favourite sound that he’s worked on, nominates the drum sound he got with rock band Oceansize.
How I Got That Sound: Steve Albini
In the first episode of a new column, we asked Steve Albini to choose a favourite sound from his huge back catalogue and explain how it was created.