What is mastering?
I've developed several analogies over the years. My favorite one is from Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto. She said that a mastering engineer is basically like an art curator. The art is finished; it's pretty much complete. But a curator has to find the right space and the right pieces. You have to tie them together in a journey, select the framework, select the lighting, and select the placement. [You need to] create the journey that makes it feel like an experience.
What made you want to move into mastering?
I was an engineer in my mid-20s. After Egypt, I was an engineer at this studio in Houston, called SugarHill Recording Studios. It has an amazing history. It's actually the oldest continuously-operating studio in the United States. Being a midnight-to-dawn engineer, I got the dregs of the Houston music scene. The learning experience was wonderful, but I couldn't find myself. I loved recording, but I was too intimidated to mix. I was like, "Well, mastering is this last frontier that I know nothing about, so why don't I check that out?" I knew New York was the place to be to do mastering. It was so naïve, honestly. I sold my car, packed my bags, quit, and declared, "I'm going to start from scratch and see how it goes."
I read that you attended a mastering panel at a TapeOpCon in New Orleans.
That was a turning point for me. I didn't know anything about mastering. I went there with all the SugarHill crew. I heard Greg Calbi [Tape Op #86] speak at this conference. It was wonderful to listen to him talk about his work process. There was something about mastering that seemed very soothing. Any mastering engineer that I saw or met at the conference seemed so collected and together; like such a soothing, inspiring person. I decided this was something I needed to investigate.
So you packed up and went to New York?
Yeah. I interned at a big studio in the city. I couldn't get my foot in as an engineer, but I got hired as a studio manager. I would go into the studio and try to figure something out. I started to get to know bands, and I worked on a band that were friends of mine. They were signed to the Thrill Jockey label in Chicago. Bettina [Richards] at Thrill Jockey said, "Hey, I have this new band I signed, and they have their new album. Do you want to work on it?" It turned out to be Future Islands. That was a launching pad for me. At that point, after doing it for a little bit longer, I thought, "You know, it's time to do this on my own." Then I partnered with Timeless Mastering. I was there for about six years. Now I'm building my own studio.
What is the studio going to be like?
Building a studio in New York is pure and utter pain. It's amazing anyone still builds anything in the city. But I do love the city, and I do believe in it. It took six months to find the right space. I can't afford to buy a space in the city, so I have to lease. The leases are really short, and the landlords don't want you to build anything. It took me a while until I found a spot in Dumbo. The landlord's pretty chill. I'm working with this amazing designer, Jim Keller, of Sondhus. He'd never done a full mastering room, so he was excited to work with me. We got the design sorted, but the construction… Permitting is a nightmare. It took a long time to get that sorted, but we are very close to the finish line. It's a cool room; nice and big. It's got windows, which is pretty crucial for me. At this point in my career, I think it felt like the right time.
Where are you working in the meantime?
I am sharing with Josh [Bonati, Bonati Mastering]. He's a mastering engineer in Brooklyn, and he also happens to be my husband. I am working out of his space during the night. It's a little bit intense. At Timeless, I kind of had a nasty split and had to leave very unexpectedly, well before the time I wanted to leave to transition into my new space more smoothly. Josh kindly let me use his room for a few months in between until my space is ready. I'm spoiled, because Josh has a Northward Acoustics room, which was designed by the top designer in the world, Thomas Jouanjean [Tape Op #135]. It's as perfectly tuned a room as you could possible imagine, so I can't get too used to it! [laughter]
How do you approach each mastering session?
