Information 

The 2008 Art of Record Production Conference is being hosted by

Professor William Moylan and the University of Massachusetts Lowell

on Fri 14th - Sun 16th November 2008

  Press Release from Oct 2008

A World-class Weekend is shaping up for the 2008 Art of Record Production Conference at University of Massachusetts Lowell
PRESS RELEASE – October 2008

Alongside Phil Ramone (pictured) who is the keynote speaker for the 4th international Art of Record Production Conference, an outstanding program of industry specialists and academics is shaping up for this exciting gathering which will be hosted by Professor William Moylan at the University of Massachusetts Lowell on 14th – 16th November 2008.

Speakers will include:
Maureen Droney (Executive Director, Producers &Engineers Wing, The Recording Academy)
Sarah Jones (Editor, Mix Magazine)
Mike Howlett (Chairman of the UK Music Producer's Guild, Gong, Flock of Seagulls, Martha & The Muffins)
Steven Epstein (Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, Wynton Marsalis, Midori, Alison Krauss, the Vienna, Berlin, New York, and London Philharmonic Orchestras), Nathaniel Kunkel (Sheila Nicholls, The Crystal Method, Lyle Lovett, B.B. King, Graham Nash, James Taylor, Sting, Robin Williams),
Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky)
Steve Savage (Robert Cray, John Hammond, The Gospel Hummingbirds)
Steve D'Agostino (Depeche Mode, John Foxx, Steve Jansen)
Mark Rubel (Pogo Studios)
Richard Burgess (Spandau Ballet, Colonel Abrams, Adam Ant, author of The Art of Music Production)
Albin Zak (author of The Poetics of Rock)
Paul Theberge (author of Any Sound You Can Imagine)
Anne Danielsen (author of Presence and Pleasure: the funk grooves of James Brown and Parliament)
Mark Butler (author of Unlocking The Groove)
Thomas Porcello (co-editor of Wired For Sound) TBC
Wiliam Moylan (author of Understanding and Crafting the Mix; The Art of Recording)

Phil Ramone has received 34 Grammy nominations, 14 Grammy awards and an Emmy and during his illustrious career as a producer and engineer has worked with artists as diverse as Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Bono, Ray Charles, Chicago, Bob Dylan, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, BB King, Shelby Lynne, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Liza Minnelli, Sinead O'Connor, Luciano Pavarotti, Andre Previn, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Phoebe Snow, Rod Stewart, Sting, Barbra Streisand and Rufus Wainwright.

Conference events will include three Panel Discussions, nearly 50 papers and on-going workshops.

A weekend rich with opportunities has been assembled for industry professionals, academic scholars, students and the curious.  Learn from the masters, network with your colleagues and advance your understanding of the Art of Record Production.

Full conference details are available at http://www.artofrecordproduction.com/content/view/59/95/

Register now for early registration rates, and to secure a hotel room at the special $99US/night rate. This offer ends on October 17th 2008.

Conference events will include:

•    Phil Ramone as conference keynote with an interview by Maureen Droney (Executive Director, Producers & Engineers Wing, The Recording Academy).
•    Producers Panel Roundtable: moderated by MIX magazine’s editor Sarah Jones, featuring award-winning producers Steven Epstein, Nathaniel Kunkel, Elliot Scheiner and Paul Miller.
•    Conference Theme Panel: “The Recording Studio as Musical Instrument” comprised of leading producers, researchers and authors.
•    Industry Panel: “Producer Compensation Today and Tomorrow” – moderated by Richard James Burgess with distinguished panel including Maureen Droney, Mike Howlett (Chairman of the UK Music Producer's Guild).
•    Papers and presentations on the ‘Art of Record Production’ by leading researchers and scholars from throughout the world.
•    Critical listening workshops in UMass Lowell’s extraordinarily accurate Critical Listening Studio.
•    Unravelling the mix sessions using the multitrack master of a well-known recording on an API “Vision” console.


Simon Zagorski-Thomas, the director of the Art of Record Production Conferences, states “There are going to be around fifty academic papers this year as well as the industry discussion panels and listening sessions. The paper topics range from Brian Eno to Public Enemy, from Mitch Miller’s 1950s production oddities to The Arctic Monkeys, and  from  the way studios are reacting to new business models to the way that ‘old school’ producers reacted to ‘new school’ technology. And that’s just a taster: the full list of abstracts and the draft program will be on the website shortly. It’s going to be a stunning weekend – I can’t wait.”  http://www.artofrecordproduction.com

William Moylan, the host of ARP08, has also announced:
“UMass Lowell’s exceptional recording studios, control rooms and critical listening room will be featured.    There will be an on-going “Unravelling the Mix” mixing / production session offering a significant, practical experience where an active multitrack mix (stereo or surround) sits in the control room for evaluation, hosted by the mix engineer.  Advanced recording and processing strategies are discussed and demonstrated in isolation and in the context of the mix.  The centerpiece of this experience will be our API “Vision” console—capable of simultaneous surround and two channel mixing.”
http://www.artofrecordproduction.com/content/view/59/95/

“Critical Listening Sessions will take place in our extremely accurate Critical Listening Studio to provide the experience of high quality surround sound and hi-res listening in comparison to compressed MP3. Attendees are invited to submit recordings with short abstracts for inclusion in the organized play list for these critical listening sessions.”
The conference will take place at the Doubletree Riverfront Hotel in Downtown Lowell and in Durgin Hall on the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus; a shuttle bus will connect the two locations.  Special room rate of $99US per night (plus tax) is available at the Doubletree Riverfront Hotel for conference attendees. Registration fee for the conference is $250US ($150US for students).
The Art of Record Production is a community of scholars, recording professionals, musicians and organizations that have an interest in how the recording process transforms music.  The ARP community now involves academics from over 80 universities in 18 countries. The ARP is the only professional society organized with the unique motivation of understanding and advancing the art that comes from the production of music recordings.
 

Further Details Announced in June 2008 

This year papers will be given in 45 minute slots - 25 - 30 minutes for the paper, 10 - 15 minutes for questions and 5 minutes for the change overs.
There will be 4 streams of papers over the Saturday and Sunday and the keynote speech will happen on the Friday evening. Further details of timing, other events and panels will be published as soon as we have then scheduled. Please let me know if you have any specific requests about timetabling and we will try to accommodate them.

Registration fee for the conference is $250US ($150US for students). Facilities for on-line credit card payment are currently being organised. Any enquiries about alternative methods of payment should be addressed to our host, Prof William Moylan: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Conference Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 15, 8:00pm  - price:  $75

While some refreshments will be supplied by the Conference, attendees should plan to be responsible for own meals.  Café and restaurant facilities present at the Hotel and University, and the Hotel is conveniently located within walking distance of many downtown restaurants. I expect we will be organising an informal gathering at a local restaurant on the Sunday night for anyone who's still around. I'm not sure as yet about the arrangements for socialising / eating on the Friday night as that will depend on the timing of the welcome and keynote by Phil Ramone.

I believe that Phil Ramone will be doing a book signing of Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music - his new book, and that you will be able to order a copy at a special rate through the registration process. Details will follow.

Phil Ramone confirmed as keynote speaker for 2008 Art of Record Production conference at University of Massachusetts Lowell

PRESS RELEASE – Apr 2008

With just two weeks to go before the deadline for the Call For Papers, recording industry legend Phil Ramone (pictured) has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the 4th international Art of Record Production Conference. ARP08 will also feature a round table  discussion by a panel of leading producers  moderated by Sarah Jones, the editor of MIX magazine and will be hosted by Professor William Moylan at the University of Massachusetts Lowell on 14th – 16th November 2008. Phil Ramone has received 34 Grammy nominations, 14 Grammy awards and an Emmy and during his illustrious career as a producer and engineer has worked with artists as diverse as Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Bono, Ray Charles, Chicago, Bob Dylan, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, BB King, Shelby Lynne, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Liza Minnelli, Sinead O'Connor, Luciano Pavarotti, Andre Previn, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Phoebe Snow, Rod Stewart, Sting, Barbra Streisand and Rufus Wainwright.

The Call For Papers deadline is the 15th April 2008 and full details can be found at: http://www.artofrecordproduction.com

The four streams of papers and panels that will provide the focus for the conference are on The Studio As Musical Instrument, Recording Practice And Performance, The Empowered Artist and Production And The Listener. The conference director, Simon Zagorski-Thomas (London College of Music, TVU) says: “We’ve had unprecedented levels of interest in the 2008 Conference and it looks set to become our biggest ever event. I’m very excited about Phil Ramone and the roundtable panel and we’ll be making further announcements about industry involvement shortly.”
William Moylan, the host of ARP08, has also announced:

“UMass Lowell’s exceptional recording studios, control rooms and critical listening room will be featured.    There will be an on-going “Unraveling the Mix” mixing / production session offering a significant, practical experience where an active multitrack mix (stereo or surround) sits in the control room for evaluation, hosted by the mix engineer.  Advanced recording and processing strategies are discussed and demonstrated in isolation and in the context of the mix.  The centerpiece of this experience will be our API “Vision” console—capable of simultaneous surround and two channel mixing.”

“Critical Listening Sessions will take place in our extremely accurate Critical Listening Studio to provide the experience of high quality surround sound and hi-res listening. Attendees are invited to submit recordings with short abstracts for inclusion in the organized play list for these critical listening sessions.”

The conference will take place at the Doubletree Riverfront Hotel in Downtown Lowell and in Durgin Hall on the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus; a shuttle bus will connect the two locations.  Special room rate of $99US per night (plus tax) is available at the Doubletree Riverfront Hotel for conference attendees. Registration fee for the conference is $250US ($150US for students).

The Art of Record Production is a community of scholars, recording professionals, musicians and organizations that have an interest in how the recording process transforms music.  The ARP community now involves academics from over 80 universities in 18 countries. The ARP is the only professional society organized with the unique motivation of understanding and advancing the art that comes from the production of music recordings.