WCA #602 with Luke Burgoyne – Seven Years Assisting a Top UK Mixer, Mix Prep, and Going Solo in London

For episode 602, Matt talks with London mix engineer Luke Burgoyne, who joins from his room at Pony Studios in East London. Luke grew up in Winchester with two violinist parents, fell for the studio side of music at sixteen, and studied performance and recording at the University of West London before spending the last seven years assisting one of the UK's busiest mixers, Dan Grech-Marguerat (Lana Del Rey, The Killers, Liam Gallagher, George Ezra). Now he's transitioning into his own career as a mixer and producer. They get into the realities of high-level mix prep, what seven years of assisting actually teaches you, why UK managers tend to bring in work in a way American managers often don't, sharing expensive London rooms, his skeptical take on Atmos, and the differences between the UK and US recording ecosystems.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Growing Up in Winchester With Two Violinist Parents
• From the Beatles and Guitar to the Pull of the Studio
• Why It Was Always About the Music, Not the Technology
• Studying Performance and Recording at the University of West London
• Realizing He'd Rather Record Great Players Than Compete With Them
• Cold-Emailing Abbey Road, RAK, and Getting No Replies
• Landing the Assistant Job With Dan Grech-Marguerat (on the Second Try)
• Seven Years Assisting One of the UK's Busiest Mixers
• The Soft Skills: Managing Clients, Files, and Spinning Plates
• Mixing in the Box: Pro Tools, Recall, and Multiple Machines
• Deep Mix Prep: Rebuilding Logic and Ableton Sessions in Pro Tools
• Learning a Mixer's Quirks So They Never Leave the Creative Space
• Transitioning From Assistant to Mixer and Producer
• Getting Management and Why UK Managers Bring in Work
• How UK and US Managers Differ
• Building a Network While Assisting Five or Six Days a Week
• Studio Identity: Staff Engineer vs. Independent Freelancer
• The London Studio Ecosystem: Abbey Road, AIR, RAK, and Metropolis
• Renting a Room at Pony Studios and Sharing Space in Expensive London
• Neumanns, Genelec 1031s, and Working on Headphones
• His Take on Atmos: Right for "Dark Side of the Moon," Wrong for AC/DC
• Camaraderie Over Competition in London

Matt's RANT!: Technology Prices

Links and Show Notes:

• Luke Burgoyne
• Dan Grech-Marguerat
• WCA #600 with Andrew Scheps
• WCA #102 with Frank McDonough

Credits:

• Guest: Luke Burgoyne
• Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
• WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
• The Voice: Chuck Smith