Starting back in
1979 a local Perth producer sought to give himself the recording
tools and skills necessary to produce his own world-class sounds
for his individual musical pursuits. Since then James Hewgill hasn’t
had the time to focus on his own music, however in the process has
helped many Perth acts achieve the sounds necessary to compete against
the giant sounds from the major studios. Starting his first studio
Northlake Productions in 1983, James developed his talents in a
“surreal” recording environment that is almost non-existent in the
modern realm of portable 24-bit equipment.
Making a record generates
a unique and close relationship with the artists and the studio.
The mastering step of this process is something that James Hewgill
regards as his specialty. The brainchild behind the last four WAM
(Western Australian Music Association) CDs, James has become well
rehearsed at taking diverse sounds and genres and making a tight
and compact compilation. Often a tricky task at best with one band,
mixing 64 different tracks over the last four years has seen James
experience the highs and lows of this type of production. Mastering
the compilation meant having to deal with not only the legal obligations
of manipulating the songs for the compilation, but also the fact
that many of the home-grown tunes were mastered at home studios
which made it difficult to give the tracks the same flow, “I don’t
mean this in a derogatory way, it’s not really a case of selecting
a few mastering plug-ins and presets. I think there are levels that
it (the song) will go to that people haven’t experienced yet. It’s
the same for me and I’m sure I can do things better and it’s my
ongoing quest to achieve that.”
On top of his already
busy mastering schedule James hones the live blade with the WA Symphony
Orchestra (WASO). Some of the artists he has worked with include
Dionne Warwick, Jon Lord from Deep Purple, Tommy Emmanuel, George,
and The Whitlams. These experiences have given him new insights
into the recording industry and what it takes to elevate music to
the professional level. Interestingly, he rated his work with country
band Dude Ranch in 1992 as one of his most rewarding experiences
alongside the aforementioned luminaries, “The musicians were just
astounding and I learned so much about country music, it was intellectual,
it was musical, it was a great vibe and it was an amazing time.”
Incidentally at that time Rolling Stone Magazine rated this album
as the best country album ever to come out of Australia.
Looking back on the
industry he has been a part of for 25 years, James felt that one
of the most significant changes he had witnessed was a modern one,
“One of things that probably spun me out the most was the realisation
that I could actually burn my own CD at home. It suddenly made it
possible to create something that’s as good as the final product,
that’s truly representative.” James is dedicated to the art of mastering
and firmly believes world-class sounds can be achieved locally.
As we finished up the interview it became evident that his dedication
had not wavered with time, “If the radio station is going to play
a song with a high level of production, then your song, then another
song of high end production, then your song needs that level to
put it there. And mastering can get you there.”
