Mark Saunders is an English

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, mixer and

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

. Known for his work with artists such as

John Lydon John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

, Erasure, Tricky, and Everything but the Girl, Saunders has played a key role in the production of numerous hit albums and singles, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life and career

Saunders was born in London and began his career in the music industry in 1981. He initially worked as an audio engineer at Westside Studios in London, where he collaborated with producer

Clive Langer Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films '' Still Crazy'' and '' Brothers of the Head''. Biog ...

and engineer

Alan Winstanley Alan Kenneth Winstanley (; born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. Early life He was born in Fulham in November 1952 to parents Ken and Doreen. ...

on numerous projects. His work as an assistant and later as an engineer on critically acclaimed albums such as ''

Too-Rye-Ay ''Too-Rye-Ay'' is the second studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners. It was released in July 1982 by Mercury Records. The album is best known for the hit single " Come On Eileen", which included the refrain that inspired the a ...

'' by

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

and '' Madness'' albums helped him hone his skills. By the mid-1980s, Saunders transitioned into production and mixing, eventually becoming a sought-after name in the music industry.

Notable collaborations

Mark Saunders has worked with a wide range of notable artists across multiple genres: *

– '' Wish'' * Everything but the Girl – '' Walking Wounded'' * Erasure – '' The Innocents'' * Tricky – '' Maxinquaye'' *

- '' Psycho's Path'' *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

– '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' (remixes) *

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

– '' Songs of Faith and Devotion'' (remixes) * Shakespears Sister – '' Hormonally Yours'' *

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...

– '' Homebrew'' *

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

– '' Hat Full of Stars'' and '' Sisters of Avalon'' *

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

– ''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

'' * Coldcut – '' What's That Noise?'' *

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

– '' Smells Like Children'' (remixes) * Adam Ant – '' Manners & Physique''

Production style

Saunders is known for his ability to blend traditional rock elements with electronic and experimental sounds, giving his productions a unique sonic identity. His work on ''Walking Wounded'' by Everything But The Girl is often cited as a benchmark in merging pop and electronic genres.

Recent work

In the 2000s and beyond, Saunders has continued to produce and mix music for established and emerging artists. He has also expanded into film and television soundtrack work, contributing to various projects.

References

External links

Mark Saunders
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Mark Saunders
at

MusicBrainz MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB, Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for ...

Mark Saunders
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Mark 1959 births Living people English record producers English audio engineers