Marc Urselli (born January 31, 1977, in

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

, Switzerland) is an Italian-Swiss freelance New York City & London-based

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 ...

music 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 ...

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

live sound engineer Live sound mixing is the blending of multiple sound sources by an audio engineer using a mixing console or software. Sounds that are mixed include those from instruments and voices which are picked up by microphones (for drum kit, lead vocals an ...

remixer A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

, composer, musician, contributor, and

blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

. He has been nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

seven times and he has won the award three times. He is best known for his work as a recording and mixing engineer (live and in the studio) in the genres of rock, jazz, metal, pop, avantguarde/experimental and contemporary/new music with artists such as

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. He has also fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The ...

, U2,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing the electric bass at age 10, performing and composing at age 12, and at age 15, s ...

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984), sometimes professionally known with the stylized name of esperanza spalding, is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Aw ...

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

, and

Laurie Anderson Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...

Career

He has recorded most of

's albums since 2007 and albums for Zorn's label

Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

. As of the end of 2020 he had recorded over 120 albums for

, of which more than 85 by

alone. In 2020 the album "AngelHeaded Hipster: the Songs of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

& T.Rex" album recorded & mixed by Urselli and produced by

Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...

was released by

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations Music publishing companies * Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 ** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that was pur ...

. The album features 26 tracks including among others

, U2,

and many others. In 2005 he recorded and mixed the

's 90th birthday tribute album ''Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played'' (

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

2005) featuring Les Paul himself. The album won two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

at the

48th Annual Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004, through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 ...

for

Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958, and ended after the 2011 award, and orig ...

and

Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

. Urselli also worked as a recording engineer on the Mexican-American singer

Lila Downs Ana Lila Downs Sánchez (born 9 September 1968 * *) is a Mexican singer-songwriter. She performs her own compositions and the works of others in multiple genres, as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music. She also incorporat ...

' 2004 album "Una Sangre (One Blood)" (Narada 2004), which won a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

in the category of Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2005

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

. Other albums nominated for a

that Urselli worked on include the 2020

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets (band), ...

& Social Science album "Waiting Game" in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Album, the 2019

Claudia Acuña Claudia Acuña (July 31, 1971, Santiago) is a Chilean jazz vocalist, songwriter, and arranger. Biography Born July 3 1971 in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, she was inspired as a child to perform a variety of music, including folk, pop and op ...

album "Turning Pages" in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album, the 2011

album "Homeland" (nominated for Best Pop Instrumental), the 2004

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved critical acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

"Strength" (Best Contemporary Jazz), which was released under the artist name "RH Factor" and was produced by Brian Bacchus. In 2016 and 2017, Urselli has also worked as a sound engineer for two operas by for Beth Morrison Productions: "Aging Magician" with music by composer Paola Prestini and featuring singer/librettist Rinde Eckert (which premiered at the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

in Minneapolis) and "

Breaking the Waves (opera) ''Breaking the Waves'' is an opera in three acts by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. It is based on the 1996 Breaking the Waves, film of the same name by Danish auteur Lars von Trier. The opera was first performed on September 22, 20 ...

" with music by composer

Missy Mazzoli Missy Mazzoli (born October 27, 1980) is an American composer and pianist who has received critical acclaim for her chamber, orchestral and operatic work. In 2018 she became one of the first two women to receive a commission from the Metropolitan ...

and featuring soprano

Kiera Duffy Kiera Duffy (born 1979) is an American opera singer born in Philadelphia. A soprano, Duffy is also an accomplished pianist. She has earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Westminster Choir College. Education When Duffy learned that Westmi ...

, which is based on director/screenwriter

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...

's 1996 film by

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological romantic melodrama film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson in her feature film acting debut, and with Stellan Skarsgård, a frequent collaborator with von Trier. ...

. In 2015, Urselli produced and recorded "Out Comes Woman" by Honeybird at Eastside Sound. In 2014, Urselli became the sound engineer of choice for all of the releases by the subscription-based vinyl-only record label Newvelle Records, a French-American record label specializing in high quality limited editions LP releases of jazz recordings. Urselli lives between London & New York City. In New York he is chief house engineer and studio manager of Eastside Sound, one of the longest running recording studios in New York (established 1972). Urselli has also worked with

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

(of

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

Lionel Loueke Lionel Loueke (born 27 April 1973) is a guitarist and vocalist born in Benin. He moved to Ivory Coast in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art. Biography Loueke grew up in what he has described as a family of poor intellectuals in the W ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger si ...

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

, Vincenzo Pastano,

Citizen Cope Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American singer-songwriter and producer. His music is commonly described as a mix of blues music, blues, soul music, soul, hip hop music, hip hop, folk mus ...

Preachers Son Preachers Son is an Irish musical group based in Dublin. The group is led by Irish musician Brian Hogan, and as of 2014 includes guitarist Mark Walsh and drummer Geoff French. Past collaborations include various notable musicians such as Gavin ...

, Lili Roquelin, Chihiro Yamanaka and hundreds of other artists and albums. Urselli is also known for his work as a sound designer for film and TV and he has recorded and mixed several movie soundtracks. Urselli is also a published author and contributor to many publications. He writes for ''Recording Magazine'', and has written for Sonic Scoop. In 2009, author Daylle Deanna Schwartz published "Start and Run Your Own Record Label, Third Edition" (Billboard Books) and used many quotes by Urselli to illustrate the process of recording and mixing at home. Urselli was also mentioned in the "Journal of the Audio Engineering Society" Volume 55, Issues 7–12. In 1994 Urselli founded an online music magazine called ''Chain D.L.K.'' to help promote and grant exposure to electronic, industrial, experimental and avantgarde music and he is currently still Editor in Chief of the publication. The publication was mentioned in the book "ZINES! Volume One: Incendiary Interviews with Independent Publishers" by V. Vale (Re/Search Publications, 1999). In 2008, Urselli was a teacher of engineering and recording techniques at a Grammy Camp course held at the USC (University of Southern California) in Los Angeles. In 2010, he was also a faculty teacher of Pro Tools at MTEC (Music Talks Educational Center). He was a featured speaker at conferences such as SxSW, CMJ, MTEC and others. Urselli is on the advisory board of Sunset Island Group and on the Young Musicians Project music school. Urselli is a voting member of

NARAS National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

and NARIP.

Awards

* 2020 Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (Artist: Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science) * 2019 Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album (Artist: Claudia Acuña) * 2011 Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Instrumental (Artist: Laurie Anderson) * 2006 Grammy Award win for Best Rock Instrumental (Artist: Les Paul & Friends)Past Winners Search , GRAMMY.com
/ref> * 2006 Grammy Award win for Best Pop Instrumental (Artist: Les Paul & Friends) * 2005 Grammy Award win for Best Folk Album (Artist: Lila Downs) * 2004 Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz (Artist: Roy Hargrove)

References

Past the Mark , Chain D.L.KExtreminal Web'zine – News – Extreme Music – Death Metal – Black Metal – Thrash Metal – Grindcore – Metalcore – Doom Metal – Dark AmbientJessica Pavone unleashes her Army of Strangers , Sound Colour VibrationRed Lines Audio , , Album ReviewLords of Metal ezineAvant-garde Metal – Reviews: Aborym – PsychogrotesqueInsight! An Interview with Marc Urselli / The M.E.M.O.R.Y. Lab , BRUTALISMCD/DVD Reviews

External links

*
AllMusic.com Discography Credits

ArtistDirect.com Discography Credits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urselli, Marc 1977 births Living people American audio engineers American record producers American male writers Italian people of Swiss descent People from Aarau American male bloggers American bloggers