Abbey Road engineer
Christian Wright explains the benefits of online mastering and what he’s learned in his career at the world-famous studio.
Mastering engineer Christian Wright is one of our most experienced mastering engineers and has worked on music by some of the biggest and most critically-acclaimed artists in the world, including
Ed Sheeran,
Kae Tempest,
Fontaines DC.
Christian also has extensive experience of film music, helping create soundtracks for two
Harry Potter films and Paul Thomas Anderson's
The Master among others.
As well as numerous projects for world famous artists or Oscar-winning films, Christian is part of our online mastering service that allows anyone from anywhere in the world have their music mastered at Abbey Road.
Here Christian takes us through his journey in music and what you need to think about when preparing your music for release…
What is it like to work at Abbey Road Studios?
“For 21 years it has been the place I go to work but every now and then it's good to remind yourself of the excitement you had on your first day walking into the studios.
“It’s important to remember that it’s where some of your favourite music was mastered, recorded and mixed.”
What are some of your favourite tracks you’ve worked on?
“Music is subjective but songs like 'People's Faces' by Kae Tempest still has the power to make me stop and listen.”
How has technology changed your job in the past few years?
“Just being able send files between clients on the other side of the world (or the other side of London) in seconds is amazing and changed everything.
“I also can't remember life before dynamic EQ!
“We need to keep embracing technological advancements – forever evolving the process for the better.”
Why is mastering so essential?
“In the era of self-producing it's a fresh perspective. Even the greatest mixers and producers lose context working with a track for a long time. We're there to support that moment before you set your musical child free.
“Collaboration will also define your music career and mastering should be one of those creative collaborations.”
“Our job is to make things sound as sound as they can – music is subjective so it's not up to me to define what's 'good'.”
What are the most common mistakes you see when people master tracks themselves/don’t get a track mastered?
“There are a lot of messy low end/sub bass things we come across. We have larger monitors in treated mastering rooms that let us know what's happening down there which we can really help with.
“It's important to follow the right limiting for your genre. Some tracks are happier louder than other tracks – people get blinded by numbers rather than trusting their ears.”
What is your process when mastering a track? What are the first things you look for?
“It changes but generally I will check for obvious errors then jump into EQ and create the best balance I possibly can.”
If you could give one tip to aspiring artists when it comes to production/mastering what would it be?
“As I said before, collaboration will define your career, so don't be afraid to collaborate to support the process.
“Never stop learning, reading, getting tips and connecting with other creatives.”
Learn more about online mastering and working with our team of world-leading engineers now.
