Episode 60: Mastering engineer Ed Brooks (R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam)

Vinyl Emergency

Seattle-area native Ed Brooks has engineered, mastered or lent a hand on some of the biggest indie records of the last two decades, such as Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism, the self-titled Fleet Foxes debut and dozens of releases from Minus the Bear, Cursive, the Decemberists, Mastodon and more. His résumé also extends to albums for R.E.M., Heart, the B-52's and an astounding 70+ projects alone for Pearl Jam, including the mastering of their enormous bootleg CD series, which kicked off in 2003. Today, Ed fondly recalls some early vinyl memories of Buck Owens and Alice Cooper, his obsession with speakers as a teenager and why he shifted from engineering and producing into mastering in the late 90's. He also recommends a few Seattle-area record stores, chimes in on the vinyl vs. digital debate, and shares what it was like to be present for the creation of one of R.E.M.'s biggest hits, "Man on the Moon." Visit ResonantMastering.com or follow them on Facebook for more info on Ed's work!