Welcome back to our Creator Spotlight series, where we dive into the journeys of exceptional creative professionals. This month, we are incredibly honored to feature Marc Urselli – a 7-time Grammy Award nominated, 3-time Grammy Award winning engineer, producer, mixer, sound designer and front-of-house engineer. Having shaped the sound for legends like U2, Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra, and countless others across every genre imaginable, Marc's impact on music is profound. Join us for a detailed look at the career of this audio maestro
If you met a stranger at the airport and they asked what you do, how would you describe yourself to them?
At the airport? I would tell them I’m the only air traffic controller and I’m taking a lunch break at the time or their take off… and in my spare time I’m a record producer and audio engineer.
Can you take us back to your beginnings in audio? From investing in your first Fostex X26 and starting Maelstrom Studio at 17 in Italy – what were those formative years like?
I was 14 when I started playing in bands and I was always the geeky tinkering type in the band who wanted to record the rehearsals… I started with a cheap mic into a cassette tape deck, then I bought a mixer to have more mics and I was doing overdubs using two different tape decks (mic and tape deck A into mixer, output of mixer into tape deck B). Then I bought the Fostex X26, 4 track multitrack recorder or cassette tape and that was the beginning of the end :)
You’ve engineered for an incredible list of high-profile artists, including U2, Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, and Sting. Can you talk about the unique challenges and rewards of collaborating with these legendary musicians and how you approach shaping their distinct sound?
How I interact with the musicians depends greatly on my role; whether I am just the engineer or the engineer AND the producer. All artists have their own unique sound, requirements and challenges and my job as the engineer is to transparently capture their sound. If I’m also producing then I can more freely suggest how the sound could be shaped but I believe it is the job of a producer to embody the vision of the artist and to help them get to that place. It’s a delicate interdependent relationship with nuances of psychology that goes beyond just the technical aspects of recording something properly.
Marc and Nick Cave at Village Recorder LAAs an in-demand freelance producer and engineer, as well as an entrepreneur, what are some of the biggest challenges you face today in the rapidly evolving audio and media landscape?
Thankfully I’ve been so busy the last few years that my biggest challenge has been playing scheduling Tetris. I live and die by my calendar and it’s hard to find time for everything and do all the things I want to do. Not being able to be in two places at once really puts a damper on my ambitions and productivity :)
With your constant demand for work and diverse interests like kitesurfing and guitars, how do you stay inspired and creatively motivated in your audio work?
It’s precisely diversity and variety that inspire me… I have diverse interests, I travel a ton and I go to one or two concerts every day, ranging from classical music to jazz, from rock to metal and everything in between. Diversity is the spice of life and living in New York, the most exciting and diverse city in the world, is the perfect match for my life-loving personality.
Can you tell us about a moment that stands out for you from a project you were involved with?
There are so many… I have very fond memories of working with my mentor and friend Hal Willner, who taught me so much as a producer and who sadly passed away during Covid. I’ve had some of the most memorable experiences with Hal, like ending up at Bono’s house with Edge, Adam and Elton John and hearing Elton tell his life story… I also have fond memories of working in the studio and live with Lou Reed for seven years, travelling the world with Lou and Laurie Anderson and walking the streets of Jerusalem together or ending up at my parents’ home in Italy for home cooked lasagne… and let’s not forget all the stories from making over 120 records with John Zorn and his incredible musicians…
Lou Reed fader at Avatar Studios New YorkCan you tell us about how you utilize Glyph products in your workflow?
I’ve been using Glyph drives since the drives only had USB 1.0 and FireWire 400 ports on them!!! Glyph products have always been the fastest and most reliable drives and when recording in the studio with artist of this caliber (or any artist for that matter!) reliability and speed are key! The drives need to be able to keep up with high track counts. A typical recording session I do will have 20-30 tracks of 32bit 96kHz audio and when I am mixing the track count can reach the triple digits easily… plus I have created for myself the habit of backing up after every take so I need fast data transfers so I can do incremental backups every few minutes and ensure that even if the the computer were to blow up there would always be a copy of everything except maybe the last take… as good as Glyph tech drives are my philosophy has always been that if something doesn’t exist in two places it doesn’t exist at all!
What are three audio-related products (hardware or software) you absolutely couldn’t live without in your current workflow?
Pro Tools is my daily life companion and I wouldn’t trade that for any other audio software. That said, I can mix anything on Pro Tools but a recording session will be only as good as the mics and the preamps that are fed to it. I have plenty of amazing mics and a Neve console with 32 Neve preamps so I’m in a very good place for good sounds! In less than a year my answer will be: “the mic I’ve designed”, but for now I cannot say more about that… :)
Marc at Grouse Lodge, Dublin, IrelandWhat do you see as the most significant emerging technologies impacting the future of audio production, mixing, and sound design?
The most significant technology is also the most disrupting one: Artificial Intelligence. AI will most certainly have a majorly disruptive and destructive impact on the future of all creative industries and will decimate creative jobs. People like me who’ve been doing this for a long time will probably become like the rare leather shoe makers in Florence… we will be providing a high end and high quality bespoke service to the few clients who can afford us, who still care about the difference and who can even appreciate the difference! It’s gonna be a rough ride for everyone for sure.
What advice would you give to aspiring audio engineers, producers, or anyone looking to build a multifaceted career like yours in the music and media industry?
I believe in working hard to achieve your goals, and I believe in merit and in determination and perseverance, however, after what I’ve just said about AI, I would be a hypocrite if I uttered a corny line like “follow your dreams and things will work out”. I believed in hard work because I followed my dreams and I worked very very hard to get to where I am, but I think the future of the creative industry is dark, so for this interview I’m gonna change my answer to a more pertinent one and say: learn to play an instrument and get into live sound because AI can’t touch that and concerts will be the last bastion of “real music” played by humans. Music will always be there for you in whatever form, even if it’s not in the form of a job... Also buy yourself a Glyph drive to save your important data on, but don’t forget that real life is what happens outside of the computer… and last but not least, don’t forget to make a backup!
Marc and Nile Rodgers at EastSide Sound New YorkThanks Marc! It has been an absolute privilege to delve into your incredible career and vast insights. We truly appreciate you sharing your invaluable experiences and workflows with our community, especially how you push the boundaries of audio and utilize tools like Glyph drives to their fullest potential.
