What is a Producer?
The job of the producer is often glamorized, mystified, and sometimes
misunderstood. Some Producers focus purely on the musical and artistic
aspects of their work and leave the technical work to the engineer.
Others are more hands-on, and handle producion as well as the
engineering.
Either way, the producer is there to help you get from point A - having
an idea in your head - to point B - holding a finished, quality product
in your hand. Planning and overseeing all the different aspects of the
production along the way, producers can assist you with budgets,
schedules, hiring musicians, co-writing, arranging and pre-production
all, the way to recording, mixing and mastering the final product. At
A.M.E. Andrew Horrocks has a proven track record as a producer/enginner
that spans the past 16 years.
Andrew's Personal Recording Philosophy:
Some people are more confident than others. Some people respond differently to encouragement than others. Some people can sing in tune and with incredible emotion on the first take. For others, it's take number 12.
Basically it all gets down to communication and feeling comfortable with the person who is helping you put your heart and soul on tape. Ultimately, I think that it's the job of the Engineer or Producer to recognize and help bring out the best qualities of the performer.
The wonderful world of recording is a complex thing. That's what makes it so wonderful. There really are no rules. Like songwriting, the rules of recording were made to be broken (or at least some of them- this is the technical side of me speaking now!). You can never learn everything about it because it is constantly changing.
Finally, I have learned something new with every project that I have worked on, and count it as a privilege to be involved with the creative expression of others."
Andrew Horrocks
A Brief History Of An Assistant Engineer: James Wallace
In 2003, James began attending Heritage Bible College in Cambridge, On for a Bacheleor of Church Music with an emphasis in sound technology. Later that year, he met Andrew Horrocks as an instructor for his recording courses. His competence with computers and previous experience in sound along with his dedication to spending time in, and maintaining the studio led him to the top of his class.
In early 2005, Andrew approached James about working at his studio to help with editing and engineering. James started work at AME in April 2005, following the renovations and overhaul of the studio and has been involved with most projects since that time.
"I believe in doing work that somehow helps an artist get to that next level of artistic growth.
My experience is that every Artist is unique and that each one has a different set of needs in the recording situation. 
Being raised in a technology savvy household with 2 electric engineers, and having an avid interest in music, James first began mixing for live sound at age 13 at his parents' church for numerous facility rental clients. He first began his recording experience when his high school band, "The Wisties" recorded their album in 2000.
