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Gavin Lurssen has been a mastering engineer since 1991 and has been in the forefront of the many technical developments that have taken place in the industry over the past 17 years.
He has the distinction of being the first mastering engineer to win a Grammy in the Album of the Year category, for his work on the soundtrack of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" – which won in 2002. He won another Grammy in 2004 for his work on the box set accompaniment to the acclaimed PBS series, "Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues". He has worked on numerous albums that have won or been nominated for Grammys, or have been charted by Billboard.
A graduate of The Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts – where he has been a guest lecturer – Gavin learned a great deal about mastering from the acknowledged pioneer of the craft, Doug Sax, while working at the The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California.
Eager to advance the music production industry and especially to assist young people choosing a career in the field, Gavin performs a lot of volunteer work for organizations like NARAS and Soundart. Many students approach him for advice and guidance. Gavin was the recipient of The Distinguished Alumni Award from Berklee College Of Music in 2004 for his achievements in mastering.
The list of artists Gavin has worked with reads like an honor roll for the modern music industry. The list includes but is not limited to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Matchbox 20, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Bad Religion, P.O.D, Ben Harper, Ralph Stanley and Tom Waits. He has also re-mastered many classic albums and compilations.
Gavin mastered three of the five songs nominated for Academy Awards in 2004. Two were from the "Cold Mountain" soundtrack performed by Alison Krauss and Sting. The third was from the "A Mighty Wind" soundtrack with Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy as the nominees. He also mastered one of the three nominated in the same category the following year by singer Dolly Parton from the "Transamerica" soundtrack.
Gavin hails from South Africa. He immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of 16 and lived in suburban Washington, D.C., and then Massachusetts. He is passionate about music and his main aim has always been to contribute to a true and honest reproduction of the sound quality of an artist's talent. |
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