You wanted the Vic…you got the Vic
Iconoclassic Records has a deserved reputation for the quality of our remastering. Some of you may have noticed a familiar name missing from the mastering credits of our latest releases. Our new B.T. Express Do It (’Til You’re Satisfied) reissue is mastered by Donald Cleveland. Mark Wilder handled the honors for Graham Parker’s Another Grey Area, and next month’s 2 CD deluxe edition of The Fall’s The Light User Syndrome is overseen by Andy Pearce & Matt Wortham.
Well, you wanted the Vic…you got the Vic.
Our upcoming reissues of Dwight Twilley’s Wild Dogs and Ohio Players’ Tenderness (both out July 29) were mastered by the great Vic Anesini from the original master tapes. And we're kicking off June back in Battery Studios, working with Vic on several more yet-to-be-announced Iconoclassic reissues. That's a whole lotta dynamic range! (Stay tuned for more info on those unannounced projects). If DR ratings are your thing, take comfort in knowing that several tracks on Tenderness go all the way up to 17!
Iconoclassic Records also has more projects on deck with Mark Wilder, Andy Pearce & Matt Wortham, Patrick W. Engel, Nick Robbins, and Donald Cleveland. A true all-star team of mastering engineers! We believe the music and your ears deserve no less.
Iconoclassic individually casts each engineer based on who we believe will best serve the music. Andy Pearce mastered The Fall's last several new albums and has been remastering the highly acclaimed Fall Sound Archive reissue series for Cherry Red and Beggars Banquet. That made him a natural choice for The Light User Syndrome. Most importantly, Andy had worked closely with Mark E. Smith during Smith's lifetime and was endorsed by The Fall's late leader.
Mark E. Smith had a famously unconventional relationship with sound. Whether insisting that an album be mastered from a reference cassette, approving wildly uneven audio levels and quality, or turning bandmates' amps up and down onstage in the middle of a song, Smith's sonic signature was more emotional than audiophile. Navigating the distance between the eccentricities of The Fall’s source material and Iconoclassic’s "house style" is tricky business indeed, but Andy & Matt nailed it! The Light User Syndrome (2 CD Deluxe Edition) is out July 1 and available for pre-order now.