| Joshua Blair | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Origin | UK |
| Occupation | Musician, recording & mixing engineer |
| Years active | 1990s-present |
| Associated acts | Duran Duran Scissor Sisters Robert Palmer The Power Station |
| Engineer / Musician | |
Joshua Blair is a British musician, an independent recording and mixing engineer. His work has included recording Duran Duran's All You Need Is Now album.
Biography
Born in Australia, Blair is currently based at London's Sphere Studios. As an engineer, his credits include work with Beyoncé, Leona Lewis, Take That, Mel C and the Scissor Sisters, through to Queen, Stereophonics, Nädiya, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Thin Lizzy and Simply Red.
Blair has also worked on movies such as Book of Blood, plus British TV shows including How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and The X-Factor.
In 2010, Blair worked with producer Mark Ronson on Duran Duran's All You Need Is Now album. Other credits during 2010 include "The Sound of Plastic" by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl., a track featuring Nick Rhodes.
Duran Duran related comments by Joshua Blair:
Nick Rhodes was telling me that when they were mixing one of their tracks back in the 80’s, they wanted the snare to have a tail where the note slid down on every hit. And because there was no automation on the processor used on the effect, someone had to sit there and turn the knob on every snare strike. But now, you can just automate it or create the effect on one snare and copy/paste it in to the rest of the track.
Now the guys know that these effects can be achieved easily, they can be far more creative with sounds at a much faster pace.”
A selection of credits
Recording and Mixing Engineer:
- Beyoncë
- Kano
- Delta Goodrem
- Mos Def
- Stereophonics
- Jamilia
- Nâdiya Zighem
- Simply Red
- Duran Duran
- ABC
- Melanie C
- Amy Pearson
- Imelda May
- Christophe Willhem
- Leona Lewis
- Knife Edge (film)
- I Know You Know (film),
- Book of Blood (film)
- Il Bene e il Male (TV film)
- X-Factor 07/08 (ITV)
- Parade (cast album)
- Piaf (musical)
- 12th Night (play)
- How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria (BBC1)
- Your Country Needs You (BBC1)
- Andrea Ross
- Diet Coke (TV Ad)
- PDSA (TV Ad)
- Toyota (Car Launch)
- Marina Laslo
- Matt Monro Jnr
- FRON Male Voice Choir
- Heather Andrews
- Stealing Green
- Rhydian
As Second Engineer or Assistant:
- Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls)
- Take That
- Scissor Sisters
- Thin Lizzy
- Ian McLagan
- James
- ABC
- Queen
- Gary Moore
- Duran Duran
- Vetro
- Happily Never After
- Marina Laslo
- Rooster
- St. Jude
- Evita
- Otis Taylor
- Final Fantasy 9
- Primal Scream
- X-Factor 06/07/08 (ITV)
- I'd Do Anything (BBC1)
As Musician:
Guitar:
- Melanie C (album tracks)
- Robin Gibb (album tracks)
- Sarah Whatmore (album track)
- Lucinda Barry Bell (album track)
- Ben Montague (album track)
- Shrida Sovlaki (album track)
Mandolin:
- Imelda May (album track)
Drums/Percussion:
- Simply Red (album track)
- Diet Coke/Jocelyn Brown (TV commercial)
- Marina Laslo (single remix)
- Lucinda Barry Bell (album track)
Producers Joshua has worked with include:
- Walter Afanasieff
- Glynn Johns
- Mark Ronson
- Garry Langan
- John Shanks & Jeff Rothschild
- Timbaland
- Peter J. Vetesse
- Nigel Wright
- Jon Cohen
- Chris Kimsay
- Faser T. Smith