GRAMMY WATCH: Production Categories – My Picks and Predictions

I have to admit, I never am really good at these technical categories, but from what I know I am gonna give it a go… Here are my picks and predictions in the production categories for The 58^th Annual Grammy Awards.

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
• Before This World
      Dave O'Donnell, engineer; Ted Jensen, mastering engineer (James Taylor)
      [Concord Records]

• Currency Of Man
      Maxime Le Guil, engineer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Melody Gardot)
      [Verve/Universal]

• Recreational Love
      Greg Kurstin and Alex Pasco, engineers; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer (The Bird And The Bee)
      [Rostrum Records]

• Sound and Color
      Shawn Everett, engineer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Alabama Shakes)
      [ATO Records]

• Wallflower
      Steve Price, Jochem van der Saag and Jorge Vivo, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Diana Krall)
      [Verve Music Group/Universal]

My Pick: WALLFLOWER

My Prediction: SOUND AND COLOR

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Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
• Jeff Bhasker
     
      • Ain't Gonna Drown (Elle King) (T)

      • Burning Doves (Mikky Ekko) (T)

      • Burning House (Cam) (T)

      • Grand Romantic (Nate Ruess) (A)

      • Last Damn Night (Elle King) (T)

      • Never Let You Down (Woodkid Featuring Lykke Li) (T)

      • Runaway Train (Cam) (T)

      • Uptown Special (Mark Ronson) (A)

• Dave Cobb
     
      • Delilah (Anderson East) (A)

      • Little Neon Limelight (Houndmouth) (A)

      • Smoke (A Thousand Horses) (S)

      • Something More Than Free (Jason Isbell) (A)

      • Southernality (A Thousand Horses) (A)

      • 3 (Honeyhoney) (A)

      • Traveller (Chris Stapleton) (A)

• Diplo
 
      • B**** I'm Madonna (Madonna Featuring Nicki Minaj) (S)

      • Doctor Pepper (Diplo Featuring CL, Riff Raff and OG MacO) (S)

      • Golden (Travie McCoy Featuring Sia) (S)

      • Lean On (Major Lazer Featuring MØ and DJ Snake) (S)

      • Peace Is The Mission (Major Lazer) (A)

      • Skrillex And Diplo Present Jack Ü (Skrillex And Diplo) (A)

      • Where Are Ü Now (Skrillex And Diplo With Justin Bieber) (T)

• Larry Klein
   
      • Currency Of Man (Melody Gardot) (A)

      • Freedom and Surrender (Lizz Wright) (A)

      • Heartland (Indra Rios-Moore) (A)

      • I'm Leaving You (Florence K) (A)

      • Parker's Place (Parker Bent) (A)

      • Speaking In Tongues (Luciana Souza) (A)

      • Tenderness (JD Souther) (A)

• Blake Mills
     
      • Sound and Color (Alabama Shakes) (A)

My Pick: Diplo

My Prediction: Blake Mills

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Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
• Berlin By Overnight (CFCF Remix)
      CFCF, remixer (Daniel Hope)
      Track from: Berlin By Overnight
      [Deutsche Grammophon]

• Hold On (Fatum Remix)
      Bill Hamel and Chad Newbold, remixers (JES, Shant, and Clint Maximus)
      [Intonenation Records]

• Runaway (U & I) (Kaskade Remix)
      Ryan Raddon, remixer (Galantis)
      Track from: Runaway (U&I) Remixes
      [Big Beat/Atlantic]

• Say My Name (RAC Remix)
      André Allen Anjos, remixer (Odesza Featuring Zyra)
      Track from: Say My Name Remixes
      [Counter Records]

• Uptown Funk (Dave Audé Remix)
      Dave Audé, remixer (Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars)
      [RCA Records]

My Pick & Prediction: UPTOWN FUNK

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Best Surround Sound Album
• Amdahl: Astrognosia and Aesop
      Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Ingar Heine Bergby and Norwegian Radio Orchestra)
      [2L (Lindberg Lyd)]

• Amused To Death
      James Guthrie, surround mix engineer; James Guthrie and Joel Plante, surround mastering engineers; James Guthrie, surround producer (Roger Waters)
      [Columbia/Legacy]

• Magnificat
      Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Øyvind Gimse, Anita Brevik, Nidarosdomens Jentekor and Trondheimsolistene)
      [2L (Lindberg Lyd)]

• Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7
      Erdo Groot, surround mix engineer; Erdo Groot, surround mastering engineer; Philip Traugott, surround producer (Paavo Järvi and Russian National Orchestra)
      [Pentatone]

• Spes
      Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Tove Ramlo-Ystad and Cantus)
      [2L (Lindberg Lyd)]

My Pick & Prediction: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7

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Best Engineered Album, Classical
• Ask Your Mama
      Leslie Ann Jones, John Kilgore, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Justin Merrill, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (George Manahan and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra)
      [Avie Records]

• Dutilleux: Métaboles; L'Arbre Des Songes; Symphony No. 2, 'Le Double'
      Dmitriy Lipay, engineer; Alexander Lipay, mastering engineer (Ludovic Morlot, Augustin Hadelich and Seattle Symphony)
      [Seattle Symphony Media]

• Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'Ulisse In Patria
      Robert Friedrich, engineer; Michael Bishop, mastering engineer (Martin Pearlman, Jennifer Rivera, Fernando Guimarães and Boston Baroque)
      [Linn Records]

• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil
      Beyong Joon Hwang and John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix Chorale and Kansas City Chorale)
      [Chandos]

• Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, 'Organ'
      Keith O. Johnson and Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Michael Stern and Kansas City Symphony)
      [Reference Recordings]

My Pick & Prediction: RACHMANINOFF: ALL-NIGHT VIGIL

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Producer Of The Year, Classical
• Blanton Alspaugh
     
      • Hill: Symphony No. 4; Concertino Nos. 1 & 2; Divertimento (Peter Bay, Anton Nel and Austin Symphony Orchestra)

      • Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix Chorale and Kansas City Chorale)

      • Sacred Songs Of Life and Love (Brian A. Schmidt and South Dakota Chorale)

      • Spirit Of The American Range (Carlos Kalmar and The Oregon Symphony)

      • Tower: Violin Concerto; Stroke; Chamber Dance (Giancarlo Guerrero, Cho-Liang Lin and Nashville Symphony)

• Manfred Eicher
     
      • Franz Schubert (András Schiff)

      • Galina Ustvolskaya (Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Markus Hinterhäuser and Reto Bieri)

      • Moore: Dances & Canons (Saskia Lankhoorn)

      • Rihm: Et Lux (Paul Van Nevel, Minguet Quartet and Huelgas Ensemble)

      • Visions Fugitives (Anna Gourari)

• Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin
   
      • Dances For Piano and Orchestra (Joel Fan, Christophe Chagnard and Northwest Sinfonietta)

      • Tempo Do Brasil (Marc Regnier)

      • Woman At The New Piano (Nadia Shpachenko)

• Dan Merceruio
   
      • Chapí: String Quartets 1 & 2 (Cuarteto Latinoamericano)

      • From Whence We Came (Ensemble Galilei)

      • Gregson: Touch (Peter Gregson)

      • In The Light Of Air - ICE Performs Anna Thorvaldsdottir (International Contemporary Ensemble)

      • Schumann (Ying Quartet)

      • Scrapyard Exotica (Del Sol String Quartet)

      • Stravinsky: Petrushka (Richard Scerbo and Inscape Chamber Orchestra)

      • What Artemisia Heard (El Mundo)

      • ZOFO Plays Terry Riley (ZOFO)

• Judith Sherman
     
      • Ask Your Mama (George Manahan and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra)

      • Fields: Double Cluster; Space Sciences (Jan Kučera, Gloria Chuang and Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra)

      • Liaisons - Re-Imagining Sondheim From The Piano (Anthony de Mare)

      • Montage - Great Film Composers and The Piano (Gloria Cheng)

      • Multitude, Solitude (Momenta Quartet)

      • Of Color Braided All Desire - Music Of Eric Moe (Christine Brandes, Brentano String Quartet, Dominic Donato, Jessica Meyer, Karen Ouzounian, Manhattan String Quartet and Talujon)

      • Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (Ursula Oppens)

      • Sirota: Parting The Veil - Works For Violin and Piano (David Friend, Hyeyung Julie Yoon, Laurie Carney & Soyeon Kate Lee)

      • Turina: Chamber Music For Strings and Piano (Lincoln Trio)

My Pick: Judith Sherman

My Prediction: Blanton Alspaugh

THE 58^TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS will be telecast live on CBS, Monday February 15, 2016 at 8PM/EST – PM/PST.  For everything GRAMMY, including a Full List of this year’s Nominees visit their website at http://www.grammy.com/

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