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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GRAMMY WATCH - Production, Remixer & Surround Sound Categories - Picks & Predictions

My Grammy Award preview coverage continues with those behind the scenes categories, which showcase some very important processes in the recording industry. For full coverage and list of nominees, feel free to visit the Grammy website. The Grammy Awards will be telecast live on CBS on Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 8pm/EST.

Best Surround Sound Album

My pick:

SONGS AND STORIES (MONSTER MUSIC VERSION)

Don Murray, surround mix engineer; Sangwook Nam & Doug

Sax, surround mastering engineers; John Burk, Noel Lee &

Marcus Miller, surround producers (George Benson)

[Concord Records/Monster Music]

My prediction:

BRITTEN'S ORCHESTRA

Keith O. Johnson, surround mix engineer; Keith O. Johnson,

surround mastering engineer; David Frost, surround

producer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)

[Reference Recordings]

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical

My pick & prediction:

REVOLVER (DAVID GUETTA'S ONE LOVE CLUB

REMIX)

David Guetta, remixer (Madonna)

[Warner Bros.]

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Tight category and, as usual, there are a couple of questionable ones (Rob Cavallo & Danger Mouse) and a couple glaring omissions (will.i.am & Timbaland). I think it will be a battle between Redone and The Smeezingtons between the two parties were nothin' but chart topping #1 songs.

My pick:

REDONE

• Alejandro (Lady Gaga) (S)

• Bad Romance (Lady Gaga) (S)

• The Fame Monster (Lady Gaga) (A)

• I Like It (Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull) (S)

• More (Usher) (T)

• We Are The World 25 For Haiti (Artists For Haiti) (S)

• Whole Lotta Love (Mary J. Blige) (S)

My prediction:

THE SMEEZINGTONS (BRUNO MARS, PHILIP

LAWRENCE, ARI LEVINE) (pictured; CREDIT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER)

• Billionaire (Travie McCoy Featuring Bruno Mars) (T)

• Bow Chicka Wow Wow (Mike Posner) (T)

• F*** You (Cee Lo Green) (S)

• Island Queen (Sean Kingston) (T)

• Just The Way You Are (Bruno Mars) (S)

• Nothin' On You (B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars) (T)

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

My pick & prediction:

BATTLE STUDIES

Michael H. Brauer, Joe Ferla, Chad Franscoviak & Manny

Marroquin, engineers (John Mayer)