Gareth Jones (music producer) facts for kids

Gareth Jones (born 1954) is a famous English music producer and engineer. He is known for helping create the sound of many popular bands. Some of these bands include Depeche Mode, Einstürzende Neubauten, Wire, and Erasure.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Gareth Jones was born in Warrington, Lancashire, England. When he was young, he enjoyed playing different musical instruments. However, he soon became more interested in how music was made. He loved learning about music technology. He even had a simple tape recorder and started experimenting. He would cut and join tapes to create new sounds.

Gareth Jones's Music Career

Jones learned his skills at the BBC, a famous British broadcasting company. After his training, he started working at Pathway Studios in North London. This was a big step in his career.

Early Studio Work

At Pathway Studios, Gareth recorded the first song for the band Madness. This song was called "The Prince" and came out in 1979. He also mixed an album called Metamatic for John Foxx in 1980. Mixing means balancing all the different sounds in a song.

Working with Depeche Mode

John Foxx later opened his own studio in London, called The Garden. Gareth Jones moved there to work. It was at this studio that he first met Depeche Mode. He helped them with their 1983 album, Construction Time Again. This was the first of three albums in a row he worked on with the band.

Adventures in Berlin

While working with a band in Vienna, Gareth got a new idea. The band's manager suggested he mix their music in West Germany. This led Gareth to Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin. This studio was the most advanced he had ever seen. He decided to live in Berlin and work freelance at Hansa.

Many English bands chose to record in Berlin back then. It was much cheaper than recording in London. This was because of the exchange rate between currencies. At Hansa, Gareth worked with bands like Fad Gadget and Wire.

Creating Unique Sounds

At Hansa, Gareth started trying new ways to record sounds. He would have bands play their instruments through large amplifiers. Then, he would record these sounds with microphones. This created a huge, open sound, like music played in a big arena. This special sound caught the attention of bands like Depeche Mode. They used this method in many of their songs.

Pioneer of Digital Music

Gareth Jones was one of the first to use digital music equipment. He showed many bands, including Depeche Mode and Einstürzende Neubauten, how to use sampling. Sampling is taking a small part of a sound and using it again in a new song. He began recording with new electronic instruments. These included AMS digital delays and the Synclavier sampler synthesiser. Daniel Miller from Mute Records brought in the Synclavier.

In the mid-1990s, Gareth moved back to London. He worked in famous studios like Abbey Road and The Strongroom.

Recent Collaborations

Gareth Jones continues to work on new music projects. He works with American composer Christopher Bono on a project called Nous Alpha. They released an album called A Walk in the Woods in 2021.

In May 2021, Gareth Jones and Daniel Miller released their own album. They call themselves Sunroof. Their debut album is titled Electronic Music Improvisations Vol. 1.

Music Gear and Tools

Since 2005, Gareth Jones mostly uses computer software for his music. This allows him to work from many different places. He is an expert in using "Logic Audio" music production software.

In the past, he used various hardware instruments and effects. These included the Roland 100M Modular System and the Akai S-3200 sampler. He also used the Waldorf PPG Wave 2.v and the GMedia/M-Tron Mellotron. He had many hardware effects racks and a Revox G36 2-track recorder.

For software, he has used programs like Reaktor, Reason, and VST plug-ins. Other software he used includes Arboretum Hyperprism, Battery from Native Instruments, FM7, B4, Absynth, ReBirth, Time Designer from SonicWorx, TC Works Mercury-1, and BIAS Peak.

Notable Music Productions

Gareth Jones has worked on many important albums. Here is a list of some of his most famous work:

Personal Life

Gareth Jones is married and lives in North London.

See also

In Spanish: Gareth Jones para niños