Staff profile

Matt Foster

The ever-so-gifted Matt Foster sure gets about. He has worked with everyone from The Darkness to Booty Luv, and adores the music of the far-stretched likes of Timbaland and Nine Inch Nails. He also has been spotted mingling with Strictly Come Dancing champs. Now sitting pretty on the roster of Miloco's brand new Producer and Engineer Management company, Interface, it surely is about time for MILC to catch up with Mr. Foster to get the lowdown on his career, tastes, regrets and wariness of James Blunt. Well he's not alone there!

A) A few starters:

MILC: What do you do here at Miloco?

Matt: Prevent dust from settling on equipment (= Engineer/Producer)

MILC: How long have you been at Miloco?

Matt: It's been 2 years almost to the day, they wanted me for the 5-a-side football team.

MILC: You've worked with loads of cool artists - can you name a few of the projects/artists you've worked with since joining Miloco...

Matt: Ms Dynamite, The Darkness, Akira The Don, BBC One ident music, Sugababes, Mr Hudson and the Library, Lonyo and the current strictly come dancing champ Alesha.

MILC: ...and of which are you most proud?

Matt: Probably the current BBC One ident music. As it was the most challenging, and it's great to check the sonics of your mixes every half an hour or so on BBC one.


Favourite music section:

MILC: What was your favourite album of 2007?

Matt: No clear favourite but albums I've enjoyed from 2007 have been...

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Timbaland presents Shockvalue
Chemical Brothers - We are the Night
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Van Rensburg - Van Rensburg

MILC: and biggest tips for 2008?

Matt: England to win the European Football Championship!

MILC: What's the first record you remember buying?

Matt: Dennis Waterman's I Could Be So Good for You.

MILC: Which track in the entire history of music, are you the most goddamn relieved not to have any involvement in making? (this if course shouldn't really be in the 'Favourite Music Section' but hey...)

Matt: James Blunt's Beautiful. Enough said!

MILC: Similarly, is there any track which whenever you hear, and whatever mood you are in, actually does turn you green with envy?

Matt: Almost any track by the Prodigy or Nine Inch Nails or Timbaland or Slipknot.


Technical stuff:

MILC: What piece(s) of gear have you come across recently which you'd recommend to fellow engineers and producers, and why?

Matt: That's an easy one. A friend of mine put me onto Aurora Audio's GTQ2 last year, which I bought. The unit is incredible. It's a stereo mic preamp with basic EQ, DI input, masses of gain, huge headroom and the ability to beef up anything that is passed through it. As a lot of people are, I am a big fan of Neve 10xx modules, amongst other things. The tone of this unit has that kind of character. Kind of cross-pollinated with an API tone.

So far I've found it awesome on vocals, drum overheads, occasional acoustic guitar, electric guitars and helping out digital mixes. As with Neve modules you can hit it with 0 db of gain and pass line levels through it. It's also quite probably the best DI for bass and keyboards ever. I've never found a unit that works so well on a variety of sources with the possible exception of vintage Neve modules that have been maintained well.

MILC: Staff knob of the month. Of all the switches, buttons, effects and tools at your disposal during recent Miloco sessions, which single one has given you most satisfaction?

Matt: To casually avoid being offensive I'd have to say Melodyne. Although to some people that may be offensive. Does it still count considering it's technically not a knob? I see Matty Hyde (see Matt Hyde's staff profile on MILC) set a precedent and put beat detective so I reckon it does. Fixing tuning issues, changing melodies and creating harmonies. Awesome software, even if it looks rubbish.

MILC: Besides knobs and your previous recommendations, what other pieces of Miloco gear are floating your boat currently???

Matt: Miloco's microphones!!! The Neumann M149 is awesome, very clean and a little brittle at times, but so big and open. The Garden's vintage U47, one mic drum sound. Hell yeah. Also the KM56 at The Garden is incredible. At the square the Lomo is way cool, as is the AKG D12 and you got to love the Coles ribbon mics. Not forgetting the NS10 wired up for bass drum in all studios. I feel I'm out of control. Breathe Matt, breathe!

The Pro Tools rigs are amazing. They probably don't get mentioned enough but having been around most of the studios in London. I have to say Miloco have the rigs that are the most solid. With the best back up strategy and a great list of plug-ins. I've never had a problem I couldn't resolve very quickly in any of the rooms. With no downtime. A rarity in recording studios. Same goes for the maintenance, I've never seen Declan or Pete at work, yet everything always seems to work.

Also the G series SSL consoles are the nutz.


It's silly time:

MILC: How would you describe yourself in three words?

Matt: Dark, light and sometimes both.

MILC: When was the last time you lost your temper with someone and what did they do?

Matt: Recently I caught myself looking at myself funny, so I gave myself a slap.

MILC: What's your biggest regret so far this year?

Matt: In 8 years of driving I've never had any kind of speeding fine, trust me I've been lucky. That luck run out the first few days of this year.

MILC: Any ideas for what your tombstone might read?

Matt: London 10,000 miles.


Final music section:

MILC: If you could turn back the clocks and re-visit ONE gig that you went to in the past, which one would it be??

Matt: Nirvana pre 'Nevermind' at the Astoria when I was maybe 15. Ended up in a friend getting arrested and a fractured elbow.

MILC: What's the worst behaviour you've ever witnessed in a studio?

Matt: After pulling an all-nighter in a studio in Soho and feeling more than a little jaded. The female assistant and I were making copies from DAT to cassette when some nutter decided to throw a shopping trolley through the window. Yes through the window.

MILC: What's the longest studio time you've ever spent on an, ultimately pointless, task?

Matt: Trying to find something called the Dolbies without looking like I didn't know what I was doing in my first job in a studio. Because the guy who ran the studio asked me to 'clean out the dolbies' so we could start recording the band. Much laughter ensued. Cheers JB!




The end bit:

Thank you very much, Matt, for opening up to Milc Magazine. We hope you have got some issues off your chest, and more-importantly enjoyed your brief but very worthwhile interview. Your time, effort and patience is very much appreciated.



Matt Foster was talking to MILC in January 2008

Matt's CV can be viewed here: www.interfaceyourmusic.com

www.matt-f.co.uk
www.myspace.com/matt_foster.


© MILC@Miloco 2007