Mark L Beazley is long established as the alternative and experimental music artist Rothko. He has also spent many years performing and recording with The Band Of Holy Joy and collaborating with other artists. He has additionally built a formidable reputation for his mastering skills and for offering highly affordable rates to independent artists. Neil, who has been friends with Mark since their early days in North London, caught up with him to ask him some questions mostly about his mastering activities.

Hi Mark. I gather you are just back from playing a Rothko gig, solo with just your Bass Guitar, in Colchester. Congratulations. How are you feeling after that event?

A: Hi Neil, thanks so much for considering me to take part in this interview. The gig in Colchester was great, I rarely play live these days, and it’s just me and my bass guitar [no loops, or backing tracks] when I do play, it was a special night. Colchester Arts Centre is a beautiful venue, and the staff there go out of their way to make everything perfect. The sound, the lights, the venue staff, all are just amazing. I’d like to do some more shows this year if anyone will have me.

As well as being a long-established and highly revered artist, you are also one of the leading mastering experts in independent music. How did you get into that discipline?

A: Well, you are very kind to say that! When I started to release my own music, in 2003, I enlisted the help of the legendary Mastering Engineer, Denis Blackham, to master Wish For A World Without Hurt. He called me after he’d completed the work, and we had a great conversation about the sound of the album, and he gave me a lot of encouragement. It took me a few years after that [another seven to be exact] after many more releases on my own label [Trace Recordings] and having spent quite large sums of money in getting releases mastered, that I wondered if it was something I could learn to do myself. And, after doing a great deal of research, and investing in some Universal Audio hardware and software, my journey began [very, very slowly]. I must say also, that being in attendance of having an album mastered at Abbey Road, taught me a great deal about the use of stereo field [especially in regards to vinyl] and output levels. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career.

You offer amazingly affordable prices for mastering tracks despite the very high standards you deliver (which I can testify to, having used your services continuously for the past 7 years or more). What motivates you to continue offering such a generous service when other, less accomplished mastering engineers, are charging considerably higher fees?

A: I approach my whole ethos on the fact that, as an independent artist, the costs of getting your material mastered can be a huge barrier to what, I feel, is a vital part of the process of having your work released, on any platform. Just having a CD authored with the track data and ISRC codes embedded, can mean the difference between getting paid for a broadcast or not. So, on that basis, I have always wanted to make what I do affordable for independent artists, as I have experienced first hand the value, long term, that having your work mastered can bring. I don’t want cost to be a barrier, so, I have tried to come to a price that is workable, for both myself, and the artists. No one should sell themselves short, on either side.

There are a lot of free or low-cost mastering apps online that encourage artists to try taking a DIY approach to mastering. Do you think there is a danger that artists are too easily tempted despite then ending up with tracks that might not sound right on particular platforms?

A: Well, some of those services are perfect for some and not for others. If I was, say, a covers band, who wanted to get an album up on Soundcloud or Spotify, then these online services are perfect, and I’d use them myself. They are cheap, convenient to use, they use very broad spectrum, genre specific algorithms, and work in many instances. However, if you an artist who cares deeply about every aspect of the work that they produce, down to the finest detail, then enlisting the personal touch of a mastering engineer can go some way to help with realising the total vision of their work.

As a creative artist and performer yourself, you obviously have a real empathy with fellow artists and this is demonstrated by the effort you put into doing such a good job with their work. Do you think it is possible for someone with no musical experience or knowledge to develop the skills to be good at mastering simply by having a good ear for the right details or is being a musician fundamental to being good at mastering?

A: That’s an amazing question, Neil. I’ve had the extreme pleasure of having recorded a couple of BBC sessions at Maida Vale Studio’s. My impression from working with the sound engineers there, was that they were audio scientists, who knew more about the process of recording music than I could ever learn. Were they musicians themselves? I have no idea, but they were incredible to work with, and learn from. I believe that recording and mastering have a basis in the actual science of the process, so, yes, I think that it is possible.

Finally, I know you work with a lot of artists and labels. Are there any exciting recordings you are working on at the moment or have recently worked on that you are allowed to mention?

A: All sessions are special to me, but, being invited to master the Skintone Editions vinyl [and CD] box-sets by Susumu Yokota; 14 albums, over 30 sides of vinyl, on Lo Recordings, was truly special, especially having worked with, and performed with, Susumu. A truly beautiful soul, very sadly no longer with us. And, currently, there’s a new album out shortly by a wonderful band called Abrasive Trees, led by Matt Rochford, it’s called Light Remains. It’s fantastic. They have a huge, darkly melodic, and at the same time, a very intricate sound. Please look out for it.

Bandcamp | Wikipedia