Joe works across studio ops and sound engineering here at The Crypt, leading an array of sessions with exciting up and coming artists as well as founding our Membership scheme, engaging with London's independent music landscape. Joe is also a curator, writer and DJ who works closely with UK labels Mr Bongo and Música Macondo.
How long have you been working at The Crypt?
I’ve been working within its walls for a year and a half - but only 8 months of that has been for The Crypt itself. Before I was mixing music into immersive formats using the Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA speaker arrays here.
What do you do there?
Bit of everything: recording bands, bringing in artists, painting studio walls...
What’s your favourite project you’ve worked on at The Crypt?
Probably mixing with Wu-Lu and Cktrl as part of an immersive audio project. It was really rewarding getting under the bonnet and crafting music with two artists who really value experimentation.
If you could take one bit of kit from the studio home with you, what would it be? Why? Butterfly wurlitzer. It’s so syrupy and warm - like the more ubiquitous 200 model but with a crunchier, thicker tone. It’s also a handsome looking thing with those majestic wings and would do wonders for the feng shui in my bedroom.
Who’s your producer hero?
It’s a bit of a classic answer but Steve Albini. It’s really all because of Surfer Rosa - I love how brittle that record sounds. It’s somehow spacious, airy and pretty roomy while also sounding really intimate and detailed and sinewy. I also love the sizzle of the room mics - I’m pretty sure there's a pretty unassuming PZM. And, I know it’s not something Albini is so keen on now, but the little behind-the-scenes in-jokes he secretly recorded and put on the record have always fascinated me. The Bedhead album he did has that same full-but-sparse sound which I love.
You’re making a supergroup: who’s playing in the band?
Drummer: Art Blakey
Percussionist: Airto Moreira
Double Bassist: Charles Mingus
Lead Guitarist: Joey Santiago
Rhythm Guitarist: Joe Strummer
Acoustic Guitarist: Baden Powell
Keyboardist: Ray Manzarek
Lead Vocalist: Arthur Lee
Guest Vocalists: Eddie Jefferson, Jim Morrison, Margo Guryan, Gal Costa, Dusty Springfield
Guest Reeds: Shabaka Hutchings, Archie Shepp, Roland Kirk, Thiago França
Guest Horns: Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie
If you could go for a night out with one musician, who would it be?
Ian Dury.
The best decade for music is…
Obviously the 1960s.
The artist that reminds you of childhood is…
Seu Jorge.
Your musical hero as a kid was…
Pete Doherty, somewhat regrettably.
An artist you’re embarrassed to love is…
A hangover from my ska-punk teens means I still find Sublime vaguely alluring?
An artist you think is underrated is…
Soul Coughing. All the sprechgesang bands that have been in vogue over the last ten years or so are obviously indebted to a post-punk, no-wave thing, but I just hear so much Soul Coughing in them too. Ruby Vroom is a genius album and so ahead of its time. It’s so funky, it’s so snarling, it’s so funny… The sample experimentation is cool too… I particularly love how they got The Roches in there. I also love that Mike Doughty and the rest of the band were all in that Knitting Factory/John Zorn scene and had serious chops but really stripped everything back to the bones. And it’s just got so much swagger. I always want to play Mr Bitterness when DJing...
An artist you’re currently loving is…
Expiry.
Your favourite film:
Mulholland Drive or Soy Cuba
Your favourite TV show:
Sopranos or Succession or Series 2 of My Restaurant Rules Australia (2004)
Your favourite book:
The Sound & The Fury
Your favourite food:
Moqueca or Dourada or a nice Frutti di Mare pasta
Your non-music hero:
Ian Wright