Ken Thomas (record producer)

Ken Thomas
Birth nameKenneth Vaughan Thomas
DiedJuly 2021
Genres
Occupations
Labels

Kenneth Vaughan Thomas (died July 2021) was an English record producer, recording engineer, and mixing engineer.[1] As a record producer, he worked with artists such as the Bongos,[2] Wire, Dave Gahan, Sigur Rós,[3] and M83.[4]

Early career

His career in the music industry began as an assistant and engineer on sessions for groups like Public Image Ltd, the Buzzcocks, Wire, Alien Sex Fiend,[citation needed] and Rush while working at Trident and Advision studios.[5][1] In 1980, he composed and recorded the album Beat the Light.[citation needed] Due to his involvement with punk and experimental artists, he went on to work with Icelandic group the Sugarcubes as an engineer on their debut album Life's Too Good.[3]

Sigur Rós

Thomas' relationship with the Sugarcubes later resulted in his work with fellow Icelandic band Sigur Rós after Sugarcubes' guitarist Þór Eldon played him the group's debut album Von.[3] Thomas went on to undertake production, engineering, and mixing duties for the group throughout several albums including Ágætis byrjun, ( ),[3] and Takk...[6] and also assisted in recording the performances for the documentary film Heima.[7]

Personal life

Ken was the father of fellow record producer Jolyon Vaughan Thomas. The two shared High Bank Studio and collaborated on projects.[8] Ken was also the father of singer-songwriter Amy Odell, who provided vocals on his production of the Gavin Friday album Catholic.[9]

Thomas was reported to have died in early July 2021 as acknowledged in online statements by Gavin Friday[10] and Sigur Rós.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b George Shilling (October 2005). "Ken Thomas" (PDF). Resolution Magazine. S2 Publications Ltd. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  2. ^ Barone, Richard (2007). Frontman: Surviving the Rock Star Myth. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 78. ISBN 9780879309121. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Mark Pytlik (July 2002). "Sigur Ros: Ken Thomas & Jonsi Birgisson: Recording Sigur Ros" (PDF). Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. ^ Brian Howe (15 April 2008). "M83: Saturdays=Youth". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  5. ^ "A Farewell to Kings - Rush | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Reviews: Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 17 September 2005. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Biggi" (PDF). iZotope, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  8. ^ Paul Tingen (August 2015). "Slaves - Are You Satisfied?: Jolyon Thomas: Producing Are You Satisfied?". Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  9. ^ John Meagher (29 April 2011). "Music: Catholic by Gavin Friday * * *". Independent.ie. Independent.ie. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Remembering Ken Thomas". gavinfriday.com. Gavin Friday. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  11. ^ sigur rós [@sigurros] (12 July 2021). "It is with much sadness we say goodbye to our friend, collaborator and producer Ken Thomas who passed away last week. Ken worked with us on AB, ( ), Takk and various other bits of music in our early years. (" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 September 2021 – via Twitter.

Shine On: Ken Thomas on Cold War Night Life


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