YSL PRO - Key Persons
Aaron Goldstein is a Canadian songwriter, producer and musician, specializing in the difficult art of pedal steel guitar. His talents have landed him on the stage and in the studio with Cowboy Junkies, City and Colour, Lee Harvey Osmond, and Ian Blurton.
Basia Bulat has become one of Canada's most conspicuous talents. Since releasing her debut in 2007, Bulat has shared a stage with artists including Arcade Fire, The National, Nick Cave, Daniel Lanois, St Vincent, Sufjan Stevens, Beirut, Destroyer, Tune-Yards, The Tallest Man On Earth, and Andrew Bird. She often appears solo in gigantic halls, winning over crowds with an autoharp or charango, stomping feet, two mighty lungs. But her massive talent has also been recognized at scale: her songs have been adapted for major performances with symphony orchestras, and she's been tapped for prestigious tributes to Leonard Cohen and The Band.
Bulat was born in Toronto. She grew up listening to her mother's piano students, to Sam Cooke and Stax on the oldies station, later falling in love with Odetta, Stevie Nicks, Sandy Denny and Abner Jay. Although she emerged as part of Ontario's indie folk scene, befriending members of Ohbijou, Timber Timbre and Great Lake Swimmers, her first three records were recorded in Montreal. The first two, 2007's Oh My Darling and 2010's Heart Of My Own, were made with producer Howard Bilerman, an engineer who was then better known for noisy punk-rock albums, while 2013's Juno- and Polaris-nominated Tall Tall Shadow was produced with Mark Lawson (The Unicorns, Akron/Family) and Arcade Fire's Tim Kingsbury.
She has lived in Montreal since 2014. Her new album, Good Advice, was produced by Jim James (My Morning Jacket), and released in 2016.
Brian Power is one of the leading Re Recording Mixers in Canada, with four Gemini Award Nominations and two consecutive wins for "Best Sound Design" at the Atlantic Film Festival. In 2010, Brian collaborated on the Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics, to a worldwide audience of two billion viewers. Brian has supplied content to every major network and studio in North America, including HBO, SYFY, NBC, CBS, ABC, Nat Geo, Discovery, PBS, CBC, CTV and countless speciality channels.
Brian also supported the 2010 Oscar winning sound team for "Inception", by supervising the recording of ADR for Oscar Nominee, Ellen Page. In 2011, Brian constructed "The Hideout Studios", a top tier audio suite to provide the highest level of audio quality for his clients. The studio houses the only Avid Icon mixing environment in the region and offers stunning HD projection in addition to world class mixes. Brian is also a groovy father, entertaining husband, novice astronaut, average sailor, terrible golfer and a fantastic break dancer.
Charlotte Day Wilson is a 25-year-old vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Toronto.
Danny Greenspoon is a music producer, music engineer, guitarist and film composer based in Toronto. He has worked as a producer for CBC Radio in Toronto, producing jazz, folk, pop, country and world music.
During the early part of his career, Danny was a performer primarily on the acoustic music scene, and later lent his guitar chops to numerous Canadian artists such as Murray McLauchlan, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Sylvia Tyson.
He's produced more than fifty albums for such artists such as Great Big Sea, Spirit of the West, Jane Bunnett, Ian Tyson, Willie P. Bennett, The Paperboys, The Barra MacNeils, and The Good Brothers, to name just a few.
Job Titles:
- Spokesperson for HHB Communications Canada, Announced This Week That the Company Will Officially Be Changing Its Name to YSL Pro As of November 15, 2019
Dave Dysart, the spokesperson for HHB Communications Canada, announced this week that the company will officially be changing its name to YSL Pro as of November 15, 2019.
Dysart explained, "The transition to the new name reflects our integral position within our parent company Yorkville Sound, while at the same time acknowledging our position at the top level of the Professional Audio market in Canada. YSL Pro will continue to represent the premium brands that we have distributed in the Canadian marketplace, and will have an increased presence in the market."
Dave Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer and musician. He is a producer of industrial music and has been associated with bands such as Skinny Puppy (as longtime producer and onetime member), Doughboys, The Birthday Massacre (as co-producer since 2007), Marilyn Manson, Jakalope (his own band), Killing Joke, Men Without Hats, Queensryche, Alexz Johnson, Fake Shark - Real Zombie!, Left Spine Down, Raggedy Angry and Johnny Hollow.
He is frequently credited as Dave "Rave" Ogilvie, but should not be confused with Dave Desroches, who has used the stage name "Dave Rave" without an additional surname, or with Nivek Ogre (Kevin Ogilvie) of Skinny Puppy.
Job Titles:
- Producer at Noble Street Studios
Doug Romanow is a record producer at Noble Street Studios in Toronto. He is also the music director for the Canadian Country Music Awards and a songwriter with the Bluewater Music Group in Nashville.
Engineering credits include tracks recorded by Justin Bieber, Johnny Reid, Chantal Kreviazuk, Divine Brown and Tyga, and among those he has produced tracks for are Kinnie Starr, Lily Frost, Stegall, Nightmare Air, Theatre of Hate and Alessia Cohl. Earlier projects include two-time Juno nominee Michael Pickett, reggae award-winning group The Sattalites, bluesman Danny Brooks, and Ann Vriend.
Erik Alcock is one quarter of The New Royales, a hiphop-rock-alternative collective that also features the talents of DJ Khalil, Liz Rodrigues and Chin Injeti. His contributions to this powerhouse of songwriting and production make use of his considerable rock'n'roll, and Brit-Pop sensibilities, and together The New Royales have worked with an impressive range of artists, including Eminem, P!nk, Pitbull, 50 Cent and Dr. Dre.
A Grammy-winning guitarist and songwriter, Erik got started early in the music biz, signing his first publishing deal at 17.
Frank Morrone is an award winning Hollywood audio professional who has mixed sound for high profile television and movies including The Strain, The Book of Negroes, Last Resort, LOST, Copper, The Kennedys, Boss, Sleepy Hollow, Ransom and Oscar winning When We Were Kings.
He has worked with leading directors and producers including JJ Abrams, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk, Guillermo del Toro, Joel Surnow, Shawn Ryan, Gus Van Sant, Ron Howard, Sidney Lumet, Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, Tim Burton, Jon Chu and Taylor Hackford.
George Seara is one of Toronto's leading Mixers and Recording Engineers. A musician and lifelong recording enthusiast, he is known for his great musical ear and astute attention to detail. George works in all genres of music and happy recent Clients include Shawn Mendes, James Bay, Alessia Cara, Rihanna, Drake, Holly Cole, Mos Def, Herbie Hancock, and Sting.
In 2012, George won in the RECORDING ENGINEER OF THE YEAR category at Canada's Juno Awards. George has been nominated a total of 4 times in this category.
Big Sugar leader, Gordie Johnson, storms the stage with his signature double neck Gibson guitar, howling into the mic "Time to get back to the land of the living". He may sing like a man possessed but he is a man sharing what it's like to be blessed. After winning a long battle against his personal demons and riding a wave of renewed energy, Johnson and Big Sugar were slammed by band member defections, an aborted album, mental illness, addiction and even a life threatening illness. However…
, storms the stage with his signature double neck Gibson guitar, howling into the mic "Time to get back to the land of the living". He may sing like a man possessed but he is a man sharing what it's like to be blessed. After winning a long battle against his personal demons and riding a wave of renewed energy, Johnson and Big Sugar were slammed by band member defections, an aborted album, mental illness, addiction and even a life threatening illness. However…
Big Sugar boldly goes forth with their new album "ETERNITY NOW". Johnson, at the controls of his Texas studio "THE SOUND SHACK", applies his signature 1970s thump and otherworldly psycho-acoustic dub effects that have made him a much sought out remixer/producer. For the first time, there are no co-writers outside the band and the new lyrics ring true. Uplifting and full of resolve whilst addressing the realities of a hard life lived and survived; whether it's the tale of redemption in "The Better It Gets" or the vow to his real life super hero in "Wonder Woman".
There has always been magic flying between Johnson and his diverse troupe known worldwide as Big Sugar but this is a new kind of magic; a shiny alchemy that compliments their hard won transformation. He is joined by his long time reggae bassist Garry Lowe, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Colepaugh and the languid Alex Johnson (Gordie's sexy significant other) adding subliminal textures of percussive sound, along with new member Rey Arteaga, master of Afro Cuban rhythms on congas. Whether these 5 are performing brand new songs or their certified hits, the roots rock reggae groove is deep and Gordie Johnson's guitar always tells a story.
Johnson's vocals bear the scars of time yet emanate a vital musicality that recalls the young band that burst into the spotlight with the raging "Ride Like Hell" or their first radio hit "Diggin A Hole". He explains that the new Big Sugar sings like a family, enabling them to create a sixth element with their powerful harmonies.
Graham Walsh is a Juno nominated composer / producer from Toronto, Ontario. He's primarily known as a co-founding member of Toronto's evil experimental supergroup Holy F.
Outside of making Holy F albums, Walsh has also made records with METZ, VietCong, Cousins, Beliefs, Alvvays, Hannah Georgas, and Lights. With the rest of Holy F, they've remixed songs for Radiohead, MIA, Tegan & Sara, Royksopp, and Bloc Party.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Yorkville Sound
Jeff Cowling, Vice President of Yorkville Sound, remarks, "We have enjoyed working with the HHB team for the past two and a half years, and this transition brings us closer together. Our shared brain trust will make the company stronger, and the collective product lines truly complement each other."
Jera Cravo is a Brazilian musician, sound engineer, music producer, videomaker and photographer. Born in Salvador, Bahia, in 1977, Jera is son to photographer Miguel Rio Branco and plastic artist Kadi Cravo and grandson to worldwide renowned plastic artist Mário Cravo Júnior.
Having begun his artistic activities in 1994, he drummed for Peacemaker and Pimps, the latter being an alternative rock band quite famous within the Brazilian independent rock scene, opening for acts such as Sepultura and Racionais MC's. With a desire to dwelve into the technical aspects of music, Jera relocated to Los Angeles in 2000 where he enrolled on the prestigious Musicians Institute as a music engineering undergraduate. The new endeavor had him work with legends such as Virgil Donatti, T.J. Helmrich (Tribal Tech), Planet X and Dennis Chambers, besides metal act Diesel Machine, which featured future Soil frontman A.J. Cavalier as well as future Damageplan frontman Pat Lachman, alternative rock band Clockwork and his own hardcore project, Dive.
Back to Salvador in 2001, Jera designed and started his first studio, Vértice. Focusing mainly on independent rock artists, Jera recorded, produced, mixed and/or mastered, until 2008, more than 40 albums, many of which were critically acclaimed by Brazilian and worldwide specialized media. Such artists included Automata, Malefactor, Headhunter D.C., Cobalto, Drearylands, Veuliah, Plane of Mine, Madame Saatan and Yun-Fat, to name a few.
Parallel to being a now renowned producer, Jera garnered accolades for the works with his new band, Automata, loved at their hometown and praised throughout Brazil as a hot independent act since 2003. As Automata progressed, Jera worked as a video editor and photographer, mainly as hobbies, when, in 2008, simultaneous to the end of Vértice and the start of his new studio, 60, he formalized himself as a professional photographer and videomaker.
Shooting mainly music shows and promotional material for bands as well as music videos, Jera seeked to continue evolving as a videomaker and photographer, as well as a sound engineer and record producer, with 2011 offering him great experiences. Partaking on a week-long mixing master class in France by stellar mixing engineer Andy Wallace (Jeff Buckley, Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana) was an immense contribution to this process. Now relocating to Canada, Jera will soon embark on new ventures, all of which will be announced at his official web site and facebook page.
Jesse Keller's music career began as the bassist for a handful of pop-punk bands in Toronto during the 1990s, most notably Black Cat #13. A year after the group disbanded, he would find his next musical collaborator in the form of his then roommate, Sebastien Grainger, with whom Jesse would form Death From Above 1979. After touring extensively for four years, "DFA79" decided to take an extended hiatus (inaccurately termed a "break-up" at the time), which allowed Keeler the chance to dive into his next project, MSTRKRFT.
Jim Bryson is a Canadian "Singer Songer" and record maker. He has released 5 critically acclaimed solo recordings, the most recent being 2016's Somewhere We Will Find Our Place, which made many a year end list here in Canada, notably Macleans and CBC Music Top 100 songs (2 songs on list).
In recent years, Jim has been recording and producing records for artist from all over in his Fixed Hinge Studio he built in 2013. Some names of note Jim has worked with include Oh Susanna, Little Scream, The Skydiggers and Kalle Mattson.
Oh and just cause you are asking, Jim also enjoys riding in the musical sidecar, having played and toured with Kathleen Edwards, The Weakerthans and The Tragically Hip.
Jimmy Shaw is the lead guitarist of Canadian indie rock band Metric and an award winning producer.
Born in London, England and raised in Bellevue, Ontario, Jimmy studied classical music education at the Juilliard Music School in New York. Upon returning to Toronto, he met Emily Haines, and the two of them formed the band Metric. He won a Juno for Producer of the Year in 2013 for the songs "Youth Without Youth" and "Breathing Underwater" from Metric's album Synthetica.
He is also a part owner of Giant Studios in Toronto, along with Death From Above 1979's Sebastien Grainger.
Kat Lucas is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and session musician based in Toronto, Canada. She currently sings lead vocals and plays keys and guitar in alternative/indie duo Toy Daggers.
Kat has built an extensive career as a touring musician over the years, most recently on the road with international pop star P!NK playing keys, guitar, and singing backing vocals in her band. Since 2009, Kat has been a part of two international arena tours ("Funhouse" and "The Truth About Love" and a stadium tour in Europe and the UK ("Funhouse Carnival"). Kat has made a number of TV appearances, such as Jimmy Kimmel, VH1 Storytellers, Ellen, and The Today Show, as well as awards shows like The American Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards. She has also played at legendary festivals like Isle Of Wight and Hyde Park Wireless, and has been featured on Entertainment Tonight. She was part of two live tour DVDs with P!NK, for the "Truth About Love" (which was nominated for a Grammy) and for "Funhouse". Besides P!NK, she has also worked with Canadian artists such as Lights and Ashley MacIsaac.
Kat is a prolific and passionate songwriter. From writing a concerto called "Dreamcatcher" at age 14 to writing dance-pop tunes for Japanese pop star Kumi Koda, she thrives on all types of music.
Her musical journey began when she was just three years old, and she has spent her lifetime as a devoted student to her craft. She hopes to share the gift of music with as many people as possible, and believes that music has the power to heal, uplift, and inspire in ways that nothing else can.
Soon Beck was sharing concert stages with the likes of Aimee Mann, Interpol, Stereophonics, and Josh Rouse, and his songs were licensed for use on such TV shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Felicity. However, the events of September 11, 2001, threw Beck into a deep depression, and when Easy! Tiger went out of business, Beck's career went into neutral. Beck made guest appearances on albums by Hayden and Sarah Harmer, but it wasn't until 2004 that his next album, simply called Howie Beck and once again recorded at home (though its lush sound would lead you to imagine otherwise), finally appeared. Howie Beck was released in Canada through 13 Clouds, and in 2006 Ever Records struck a deal with Beck and reissued the album in the United States and Europe.