PROFILE
Jill Zimmermann
By Andrew King
S
ix years ago, Jill Zimmermann’s
dreams took her across the Atlantic
from her native Germany to a rural
Southern Ontario community called
Ohsweken, home to a population
of approximately 1,500 people. Of course,
it’s also home to Jukasa Recording Studios,
a revered commercial facility where she’s
been living those dreams as a staff engineer
ever since.
“Jukasa was the reason I came to Canada,
and I basically got here two days before start-
ing the job,” recalls Zimmermann, speaking
with Professional Sound during a break in an
editing session. “I had to find an internship
for my studies, but when I called Jukasa, they
weren’t looking for an intern; they needed an
assistant engineer. I convinced them to let
me try, and basically the internship would
be five or six months of training for the job.
I came over to work, and in the end, they
asked me to stay.”
To say she had the credentials for the
post would be an understatement. An avid
musician and music fan since childhood,
Zimmermann developed an interest in audio
engineering relatively early on. Her passion
persisted and grew throughout her teens
and she eventually enrolled in the audio
production program at the School of Audio
Engineering (SAE) in Cologne, learning from
a slew of accomplished engineers. After that,
she earned a bachelor of engineering degree
in media technology from the University of
Applied Sciences in Dusseldorf.
In 2010, she was one of 10 recipients of
AKG’s Scholarship of Sound, sponsored by
the legendary Quincy Jones. That sent her
to an exclusive seminar in Berlin for intimate
private instruction from more industry icons.
Throughout her schooling, she took a
series of jobs in different sectors of the au-
dio industry. She worked in both radio and
television, including a stint as a technician
with Germany’s second-largest TV station.
She recorded, edited, and mixed sound for
commercials, corporate videos, and audio
books at a studio in Dusseldorf, and later
did location sound and dialogue editing for
some internationally-screened short and
feature films.
She says that working while studying
prepared her for the sometimes-demanding
schedules of the recording world; however,
for the particularly grueling sessions – includ-
ing one 96-hour week during her internship
– she’s taken advantage of some Canadian
institutions for help.
“There were some pretty hard weeks in
there, but I remember just being so hyped on
adrenaline about the whole thing, and how
exciting it was to try Tim Horton’s for the first
time, or try poutine for the first time [laughs].
Those kinds of things helped me get through
the long hours.”
In the years since, Zimmermann has be-
come a sought-after engineer with an (even
more) impressive resume: Juno-winning
albums, Billboard chart-topping singles,
collaborations with some highly-decorated
producers and engineers… It’s a long list,
which makes choosing highlights a bit of a
challenge.
“For sure, one was working with Three
Days Grace,” she enthuses about the six-week
session for the band’s 2018 release, Outsider.
“It’s a much different way of working when
you’ve got a lot of time together and aren’t
just looking to get something done quickly;
you get to find the creative moments and
try out ideas and make creative connections.
That was a great experience for me – espe-
cially since I grew up listening to them.”
She also mentions her work on July Talk’s
Juno-winning sophomore release, Touch,
which was her first – and, as of now, only –
experience tracking to tape. “All of a sudden,
I was a tape-op, and I loved it!” she says. “I
realize it’s not ideal for everyone, but it was so
exciting to listen back and hear the different
takes, and then bring it into Pro Tools and see
how it all comes back. It was amazing getting
to experience how so much great music was
made in the old days.”
That experience embodies her favourite
thing about the business: that no two days
are ever alike. “It’s hard to explain to people
that don’t know the industry. Like, my family
often asks, ‘What do you do when you get
to work?’ Every day starts at a different time,
ends at a different time. It’s different artists,
genres, instruments. Everything’s different, so
your brain doesn’t settle into a routine; you
have to be focused and ready for anything.”
At the end of the day (whenever that
might be) she makes the 30-minute com-
mute home to nearby Hamilton. Considering
her atypical schedule, it’s no surprise she
enjoys the nightlife – “and Hamilton is perfect
for it,” she notes about the oft-bustling centre.
In the summer, she likes to hit the links for a
round of golf, and of course, still has a fond-
ness for the summer festival scene.
Asked about what’s on the horizon for
the coming months, Zimmermann jokes that
she’s usually just looking ahead to the next
week before sharing her excitement about a
pair of upcoming sessions with some high-
profile artists. "Aside from that, we’ve got
about 10 different projects going on, and it’s
a mix of recording, editing, overdubs, and ev-
erything. We’ve got rock bands, rappers, folk
artists, and a prog rock band, which reminds
me: I’ve got about an hour of drums to edit…”
She’s obviously passionate about her
work, and while it may not feel like it every
hour of every day, Jill Zimmermann is still
living the dream – and there’s going to be
a lot of good music out there because of it.
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Sound.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND 19