PROFILE
MICHAEL PHILLIPS
By Andrew King
Michael Phillips developed his engineering chops at some of Canada ’ s most reputable studios and has remained a north-ofthe-border studio staple throughout the majority of his career to date . The opportunities to test out a larger market have been plenty , though for Phillips , Canada simply “ feels like home ,” and now , he ’ s using his reputation and impressive body of work to draw international talent to Toronto .
Phillips was born in Vancouver and grew up bouncing from city to city in southern Ontario . From place to place , even from a young age , music was a constant for him . “ I remember being three and four years old and caring about what was happening in pop music and rock music ,” he recalls . “ I was always interested in music , and then when I was about 12 or 13 , I got really into it and eventually convinced my parents to get me a guitar .” The truth is that drums were his first choice , though understandably , his parents didn ’ t want a drum set in the house . Call it effective compromise …
He spent his high school years practicing and jamming with friends , eventually getting a band together at 17 . That group ended up booking time in a Burlington , ON-based demo studio to cut six songs over the course of a few weekends . “ The moment I walked into the studio , I fell in love with it immediately and knew that ’ s what I wanted to do ,” he says , channeling the excitement he felt . His next few trips to the studio found him getting more hands-on with mixes and even offering some production ideas .
After high school , he enrolled in Fanshawe College ’ s Music Industry Arts program and was accepted right away , faring quite well over the next few years of study . Immediately after graduating , he was invited to Mississauga ’ s Metalworks Studios for a coveted internship position . Over the following few years , he ’ d bounce from studio to studio , taking on increasingly important work and honing his craft . One of those stints was at Toronto ’ s Phase One , where he had a chance to meet American producer Sylvia Massy ( Tool , System of a Down )
– someone he calls a “ childhood hero .”
“ We hit it off pretty quickly and she invited me to come mix some records with her at her new studio in northern California .” The two kept in touch , with Phillips often sending work to Massy for feedback , and a few years later , Phillips made the trek south . He and Massy collaborated on about 15 albums , even travelling together to Spain .
Upon his eventual return to Toronto , he had the chance to study under another heralded producer and engineer in David Bottrill ( Peter Gabriel , Tool ).
Among the albums to feature his fingerprints are recent offerings from the likes of Stone Sour , Chiodos , The Getaway Plan , Ancient Order , and heaps more . Now , Phillips is rooted in Toronto , and while he still enjoys the odd collaboration with a colleague , he ’ s predominantly taking on his own projects .
“ I ’ m currently working with a fair amount of independent artists ,” he says , sometimes out of Toronto ’ s better-known rooms and often out of his home-based studio . One of his current projects is an album for a Swiss duo he met through Massy . “ I have a few mixes in the pipeline for local artists ,” he adds , “ and I ’ m also considering taking steps to start a small , vinyl-focused independent label to help out some of the independent artists that I come across .”
Considering all his career has brought him to date – the places he ’ s travelled , the artists and audio pros he ’ s helped out – one might think he ’ d be hard pressed to list off some highlights ; however , only one comes to mind : “ Just getting to work on great albums .”
He elaborates : ‘ I don ’ t do demos ; I don ’ t do anything half-assed . I always make sure that what I ’ m doing is album quality , so working with some of my favourite producers over the years , learning from them and getting to work on some pretty big-budget and well produced albums , that ’ s what it ’ s about .”
Outside of the studio , Phillips enjoys spending time with his wife and their young daughter . “ I ’ m really enjoying seeing my little baby start to grow up ,” he says proudly . “ Aside from that , I like to check out a lot of music . I love summer festivals , camping , the outdoors ... I actually work on the business side of some electronic music festivals , too – booking artists for stages and helping them program .”
In the coming months , Phillips plans to build himself a larger mixing and overdub space to better service his clients – whether they ’ re Canadian or from abroad – near his new home in Peterborough , ON . “ There are some amazing records being made in Canada ,” he says of what ’ s anchoring him here beyond
his family and friends . “ And I ’ m attracting artists from elsewhere now , too , which is great . They can come here and make good records at great studios , and once again , Toronto has some of the best studios in the world right now .”
Considering the places his career has taken him to date , he would know .
Andrew King is the Editor of Professional Sound .
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