Matt Ross-Spang

Matt Ross-Spang is an American multi-Grammy award winning record producer, engineer, and mixer. His credits include such artists as Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Al Green, John Prine and Elvis Presley.

Life and career

Matt Ross-Spang, born in Memphis, Tennessee, began working at the Sun Studio when he was just 16, working his way from an intern to the Chief Engineer. Wanting to capture what made Sun Studio great, Ross-Spang championed hard to find, install, and use the same period equipment that Sam Phillips engineered with from the 1950s.^[1] His 11 years of dedication to Sun, and its signature sound, garnered national attention when it was featured by Lester Holt on NBC's Nightly News^[2] and The Today Show, as well as NPR's All Things Considered.^[3]

In 2015, Ross-Spang left Sun Studio to venture out on his own as an engineer and producer. His first project post-Sun was to engineer and mix Jason Isbell's Something More Than Free for record producer Dave Cobb.^[4] This record earned him his first Grammy Award.^[5] The record broke several records debuting at #1 on the Country, Rock, Folk, and Indie Charts. It also broke Americana Radio chart records, staying #1 for over 25 weeks. The record won Grammys for Best Americana Album and Best Americana Song ("24 Frames").

Ross-Spang continued engineering for Dave Cobb on records by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chris Isaak, The Rival Sons, Corb Lund, Lori McKenna, Brett Dennen and the album Southern Family.

Other recent releases include the latest Sheepdogs record, Future Nostalgia,^[6] and the debut album by Margo Price. Price's album, entitled Midwest Farmer's Daughter, was recorded in 2014 at Sun Studio^[7] and released on Third Man Records. Engineered, mixed and co-produced by Ross-Spang,^[8] the record debuted this year in the top 10 Billboard country charts to critical acclaim.

In 2016, Ross-Spang was hired by Sony Records to mix 18 previously unreleased songs by Elvis Presley from his historic 1976 sessions from the Jungle Room at Graceland.^[9]

Later that year, Ross-Spang mixed and engineered the Lori McKenna album, The Bird and the Rifle, which later went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Album and Best American Roots Song by the Recording Academy.

2017 has seen the release of Sean Rowe's new album, Lore, which Ross-Spang produced and engineered. American Songwriter magazine gave the record 4 out of 5 stars.^[10]

In September 2018, Ross-Spang participated in Amazon Music's first 'Produced By' series, which asks producers to develop music exclusively for Amazon customers. His contributions include tracks from Al Green, Margo Price, John Prine, Erin Rae, and William Bell.^[11]

Ross-Spang has been a regular collaborator with The Mountain Goats, engineering their album In League With Dragons (2019), and producing both Getting Into Knives (2019)^[12] and Dark in Here (2021).^[13]

In 2020, Ross-Spang's mid century modern home was featured in Memphis Magazine, "From the tile floors to the original light fixtures, the 1957 home is remarkably preserved."^[14]

In 2021, Ross-Spang opened Southern Grooves, his 3,000-square-foot recording studio. The building process started in August 2020, with acousticians Steven Durr and Matt Schlachter. The studio occupies space, on the second floor of Crosstown Concourse. The studio consists of a live room, control room, a long hallway (for reverb) echo chamber, a lounge, office, tech shop and an EMT plate reverb room.^[15] "The undulating ceiling and lack of 90-degree angles or parallel surfaces in the live room reportedly give the impression that the space is a lot bigger than it is".^[15] Memphis Business Journal quoted, "One of the most distinctive features of Southern Grooves is the small, closet-sized echo chamber. The walls are designed at odd angles, and they're heavily plastered".^[16] “I knew I didn’t want acoustic tile,” Ross-Spang says, opting instead for the burlap-and-wood design favored by such iconic Memphis facilities as Stax Records and Ardent Studios. “I also knew I wanted an angled ceiling, because Sam Phillips did that at Sun and Phillips Recording. I’ve always loved that look and sound.” ^[17]

Awards and recognition

Matt Ross-Spang worked as the engineer on The Fluffy Jackets' debut album Fighting Demons featuring producer/ guitarist Manny Charlton (Nazareth) and bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake). The album won the Best Studio Album of the Year Award for 2014, voted by listeners of The Blues Hour show in UK and France.

One year later, Ross-Spang won a Grammy Award for Jason Isbell's "Something More Than Free in 2015.

The City of Memphis named him one of its "30 under 30" Memphians in 2015^[18]

In 2016, Ross-Spang was awarded the Key to the City of Memphis.^[19]

He was featured on the Working Class Audio podcast with Matt Boudreau.^[20]

For their January/February 2017 issue, Tape Op magazine interviewed Ross-Spang about his past and the future of music production.^[21]

At the 2017 Grammy Awards, Lori McKenna's The Bird & The Rifle (engineered and mixed by Ross-Spang) was nominated for Best American Roots Album, Best American Roots Performance, and Best American Roots Song.^[22]

At the 2018 Grammy Awards, Ross-Spang received a Grammy for his work on Jason Isbell and the 400 unit's album, The Nashville Sound. The album received a Grammy Awards for Best Americana Album. Additionally, "If We Were Vampires" won the Grammy for Best American Roots Song.

At the 2018 UK Americana Awards, Emily Barker's album, Sweet Kind of Blue, was nominated for Best Album of the Year.^[23]

At the 2019 Grammy Awards, John Prine's The Tree of Forgiveness (engineered by Ross-Spang) was nominated for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song,

At the 2020 Grammy Awards, Iron & Wine / Calexico received two nominations with their Ross-Spang produced album Years to Burn.^[24] That same year, Don Bryant received a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album forYou Make Me Feel, mixed by Ross-Spang.^[25]

At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Ross-Spang had seven nominations, and earned two trophies during the ceremonies. He co-produced Blind Boys of Alabama's "Echoes of the South" which won in the Best Roots Gospel Album. Ross-Spang also co-engineered Jason Isbell’s “Weathervanes” LP, which won for Best Americana Album, while the track "Cast Iron Skillet" won for Best American Roots Song. ^[26]

Selected discography

^[29][30]

References

1. ^ Boone, Joe. "Sun Studio Makes a Comeback". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
2. ^ "See Where Elvis Presley Recorded His First Hit". NBC News. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
3. ^ Blank, Christopher (23 July 2014). "Sun Studio's Matt Ross-Spang Rediscovers a Vintage Sound". Wknofm.org. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
4. ^ "Something More Than Free - Jason Isbell - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
5. ^ "Memphians Mitchell, Ross-Spang enjoyed Grammy triumphs in different styles". Commercialappeal.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
6. ^ "The Sheepdogs". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
7. ^ Hudgin, Derek (11 April 2016). "Album Review – Margo Price's 'Midwest Farmer's Daughter'". Country Perspective
8. ^ "Artist To Watch: Margo Price". Stereogum.com. 19 January 2016.
9. ^ "Way Down in the Jungle Room - Elvis Presley - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
10. ^ "Sean Rowe: New Lore « American Songwriter". Americansongwriter.com. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
11. ^ [1]
12. ^ "The Mountain Goats Take Aim at the Fame Game on New Song 'Get Famous'". Rolling Stone Australia. 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
13. ^ "The Mountain Goats Announce New Album 'Dark In Here' & Share Single". JamBase. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
14. ^ McCoy, Chris (9 November 2020). "Memphis Magazine". Memphis. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
15. ^ "Matt Ross-Spang Opens Southern Grooves Studio". 14 June 2022.
16. ^ "Acclaimed Memphis music producer Matt Ross-Spang's new recording studio opens soon in Crosstown Concourse". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
17. ^ "Matt Ross-Spang Finds His Groove, Part 1". Mix Online. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
18. ^ Alley, Richard. "20 < 30". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
19. ^ "Instagram photo by Matt Ross-Spang • Jul 6, 2016 at 5:16pm UTC". Instagram.com. Archived 2021-12-26 at the Wayback Machine.
20. ^ "WCA #097 with Matt Ross-Spang » Working Class Audio". Workingclassaudio.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
21. ^ "Matt Ross-Spang: Eyeing the Future Through the Past". Tapeop.com
22. ^ "Lori McKenna". GRAMMY.com. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
23. ^ "The UK Americana Awards Nominees 2018". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
24. ^ Otero, Xavier Omar. "Calexico Receive Not One But Two Grammy Nods". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
25. ^ Mehr, Bob. "Memphis soul veteran Don Bryant continues comeback with 'You Make Me Feel'". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
26. ^ Mehr, Bob. "Memphis soul veteran Don Bryant continues comeback with 'You Make Me Feel'". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
27. ^ "YouTube". Youtube.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
28. ^ "Bandcamp". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
29. ^ "Matt Ross-Spang - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
30. ^ "Matt Ross-Spang". Discogs.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

External links

• Matt Ross-Spang Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2016)]