RSR514 - David Bottrill - Grammy Winning Atmos Mixing with Tool, Daniel Lanois, and World Music

In this episode of Recording Studio Rockstars, I sat down with the legendary David Botrill—Grammy-winning producer and engineer behind iconic albums by Tool, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Muse, and more.

David’s journey began in a small Canadian studio run by Bob Lanois, where he learned to be indispensable in the room. From there, he went on to work with Daniel Lanois, Peter Gabriel, and Real World Studios before stepping out on his own.

We talk about:

• The evolution of his ambient and world music influences
• Building a custom studio for Atmos mixing
• Embracing imperfection in music
• Band dynamics, remote collaboration, and pre-production tips
• His hands-on carpentry work and how it shapes his approach to sound

This episode is packed with wisdom for producers, engineers, and anyone passionate about capturing real emotion in the studio. Don’t miss this conversation with one of the greats!

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My guest today is David Bottrill, a three time Grammy Award winning Producer/Engineer/Mixer and has had over 15 million copies of his work sold worldwide. He has worked with a diverse spectrum of prolific artists, such as Peter Gabriel, Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Muse, Silverchair, King Crimson, Godsmack. and Rush. David has also worked with some of the most influential world musicians, noteably Youssou N’dour and Baaba Maal of Senegal, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan of Pakistan.

David spent 20 years living in the UK, followed by a term in New York, but has settled back in Canada, where he has a mixing studio. Even still, David still spends much of his time working in the US and abroad.

Thanks to Brian Murphree at SoundPorter Mastering for making this happen!

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