Name: Denis Blackham
Nationality: British
Occupation: Mastering engineer
Current events: Denis Blackham moved his studio and life from Britain to Thailand recently, but is still active mastering releases from a wide range of styles.  

If you enjoyed these thoughts by Denis Blackham and would like to know more about his music, visit the official homepage of his mastering company Sky Mastering.

For a deeper dive, we recommend our earlier Denis Blackham interview.



I was intrigued to see that your name appears on the early Kraftwerk albums Ralf And Florian as well as Autobahn. I know this took place a long, long time ago - but any memories of this particular mastering job?

I remember cutting Autobahn for its UK release, but not Ralf and Florian. I’ve mastered so many projects over the years, I can’t remember everything. That was 1973 and Autobahn was 1974.

I loved mastering Autobahn, and still think it’s a great album. It was special and to me still is. Even though it all those years ago, I still have a colour memory of sitting at my mastering console on the day.

Unfortunately, I was working from a copy master sent to the UK, so not the original, which was a shame. At the time the masters were probably kept at the label offices in Holland or wherever their office was. They would have made copy masters for different territories.Although my cut was good, it could have been better.

How much of a difference would there have been, do you think?

Being analogue tape, making a copy will mean a little more hiss on the copy, and if the tape machines were not aligned correctly, the sound could be different, and there might be added distortion. From what I can remember, the tape I cut from was a good quality transfer from the original master.

I actually thought the UK single edit sounded great!

The UK single release was a much shorter edited version. there would have been a tape copy made from the master, or possibly from another copy. Then the copy tape would have been edited to the shorter version.

I didn’t think the edit was very good, but only because chopping down a 22 minute track to about 3 minutes is bound to lose the feel of the original. When I used to present a radio show on Skye when I lived there, I made my own 9 minute edited version to play on my show.

At the time of Autobahn, electronic music did not yet have a long tradition. What was the decision process like for albums like Autobahn in terms of deciding on their sound?

I would approach it as I still do. Every project is different and requires a different mindset and mastering technique to get the best result.

I thought Autobahn was very well recorded and produced. I didn’t have to do much really.

The main issue was the high frequency parts on side two of the album. To get those sections to play back cleanly required some test cuts to get the best cutting level.

How do you look back on these two records, especially in the light of later remasters?

I’m sure the re-masters are great, especially if they are from the original master mixes, but haven’t heard them.

I’m sure I could do a better job on them now. Mastering equipment is so much better now. Mine cut was of the day with the tools of the day.

At the time, there were quite frequently different masters for different territories. I find this quite fascinating! Did you listen to these masters by colleagues sometimes?

I rarely heard master cuts from other countries, I just did mine and that was it.

Production is much closer now with identical masters sent to different territories. CDs are usually identical around the world, but vinyl can still be different because there is an engineer in each territory making the cut.

The cutting lathes, cutting amplifiers and cutting heads will vary room to room, as well as the engineer’s experience, so the volume and sound on the final vinyl will be different. Also, the type of plastic used in the pressing plant will change the sound slightly. A harder plastic will give a slightly brighter sound compared to a softer plastic.

There are so many variables to a vinyl cut and pressing.

In our email conversation, you mentioned that you mastered Amarok with Mike Oldfield at his home. Did you take a mobile mastering set-up with your or simply work on it on his console? Was it typical for you to come to the artist's studio with her or him present rather than perform the mastering in your own studio?

I’ve always mastered at the mastering studio, but sometime go to the studio when the artist is recording or mixing.

I mastered Amarok at Tape One Studios where I worked at the time. Mike invited me to listen to the almost completed album at his home, so I had an idea how it sounded there, and to get a feel for it before I mastered.

Mike came to the mastering at Tape One. He brought two versions of the album to master from. One was half inch analogue tape, and also in Sony 1630 digital format. I can remember mastering side one from the tape masters and side two from the digital master.

What do you remember about Mike’s studio and your time there?

Mike’s at the time was a lovely place. A main house and some outbuildings. As well as the large main studio, he had separate rooms for his guitars, percussion.

He had his favourite guitars on stands in the studio. He also had another building for making videos. Cameras, lighting, computers and everything you needed.

Amarok is a 60 minute composition. In as far your remember or from your experience with other projects, would you approach something like this more as one piece or as different sections collaged together, each with its own requirements?

I look at the whole composition as one piece but also each section, adjusting as I need to. The whole thing has to flow and feel as one even if there are several parts. You press play at the start, relax and listen to the whole thing, so it has to be smooth and feel as one from start to finish.

The same approach for any album I master.

You singled out Vangelis as a great artist to work with – in which way?

When I worked with him, he was always a pleasant person to spend time with. We would master and then usually go to his home and have dinner while listening on his home system and making notes of any changes we needed to do.

I would go back, make a second version, and that was usually it – job done.