{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/62bc729dcf1ab400126c1e1b/69ac6c240722bbb60b63f68b?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Michael Graves: The Patient Philosophy of Audio Restoration","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/62bc729dcf1ab400126c1e1b/1772907368926-3a570ac4-a63c-4184-8082-3a7f1a4a57da.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Today, we're putting <em>The Tonearm</em>'s needle on <strong>Michael Graves</strong>, a five-time Grammy-winning mastering engineer and the founder of Osiris Studio in Los Angeles.</p><p>Michael's work is restoration as archaeology—pulling performances off deteriorating tapes, damaged acetates, and obsolete formats, then deciding how much intervention is too much. He's done this for recordings by Hank Williams, Aretha Franklin, Stax songwriters, and field recordings from Cambodia, Sudan, and Mississippi. His most recent Grammy came in 2024 for <em>Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos</em>.</p><p>The deeper question his work raises is curatorial: where does restoration end and revisionism begin? What gets rescued, and what stays buried?</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Dig Deeper</strong></p><p>• <strong>Michael Graves and Osiris Studio:</strong></p><ul><li>Visit Michael Graves at <a href=\"https://www.osirisstudio.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">osirisstudio.com</a> and follow Osiris Studio on <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/osirisstudio/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.osirisstudio.com/michael-graves\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Graves — Osiris Studio: About</a></li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Graves_(sound_engineer)\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Graves (sound engineer) — Wikipedia</a></li></ul><p>• <strong>Key Projects Discussed:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://craftrecordings.com/products/written-in-their-soul-the-stax-songwriter-demos-7-cd\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos</em></a> — 7-CD box set on Craft Recordings (2023), Grammy Award for Best Historical Album (2024)</li><li><a href=\"https://numerogroup.com/products/against-the-odds\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Blondie: <em>Against the Odds: 1974–1982</em></a> — box set via Numero Group and UMe (2022)</li><li><a href=\"https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/i-am-the-cosmos/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Bell: <em>I Am the Cosmos</em></a> — definitive reissue on Omnivore Recordings (2017)</li><li><a href=\"https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/the-complete-chris-bell/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Bell: <em>The Complete Chris Bell</em></a> — 6-LP box set, Omnivore Recordings (2017)</li></ul><p>• <strong>Labels:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://omnivorerecordings.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Omnivore Recordings</a></li><li><a href=\"https://numerogroup.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Numero Group</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.dust-digital.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Dust-to-Digital</a></li><li><a href=\"https://analogafrica.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Analog Africa</a></li><li><a href=\"https://craftrecordings.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Craft Recordings</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.rhino.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Rhino Records</a></li></ul><p>• <strong>Artists and People Referenced:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Bell_(American_musician)\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Bell</a> — Big Star co-founder; <em>I Am the Cosmos</em> recorded in the mid-1970s</li><li><a href=\"https://staxrecords.com/artist/big-star/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Big Star</a> — Memphis power pop band co-founded by Chris Bell and Alex Chilton</li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Emerick\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Geoff Emerick</a> — engineer and producer; produced and recorded Chris Bell's post-Big Star sessions</li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Floyd\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Eddie Floyd</a> — Stax recording artist and songwriter; known for \"Knock on Wood\"</li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mercer\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Johnny Mercer</a> — American lyricist, songwriter, and Capitol Records co-founder; his archive is held at Georgia State University</li><li><a href=\"https://www.leonardcohen.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Leonard Cohen</a> — Canadian singer-songwriter; Graves worked on his personal archive</li></ul><p>• <strong>Institutional Archives and Collections:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://research.library.gsu.edu/mercer\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Johnny Mercer Collection — Georgia State University</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.loc.gov/audio/?fa=partof:catalog%7Ccontributor:lomax,+alan%7Ccontributor:alabama+sacred+harp+convention&amp;all=true\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Alan Lomax and George Pullen Jackson Collection of Sacred Harp Music (1942) — Library of Congress</a></li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Harp\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sacred Harp singing — Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stax_Records\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Stax Records — Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href=\"https://staxmuseum.org/museum/collection/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Stax Museum of American Soul Music</a></li></ul><p>• <strong>Professional Organizations:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.grammy.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Recording Academy</a></li><li><a href=\"https://arsc-audio.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.aes.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Audio Engineering Society (AES)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.dust-digital.com/foundation\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Dust-to-Digital Foundation</a> <em>(Graves is a board member and technical advisor)</em></li></ul><p>• <strong>Other References:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.mofi.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi)</a> — audiophile reissue label referenced in the source tape discussion</li><li><a href=\"http://originalsacredharp.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Sacred Harp Publishing Company</a></li><li><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Historical_Album\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Grammy Award for Best Historical Album</a></li></ul><p>—</p><ul><li>Dig into this episode's complete show notes at <a href=\"https://www.podcast.thetonearm.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">podcast.thetonearm.com</a></li></ul><p>—</p><p>• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate <em>The Tonearm</em> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.&nbsp;</p><p>• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of <em>The Tonearm</em> in your podcast app of choice.&nbsp;</p><p>• Looking for more? Visit <a href=\"https://podcast.thetonearm.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">podcast.thetonearm.com</a> for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the <em>Talk Of The Tonearm</em> email newsletter. You can also follow us on <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/thetonearm.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Bluesky</a>, <a href=\"https://social.lol/@thetonearm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mastodon</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@TheTonearm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube</a>, and <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-tonearm/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>• Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, <em>The Tonearm</em>! → <a href=\"https://www.thetonearm.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">thetonearm.com</a></p>","author_name":"Lawrence Peryer"}