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ACM got a tip off from our Business and Artist Development Team (BDC) about the escapades of ACM Production Alumni Noel McElhinney and his recent work with Canadian artist Drake. We caught up with Noel to find out a bit more about his recent work.
What have you been up to since leaving ACM?
Since finishing ACM I moved back to Birmingham, and my focus moved to video production which provided some income, but music was of course always the passion. I set-up a studio and got back to working with some really cool unsigned acts like Esther Turner (Singer-Songwriter), Curfew (Mc/Rapper) and Miles Davis (Mc/Rapper). Whilst working with them I have really tried to attempt what producer Jake Gosling has been doing with Ed Sheeran – that mix of real live instruments with grime and rap.
What’s been your proudest moment so far?
I landed the gig to record and edit the video for Drake’s after party, but whilst in bed the night before the afterparty I had a call from a friend in London who asked if I had a mobile ProTools rig.. I explained I did and he put me through to Drake’s touring record engineer who I had a brief chat with and within an hour I had gone from my bed to Drake’s hotel room where we began to lay down his verse on a new French Montana track. I ended up spending all night and the following morning recording and mixing the track before it was sent off to another studio in LA.
Sounds like an incredible experience
Yes – especially when I found out they had initially booked Abbey Road to record the track but they didn’t end up going down there, instead it was recorded with an SE2200a + SE reflection filter (with some mattresses, duvets and other things acting as acoustic treatment) an Apogee Duet and My Macbook Pro in a hotel room!
I made sure I networked as much as possible whilst I was with those guys and I’ll be continuing to work with them in 2012.
Do you have any advice or tips for our current ACM students?
The only advice I can give is network – I got the job because I networked with the right people at the right time.
Our thanks to Noel for getting back in touch and we wish him well for the future.
