Martin Haskell

Sound engineer. Martin Haskell studied art in the late 60s and went on to graduate in film and TV production in the early 70s. He joined Decca Records’ West Hampstead Studio complex as a trainee balance engineer in 1973 and left in 1980 having gained extensive experience recording Decca’s diverse artist roster, from The Edmundo Ross Orchestra to the Punks via Thin Lizzie and the Consort of Musicke. He spent the early 80s as a freelance pop engineer/producer but moved into classical music recording after the birth of his first child, as “the hours were more civilised”. This same period saw the beginnings of digital recording and the compact disc and Martin gained valuable experience in the dark arts of digital mastering working alongside Ben Turner and other pioneers at Finesplice. He also found himself drawn into the restoration of vintage recordings by Kevin Daly, an ex-Decca colleague, who had launched the Living Era label for fledgling British independent record company ASV. In the 90s he became ASV’s chief engineer, recording and mastering much of its output as well as remastering 78 rpm records for the now very successful Living Era. He continued to work for ASV until its virtual demise under the ownership of Universal. Martin has received numerous accolades and awards for his work over the years and he continues to record award-winning albums with some of the finest British classical musicians. He continues to work in audio restoration, mastering a very broad range of music for CD.