Vanessa Parr
The dearth of women in pro audio is no secret, and organizations like Women’s Audio Mission and soundgirls.org have long proven that women belong in the studio as producers and engineers, not just as musicians. Now you can add to that list of enablers UK singer/songwriter Laura Marling, whose new podcast, Reversal of the Muse, is exploring the presence of creative women in the recording studio, starting with a conversation with high-profile engineer Vanessa Parr (pictured).
On the podcast’s website, Marling writes, “It occurred to me that in 10 years of making records, I had only come across two female engineers working in studios. Starting from my experience of being a woman, I began to ask myself what difference it might have made had I had more women around, if any.”
With that in mind, Marling kicked off the series with an episode talking to engineer Vanessa Parr, whose credits include work with Elton John, Jill Scott, B.B. King, Coldplay, Everclear, John Mayer, T Bone Burnett, The Chieftains, Steve Earle and many others. Meanwhile, the second episode found Marling chatting with eternal buzz band Haim and its producer, Ariel Rechtshaid. It will be fascinating to see where Reversal of the Muse goes next.
