Julie McLarnon is a British recording engineer and record producer, known for working solely to analogue tape. Founder of Analogue Catalogue Studios, she has recorded albums for artists including

the Vaselines The Vaselines are a Scottish alternative rock band. Formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1986, the band was originally a duo between its songwriters Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on ba ...

Lankum Lankum are a contemporary Irish folk music group from Dublin, consisting of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat. In 2018 they were named Best Folk Group at the RTÉ Folk Music Awards, while Radie Peat was named Bes ...

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...

King Creosote Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' Astronaut Meets Apple ...

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and Alasdair Roberts.

Early life

Born in Manchester in 1971 to Irish parents, McLarnon started playing music at an early age, experimenting with 4 track recording and making effects pedals from the age of 14. At 16, she left school having been accepted onto the Recording Technology course at University College Salford run by

Bill Leader Bill Leader (born 26 December 1929) is an English recording engineer and record producer. He is particularly associated with the British folk music revival of the 1960s and 1970s, producing records by Paddy Tunney, Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, John Re ...

Career

Early years

Two years into the course she was offered the job of tape op at

Strawberry Studios Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Formation The facility was originally called Inter-City Studios and located above a music store in the town centre. In early ...

, Stockport where she trained under engineer Chris Nagle, in addition to assisting on sessions with

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

. As part of her training at Strawberry, McLarnon brought in local band The Charlatans, introducing them to Chris Nagle and assisting on the recording of the band's debut single 'Indian Rope'.Robb, John. The Charlatans: We Are Rock. Ebury Press 1999 p76 Nagle later went on to produce the band's debut album '

Some Friendly ''Some Friendly'' is the debut studio album of British rock band The Charlatans that was released on 8 October 1990 through Beggars Banquet Records imprint Situation Two. After forming in 1988, the band went through line-up changes before settli ...

'. Following the closure of Strawberry Studios, Julie McLarnon worked at Suite 16 (co-owned by

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...

of Joy Division/New Order), Mirage (formerly Pennine Sound Studios) and The Windings Studios in North Wales. These years saw her work with

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

, New Order,

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...

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A Guy Called Gerald Gerald Rydel Simpson (born 16 February 1967), better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP '' Newbuild'' (1988) and hit ...

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and

World of Twist World of Twist were an English indie pop band, formed in Sheffield in 1985. History The original line-up of the band consisted of James Fry (vocals), Andrew Hobson (bass guitar), Gordon King (guitar), Tony Ogden (drums), Rory Conolly (saxophon ...

amongst others.

Thrush Puppies and Bridget Storm

In addition to her studio work, in the mid-90s McLarnon also fronted riot grrl act Thrush Puppies, who toured extensively, recorded

Peel Sessions John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

and signed to 4AD offshoot Detox Artefacts. Following the break up of the band, she subsequently fronted her own project under the name Bridget Storm, signing a publishing deal with Rough Trade and touring with

Smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...

, Lambchop and

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

Record producer and recording engineer

Julie McLarnon set up her own Analogue Catalogue Studios in Manchester in the early 2000s, recording to 2" tape using only

analogue recording Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which, among many possibilities, allows analog audio for later playback. Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautograph and phonograph. L ...

equipment. Built around a vintage Trident Series 80B

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic inst ...

and Otari MTR90 24 track 2" tape machine, she produced and engineered albums by artists including

The Vaselines The Vaselines are a Scottish alternative rock band. Formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1986, the band was originally a duo between its songwriters Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on ba ...

, Barbarossa and

. The studio moved to Ireland in 2014 where she continues to work producing albums by artists including Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, Alasdair Roberts and Lankum. McLarnon has produced, engineered and/or mixed numerous records including:

– A Turn in the Dream Songs (Rough Trade, 2011)
The Vaselines – Sex with an X (Sub Pop, 2010)

Barbarossa (musician) James Mathé, known professionally as Barbarossa, is a British singer-songwriter, producer, and musician known for his minimalist electronic music. Formerly part of the Fence Collective, Mathé first performed as Barbarossa in 2005, releasing his ...

– Bloodlines (Memphis Industries, 2013)

Yorkston/Thorne/Khan Yorkston/Thorne/Khan (sometimes styled as Yorkston Thorne Khan or Yorkston ♥ Thorne ♥ Khan) is a musical trio made up of the Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist James Yorkston, English bass player and singer Jon Thorne and Indian sarang ...

– Navarasa: Nine Emotions (Domino Records, 2020)
Yorkston/Thorne/Khan – Everything Sacred (Domino Records, 2016)
Yorkston/Thorne/Khan – Neuk Wight Delhi All Stars (Domino Records, 2017)

- Between the Earth and Sky (Rough Trade, 2017)
Brigid Mae Power - The Two Worlds (Tompkins Square, 2018)
Brad Gallagher, Bill Lowman & Alasdair Roberts – Missed Flights & Fist Fights (2015)
Alasdair Roberts – Pangs (Drag City, 2017)
Ulaid and

- A Note Let Go (2017)

– Astronaut Meets Appleman (Domino Records, 2016)
King Creosote – Analogue Catalogue EP (BOER, 2013)
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Honest Words EP (Domino Records, 2011)
Frances McKee – Sunny Moon (P-Vine, 2006)
The Shivers – More (Fence/Silence Breaks 2011)
Aidan Smith – Fancy Barrel (ACat, 2005)
Supreme Vagabond Craftsman - Just You, Me & the Baby (ACat, 2007)
Robin James – Paper Earth (Pocket Size, 2011)
Elaine Palmer – Waves (Cosmos, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLarnon, Julie 1971 births English record producers English audio engineers Women audio engineers Living people British women record producers Musicians from Manchester