Kenneth Vaughan Thomas (died July 2021) was an English

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, recording engineer, and

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

. As a record producer, he worked with artists such as

the Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

Dave Gahan Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, Sigur Rós, and M83.

Early career

His career in the music industry began as an assistant and engineer on sessions for groups like

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and d ...

the Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

Alien Sex Fiend Alien Sex Fiend are an English gothic rock band, formed in London, England in 1982. The current lineup of the band consists of Nik Fiend and Mrs Fiend. Five of the group's albums and 12 of their singles reached top 20 positions in the UK indie ...

, and Rush while working at

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...

and Advision studios. In 1980, he composed and recorded the album ''Beat the Light''. Due to his involvement with punk and experimental artists, he went on to work with Icelandic group

the Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes ( Icelandic: Sykurmolarnir) were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Bened ...

as an engineer on their debut album ''

Life's Too Good ''Life's Too Good'' is the debut studio album by Icelandic alternative rock group the Sugarcubes. It was released in April 1988 by One Little Indian in the UK and Europe and in May 1988 by Elektra Records in the US. The album was an unexpected suc ...

''.

Sigur Rós

Thomas' relationship with the Sugarcubes later resulted in his work with fellow Icelandic band Sigur Rós after Sugarcubes' guitarist Þór Eldon played him the group's debut album ''

Von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

''. Thomas went on to undertake production, engineering, and mixing duties for the group throughout several albums including '' Ágætis byrjun'', '' ( )'', and '' Takk...'' and also assisted in recording the performances for the documentary film ''

Heima ''Heima'' (; ''at home'') is a documentary film and double DVD set about the tour around Iceland in the summer of 2006 of the band Sigur Rós. During the tour the band played two big open-air concerts at Miklatún - Reykjavík (30 July) and Ásby ...

''.

Personal life

Ken is the father of fellow record producer Jolyon Vaughan Thomas. The two shared High Bank Studio and collaborated on projects. Ken was also the father of published singer songwriter Amy Odell, who provided vocals on his production of the

Gavin Friday Gavin Friday (born Fionán Martin Hanvey, 8 October 1959) is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter, best known as a founding member of the post-punk group The Virgin Prunes. Early life Friday was born in Dublin and attend ...

album ''

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

''. Thomas was reported to have died in early July 2021 as acknowledged in online statements by Gavin Friday and Sigur Rós.

References

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, ...

, July 2002 English record producers Year of birth missing 2021 deaths {{UK-record-producer-stub

Early career

Sigur Rós

Personal life

References

External links