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Airshow Mastering, a full-service mastering facility, announced the completion of two projects by Anti Records artists. Very different in genre and approach, artists Bob Mould and DeVotchKa both chose to work with Airshow engineers on their album releases.

Bob Mould, best known for his work in the 80s punk band Hüsker Dü, has a longstanding relationship with Airshow engineer Jim Wilson that started in 1992. Most recently, they worked together to master his last album District Line which was released February 2008. Now, they have teamed up again with Mould working as both the artist and producer.

"Jim is my safety net," explains Mould. "We have worked together for so long that I trust him to create consistency across my current record and entire body of work. He’s got a fantastic studio at Airshow that incorporates technology that would blow your mind."

"Bob did a fantastic job on the mix he brought in," says Wilson. "My challenge was to stay out of the way and remove anything that would interfere with the way the fans are meant to experience the song. I purchased the Algorithmix EQ specifically for this project because it has the most neutral, transparent EQ I’ve ever heard. It was perfect for Bob’s record."

Although Wilson’s studio at Airshow is a hybrid of analog and digital technology, Mould’s project stayed in the digital realm. By contrast, Dave Glasser, Airshow’s chief engineer, stayed entirely analog for the mastering of DeVotchKa’s new album A Mad and Faithful Telling released in March 2008. DeVotchKa is an indie rock four piece based in Denver that started off as a backing band for burlesque shows, including touring with famous burlesque performer Dita Von Teese. The band gained national attention for their score for the Oscar-nominated 2006 film, "Little Miss Sunshine." Despite their many options, DeVotchKa chose to work with Airshow because they knew they had a great resource close to home.

"Dave mastered the Tony Furtado record 13 that was recorded at WaveLab so we knew he was the man to master Devotcka's record," states DeVotchKa’s producer Craig Schumacher. "He started the project with Nick (band leader) and Rob (manager), and we explored a few sonic options before settling on one we all liked. He was incredibly flexible. Ultimately, he delivered an amazing sounding record that we were proud to release."

"When a band comes in, I don’t impose a style on them," cites Glasser. "Instead, I help them explore different directions and respond creatively to their choices. In DeVotchKa’s case, we tried a couple things and let the music dictate our approach. Their mixes came in on half-inch analog tape so we decided to keep everything in the analog realm to maintain the warm character of the mixes. I’m very pleased with the results."

Celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year, Airshow Mastering has experience with every musical genre. With multiple engineers in their Colorado and Virginia studios, they are able to match the right engineer to any project that comes their way.

"We love working with Anti Records’ artists because they are as diverse as we are," says Glasser.

For more information about Airshow Mastering, including activities related to their 25th anniversary,
visit www.airshowmastering.com.
For press photos, visit http://www.airshowmastering.com/press/press.html.

About Airshow Mastering

Airshow Mastering is a full service audio mastering company with studios in Boulder, Colorado, and the Washington, DC area. Founded in 1983 by David Glasser and Ann Blonston to provide location audio recording services and coordination, Airshow evolved to include CD mastering several years later. Airshow's engineers have been nominated four times for GRAMMY Awards, and won GRAMMYs in 1998 and 2003 in the Best Historical Album category. Around 90 projects mastered at Airshow have been GRAMMY nominees.

The Airshow staff includes four mastering engineers: David Glasser, company co-owner Charlie Pilzer, Dominick Maita, and Jim Wilson; plus mixers James Tuttle and Jason McDaniel.