Eddie Kramer

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Eddie Kramer

Eddie Kramer (* 1941 in Cape Town , South Africa ) is a British sound engineer and producer . Kramer is known for his collaboration with many well-known artists from rock and pop music (including Jimi Hendrix , Kiss , Led Zeppelin , The Beatles , The Rolling Stones , David Bowie , Joe Cocker , Carlos Santana ) as well as for his live recordings from the Woodstock Festival .

Career

Eddie Kramer was born in Cape Town in 1941 to a South African and an Englishwoman. He studied classical piano, violin and cello at an early age at the prestigious South African College of Music . Due to the influence of popular American music in the 1950s, his musical interests shifted more and more towards rock 'n' roll , jazz and blues towards the end of his college education .

In December 1960, the 19-year-old Kramer moved to London , where he initially worked as an errand boy. Frequent visits to a television production company based in the same building spurred him on to pursue a career as a sound engineer. He soon found a job as an assistant in the Advision Studio , where he learned the basics while making early recordings for local jazz groups in his home studio.

In 1964 he took his first engagement in the professional Pye Studios , where he worked with artists such as Sammy Davis Junior and The Kinks . In 1966, Kramer moved to Olympic Studios , where, in addition to working with Small Faces , the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he was able to make a name for himself primarily through his close collaboration with Jimi Hendrix.

In 1969, Kramer went into business for himself and recorded the album " Led Zeppelin II " with the band "Led Zeppelin" . That same year, Kramer was asked to direct the live recordings of the Woodstock Festival . Looking back, Kramer reported on the recordings in Woodstock that it was "a three-day hell" where he and his assistants had to make the recordings under poor working conditions and with little sleep. Kramer's concert recording can be heard on the documentary film about the festival and many other publications about the festival.

In 1970, Kramer was hired by Jimi Hendrix to help build the Electric Lady Studios . In 1973 he produced a 5-track demo for KISS "on the side", which contained the titles Cold Gin , Strutter , Deuce , Black Diamond and Watchin 'You . However, there was no collaboration for the first KISS album. Kramer left the studios in 1975 to work with KISS on the album "Alive!" to work together.

In 1979 he worked with AC / DC to record the album Highway to Hell . However, in the middle of the recording he lost all previously recorded tracks and was fired. Four tracks from these recordings were rediscovered in the 1990s and published on the Bonfire box.

In the 1980s, Kramer mainly worked with various hard rock bands such as Anthrax , Twisted Sister and Whitesnake . He also worked as the musical administrator of Jimi Hendrix, producing a tribute album and writing a book on Hendrix with John McDermott.

In the 1990s, Kramer was active in addition to his activity as a producer, especially remastering the Hendrix albums and the live recordings of the Woodstock Festival. Kramer also filmed a documentary for the BBC about Electric Ladyland Studios , in which he also conducted interviews with Hendrix's former musicians.

Since 2000, Kramer has also been involved in various audio restorations and 5.1 mixes of his old recordings, which have gradually been released on DVD . In one of his last projects to date, he made a new 5.1 mix of Jimi Hendrix's appearance in Woodstock for a DVD.

Artist

Eddie Kramer worked with the following artists (selection of works):

literature

  • Markus Setzer: Jimi's Sound Man: Eddie Kramer. In: guitar and bass. October 2005, pages 68-70 (interview with Eddie Kramer).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dale Sherman: Black Diamond - The Unauthorized Biography of KISS , Collector's Guide Publishing Inc., ISBN 1-896522-35-1

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kramer, Eddie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British sound engineer and producer
DATE OF BIRTH 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Cape Town , South Africa