 ELAINNE HALBERSBERG talks to Masterfonics Mastering Engineer Tommy Dorsey about his unique career path and his remix work under the name “Piper” on LeAnn Rimes’ international hit “We Can”.
In a traditionally DJ-driven genre, Tommy Dorsey combines his mastering engineer experience with an impressive musical and production background to pioneer a new breed of dance music.
Mastering engineer Dorsey has polished hit after hit from the most unlikely dance music locale – Nashville. What has really put him on the map of late, however, is his own recent remix of LeAnn Rimes’ “We Can”, which volleyed directly in the Top 10 on the U.K. charts and is duplicating that success in the U.S.
He started his mastering career at Masterfonics over 10 years ago. “I have been fortunate to work alongside the “masters” of the craft while they put the finishing touches on such popular country artists as Shania Twain and Garth Brooks, I found my niche working on Pop, Rock, Dance, and Hip Hop”.
“Many of the mixes I’ve mastered are very well recognized and have charted. But since Nashville has little interest in promoting anything outside the country genre, my efforts have gone pretty much unnoticed by the media”.
Here are some of the facts: Dorsey’s remarkable resume includes high profile and underground dance music. “I’m very proud of the list of remixers whose work I have mastered,” he says, citing heavyweights such as Thunderpuss, Almighty Associates, Graham Stack, Johnny Vicious, Illicit, Jimmy Gomez, Rank I, Dave Aude, and the Kinky Boyz.
“Not only have I mastered hundreds of releases on CD, but up until a few years ago we had a very meticulously tricked-out Neumann lathe that had been babied by my mentors Glenn Meadows, Benny Quinn, and Frank Wells. Having such a combination of innovative technology and mentor-horsepower put me in the right place at the right time.
During the day we’d be cutting audiophile quality master lacquers for major-label country artists. In the evenings and on weekends I’d be pumping out everything from chart-topping, high-energy club anthems, to banging Tekstep hardcore dub plates aimed at the U.K. massive. All styles of dance music rely heavily on 12-inch vinyl to reach their audience and I’ve tweaked mixes for clients throughout the U.S. and Europe. This vantage point when combined with my other musical and production skills has been invaluable. The skills that I’ve refined by being a mastering engineer have helped me understand technically as well as artistically what it is that will make people get up and dance”
Dorsey definitely has an edge on the competition, bringing his mastering, mixing and musical ears to each project. “Some people might say, ‘A mastering engineer doing remixes – how cute’, but a big part of my career all along has been working in production and programming,” he says.
Classically trained on the organ and piano since early childhood, Dorsey was one of the first Nashville session musicians to use synthesizers regularly on recordings. “I have always been charmed by the newest sound-making technologies and musical trends. Early in the 1980s, songwriters in Nashville started becoming more pop inspired. I brought a unique palette of sounds and had the technique and training to back it up. The songwriting and session environment in Nashville has been crucial to my goals.”
The lure of MIDI studio technology soon led Dorsey to explore his interests in engineering and production. He spent eight years at The Castle studio in Franklin, Tenn. where he was staff engineer and programmer. He immersed himself in the new and exciting technology, which included the Fairlight Series II and III, and the SSL console. “There was a constant flow of pop and dance-flavored artists coming through. During my spare time, I produced my own projects.”
Dorsey’s career is finally coming full circle, thanks to the “Piper Mix” of “We Can”. He has worked on LeAnn Rimes’ dance mixes for four years as a mastering engineer and describes her as “a diva in the genre.” Dorsey: “The personality of her sound, the charm that comes through in her voice – she has a one-of-a-kind artistry that suits a lot of different atmospheres.”
Dorsey remixed “We Can” with DJ Ron Slomowicz, a nationally-recognized DJ and record label music consultant. “We have been doing remixes for independent-label artists, and LeAnn is our first major-label ‘Billboard’ chart success,” he says. “Ron is extremely knowledgeable about dance music from the DJ’s perspective and also with its structure and arrangement. He brings a breath of fresh air to the table, because I get so far into details and instruments that I have 50 kites in the air at once and have to keep my strings untangled. He certainly helps with direction. We had 90 percent of LeAnn’s remix complete when we brought in a collaborator, Lenny Bertoldo, who has years of remixing experience. He’s a well-known dance remixer and producer. Lenny was able to help take the project from 90 percent to 120 percent with his talent, experience and objectivity. He came in during the final stages and helped us wrap it up.”
As is the case in breaking dance hits, “We Can” was launched in the U.K. “The intricacy of how dance music is promoted is an art in itself,” says Dorsey. “Our mix had the commerciality that the U.K. wanted. The song is on the Legally Blonde II soundtrack and Curb Records knew it would be a single because of the movie’s recognition and because LeAnn was involved. Her management had certain remixers in mind, and they picked Todd Terry and Wide Life, two well-known remixers in the dance community. Curb likes to balance flagship remixers with lesser-known people to give up-and-coming remixers a shot. Since I’d been mastering for curb and had a contact there that had helped me in the past, he gave us a vocal after the other remixers had been commissioned. We turned it in, they liked it, and by that weekend it was getting airplay in the U.K.”
“It has helped me being raised in a songwriting and session environment,” he explains. “With my song-oriented sensibilities, I respect the artist’s original vision while making each remix appropriate for the dance floor. You want to retain the whimsical quality of the record and not kill the song by belaboring it. Bottom line: You’ve got to make people want to get up and dance.”
And in case you’re wondering, yes, Tommy Dorsey can shake his groove thing. “My wife and I love to go to dance clubs,” he says. “It’s a ritual that whenever we travel to a new city, we have to hit all the dance clubs! I also love to stand in the DJ booth. My favorite thing is seeing how people respond to records, especially one of mine. When all the hands go up in the air, it’s a very fulfilling feeling.”
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