“It all starts with the song. A good song guides you as to where it wants to go and when you’re working with the right act, its a real privilege to be able to help them produce something that really showcases who they are.”
For Queensland producer Stephen Bartlett, the song is a canvas just waiting to have the colour added. With a unique sound, that shows an uncanny ability to bring the best out of a wide variety of genres, his work has quickly become critically acclaimed around Australia.
His new studio The Docking Station features Queensland’s only Neve 5316 console imported from New York and six acoustically designed recording spaces, making it one of the country’s best choices for world-class recording. The Neve console also provides a classic platform for mixing , which is fast becoming one of Stephen’s most sought-after services, bringing fresh ears and a world-class polish to recordings from both at home and around the world.
With a solid history as a guitarist and bassist including a grade 7 in jazz guitar and stints in a number of popular Brisbane bands, Bartlett started his career as a producer in late 2003. His work has transcended genre with critical acclaim for his work with the likes of The Winnie Coopers (Triple J high rotation), Hungry Kids of Hungary, The Red Paintings, Skinny Jean, Dead Day Sun, Another Day Down, Dextor’s Conscience (2x MusicOz awards), Re-enactment and Revel 8.
“As a mastering engineer who gets to hear a lot of work from many mix engineers, I can say I rate Stephen highly. He has a great grasp over a variety of genres and is one of the most enthusiastic and passionate people I have the pleasure to work with. His level of commitment to his craft and clients is fantastic”
- Jack the Bear – Mastering Engineer (Vic)
“Working with Steve is easy. He puts in 100% of his effort, takes as much creative control as you want him to, he’s fluent with all his great gear and he’s absolutely affable. It seems that he’s always evolving his equipment and methods, which is something that I think is vital to people in his field. I think Steve’s a true professional.”
- Shem Allen – Skinny Jean
“Steve is one of the few sound engineers I’ve worked with that has both an undeniable ability matched with a warm and hard working enthusiasm. From experience I know that he’s up for going to some pretty obscure lengths to achieve those rare sounds we all desperately hunt for. That kind of creative and adventurous quality, I think, every good sound engineer should have. With his studio, Steve understands and has acutely taken care of any detail that will lead to a quality recording done in a comfortable and non-threatening environment…again, a rare trait in professional studios.”
- Jacob Hicks – Re:Enactment
“We hire Steve to work on our projects not only because of his track record but because he has innovative ideas and is prepared to give anything a go to achieve a unique sound that compliments the direction the band is pursuing. We are more than happy with the work that Stephen has done for us and would recommend him to anyone looking to achieve a quality recorded product.”
- Brett Wood – Starving Kids Records
“Steve’s easy to work with because he’s enthusiastic about your songs and listens to what you want to achieve with them and does his best to bring them to that outcome. He’s very experienced in music and studio stuff, so his skills and ideas help me to achieve things that would be impossible alone.”
- Karl Gadd – Singer/Songwriter
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, all these comments are great. Stephen is the best, we got it. Of course, how could anyone maintain such a studio without all these nice qualities? Yes but NO. For me, what matters the most in a recording, mixing, editing, mastering, producing, you-name-it-ing engineer, is the personal attitude. It does not matter how many degrees you have and who you have worked with and carefully listed in your credits. Stephen has one up all the others in Australia. He simply intuitively knows how to deal with people.”
- Daniel Fournier – Digital Archives Network