Raised in Ireland, musician, engineer and producer Lynne Earls was initiated into pro audio at 15 when she recorded a song she wrote for a contest. Encouraged to relocate to Los Angeles by Brazilian jazz-musician friends, she made the move in 2001 and engineered and wrote for the friends’ company. In 2006 she was tapped by saxophonist Dave Koz to engineer a record for his label Rendezvous Music. Thirteen years later she launched EMP (Earls Music Production) Music, her own label, and the following year she established her residential recording sanctuary Tibet Hill Studios. Artists she’s worked with include k.d. lang, LeAnn Rimes and Bobby Bazini.
Earls recorded her first song as a teen and brought 100 cassette copies of it to a local music store and convinced them to stock it. Since that first foray into the studio, she’d dreamt of running her own label. “I’d engineered and produced a lot of independent albums and [often] watched them fall off of a cliff after they were finished,” she recalls. “Self-releasing for artists is difficult. Beyond finishing the album, I didn’t feel that I had the knowledge to help them and that’s why I’d wanted to create a portal to release music. So in 2019 I called my friend, artist Mercy Collazo, to make a record and that’s how I launched EMP Music.”
Originally Earls had a recording studio in L.A. But she’d developed a strong preference for residential recording spaces, in part because of the overall immersive atmosphere that they provide. Accordingly, in 2020 she opened Tibet Hill Studios, her recording retreat. “The residential experience gets people out of their everyday lives and they’re more present,” she observes. “Sharing food and getting a chance to relax with the people you work with after sessions is part of it. It’s my favorite way to make records.”
In addition to her instinct about songs, Earls’ roster of favored gear has also been refined by time and experience. “I use my Neumann U 87 all the time,” she says. “I’m also big on Universal Audio. Their EMT 250 is one of my go-tos for space.”
One of Earls’ most treasured memories is of her graduation in 2000 from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, founded by Paul McCartney. What made the day particularly sweet was that McCartney conferred Earls’ diploma personally. “I felt so lucky to start my career with the blessing of Sir Paul!” she recollects.
Newly Dolby Atmos Certified, Earls completed the mix of Moya Brennan’s latest record recently. Brennan, a vocalist with famed Irish band Clannad, is also the sister of Celtic cantatrice Enya. Earls also plans to release her own record sometime later this year. Her favorite studio at which to track is West L.A.’s legendary audio abode The Village. She’s active with a number of organizations established to empower women in audio, including She Is The Music, We Are Moving The Needle and the Recording Academy’s Women In The Mix.
Visit lynneearls.com, Instagram @lynneearls
