Our services reviewed

Sound on Sound "Sound on Sound head North to meet the highly talented guitarist / multi-instrumentalist Producer / Engineer and Arranger Carl Stipetic..."	The Unsigned Guide "Myownalbum launch world class music production for singer, songwriters...."
The Singer Magazine "Carl Stipetic delivers first class professional music production & musical services for Singer, Songwriters"	Mastering World Mastering World are proud to be associated with Myownalbum Recording Services.
Andrew Solt "Carl Stipetic is a brilliant Producer / Arranger and Composer of whom I am sure we will hear alot more of in the future of music, a highly skilled Producer and Arranger coupled with the dynamic musical ability to play at World class standard within so many genres from Jazz, Rock and Pop to R&B and more". Andrew Solt has directed & produced films for Warner Bros. and Paramount, including 'This Is Elvis', 'Imagine: John Lennon' and 'The History of Rock 'n' Roll' vols 7 & 8	Steven Collazo "I'm a little bit jealous of Carl, not for his talents, but simply that he has you in his corner. What a lucky man, listened to your showreel nice variety of styles, excellent musicianship, arrangements and vocals by Jon Colgrave". Steven Collazo is a member of the hit US band Odyssey

Jon Colgrave - Jazz Big Band Singer

Music Producer Carl Stipetic has Co Produceed, Engineered, Arranged and performed world class jazz guitar and keyboards on many of my albums over many years.  As a professional Recording Artist I demand top playing and arrangements on my original tracks when recording.  In the past before I formed my own band, Myownalbums Producer Carls Stipetic played the entire musical sessions on Jazz Guitar, Bass, and keyboards in addition to programming and mixing. Carl's professionalism and creativity as a co-writer is second to none.

Brian Mccarthy

Years ago Carl produced and arranged my entire album Elements, I was amazed by the production and session playing and the speed that my project was delivered. Many of the tracks where produced and mixed in one full day, the track Hold On which was sent to The Guild of Songwriters and Composers was reviewed as excellent production, arrangements and musicianship and took Carl just 9 hours to complete. The production was so professional sounding that I never actually had the album mastered and still  managed to receive radio air play on some of my songs along with some excellent reviews from people in the music industry.

Neil Thomas

I first began working with Carl in 1990 when a band that I had been writing music for decided we needed to record a demo tape in order to get some gigs.
I knew about Carl because I had once arranged to hire his spare rehearsal room when we needed a place to practice the previous year.
“In A City Studio” used to be based on an ill-lit side street. It was housed in a run-down brick building, which was alongside a joinery workshop. This was in the days before there were eight thousand car showrooms along the three mile stretch of Canal Road in Bradford. I remember the place had a certain charm about it. There was something mysterious about going there to make music - like it was a secret and nobody knew we were there.
Inside, you climbed the eerie stairs to the three rooms which housed Carl’s equipment. A long room with little spotlights illuminating a drumkit, adorned with microphones and metal stands. I remember in the corner was an old Hammond organ that just sat there itching for someone to play it.

The control room was next to the drum room and had a large window so you could see your drummer pull weird and interesting faces at you as everyone tried to keep time. This magical window enabled all the secret little nods and affirmations that musicians share whilst making music like masonic signals that communicate what is happening or where we’re about to go.
Permanently in position in the pilot seat, sat Carl Stipetic. This man is more than a musician - he is a production demi-god. A musical guru and legend that seems to have mastered all of the main band instruments. He can play guitar and effortlessly glide through almost any style or genre, working the fretboard in any way you ask. Should you have an idea on a bass part, you can hum it to him and he will pick up a bass guitar and play what you had in mind and then some. He can funk it up, or soften it down, again, running through any style you ask for.
Then there is the piano. Its almost like Carl invented the damn thing. I often spent weeks developing melodies and chords that I wanted to use in a song and Carl would take my ideas and rip through them making seemingly endless possibilities of where the song could go.

As a songwriter, someone with a handful of musical ideas that needed crafting into what I could only imagine inside my head, Carl Stipetic is a dream to work with. A germ of an idea would remain exactly that, a seed until I met up with Carl for a recording session and he could weave his magic. During recording sessions for “For the Chance” (my first solo project with Carl) that is just how we worked. I would bring a handful of chords, a guitar riff or maybe some sequenced keyboards and we would build the rest of the song around it. Often with Carl becoming my “band”. The results, for me, were astounding. Finally here was a musician who could help me to make the music I really wanted to make, and without all the macho egotistical bullshit that you have to deal with when you play in a band. There is no politics and no vying for position, just an understanding that if you try a little experimentation here and there, you can create something unique.
Carl could even play drums to a very high standard, although I never really needed any, as a longstanding friend of mine, Leigh Stothard was always available for any tracks I needed. It always made more sense to have Carl at the mixing desk working on engineering those complicated drum sounds instead. I’m confident though, that if ever I needed Carl, he is as good a drummer as he is at mastering the other instruments.

In 1995 I changed my approach for the next album and being so impressed with Carl’s contribution to previous songs, decided that all of the songs on the next solo album would be Thomas/Stipetic collaborations, written from the ground up. It was my intention to make a ‘lighter’ album this time and the songs would become very personal to me. I found myself writing lyrics to ideas that Carl and I worked on, bringing up material from my past. My approach to song-writing has always been to start with a musical idea or melody and ‘listen’ to what the notes tell me to write - I know this sounds pretentious, but for me the music leads on to the words almost like it speaks to me. Carl’s natural ability on any chosen instrument meant that I had a very colourful palate to work with and it became easy to develop lyrical ideas that would dovetail brilliantly with the structure of the songs. This album was to become “Heartland” an album that has since become a very hard act to follow...

As technology became more affordable, I found myself becoming more and more interested in music technology and set about creating my own recording studio. The idea was not to become self sufficient, but to be able to spend more time recording vocals and perfecting my singing. It would also mean that remixing songs and/or creating different versions would be easier too.
I invested in a digital tape based system called Tascam DTRS, which included 2x 8 Track recorders, rack mounted and completely portable, so that I could take my equipment to “In A City” to carry on recording with Carl. There was no longer a need to waste time making temporary mixes as previous. Now I could bring the entire recording home with me to try different ideas out and practice and record vocals.

My fourth solo album is still in production, a concept album called “A Century of Lullabies”. Again working in collaboration with Carl on all of the songs, this time my approach has been to record genuine instruments where-ever possible. The songs rely much less on keyboards - where I need strings, I have to go out and find cello and violin players, when I need drums - they are real kits played by real drummers. Having a portable system means that I have the flexibility to go and capture the sounds that I need for the songs. Carl still has made his mark on this album, as I don’t believe in changing a winning formula - if it ain’t broke - don’t try to fix it!

Studio Producers/Engineers like Carl are certainly not two-a-penny and the main advantage of working with someone like Carl is that you can experiment and develop your trademark sound and you are guaranteed an excellent end product. Bands can just turn up and let him push the right buttons, adding spice and colour where-ever necessary, but for a singer-songwriter he is a godsend. Turning your musical germ of an idea into a masterpiece that is every bit as professional and contemporary as it can be.
Not only that, because of his easy-going (and some would say slightly eccentric personality) you’re guaranteed to have fun along the way too!

“A Century of Lullabies” is expected to be released sometime in 2010