Meet Harold LaRue | Mastering Engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Harold LaRue and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harold, why did you pursue a creative career?
Playing drums and doing live sound led to an interest in recording. My career has included software development, electronics, theatrical sound, and teaching, but music production is a constant.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Mastering is the last creative step in the record-making process and the first step in manufacturing. It involves carefully listening to a recording, tweaking if needed, and preparing it for release. Compared to recording and mixing, mastering can be much faster. In the course of a week, I will work on projects from several styles of music and really enjoy the variety.

My first mastering project was in the early 2000’s. A friend’s record was rejected by his label and needed a sonic facelift. I remixed a few songs and took a whack at mastering the album. To our relief, the album was approved and released internationally.

2023 has been an exciting year and began with a Grammy win for my work with Wayne Shorter.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

For the best vegetarian thali, Maharaja Bhog (maharajabhog.com) in Sharpstown. It’s a contender for my last meal on earth.

Waterstone Ranch Turkish Farm (@waterstoneranch) for farm-to-table Turkish cuisine.

Saint Arnold Beer Garden & Brewery (saintarnold.com) for amazing food, suds, and beautiful view.

One of our favorite, low-key taverns is Henderson Heights (hendersonheightstx.com).

Electronic Parts Outlet (epohouston.com) has row after row of electronic oddities and a tricked-out R2D2.

The Houston Symphony Orchestra (houstonsymphony.org) is one of the best in the nation. Before the show, visit Houston’s first Black-owned coffee shop, Day Six Coffee (daysixcoffee.com).

Set the way-back machine to the 90’s. Numbers Night Club (numbersnightclub.com) in Montrose is a legendary, underground dance club.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I learned a lot from Ronan Chris Murphy (GWAR, King Crimson) at his ‘Recording Boot Camp’ (recordingbootcamp.com) in Los Angeles. Check out his helpful tutorials at ‘Ronan’s Recording Show’ (ronansrecordingshow.com) for simple and effective studio tips that anyone can use to improve the sound of their recordings.

Website: https://haroldlaruemastering.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haroldlaruemastering/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroldlarue

Twitter: https://www.threads.net/@haroldlaruemastering

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haroldlaruemastering

Yelp: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-447-with-harold-larue/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3YNn6vylUPkH4Its-SIOtx5nRT-3IjZ6

Other: https://bio.site/mastering

Image Credits
Harold LaRue Mastering Logo – Lori Cantu Lisa Bella Donna – Moogmentum, Tristan Weary and Moog Music, Inc. Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival, Candid Records Terri Lyne Carrington – TLC & Friends, Candid Records Jeffrey Osborne – Worth It All, Mack Avenue Records Joey Alexander – What Do You Want To Listen To, Mack Avenue Records Working Class Audio Podcast, Matt Boudreau and Elizabeth Lessner