Stella Utopia EM
Michael Romanowski is the chief mastering engineer of Coast Mastering in Berkeley, California. He is one of the very first Immersive Audio Mastering engineers with more than 4000 mastered records over the last 30 years. As a sought-after consultant and advisor for companies such as DOLBY, SONY, FRAUNHOFER, and more, his contributions have helped build and refine tools for creativity while pushing the boundaries of immersive audio production. Michael designed and built his first surround studio in 2001, added height channels in 2015 and created his first ATMOS music releases before the launch of Dolby Music. He is a five-time GRAMMY Award winner and ten-time GRAMMY nominee. Michael has presented at AES, NAMM, SXSW, Tape Op, Potluck Con, AES Mexico, AES Europe and written articles for Mix Magazine and Electronic Musician. As a member of the Recording Academy, Michael has served as National Trustee, Chair of Planning and Governance Committee, and National Presidents Council and Co-chair of National Awards and Nominations Committee, Producers & Engineers Immersive Committee and National Advisory Council to the Producers & Engineers Wing.
CREDITS
ALICIA KEYS • PRINCE • TOM PETTY • BONNIE RAITT • BEE GEES • LYLE LOVETT • DUNE SOUNDTRACK • STAR WARS IV, V AND VI SOUNDTRACKS • GEORGE STRAIT • GRATEFUL DEAD • PETER FRAMPTON • KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD • FANTASTIC NEGRITO • RYAN ULYATE • RAY CHARLES • JAKE WORTHINGTON • INDIANA JONES SOUNDTRACK
"What I need as a mastering engineer is a speaker that tells me exactly what the music is and how it is presenting itself. Every decision I make in the studio is based on my perception, if my perception is off, then so are my decisions. I choose Focal speakers because they give me an honest audio picture of the music. The most important piece of equipment for me is the monitoring environment. I rely on Focal speakers every day, my reputation depends on them."