Eric Boulanger

Eric Boulanger
Born	August 5th 1985 New Jersey, USA
Nationality	American
Education	Carnegie Mellon University
Occupation(s)	Mastering Engineer, Violinist
Organization	The Bakery®
Website	www.thebakery.la

Eric Boulanger is an American mastering engineer and professional violinist. Eric is owner and chief engineer of the Bakery, an audio and vinyl mastering studio located in Los Angeles, California.[1] Boulanger has worked with artists including Weezer, Green Day, Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters, and on the soundtrack to the film La La Land.[2]

In 2018, Eric won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album for 50 Años Tocando Para Ti (Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá) with Rafa Sardina.[3][4] He also won as the mastering engineer on ¡México Por Siempre! by Luis Miguel, which won Album of the Year at the 2018 Latin Grammy Awards.[5][6]

Career

Boulanger is a classically-trained violinist who studied at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and the Tanglewood Festival. In 2006, he took an internship with Al Schmitt at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, and Schmitt introduced Boulanger to mastering engineer Doug Sax, who hired him the next year.[7]

Boulanger graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.[8] He then went to work for Doug Sax at the Mastering Lab in Ojai, CA.[6] While at the Mastering Lab, Boulanger worked as a mastering engineer and maintained the studio's custom analog equipment.[2]

Boulanger has been cutting vinyl since 2009, which he learned at the Mastering Lab. At the time, he had no experience with vinyl, and his first task was to build the lab’s vinyl cutting lathe.[9]

Mastered for iTunes

Boulanger was the first engineer to work on an iTunes "Mastered for iTunes" release for Colbie Caillat's All of You (released July 12, 2011 on the iTunes Store). The MfiT was a collaboration (between NARAS and Apple) to improve the quality of digitally downloaded music, and Boulanger collaborated with Apple's engineering team on the project. Boulanger mastered the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album I'm with You as the second "Mastered for iTunes" release (August 22, 2011).[10]

The Bakery

The Bakery opened on the Sony Pictures Lot in Culver City, CA. in 2015 after the death of Doug Sax, and the closing of the Mastering Lab.[7] In 2020, Boulanger mastered Diana Krall's This Dream of You.[11]

References

1. "On the Cover: The Bakery, Los Angeles". Mixonline. December 21, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
2. "Mastering Engineer Eric Boulanger Extolls the Benefits of SADiE's New Mastering Toolkit". Mixonline. June 26, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
3. "Lista de ganadores de los Latin Grammy". AP News. November 16, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
4. "Lista completa de ganadores de los Latin Grammy". MARCA Claro México (in Mexican Spanish). November 16, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
5. "David Reitzas and Eric Boulanger win album of the year at the 19th annual Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas". UPI. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
6. "Latin GRAMMY Engineering Awards Announced". ProSoundNetwork.com. November 19, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
7. "On the Cover: The Bakery, Los Angeles". Mixonline. December 21, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
8. "AES Los Angeles 2014 » Presenters: Eric Boulanger". www.aes.org. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
9. "Mastering for Vinyl: Conversations with the Pros". iZotope. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
10. Katz, Robert A (2013). ITunes music: mastering high resolution audio delivery : produce great sounding music with Mastered for iTunes. Waltham, MA: Focal Press. ISBN 978-0-415-65685-6. OCLC 837185741.
11. Amorosi, A. D. (September 25, 2020). "Diana Krall on Sharing Music in Quarantine, Hanging With Iggy Pop and Stanley Donen, and Honoring Her Late Producer With 'This Dream of You'". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2021.

External links

• The Bakery Website