Romel (left) accepting his Engineer of the Year award from Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (RiaJam) official, Cleevie Browne, at a recent function held in his honour at Grafton Studios. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

(This week Splash begins our newest feature, At the Mixing Board, where we focus on a set of people whose contribution to the development of the music is often overlooked. This week, we share a few moments with Romel Marshall, mixing engineer at the legendary Grafton Studios, owned by producer Mikey Bennett.)

After speaking with mixing engineer Romel Marshall for just a few minutes, it becomes obvious that he really is "one decent guy". This, he attributes to the principles taught to him by his parents, and of course, one must never forget that "him go KC".

An engineer who is steadily climbing the ladder of success, the easy-going Romel says he is not about to get hyped up about his own achievements. He says that it's his love for the music that keeps him focused in a world where too many easily lose their grip on reality. A protégé of ace producer/songwriter Mikey Bennett, Romel has, in a sense, been serving his apprenticeship since third form, when he struck up a friendship with Bennett's son, Nicky B, and made Grafton Studio his second home.

"I was always interested in music . so one day I asked Nicky B if it was true that his father had a studio. He said, 'a deejay you want deejay' and I said no, I just wanted to learn about making songs," Romel recalled. So Nicky B took Romel home and introduced him to his father and from then, Romel found his reason for living. He eats and sleeps music, and is totally in his element in a studio. When Splash asked what he does for recreation, he stuttered and then admitted that his life is really centred around the mixing board.

Two weeks ago, Bennet held a special function to honour Romel who had been recognised by the Reggae Academy Awards for his work as mixing engineer on the mega Tarrus Riley hit, She's Royal.

According to Romel, when he heard the song She's Royal, he knew immediately that it would be a big winner for the artiste. He confesses, however, that he had no idea that the song's impact would have been so huge.

"Just listening to the raw mix, I could feel that this is big and I said to myself 'dem really give me this to mix?' and so I just gave it my best shot," the quiet engineer recalled.
His "best shot" turned out to be enough to earn him the coveted Reggae Academy Award for the song with the best mix.

"Yes . I feel very pleased wtih the outcome," he said, even as he shared with Splash his first studio session, which nearly turned out to be his worst nightmare. "It was a session with Mr Lex, and since all the other experienced engineers were busy, Mr Bennett told me calmly to run the session," he recalled, reliving the nervousness he felt on that fateful day.

So, doing his best to disguise the butterflies in his stomach, our hero advanced into the studio, ordered the artiste into the voicing room and proceeded to take the voice. A few minutes into the session, the artiste asks for a playback. The confident engineer presses the buttons on the mixing board, waits a few seconds . then a few more seconds - absolutely no sound. Maintaining his calm, he requests the artiste to re-do the song. The artiste complies, after which he again requests a playback. Our hero touches the knobs, sends a silent prayer heavenward and relaxes in his chair. The artiste and his entourage perk up their ears, eager to hear the sound. With heart thimping, he waits a few seconds again, then a few more seconds - alas! again . no sound.

Totally befuddled, he seeks help, only to realise that it was the simple flick of a switch that was preventing him from hearing the voice. With his confidence restored, our hero never looked back.

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