Hipgnosis has acquired a catalogue from Grammy Award-winning producer, mixer and engineer Andy Wallace.
Wallace is credited on albums with more than 120 million sales worldwide and has collaborated with artists including Aerosmith, Biffy Clyro, Blink-182, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Guns N' Roses, Jeff Buckley, Kasabian, Kelly Clarkson, Linkin Park, Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Prince, Rage Against The Machine, Run DMC, Rush, Sheryl Crow, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Stereophonics, System Of A Down and White Zombie.
Wallace started his career in the 1980s and landed his first global hit, mixing and engineering Run DMC. and Aerosmith’s Walk This Way in 1986. He has gone on to work on a host of seminal records such as Nirvana's Nevermind, Rage Against the Machine, Grace by Jeff Buckley, Foo Fighters' There Is Nothing Left to Lose, Coldplay's Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends and Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory.
"I'm fully confident that this substantial body of my work will be in the best of hands moving forward"
Andy Wallace
Hipgnosis boss Merck Mercuriadis said: “Andy has shaped the sound of great records for almost 40 years now and from seminal albums such as Nirvana’s Nevermind to Jeff Buckley’s iconic Grace and through landmark albums for Coldplay, Foo Fighters et al, he has had an award winning career that has defined what rock music sounds like. It’s fantastic to welcome him to the Hipgnosis family.”
Wallace, who is represented by Mark Beaven and Andy Kipnes at Advanced Alternative Media, Inc, said: “The records that I have worked on and the incredible artists that I have had the opportunity to work with throughout my career are very dear to me. I am extremely pleased and honored that so many people have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, this music. I am delighted to establish this arrangement with Hipgnosis and Merck Mercuriadis with whom I’ve had a long and fruitful relationship, and I’m fully confident that this substantial body of my work will be in the best of hands moving forward.”
Mark Beaven added: “Andy Wallace’s work and sound defined the spirit of an era. His adeptly-balanced, organic, minimal-outboard based sound was 180 degrees from the highly produced sounds before him and influenced the sounds and attitudes of generations to follow. It was amazing to often witness artists sit and hear a mix for the first time and just cry, sharing no one has ever understood them like that.
"Andy built quite a proud heritage and body of masterworks, telling a pivotal story of musical evolution. That Hipgnosis, a company led by the inimitable Merck Mercuriadis, a man Wallace knows well, has worked with throughout his career, and whom himself embodies the spirit of rock, should become the caretaker of his creations, is the perfect hand-off and the beginning of a proper new chapter in their heritage.”
By James Hanley
