INTERVIEW: Fred Kevorkian - Kevorkian Mastering

By Connor Norris.

January 2, 2020.

Fun drawing of Mr. Kevorkian done by the wickedly talented Colin Foley. @cofoley on Instagram.

I was fortunate enough to be able to talk over the phone with Fred Kevorkian of Kevorkian Mastering and discuss mastering, his processes, and what exactly someone who masters records does. Fred has mastered many notable records including The White Stripes' White Blood Cells, The Stooges' Ready to Die, and hundreds of other records over the years. If you have the time... check out his rather prolific career.

This interview, along with the research done to prepare, taught me a few things. 1. Mastering is an art. It takes style. It takes skill. It takes time. And it takes gear. 2. It's not all glitz and glamour inside of an album. I already knew this, but this interview really hammered the idea into my head. It might be satisfying when it is done, but there is nothing sexy about mastering a record. But someone has to do it. And those that do it, love it (Exhibit A: the 701 works credited towards Fred, starting in 1972 and continuing through 2020.)

It was delightful to talk to someone who is so far inside of the music, there is no sign of them inside of it. It was also incredibly interesting to talk to someone who views music as a business. Fred, while he loves what he does, he has a job to do, and he does it for artists who value his work.

Listen to the conversation by clicking on this link.