Originally born in the former USSR and raised in New York City -- Roman Vail has been involved in the music scene for years.
A variety of music was always heard at home -- everything from Italian disco and jazz to Russian folk music. However it was the sound of the streets up in Washington Heights in the early 80's that really captivated him.
“Something special was in the air in NYC in the 80's (musically) from start to finish; I am defintiely proud to have those memories and to have had people around me that truly loved music -- all music."
After the public school system forced him to play the recorder in the 3rd grade and then being forced to study the accordion at age nine... Roman naturally fell into the guitar at 16 and his life of having music all around him finally made its way into his soul.
Over the past 15 years Roman has worked as a performer --playing in bands, as a producer he made beats/tracks for a varierty of musicians, and has also been a studio musician. He was involved in developing musical acts in the east village lounge scene, handled recording and mixing live shows, and even collaborated on some Alvin Ailey shows before engineering got hold of him. Roman's love for a variety of music genres gives him good musician instincts to build on --especially for audio mastering.
Initially a self-taught musician, Roman built a small production studio (later to grow into an elaborate mixing suite). His ambition as an engineer lead him to collaborating with an eclectic mix of musicians and styles and then onto NYU’s Audio Production and Music Supervision program where he excelled.
Shortly after, Joe Lambert and Roman’s paths crossed at Trutone Mastering Labs where he was exposed to many facets of the music business, while also managing the mastering studio and assisting the other mastering engineers. He was able to work closely with experienced engineers and see many projects go from the studio to radio.
When Joe opened up his state-of-the-art mastering studio in D.U.M.B.O., Brooklyn he called and asked Roman to be a part of JLM, where Joe continues the mastering tradition of an engineer taking another engineer under their wing. Roman has been working alongside Joe for the last several years --apprenticing first and later moving on to assisting on many of Joe’s projects, while continuing to absorb the audio mastering process. He is involved with all the projects that come through JLM and is key in handling all important issues that come up, as well as liaising between record label, artist, commercial manufacturers and the studio.
“There is no school for mastering; you have to be an apprentice with a skilled mastering engineer and then assisting before working on your own... To have an engineer and friend like Joe around is a unique opportunity -- his discography speaks for itself and hopefully mine will also”.
Roman has been working on many great projects --covering a wide variety of styles and genres. He uses a hand-picked collection of mastering gear, working in the same room as Joe, and continues making clients happy with the same commitment to the craft.
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