Producer/Engineer Gloria Kaba shows us through New York’s famed Power Station Studio

We are back with another Show Us Your Junk! This time, we are featuring the legendary duo of producer Gloria Kaba and New York’s famed Power Station Studio.
 
Gloria Kaba is a Ghanaian-American sound engineer, producer, mixer and writer with over a decade of experience in the studio, often operating under the moniker Redsoul. She’s worked on A Tribe Called Quest’s final album We Got It From Here...Thank You For Your Service and Solange’s breakthrough release, A Seat At The Table, working closely with legendary hip-hop artist and producer Q-tip. She began her career as an intern at Battery Studios and later as an assistant engineer at MSR Studios where she spent 6 years working with engineers, producers, and artists including Madonna, Beyonce, Phil Ramone, Kanye West, Salaam Remi, Aretha Franklin and Frank Ocean. As of July of 2023, Gloria became the Technical Director of Power Station. She most recently worked with acts like Ms. Lauryn Hill, John Batiste, Yebba, William Orbit, Nathalie Joachim and Molly Burch while collaborating with the likes of rising stars Kaina, Jaywood and Baker Boy.
 
In this episode, Gloria shares some history on Power Station Studio, which opened in 1977, designed by producer and engineer Tony Bongiovi (Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin). Power Station’s notable clients include Bruce Springsteen, Nile Rogers, Madonna, Chic, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, H.E.R., Frank Ocean, Bruno Mars, in addition to Broadway, film and television projects. Gloria also teaches engineering classes at Power Station.
 
Gloria shows us one of her favorite consoles, the Neve 8088 in Studio A’s control room. The studio is filled with vintage Pultec EQ racks, Neve 1073 preamps, and tons of classic studio gear. In Studio G, Gloria has an assortment of EarthQuaker pedals set up on top of the SSL 4000 mixing console, including the Avalanche Run, which she uses to create dubby stereo delay. While she uses software, she emphasizes the tactile nature of hardware effects and enjoys using pedals and turning physical knobs when using effects on a recording.
 
Gloria talks about how she approaches working with artists and also answers the age-old question of the distinction between an engineer and a producer. “To me, there's no clean distinction between the production and the engineering as I approach a project,” she says. “I could be producing and am thinking about the mix, and that influences sound selection.” Gloria details her process from start to finish, and the extra level of care she takes to understand her artists and help realize their vision.
 
This is another inspiring episode, and we are honored and grateful for Gloria and Power Station sharing the magic of this historic studio with us.

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Video Credits:
Shot by: Jeff France, Dannesh Moosa, Dave Whited and Chris Tran
Directed by Chris Tran
Edited by Jeff France and Chris Tran

Music:
Intro credits music and studio performance by Gloria Kaba
Additional background music by Jeff France

Gear:
Gloria uses the Avalanche Run and Pyramids during her performance section. Also included are the Astral Destiny, Aqueduct, and Sea Machine.

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