It was with great emotion that I learned of the death of Bruce Swedien. This sound engineer worked so much in the history of music, especially with Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, that he was an integral part of my passion for them, to the point that I could never separate him from them.
It is impossible to summarize such a career in a few lines, especially since documenting Bruce’s discography is a musical journey of more than four decades with someone who knew all the recording techniques while evolving with his time.
With Michael and Quincy, it all began in New York for the soundtrack of The Wiz in 1978, and I like to think that this complicity with the King of Pop reached its peak in that same city during the sessions for the album HIStory. To carry out his project, Michael isolated himself in a mythical recording studio frequented by the greatest artists in the world: the Hit Factory.
Bruce Swedien, like a faithful lieutenant, accompanied the artist there and had a new ninety-six-track mixing console built, more complete than the eighty-track one in Los Angeles, which until then was the largest in the world. The sound engineer proudly explains that his new equipment made it possible to record a complete symphony orchestra while using one track per instrument.
Bruce’s involvement was not limited to his area of expertise since he is credited with composition and production on this album, as was already the case for Dangerous. Of course, this is only my personal feeling and does not overlook the other albums of the King of Pop, including Thriller which remains the best-selling album of all time, and one could say that “Svensk” (the nickname given by Quincy) has his share in all of that.
I also do not forget the human aspect between Michael and Bruce. It was he who came to comfort Michael when he burst into sobs, whether for the first mix (so bad that the record was postponed) of the album Thriller or the song “Keep The Faith” which had caused him some difficulties. Bruce shed a few tears as well, notably when thinking back to that symphony orchestra standing and giving a standing ovation to Michael at the end of the Smile session…
For my part, unfortunately, I never met Bruce Swedien, but I will remember his kindness when, through Isabelle Petitjean, he wrote the foreword to Let’s Make HIStory. I keep our emails on this subject preciously, and the few telephone conversations that Laetitia and I had with him will remain engraved in memory forever.
I would add that it was an honor to screen the documentary King Of Sound by Gareth Maynard at the first MJ MusicDay in Lille. It was an opportunity for many to discover all his complicity with Bea, his wife, and his daughter Roberta. Not to forget all the affection he had for animals. A way of showing a man full of kindness behind the scenes. It was a beautiful tribute, all the more so because our telephone conversation with him moved our audience.
We will remember him for all that he brought to our ears, not forgetting this beautiful motto: Music First!