TESTIMONIALS
JAMES IHA
SMASHING PUMPKINS, A PERFECT CIRCLE
Arjun worked as my main engineer for a number of years, and his excellent ears were matched only by his patience and efficiency, which are rare in this industry. Arj's quick mastery of digital tools and programs, and his easygoing nature, made him invaluable in the studio.
ADAM SCHLESINGER
FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
Arjun Agerwala is a fantastic engineer, producer, mixer and musician. I've worked with Arjun for many years in many capacities. He was one of the main engineers at the recording studio I co-owned, Stratosphere Sound in West Chelsea. We worked on dozens of albums, TV shows, films, and other sessions together. I could always rely on him to be professional, quick, extremely musical and of course to get great sounds. He also toured with my band, Fountains Of Wayne, and was a valued member of our team for many years.
BRIAN VIGLIONE
DRESDEN DOLLS, NINE INCH NAILS, VIOLENT FEMMES
I’ve had the pleasure to work with Arjun Agerwala as engineer during his tenure at Stratosphere Studios in NYC. Arjun has all the attributes you would hope to find in an engineer, from being able to put the artist at ease, to dialing in the right sound for the job without missing a beat.
Over the years, I’ve played drums for The Dresden Dolls, Nine Inch Nails, and currently play for Violent Femmes and have had the fortune to work with many talented studio personnel and Arjun has become my go-to guy in New York. On the albums we worked on together, which I produced and he engineered, he always demonstrated a great balance of manifesting the artist's vision with ease, and offering up creative solutions to problems if ever the band hit a stumbling block.
Pro Tools and the Neve board we used were clearly second nature to him. Arjun also had strong intuition about which guitars to select, and just the right micing techniques for whatever we had dialed up, from subtle backing vocals to a full-scale percussion ensemble. Arjun also knew how to keep a session moving without making things feel rushed. He can stay on task, while making it a great experience for the band and everyone involved.
I also felt very happy with his talent during the mixing process. One could see he had a vast knowledge of music that lent itself the ability to reference the past, yet bring something fresh and exciting to a mix. He could pull the rawness out, get the energy happening, and keep the electricity of a performance without the tendency to over-mix or indulge in gratuitous outboard effects. He has a great sense of taste, to match his tech proficiency.
I’ve been lucky to work with a number of "name" engineers and producers and Arjun easily holds his own and fits right in with the best of them and readily pass on his name when approached about engineers. Looking forward to working with him again in the future.