Thom Russo


Thomas Russo is an American record producer, composer, mixing engineer, and songwriter. His work spans Anglo-American pop rock and alternative rock, as well as Latin music. He has received 16 Grammy Awards.
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Life and education

Thom Russo was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied composition, music theory, and electronic music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Career

Russo began his professional career as a musician but developed an interest in music production, composition, engineering, and recording while studying at the Northwestern University Conservatory of Music. He first worked at River North Studios in Chicago, where he was mentored by composers and arrangers in the advertising industry. He later moved to Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles and subsequently worked independently under Nettwerk Producer Management.
One of his earliest projects at Larrabee was producing vocals for Michael Jackson's album Dangerous. He also contributed to Bobby Brown's Bobby, Cher's Greatest Hits: 1965–1992, Diana Ross's Take Me Higher, and Paula Abdul's Head Over Heels.
This early work provided the foundation for Russo's later career. Over the years, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including:
Full listings are available in music databases.
Since 2000, Russo has increasingly worked in Latin rock and pop music, collaborating with Juanes, Maná, and other artists from Latin America, Central America, and Spain.
Russo's mixing techniques include the use of audio filtering with different microphones and equalizers, dynamic range compression, sound fading, and other unconventional approaches. He adapts these methods to highlight distinctive features in the music he records, citing record producer Rick Rubin as one of his main professional influences.
In 2016, Russo was a featured guest at Kingvention, an annual convention in London celebrating the life and career of Michael Jackson.

Awards

Russo has received 12 platinum record awards, along with two Grammy Awards and 12 Latin Grammy Awards.
YearAwardCategoryWorkRoleResult
2001Latin Grammy AwardBest Rock Solo Vocal AlbumFíjate BienEngineer/mixerWon
2001Latin Grammy AwardAlbum of the YearFíjate BienEngineer/mixerNominated
2001Latin Grammy AwardRecord of the YearEl Alma al AireEngineer/mixerNominated
2003Latin Grammy AwardAlbum of the YearUn Día NormalEngineer/mixerWon
2003Latin Grammy AwardBest Rock Solo Vocal AlbumUn Día NormalEngineer/mixerWon
2003Latin Grammy AwardRecord of the YearEs Por TiEngineer/mixerWon
2005Latin Grammy AwardBest Rock Solo Vocal AlbumMi SangreEngineer/mixerWon
2007Grammy AwardBest Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative AlbumAmar es CombatirEngineer/mixerWon
2007Grammy AwardBest Latin Pop AlbumEl Tren de los MomentosEngineerWon
2007Latin Grammy AwardBest Alternative Music AlbumOyeEngineerWon
2008Latin Grammy AwardAlbum of the YearLa Vida... Es Un RaticoEngineer/mixerWon
2008Latin Grammy AwardRecord of the YearMe EnamoraEngineer/mixerWon
2008Latin Grammy AwardBest Pop Vocal Album, MaleLa Vida... Es Un RaticoEngineerWon
2010Latin Grammy AwardBest Engineered AlbumDistintoEngineerWon
2011Latin Grammy AwardBest Engineered AlbumDrama y LuzEngineerWon
2011Latin Grammy AwardBest Rock AlbumDrama y LuzEngineerWon