Grammy's Behind The Board: Heba Kadry On Working With Björk, Audio As Escapism And Constantly Improving

In the latest episode of Behind The Board, Egyptian-born mastering engineer Heba Kadry explains how her first major project with Icelandic legend Björk proved what she was capable of, the necessity of experimentation and how even bad mixes can teach

LIOR PHILLIPS

GRAMMYS

OCT 25, 2021 - 3:26 PM

Growing up in Egypt, Heba Kadry quickly learned the value of fusing technical knowledge, musical passion and people skills. 

Her father was a civil engineer and her mother was a chemist, so scientific rigor and precision were important — but her father's tinkering as a keyboardist and mandolinist helped unlock her passion for music. 

As a mastering engineer who has worked with experimentalists like Björk, Beach House and Hayley Williams, Kadry's ability to bridge her scientific mind with an artistic soul has proven invaluable. But first, she put in time as a jingle writer for an ad agency.

"My first day recording one of those jingles, I went to a studio in downtown Cairo," Kadry shares. "[There was] a guy sitting behind the board, and I was like, 'That guy. How do I become that guy?'"

Watch the below episode of Behind The Board to hear what Kadry has to say about flying to Iceland to work with Björk, the value of getting thrown into the fire and how working through bad mixes can give you the ability to improve good mixes.

With a long catalog full of beloved independent experimental artists, Kadry emphasizes the importance of trying new things. 

"You've got to be down to experiment," she explains. "Instead of mastering being this correction process, mastering can be the cherry on top, the sweetening. How do you make things even better, more lush, more beautiful?"

Check below for more producer and engineer stories from the Behind The Board series.

To learn more about the world of production and engineering, follow the Producers & Engineers Wing on GRAMMY.com and Instagram(opens in a new tab).

Grammy's Behind The Board: Heba Kadry On Working With Björk, Audio As Escapism And Constantly Improving

In the latest episode of Behind The Board, Egyptian-born mastering engineer Heba Kadry explains how her first major project with Icelandic legend Björk proved what she was capable of, the necessity of experimentation and how even bad mixes can teach

LIOR PHILLIPS

GRAMMYS

OCT 25, 2021 - 3:26 PM

Growing up in Egypt, Heba Kadry quickly learned the value of fusing technical knowledge, musical passion and people skills. 

Her father was a civil engineer and her mother was a chemist, so scientific rigor and precision were important — but her father's tinkering as a keyboardist and mandolinist helped unlock her passion for music. 

As a mastering engineer who has worked with experimentalists like Björk, Beach House and Hayley Williams, Kadry's ability to bridge her scientific mind with an artistic soul has proven invaluable. But first, she put in time as a jingle writer for an ad agency.

"My first day recording one of those jingles, I went to a studio in downtown Cairo," Kadry shares. "[There was] a guy sitting behind the board, and I was like, 'That guy. How do I become that guy?'"

Watch the below episode of Behind The Board to hear what Kadry has to say about flying to Iceland to work with Björk, the value of getting thrown into the fire and how working through bad mixes can give you the ability to improve good mixes.

With a long catalog full of beloved independent experimental artists, Kadry emphasizes the importance of trying new things. 

"You've got to be down to experiment," she explains. "Instead of mastering being this correction process, mastering can be the cherry on top, the sweetening. How do you make things even better, more lush, more beautiful?"

Check below for more producer and engineer stories from the Behind The Board series.

To learn more about the world of production and engineering, follow the Producers & Engineers Wing on GRAMMY.com and Instagram(opens in a new tab).