Daily Inspiration: Meet Justin Fleuriel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Fleuriel.

Hi Justin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my musical journey learning guitar as a teenager and playing local shows. As time went on I played multiple national tours as a hired gun and began taking an interest in the engineering side of music. I began recording at a western Massachusetts studio called Eastlake and after a few years at that facility decided I wanted to jump into a bigger pond so I decided to make the move to Los Angeles in 2014. I started at Marsh Mastering in the same year as a studio assistant but quickly moved up the ranks to be a full fledged mastering engineer. A few years later our facility acquired a Scully 601 disc mastering lathe and The Lathe Room was born. We meticulously restored and modernized the lathe to bring it to a state of unparalleled sonic fidelity. Throughout my mastering journey i’ve worked on thousands of songs and albums, receiving 2 Grammy nominations along the way.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Making a move across the country is never easy, but I was very fortunate to land at Marsh Mastering to learn and grow my skills as an engineer. The biggest challenges are always the ones I give myself. I’m always pushing myself to be a more capable and knowledgable engineer, always learning.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Traditional mastering and vinyl mastering are my specialties. Vinyl mastering in particular is an extremely niche skillset that I feel very proud and grateful to have. Someone can’t just go and pick up a lathe from sweetwater and start cutting records, it’s a labor of love that takes years of work and learning. I think what sets me apart is that I approach every project, big or small with the mindset of “good” isn’t good enough, I’m aiming to create GREAT albums that feel like they jump out of your speakers.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Calculated risk taking is certainly required in the music industry, but I look at it less as risk and more of “betting on yourself”. If you’ve devoted years of your life and countless hours to learning your craft that has real worth to your clients. They say you miss 100% of the pitches you don’t swing at, which is absolutely true, but having the skills to back it up is just as, if not more important to knock it out of the park for your clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marshmastering.com/thelatheroom
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justin.fleuriel/
• Other: https://credits.muso.ai/artist/fb5abc4a-0d32-4640-8cf9-36cbe7f582da

Image Credits
Michelle Shiers for the headshot and pro shot studio pictures