Highlights of 2019: Christian Wright / Fiona Gillott / Karim Fanous / Catherine Smith / Mark Robertson / Daniel Hayden

Highlights of 2019: Christian Wright / Fiona Gillott / Karim Fanous / Catherine Smith / Mark Robertson / Daniel Hayden

As 2019 draws to a close, we asked the Abbey Road team to look back and reflect on what has been a particularly phenomenal and poignant year for the studios. In part one we shared the highlights from Abbey Road's Mirek Stiles, Jack Franklin, Judith Nicholas and Sam McCarthy. In part two, we hear from Christian Wright, Fiona Gillott, Karim Fanous, Catherine Smith, Mark Robertson and Daniel Hayden - from their favourite projects to work on, stand-out gigs and best albums of the year.
 

Christian Wright, Mastering Engineer

Favourite track of 2019: FKA Twigs - MAGDELANE

Favourite album of 2019: KaryynThe Quanta Series

Favourite gig of 2019: All Points East – Little Dragon Jon Hopkins, Chemical Brothers and Hot Chip

Favourite work moment(s) of 2019: The Streets X Flohio direct to vinyl. The debut success of Black Midi and Fontaines DC.
 
 

Fiona Gillott, Studios' Manager

Favourite track of 2019: Dua Lipa - Dont Start Now - for dancing around the living room with my daughter.

Favourite album of 2019: Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings - great collaborations especially with Yebba and Lykke Li.

Favourite gig of 2019: Papa Roach - Roxy, LA - hot, intimate and a crazy mosh circle.

Favourite work moment(s) of 2019: Being on stage at Bon Jovi, Wembley Stadium in front of 65,000! And meeting David Attenborough for Steven Price's score for Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.
 
 

Karim Fanous, Abbey Road Red Innovation Manager

Favourite track of 2019: The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun - (2019 mix, played back on vinyl for the first time)

Favourite album of 2019: The Beatles - Abbey Road - 2019 mix

Favourite gig of 2019: Rufus and Martha Wainwright’s A Not So Silent Night Christmas Special at the Royal Festival Hall (what a wonderful vibe and brilliant ensemble); closely followed by Eels at Hammersmith Apollo.

Favourite work moment(s) of 2019: Seeing the REDD and TG desks, as well as the British Tape Recorder Three, while walking down the corridors every day and feeling that awesome history; the Abbey Road Red demo day in Studio Two; the crowds gathered at the crossing for the 50th anniversary of the new Abbey Road; imagining the future of creativity with AI tools and talking to musicians about it; our 2019 hackathon; watching our founders at Red develop their ideas and bring them to market; being able to help.
 
 

Catherine Smith, Head of Retail

Favourite track of 2019: Lover Taylor Swift

Favourite album of 2019: Odyssey Live Take That

Favourite gig of 2019: Snow Patrol O2 Jan

Favourite work moment(s) of 2019: This has been a year of highlights for myself and my team. The 50th Anniversary of the crossing photo was in August and we had such an overwhelming response from the public. They shared fascinating stories. Everyone in the team played a part in our success. Ailsa developed great exclusive merchandise. Judith, Tess, Cam, Chris and Klara worked with me to deliver our pop-up shop for the Abbey Road Lectures. Above all, we supported each other through an exceptionally busy Summer and it was a privilege to be a part of.
 
 

Mark Robertson, Head of Brand & Marketing

Favourite track of 2019: SebastiAn Doorman / Jonathan Bree Waiting on the Moment / Angel Olsen All Mirrors / Peggy Gou Starry Night

Favourite album of 2019: SebastiAn Thirst / Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell

Favourite gig of 2019: Charlotte GainsbourgLa Philharmonie de Paris

Favourite work moments of 2019: Taking our Production Hub to BBC Introducing LIVE and creating incredible workshops for aspiring songwriters & producers with our engineers and artist friends / Bringing contemporary art to Abbey Road on the front wall for #AbbeyRoad50 and into the building with murals in the smaller studios / The brilliant words and advice of the Abbey Road team in our ‘Ask The Engineer’ series with MusicTech Magazine, making our expertise more accessible than ever before / Sitting in on studio sessions with Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Dua Lipa, Rudimental, Maverick Sabre, Sophie Hunger, Cloves, Craig David… / Spending a day at Ken Townsend’s house exploring the history of Abbey Road / Everything we did for #AbbeyRoad50, but particularly the 10,000 people who came to the zebra crossing on 8 August, a humbling moment reminding us all what a privilege it is to nurture and protect the Abbey Road brand / Introducing Abbey Road’s transformation to artists from Tame Impala to FKJ…and Tame Impala mentioning the studio on his new single / Bringing BBC’s Great British Menu into our canteen for the series finale / an inspirational Red Demo Day 2019, from Isabel’s summary of the Red journey to Karim’s assessment of future trends.
 
 

Daniel Hayden, Assistant Engineer

Favourite track of 2019: Noel Gallagher - Black Star Dancing

Favourite album of 2019: John Powell - How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Soundtrack.

Favourite gig of 2019: Cherise Adams-Burnett - Abram Wilson Charity event, Broadcasting House.
 
 
 

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