The British producer has helmed a series of stellar rock records, earning Grammy and BRIT Award nominations along the way. He talks Gary Walker through his highlights

MY LIFE IN VINYL

TOM DALGETY

Things are looking up: Tom is currently one of rock’s most in-demand rock producers

One of the UK’s most in-demand producers, Tom Dalgety has quickly built a reputation for making riff-heavy rock records with universal appeal. Starting out with stints at NAM and Riverside studios near his home in Frome, Somerset, it wasn’t long before the Oxford-born producer was running his own show and working with a series of A-list artists. While working at the iconic Rockfield in South Wales, he met an early incarnation of Royal Blood, and before you could ask “how are two people making such an epic racket?” had helped the Brighton duo record a pair of No.1 albums that breathed new life into British rock music. Next came records with industrial metal titans Killing Joke and bona fide legends of quiet-loud Pixies, and his CV already includes a BRITS nomination for best producer and the 2016 MPG Award for Breakthrough Producer Of The Year. When we speak to Tom, he’s fresh from a trip to the Grammys in Los Angeles, where his work with Swedish metallers Ghost resulted in a pair of nominations for Best Rock Record and Best Rock Song. He’s also one of the nicest men in music. Rock on, Tom…

Studio snaps: (from L to R) Tom, with mixer Andy Wallace and Ghost’s Tobias Forge

”It’s a concept album that’s themed loosely around the Black Death. It was really fun to have that as a template for things”

Ghost

PREQUELLE

Loma Vista

2018

“I first heard Ghost when a friend sent me their demo on MySpace back in 2010. I was hooked. Having already made the Popestar EP, featuring Square Hammer, which was a US No.1, and a live album, me and Tobias were itching to make a full-length together. I moved to Stockholm and was there for four or five months, did all the pre-production with him and then recorded it at Decibel. Tobias is a genius and though he doesn’t play the guitar live, he plays all the parts in the studio. He’s a fantastic guitar player. I shipped a load of my guitars out to Stockholm and he’s got some really nice ones, too. We called it ‘The Guitarsenal’!