Greg O'Shea

Greg O'Shea is an Australian producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician with one guiding belief: serve the song. For more than 30 years, Greg has helped artists make records that sound like the best version of themselves. His approach starts with listening: to the songs, and to the unique artist behind them. From there, every decision, from a chord to a drum part to a lyric, returns to what each song needs and the intention and style of the artist. Greg learnt his craft at Melbourne's Metropolis Audio in the early '90s under producer-engineer Ern Rose, recording artists including Paul Kelly, Crowded House, Nick Cave and INXS. In Toronto, he co-produced, engineered and mixed two platinum albums for K-OS, including the Juno Award–winning Single of the Year ‘Crabbuckit’. He also recorded Feist, Cowboy Junkies, Gord Downie and By Divine Right. Along the way, he was mentored by legendary producers Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) and Michael Beinhorn (Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers). As guitarist, co-writer and producer in the Melbourne band, Brilliant Fanzine, Greg helped turn a demo of a chorus into 'One in 10,000', which reached #3 on Triple J's Net 50. For 19 years, Greg has curated the musical experience for Cricket Australia patrons and other world class sporting events in the capacity of music producer and DJ; he has played to more than 5.5 million fans in stadiums in that time, including over 86,000 at the MCG for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020. Great records come from great performances, so the process often begins in the rehearsal space. Greg spends time with artists making critical decisions with the songs and arrangements, ensuring artists are performance ready in the lead up to recording; making recording seamless and cost effective. Through ‘Groundwork’, his pre-production sessions, he works one-on-one with bands, solo artists and singer-songwriters to shape, rehearse and refine their songs. It is a needs-based process: some artists need a sounding board to activate and draw out their own ideas; others need a collaborator in the room. An artist may need to re-work lyrics, re-structure the song or develop and arrange the music. Wherever they are in the process, their voice stays at the centre and when it's time to record, whether a live performance in the studio or built up with overdubs, everyone is ready to capture their best performance. Recent work includes producing and co-writing on Sali Bracewell's debut album Kismet, producing Miguel Rios's Slaughterhouse Road and producing and mixing The Devil’s Own Circus self-titled debut album. He is currently in the studio with Melbourne indie pop artist Elidan and Canadian singer-songwriter James Heidebrecht. Let's talk about your songs.