When studio engineer Laura Sisk was a student at IU, she said she took as much work as she could find — working as a teaching assistant for studio classes, doing live sound for the African American Arts Institute and working as a production assistant for music school performances.
On Feb. 15, she won a Grammy Award for album of the year for her engineering on Taylor Swift’s “1989.” Sisk, working alongside producer Jack Antonoff, recorded three of the tracks on “1989.”
Sisk said her time at IU prepared her for life in the studio, and since graduating in 2010, she’s done engineering work on albums by big names in the worlds of pop music and indie rock.
With “1989,” as with all projects she works on, Sisk said she was excited about facing new challenges and acquiring new skills.
“Of course, it’s always thrilling to work with someone whose previous work you already love, but I have to say, every production is always different, and there is always something to learn,” she said in an email interview.
Sisk’s discography is split between work with pop stars, including recent albums from Carly Rae Jepsen, Florence and the Machine and Sia, and with indie rock mainstays like Wavves, Sigur Rós and Tune-Yards.
The projects she works on each have their own workflows and details, but that’s not necessarily due to the popularity of the artists or the labels they’re on, she said.
“Not only is every artist different, but every single day brings new challenges that you have to be ready to tackle, and that’s what keeps the studio a fun and exciting place to work,” she said.
Several of the projects on which Sisk has worked have been critically well-received, and though she said it’s satisfying to see positive receptions, she tries to move forward once the work is done.
She also said she’s happy to be able to work her way up in a music industry that’s male-dominated, especially in its technical aspects.
“A lot of artists tell me I’m the first female engineer they’ve worked with or even ever seen and that they love having a different energy in the studio,” she said. “There isn’t an inequality in the gender of music fans, but there is an inequality in the gender of those who make it, and I’m excited to be a part of the growing community of women in the industry.”
Sisk now lives in Los Angeles, which she said is an ideal location for a career in music. She’s working with Antonoff on the next record for his Bleachers project, as well as on several other projects he’s involved in as a writer or producer.
“Being freelance in Los Angeles means always working with new people on an unimaginably wide variety of music,” she said. “I feel so fortunate to be working in this industry alongside the incredible musicians and producers who keep pushing it forward.”
