Mike Pela is a world-renowned Grammy-winning (Sade, Maxwell) producer and mixer. In his long and successful career, he has helped to interpret and shape the vision of a wide variety of British and International Artists, including Sade, Maxwell, Savage Garden and Corinne Bailey Rae. Throughout his career, Mike has worked on many hits and number one records selling over 150 millions units worldwide. His records are acclaimed for their emotion, warmth and clarity.
Mike gained his initial experience at the renowned CTS/De Lane Lea recording complex in London. Starting as an assistant, Mike quickly learned the ropes and began taking on more of a production role. This multi-studio setting provided rich and varied learning experience, hosting orchestral film and jingle sessions as well as bands and solo artists. In this time, Mike worked on many projects including the soundtrack to The Who's Tommy as well as ELO's Eldorado and The Night the Light Went On (Live in Long Beach). He also worked extensively with Roy Wood (of The Move and early ELO) on his baroque homage to the Beach Boys, Andrews Sisters and Phil Spector. "Those sessions," Mike says, "taught me everything I needed to know about how to help an artist realize his or her creative vision; how to create a sound or a moment which moves you, which delivers sonically and emotionally."
Mike moved to the freelance realm in the late 70's. He gravitated to Pete Townshend's Eel Pie Studios where he worked with a varied selection of artists including; Stephen Stills, Alice Cooper, Hawkwind, Nico and Pete Townshend. He co-produced and mixed the double album, Scoop, for Townshend. This involved archiving, selecting, and remixing many of Pete's demo versions of Who classics such as "Magic Bus" and "Squeezebox". They were found recorded on everything from mono Revox, to cassettes and multitrack. Mike described it as, "going through a classic artist's sketches in his loft!".
In the 80's, based at Robin Millar's Power Plant studios, Mike participated in a string of successful and vibrant recordings by a wide variety of artists including: Boy George, Fine Young Cannibals, Everything But The Girl, Tom Robinson, The Style Council, Gang of Four and Sade. This was the start of a long and ongoing association with Sade. Other notable projects include: his production and mix work on Savage Garden's self titled debut album, including the global hit "Truly Madly Deeply", collaboration with Boz Scaggs on his second album of jazz standards, Speak Low, recorded at the legendary Skywalker Sound Studios, work with dub/soul pioneers, Nightmares on Wax, on tracks from In a Space Outta Sound and mix work with a vibrant Afro/Brazilian fusion live set by Cape Verde artist Sara Tavares (stereo and 5.1).
Recently, Mike has recorded and mixed orchestral and jazz ensemble works for the soundtrack of the just released multi-platform blockbuster game LA Noire and mixed VH-1's Maxwell Storyteller.
Mike's career has come to be defined by his long-term collaborations with two soul greats, Sade and Maxwell. His association with Sade began with their first recordings back in 1983, working with producer Robin Millar. Mike has since co-produced and mixed almost every track they have recorded which encompasses their six studio albums, two live concert DVD's (stereo and 5.1) and two compilation albums. Locations of these sessions have included Compass Point Studios, Miraval, and most recently, Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios. It was at Real World that the band recorded their most highly-acclaimed album, Soldier of Love, which was a U.S. #1 Album for three weeks. They returned to Real World in early 2011 to record additional tracks for 2011's, The Ultimate Collection. Sade talks of Mike's "relentless tenacity" and his "wicked, dry sense of humor." Sade went on to say, "he has the ability, like only the great producers, to make the artist feel that he'll catch them if they fall."
Mike has also worked on every Maxwell album, from mixing tracks on his style-breaking 1996 Urban Hang Suite, to his most recent fifth studio album, BLACKsummers'night, another U.S. #1. He also mixed Maxwell's MTV Unplugged, and most recently his VH-1 Storyteller. "I've always been drawn towards recording people playing together live in the studio. You get an inherent vibe and interaction. You get that thrill of capturing a moment, capturing a singer giving a great performance, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. While listening to an artist like Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl, Sade, Maxwell or Boz Scaggs do what they do best right in front of me, I often think, what a thrill and a privilege it is to be involved in those moments, helping to shape them and make them happen."
Grammy's
2010 :Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Sade - Soldier Of Love
2009: Best R&B Album - Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night
2009: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance - Maxwell - Pretty Wings
2001: Best Pop Vocal Album - Sade - Lovers Rock
1993: Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Sade - No Ordinary Love





















