Genelec Presents Manon Grandjean with MPG Breakthrough Engineer Award
Genelec was privileged to present the Breakthrough Engineer of the Year award to Manon Grandjean at the prestigious Music Producers Guild (MPG) awards, held this month at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane. The awards – now in their ninth year – provide an opportunity to recognise the recording professionals that help drive the enormous success of the UK music business, and regularly attract an audience of recording industry VIPs and celebrities.
Manon started her career in 2010 at London’s Livingston Studios, working first as a runner and then as an assistant, before becoming in-house assistant and engineer at songwriter Terry Britten’s State of the Ark Studios, where she worked with Noel Gallagher, Kasabian and Ethan Johns among others. After stints at The Church Studios and The Chapel Studios, she went on to engineer London Grammar’s platinum-selling debut album If You Wait in 2013, subsequently engineering the band’s forthcoming follow-up record.
Manon then joined the team at RAK Studios in 2013 - where she continued to develop her already impressive engineering and mixing skills - before assuming her current role as engineer with the celebrated Grammy award-winning writer/producer Fraser T Smith, working on projects including Kano’s Made in the Manor, Gavin James’ Bitter Pill and Stormzy’s Gang Signs and Prayer.
Reflecting on her well-earned accolade, Manon commented: "Winning the MPG award for Breakthrough Engineer is absolutely incredible, and such an honour. MPG nominees and winners past and present are people that I always looked up to for their amazing work, and just being a nominee amongst those producers and engineers was a great achievement. Awards like these, that recognise the work of engineers, are so uplifting - and if this can encourage young women to follow their dream and ambition in the music industry then I am really proud to be part of it.”
Other notable 2017 MPG award winners included Paul Epworth (Producer of the Year), Tony Visconti (Outstanding Contribution to UK Music, and International Producer of the Year), RAK Studios (Studio of the Year), and Roni Size (2017 Inspiration Award). Size then celebrated his win with an exclusive performance for the awards’ 350-strong audience, who partied long into the night!