Mike Hatch (2 March)
Mike graduated from the Surrey University Tonmeister Course for recording engineers in 1985, going on two years later to found the audio recording company Floating Earth Limited with the recording engineer Mike Clements.
He has recorded more than 2000 classical CDs including over 100 operas, many of them live – a Floating Earth speciality. Using the company’s specially designed custom-built sound truck, he has been involved in many large-scale recordings including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, Adele at the Royal Albert Hall, Children in Need Rocks, AC/DC at Wembley Stadium, One Love Manchester, Royal Opera House live to cinema, the Royal Wedding and The Brit Awards (nineteen times at 2025). Recent projects include live streaming concerts by the Philharmonia and London Philharmonic orchestras, the Leeds Piano Competition and Garth Brookes at Dublin’s Croake Park.
He has crossed paths with Andrew Keener his producer (and interviewer this evening) many times in the classical music recording studio, including sessions for EMI, Virgin Classics, RCA and Classics for Pleasure, and most recently with the violinist Charlie Siem (a popular visitor to Putney Music last season) in concerto sessions with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Approaching its 40th year, Floating Earth remains as busy and versatile as ever, presided over by Mike and his co-director Steve Long, a business studies graduate with him at Surrey and fellow percussionist in the Essex Youth Orchestra during their student days. One of the subjects Andrew is likely to raise with him this evening is how he finds time for anything other than his career. But he does. His student days as a percussionist may be behind him (he was offered a place at the Royal College of Music before recording took over), but he finds time for fell walking, squash, backgammon and endless DIY around the house.
