JAMES EDWARD ARMSTRONG
Mastering. Performance. Education.
JAMES EDWARD ARMSTRONG
Mastering. Performance. Education.
James Edward Armstrong is a mastering engineer, multi-instrumentalist and academic living and working in the South East of England.
MASTERING
James’ main passion within music is the mastering process. He began informally mastering the music of bands he had produced and recorded ahead of releases in 2013. In 2015, James started to take mastering more seriously, not only working on his own releases under the Slow Clinic project but applying the finishing touches to music for a number of independent labels across the contemporary ambience scene. Now, James masters between 120-150 albums a year, and has worked with labels such as Whitelabrecs, Elm Records, Eilean Rec., Past Inside The Present, Hibernate, Expert Sleepers, Complex Holiday, Dub Cthonic, Woodford Halse, Dewtone Recording, Florina Cassettes, Slow Music Movement, and many more.
MASTERING RATES
For many independent musicians and labels, high-end mastering studios are out of reach. James is dedicated to providing a professional mastering service for musicians and record labels operating at a grassroots and independent level – helping your music to sound as good as possible and to give it the care and attention it truly deserves.
Each artist and project are unique, and rates will vary depending on the work required of each mastering job.
Standard rates start from £15 per track, with EPs from £35 and albums from £50. Additional processing for vinyl is £5 extra per track (capped at an additional £50), DDP images for CD albums are an additional £5, and tape sides at £5 per release. Fees are paid upon completion of the project and include revisions if something is not quite right.
Listen to selected examples below.
Modern Classical
Sven Laux
'The Discomfort' from the album 'The Undefined Feeling of Discomfort', released in Whitelabrecs in March 2025.
Ambient
Joan Jordi Oliver
'Camins' from the album 'Sempre Encana, released on Florina Cassettes in December 2024.
Drone
Arvik Torrenssen
'Fastfall' from the album 'MEANS 4', released MEANS Magazine in September 2024.
Lowercase
Bill Seaman and Monika Bugajny
'thought, fade inside, melancholy fog' from the album 'Map of Reflection', released on Elm Recordings in January 2025.
Experimental
Jesper Pedersen and Elif Yalvaç
'Dronasaurus' from the album 'My Heart of Noise', released on Möller Records in April 2023.
Rock
The Maple Verse
'Fall and Ascend' from the album 'Prove Me Wrong', self-released in October 2022.
I’ve been trusting James’ ears for years now, with him overseeing many of our releases on Whitelabrecs. His communication is excellent, explaining the nuances of often technical processes in a way that’s easy to understand. The results are always spot on and he’s a pleasure to work with.
Harry Towell
(Spheruleus, Magnophon, Whitelabrecs)
It’s been an absolute pleasure working with James over the past three years, he is a highly professional and motivated individual who has an exceptional ear for sound. Having worked on both my solo project and projects for my record label he always manages to elevate my music, drawing out the finer details and polish each track with his signature shine. It’s amazing to be able to find someone you can trust 100% with your creative output. James always seems to get where I am heading and helps guide me in that direction. I would recommend James' work to anyone, quick turnaround and quality work, what else can you ask for?
James Osland
(Elm Records)
In truth, I was always had a "fuck mastering/who cares" type of mindset. But the same lovely human who mastered my 'Emotioncodes' album for Whitelabrecs also worked on my latest release. Big thanks and much love to James for all the attention to detail, patience and love that he puts into his work. It truly makes all the difference.
Steven de Taeye
(Hymns57, Aural Tethers)
James has mastered several of my releases over the years. He has vast knowledge in the ambient world, so I always know I’m in safe hands... or ears? Friendly, quick turnover and incredibly good rates. Can’t recommend him highly enough.
Tom Honey
(Good Weather For An Airstrike, Hawk Moon Records)
PERFORMANCE
In addition to mastering, James records and performs under a number of different projects.
SLOW CLINIC
Slow Clinic is the solo performance and recording project of James Edward Armstrong, exploring ambient and drone styles through extended guitar playing techniques, sound manipulation, and field recordings. The project began following a sleepless night gathering field recordings around Cardiff Bay area, drawing influence from the soundscape of a sleeping city. Under the name of Slow Clinic, James has released music on a variety of labels, including: Whitelabrecs, Audio Gourmet, Cruel Nature Recordings, 1834, Hawk Moon Records, Champion Version, Assembly Field, Unexplained Sounds Group, ARCHIVES Music and Tesselate Recordings. A number of albums, EPs, and singles have been self-released via James’ own Slow Clinic page.
​
More recently, James has been delivering a series of monthly meditative sound baths at the West End Centre, Aldershot. The event series has just been renewed for a spring edition.
EDUCATION AND ACADEMIA
TEACHING
James currently holds the position of lecturer, year leader, and admissions lead in music subjects at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. As a lecturer, James specialises in recording, mixing and mastering, leading classes within a purpose-built recording studio facility at the UCA; students explore the history and techniques of music production across a wide range of styles to a professional standard. As a year leader, James co-ordinates the second and third year of study on the course, including module design and assessment.
Between 2020 and 2026, James was a link tutor with London College of Contemporary Media (LCCM), a partner institution of UCA, supporting and ensuring academic standards.​ Prior to teaching at the UCA, James worked as part of the Research Development Programme at the University of Surrey, supporting researcher career progression, co-ordinating Institute of Directors student memberships and designing online learning resources for postgraduate research students.
​
RESEARCH
In 2021, James was awarded his doctorate in Music at the University of Surrey after conducting an interdisciplinary research project combining environmental psychology with music performance studies. It is through this unique pairing of disciplines that James explored the person-environment relationship between a musician and their surroundings in the context of a musical performance. This included musicianship, acoustics, behaviour-settings, socio-cultural significance and personal meaning as environmental factors that influence a musician’s experience while performing.
Throughout his studies, James has presented his research internationally, including leading conferences in the subject of music. James’ composition work has also featured in a number of academic settings during premiering dance and theatre performances across the UK.
PUBLICATIONS
Armstrong, J. E. (2021) 'Person-Environment Relationships: Influences Beyond Acoustics in Musical Performance' in Williams, J., and Horror, S. (eds.) Musical Spaces: Place, Performance, and Power. Jenny Stanford Publishing, New York.
​
Armstrong, J. E. (2020) 'Beyond an acoustical understanding of the impact of environment on musical performance' (Doctoral dissertation, University of Surrey).
​
Armstrong, J. (2018) 'Person-Environment Relationships: influences beyond acoustics in musical performance’ in Geography, Music, Space. Musicology Research, 4 (Spring).
Armstrong, J. (2017) 'Experience, expectation, and personal meaning: understanding the person-environment relationship in the context of a musical performance' in Post-ip: Revista do Fórum Internacional de Estudos em Música e Dança, 4 (4), pp.116-125.
Armstrong, J. E. (2015) 'Towards the influence of space & environment on a musical performance' in Post-ip: Revista do Fórum Internacional de Estudos em Música e Dança, 3, pp.142-151.
CONTACT
Thinking about getting your music mastered? Wanting to learn more about James' music and performance? Interested in music education? Reach out via the email address below.
Farnham, UK