Meet The Staff
Michael Thomas Connolly
Owner, Engineer, Producer
I am a performer, engineer, and producer based in the Bellingham area. Originally from Memphis Tennessee, and spent some time living in the Midwest before moving to Seattle in 2004. After 10 years of running the studio in Seattle, my family and I have moved to a five-acre farm just outside of Bellingham to build a destination studio and continue recording the music I love.
My musical tastes are broad. I have played in rock and funk bands, orchestras, big bands and jazz combos, bluegrass, and Irish traditional music. I teach fiddle and mandolin, and perform on a number of other instruments including accordion, upright and electric bass, Hammond organ, piano, guitar, uilleann pipes, and others.
In terms of hands-on experience, I have been engineering multitrack recordings for around 20 years, and running Empty Sea since 2009. I’ve done orchestral “hall” recording as well as work with singer-songwriters, folk musicians, rock and funk musicians, a cappella artists, jazz, bluegrass, Irish, Scandinavian and Americana / roots artists.
Drop me a line at michael@emptysea.com.
As of December 2020, I’ve engineered more than 100 full-length, publicly released albums.
My experience is heavily informed on the aesthetic side from having been a performing musician. As a performer, I have toured with Coyote Grace, Girlyman, and the Indigo Girls, as well as sharing the stage with Lucy Wainwright Roche, Brandi Carlile and others, and my playing is represented on more than 60 albums in a wide variety of genres.
Complementing my recording discography is a deep experience in live concert sound; I have overseen more than 300 concert productions at Empty Sea since its opening in 2009.
The technical side of engineering and audio production is bolstered by my degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Michigan.
I take a lot of pride in working with each artist to create truly special albums that feel 'alive' and stand up over time as a piece of art. I'd love to work with you on yours!
Email me at jeremy@emptysea.com.
Jeremy Wesley
Staff Engineer / Producer
I’ve spent the past twelve years working in audio production in a number of aspects, from recording bands and doing production/post sound to audiobook production.
I lived in Los Angeles for six years, and during that time worked as a production sound mixer and boom/sound utility for many film/tv/multimedia productions, mixed music, voiceover, and multimedia, and eventually became the head engineer at a top-notch voice studio in West Hollywood, working with many celebrities and other notable professionals. My audiobook productions have been nominated for Grammys five times, including one Grammy win!
I've recorded and mixed small acoustic groups, rock bands, choir and orchestral groups and everything in between. I've also edited and mixed audio for theatrical films and documentaries. I have mixing and mastering experience in stereo and surround sound.
I am a multi-instrumentalist who currently plays guitar, banjo and upright bass in a bluegrass trio. My background also includes playing trumpet, trombone and French horn.
If I’m not in the studio, I’m probably backpacking, hiking, taking photographs, biking, or snowboarding!