Welcome to the UnStruktured Podcast!
In this episode, I talk with Pro Audio Engineer Lenise Bent. A hidden legend in her own right, Lenise is known for her work on huge rock classics such as Steely Dan's Aja and Supertramp's Breakfast In America, as well as for being the first female recording engineer to be recognized with a platinum album for Blondie's Autoamerican.
Lenise and I talk about her experience working with Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and the multitudes of artists who contributed to Autoamerican, and we dig into each song to discover the process and creative intent behind this unique genre-melding album.
I am so excited and honored to bring you this conversation with Lenise Bent. This episode holds special meaning for me since Blondie's Autoamerican was one of the very first albums I bought and owned as a young girl in the 80’s...ever.
Growing up in the California Bay Area with a dad who played in local area rock bands, I had a "record collection" of my own by the time I was ten. One my very first albums was the new 1981 release of Autoamerican sitting right alongside Pat Benatar's Crimes Of Passion.
Debbie Harry and Pat Benetar were so inspirational to me as a young girl and contributed massively to my earliest sense of what it meant to be a strong, independent, and powerful woman.
I didn't know that Autoamerican was recorded by a woman, or that she would be the first female recording engineer recognized for a platinum record. Nor did I have any idea that I would ever meet this woman and become friends.
I have to say that Lenise is one of the most incredible people I've ever met. She is so caring, so generous, so passionate about music, her work and supporting others. She shows up where and when it matters and she shows up fully.
A huge thank you to Lenise for being so giving of her time talking about this album. Her excitement for this work is palpable and it was such a joy for me to listen to and break down each individual song with her. I mean, what a treat for me to geek out over one of my favorite albums of all time with the woman who recorded it. My own questions don't do it justice by a long shot but we do uncover some interesting and unexpected details and I hope you find some joy in it as well.
Blondie's Autoamercian is part of rock-n-roll history and I hope you uncover a new appreciation for the amazing work and the creative process behind it. At the very least, you'll find joy in the storytelling of Lenise Bent.
Lenise Bent has enjoyed a long career as an audio engineer and producer, honing her skills on many iconic records including “Aja” by Steely Dan and “Breakfast in America” by Supertramp. She is the first female engineer to receive a platinum album for Blondie’s “AutoAmerican” album which includes the very first hit rap song with music, “Rapture”.
Lenise is also a post-production audio professional, specializing in recording and editing foley sound effects for many films and animated series and has traveled the world for Dreamworks supervising the foreign dialogue recording and producing the vocals for such animated features as “Shrek”, “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron” and “Shrek 2”. She also archives and repairs audio, instructs, consults and holds workshops for audio students and singer/songwriters.
Lenise is a long-standing member of the Audio Engineering Society, the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy and a voting member of NARAS. She is also a proud member of SoundGirls, Women’s Audio Mission (WAM), Women in Music, the prestigious Hollywood Sapphire Group, The Blues Foundation, IASA (International Association of Sound Archivists) and ARSC (Assoc. of Recorded Sound Collectors) and on the board of directors for music nonprofit Worldwide Musicians United.
Though mostly working in digital recording formats, Lenise recently produced and engineered an all analog recording with blues/rock/Indy band Primal Kings, recording to 2” tape, mixing to 1⁄2” and cut to vinyl from tape. A “triple A” legacy quality production, recorded and mixed completely out of the box.
To know more about Lenise, visit lenisebent.com.
Struktur Society
This episode was brought to you by Struktur Society, the community for creators in art, design, and music. For almost a decade Struktur has brought together creatives from across the industrial, apparel, graphic, and sound design industries, building professional relationships, creating a platform for knowledge sharing, and raising the bar of product creation.
From live events and workshops, to publication and podcasting, Struktur continues to evolve to build the strong creator community needed to craft our future. Find us at struktursociety.com and subscribe to our Substack at struktursociety.substack.com.
Music by Greg Brace Music. Story edit by Unpaved Roads Studio.
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USTRUKTURED 06: Lenise Bent, Audio Engineering Blondie's Autoamerican