Chief Engineer

Joao is the founder of Arda Recorders. As a producer, recording and mixing engineer he has worked with an eclectic bunch of artists, from all kinds of musical genres. His passion for analog recording and willingness to try all sorts of crazy stuff in the studio while focusing on maintaining an organic but characterful approach to engineering make him one of the most charismatic engineers in Portugal. Find out more about Joao here.

Producer/Engineer

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Carlos has always had a passion for music. A brilliant pianist, he works as a sound engineer and a producer since 1999, when he founded his recording studio Tenda da Raposa. Recently some of his productions have been nominated or awarded with prizes, such as the Grammys, the Latin Grammy or the Independent Music Awards. In 2018, he relocated to Porto to join our team and continue his career as a musician, sound engineer and producer. Find out more about Carlos here.

Producer/Engineer

Zé Nando is a producer and engineer who graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston. His professional career began in 1998 in New York City, and in 2001 he moved to Barcelona where he assembled a recording studio and founded the independent record label Meifumado. Being such a talented multi-instrumentalist and because he's comfortable with both electronic urban music and acoustic recordings, Zé Nando has a great focus on the production process. Find out more about Zé here.

Mastering Engineer

Miguel is one of the most renowned Portuguese mastering engineers. He started his path in audio making records at Estúdios Sá da Bandeira, but soon found his passion in mastering which led him to pursue this craft as a career more than a decade ago. Since then he has worked with some of the biggest artists in Portugal and also with new emerging acts, mastering hundreds of releases for both major and independent labels, released nationally and internationally across all music genres. Find out more about Miguel here.

Mastering Engineer

Clara is one of our Mastering Engineers and also our Transfer Engineer. Besides being a splendid pianist and photographer, she’s a graduate from the Production and Music Technologies course at ESMAE. Not only she masters new records, but she is also responsible for all the audio transcriptions and restoration we do. Since the city’s public vinyl library (with more than 35.000 records on its shelves) is located in our complex she does a LOT of vinyl transfer and remastering. Find out more about Clara here.

Studio Manager

Renato is our Studio Manager. He’s worked as a tour driver, stage manager and all things related to bands and their needs. He has a way of helping with whatever anyone in the studio may need with a readiness few others have.

Assistant Engineer

Bárbara used to be a nutritionist but then saw a documentary about recording studios and realized what her true calling was. A recent graduate from the Studio Engineering course at Arda Academy, she’s one of the fastest learners we’ve ever seen and made herself indispensable after only 3 months of internship (it’s always a good sign when you have to drag someone away from the studio at closing time). Find out more about Bárbara here.

Assistant Engineer

Rui first earned a degree in landscape architecture before changing career paths and graduating from the Production and Music Technologies course at ESMAE. He started out as the perfect intern (the kind that does great cable prepping and blends in with the background until he’s needed) and soon was invited to join our staff. He likes to take gear apart to fix it and so far he managed to put most of it back together. Find out more about Rui here.

Logistics

João takes care of logistics in the studio. He will make sure the assistants are on the tip of their toes so your session runs smoothly. He will brew a fresh coffee pot before you can even think about it. He’s the master of cable prepping and overall tidiness. He’s great.