Ivar Rosenberg

About

Legendary Danish sound engineer, producer and recording studio owner (born 1 December 1926, died 5 September 1993). Son of band leader Kai Rosenberg and actress Karen Thisted. Education as sound engineer with the Minerva film company in the mid-1940s, where he works mainly on documentaries. From 1950 to 1960 sound engineer at the Plastika recording studio and pressing plant where many of the recordings released by the Tono label were made. Initially located at Dortheavej 3 in Copenhagen, the studio moves to Tono (a movie theater) in the mid-50s.

While still working for Plastika, Rosenberg opens his own recording studio in 1955. Initially located at Borups Allé in Copenhagen, the studio moves to Islev Danseskole in 1957. Befriended with Karl Emil Knudsen from the late 50s and well into the 70s, Rosenberg does a lot of work for Knudsen's Tono label, including some fine blues recordings of artists like Champion Jack Dupree, Otis Spann, Big Joe Williams, Lonnie Johnson, and Sonny Boy Williamson.
In 1965 Rosenberg relocates his studio to Vanløse Bio (another movie theatre) where it stays until 1971. During this period it is known as Tono and houses an advanced home-made 8-track recording machine. Here Rosenberg records many of the Danish progressive rock acts of the era, including Beefeaters, Burnin Red Ivanhoe and Day Of Phoenix, and the studio becomes the master class for up-and-coming young engineers Freddy Hansson and Flemming Rasmussen.
In 1971 Rosenberg enters a closer relation with the Tono record company. His studio moves to the same building on Dortheavej 39 (Copenhagen) that houses Sonet and is renamed to Tono. Karl Emil Knudsen and Sonet takes the majority share when they pay for upgrading the studio with a 24-track tape recorder and an advanced mixing board. In the 1970s the Rosenberg Studio is at it's peak as the most prominent recording studio in Denmark. It's here that Roy Thomas Baker produces Gasolin's milestone fifth album Gas 5.
By the end of the 70s, as Tono (owned by former Rosenberg “pupil” Flemming Rasmussen), takes over the leading position and Sonet turns more and more towards pop music, Rosenberg gradually loses interest in his studio. He finally quits by the end of 1978 and the studio becomes Tono. The deroute is inevitable: Rosenberg, for two decades Danish rock music’s most prominent recording engineer, turns to make his living by copying X-rated movies.