In order to make this feat technically possible, Bottrill conferred with the studio builders and made suggestions as to how the control room should be constructed for such occasions. “We would also modify things, like being able to change the absolute phase of the speakers so when you’re recording with a mic you could put them out of phase, and it helps to cancel out more of the sound when the rest of the track is in.” The 48+ individual tracks used to build Passion involved more than just an organic process. He quickly and methodically learned how to maneuver the incorporation of MIDI sequencing and sampling technologies, which at the time were still in infancy. Fortunately, the technically-inclined Bottrill had a working familiarity with programming Linn Drums and Emulator IIs and IIIs back during his tenure at Grant Avenue. Vastly employed for Passion was the MPC-60 Fairlight as well as software-based systems such as Performer and Cubase. Complexities were inherent due to the larvae-like stage that the technologies at during that time period.

“Usually there was up to 64 tracks going on at any time that mainly involved peripheral programming. It was a lot more of a process to do it back then than it would be now. These days everything is done through Logic Audio and Pro Tools. Now all you do is plug in a hard disk and there you go. It’s a lot easier.”

When listening to the end product, one is enveloped by a sense of spaciousness that is a result of Bottrill’s keen sense of microphone placement and atmospheric mixing. “It was definitely an education on learning how to record different types of instruments. All of a sudden I’d be presented with an oud, kementché, or a mazhar and I’d have to figure out where the sound came out of it and how to mic it. It opened up my ears to the new styles of music that I would never have an opportunity to hear otherwise. It was a real education.” Passion is a prime specimen of Bottrill’s deftness at blending and mastering the art, science and politics of music recording - a skill that he lends to every project. The disc also functions as a quality reference vehicle for many of today’s top producers and engineers. It is no surprise that his name is credited directly on the disc itself, which is highly uncommon for record companies to do. By doing that, it made Bottrill’s name synonymous with craftsmanship.

Immediately following the completion of Passion, work would begin on another seminal and highly personal Gabriel album, US.

The Lanois-helmed production spanned over two years as Lanois cyclically went back and forth between Us and U2. The venture was perfectionist and gargantuan in scope - it requires a dedicated article unto itself - occupying two 24-track machines and a 32-track digital machine that often ran with various other computer-based programs.

“It was possibly the most intense three years of my life to date, and encompassed some of the most involved recording sessions I have ever experienced. It was the culmination of my career with Peter.”

As chief engineer at the studio, Bottrill’s expanding duties began to earn him the status as a ‘producer’ whilst engineering, mixing and editing a handful of titles for the label. These included Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Shahen-Shah, Exile by Geoffrey Oryema, and the Drummers of Burundi’s ensemble Live at Real World. He expresses a clear opinion on what the title of ‘producer’ stands for - “a ‘producer’ is anything from the person who puts musicians together in a room to the person who books the studio and assesses the performances to the person who is the DJ or the programmer. A lot of producers today will find a singer but the music will be the producer’s. That’s not my thing. There are so many ways someone can be called a producer that it’s almost irrelevant to be called one because it’s so wide it doesn’t mean one thing. Ultimately, I use ‘producer’ as like being a director on a film. They help the artist to achieve the music they are trying to make. And by having worked in other studios and made albums before, the producer understands where the artist wants to go. I work with people who are good artists and musicians that write songs that I like. I help them realize that. I don’t do the writing, although I will write with them if they need it, like a bridge, melody or chorus. My strength is making arrangements into a more concise format so that the song is crafted in a more cohesive way. People, as musicians, aren’t good self-editors. They’ll go over and over and do section after section and I’ll say, ‘You know what? You’ve said what you needed to say here and here.’ I spend a lot of time in pre-production with artists doing that. You can edit down or lengthen songs when necessary. It depends on the intention of the song.”

When convenient, Bottrill will invite an artist to his home set-up before the main production commences, for efficiency. His home is modestly equipped with Pro Tools, Logic Audio, a small collection of mics fired by API pre-amps, valve compressors and “a small desk.” For the sparkling clear, ember-warm vocals that exist on his recordings, his preferred choice of microphones is quite narrow. The Neumann M7S which he describes as having a “Nuremberg Rally lollipop-style look” tops the list. With a manufacturing period that predates W.W.II, the mic’s characteristics includes a “full body” adding “presence without being too sharp.” The classic Neumann U47 mic serves as an alternate.

Having been exposed to the best technological accoutrements for the recording process, Bottrill has had to rationalize in order to avoid overcome by an infinity complex that could lead a session astray. “I find myself more and more wanting to make decisions so you can spend the following days not making decisions and having to cover your ass. I’ll only use up more tracks than I need if I feel I might be missing something. I have been guilty of piling it on and cutting it down later.” His deduction is simple. “If you make things work in rough mixes then they should just work! If they don’t, then there’s more of a problem than just piling on the shit!”

The way in which Bottrill claims to have legitimized himself as genuine ‘producer’ beyond the job’s regular clinical functions of the job happened ironically. He had been hired originally as engineer only on The First Day, a stellar 1993 showcase collaboration between ex-Japan founder David Sylvian and legendary guitar guru Robert Fripp. His duty as engineer expanded to the point where he became co-producer by contributing to the rhythmic framework. “I had to fill in as the rhythm section when their drummer was sacked halfway through,” Bottrill reveals. “I’d try a bunch of different patterns and loops until they liked what they heard!”

The First Day undertaking also became a talisman and would sound a beacon that summoned two more vital projects which together would form a triumvirate of recordings that anchors the Bottrill legacy: King Crimson’s THRAK and Tool’s Ænima.