Capital Music Awards — Dossier de candidature
Steve Foley
Ingénieur·e du son de l’année
Aperçu du (de la) candidat·e (biographie, présentation, etc.)
Steve is a professional audio engineer, music producer and musician based in Ottawa. He is the owner of Audio Valley Studios, which was founded by Keith Glass of 6 time Juno winning band Prairie Oyster in 2002. He has recorded multiple Juno and Grammy winning artists, but his passion is producing and developing local independent artists. He is a multi-instrumentalist, and has played live and in the studio with many of the bands that he has produced. Collaborating musically and playing together develops a deep connection between an artist and producer, and creates a very strong musical vision.
Steve is also an established voice over engineer/director for audio books and video games. He has recorded Prime Minister Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre, Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed), Digital Extremes (Warframe), and META, as well as numerous books for Audible Publishing, Simon and Schuster, Penguin/Random House and Forbes.
Steve is dedicated to mentoring new engineers, producers and interns. Early in his career, he was given fantastic opportunities to learn from very experienced producers, and he is grateful to be able to provide the same opportunities whenever he can.
Description du travail et de l’impact de l’ingénieur·e
What makes a truly great engineer? Is it someone who spends 3 days tweaking one part and revising a song 100 times, or someone who can make great sounds quickly. Quantity vs. quality is also a question. Steve consistently produces a large number of professional quality albums quickly and efficiently, AND also sounds like he obsesses over every detail for weeks. This year he recorded and released albums, EPs and singles with over 70 artists in genres ranging from hip-hop, RnB, Gospel, Jazz, Classical to Punk Rock, and Pop. By working with such a large number of diverse artists, this truly creates growth in the industry and community.
Examples available in the spotify link below:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7KlyVjDi8f061NnG9jGKfU
In 2024 his work on Kellylee Evan's album "Winter Song" was nominated for a Juno, and his work on Double Experience's "Undefeated" helped them win album of the year at the CMAs. He continues to bring that quality of audio engineering to every project in 2025.
Steve is also a sought after voice over engineer, and recorded 4 different audio books that received 5 stars on Audible. He recorded both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre for national radio and television broadcast, video game giant Ubisoft on their award winning game "Assassins Creed", and the hugely popular online game "Warframe".
These higher profile jobs provide amazing learning opportunities for engineers that Steve mentors, and he always makes sure they sit in and learn from experienced professional voice actors and musicians. Developing upcoming talent is essential, and impacts industry growth significantly.
Managing and maintaining a professional recording studio is "audio engineering" in and of itself, and Steve keeps Audio Valley set up with the most modern production tools and software, and makes sure that it is easy to set up and accessible for everyone. As evidence of this: the studio hosted SOCAN's writing and production camp for BIPOC artists (35 attendees working together!). They were able to simultaneously run 3 studio sessions in different rooms, and collaborate in real time on multiple songs. This was a very large and collaborative project that sparked new connections and is a perfect example of innovation, growth and collaboration within Ottawa's industry.
Steve's obsession with adopting modern tools and workflow directly benefits the 14 different freelance audio engineers who also come to the studio to work with their artists and build their careers.
Steve takes a deeply collaborative approach with artists, and often is involved with the writing process and as a multi-instrumentalist, frequently performing on albums.
Proof of the positive recognition from the community comes from the large number of musicians and organizations who trust him with their art.
Through outstanding production work, a commitment to innovation, and a genuine dedication to artists and the local music community, Steve continues to make a significant and lasting impact on the Ottawa music industry.