About E J Ouellette

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E J EDWARD OUELLETTE

Producer • Recording Engineer • Multi-Instrumentalist • Composer • Educator • Artist Developer • Arts Entrepreneur

Founder & CEO, Whole Music Records™
Founder, Whole Music Studios™
Byfield, Massachusetts

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

E J Edward Ouellette is a Massachusetts-based producer, recording engineer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator, and artist-development professional with more than four decades of experience in music production, performance, recording, education, and cultural arts programming.

His career combines professional recording and production with music education, artist development, independent-label leadership, and the preservation and advancement of New England’s musical traditions. Through Whole Music Studios™, Whole Music Records™, and his educational programs, Ouellette has worked with developing artists, established professional musicians, students, songwriters, and recording artists across generations.

Ouellette served as producer, featured artist, recording engineer, and mixer on Linda Chorney’s “Bored,” nominated for the GRAMMY® Award for Best American Roots Song in 2022. He does not represent himself as a GRAMMY® Award winner.

His recent work has received national and international recognition while continuing a career centered on human-driven music, cultural heritage, professional mentorship, and accessible music education.

LEADERSHIP & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Whole Music Records™

Founder / CEO / Producer / Artist Developer
2009–Present | Byfield, Massachusetts

Founded and directs an independent recording and artist-development label supporting emerging and established artists through the full creative and professional development process.

Responsibilities include:

  • Artist development and creative direction

  • Record production and arranging

  • Recording engineering and mixing

  • Project planning and recording-session management

  • Multi-instrumental session performance

  • Release preparation and independent-label administration

  • Mentorship of emerging songwriters and recording artists

  • Career development and professional music-industry guidance

  • Coordination of professional musicians, producers, designers, and collaborators

  • Development of recording projects from initial concept through completed master

Whole Music Records™ operates with an emphasis on human-created and human-performed music, long-term artist development, professional production standards, and individualized creative mentorship.

Whole Music Studios™

Founder / Producer / Recording Engineer / Mixer
2009–Present | Byfield, Massachusetts

Owner and principal producer/engineer of a professional recording facility serving independent artists, songwriters, ensembles, educational projects, and label releases.

Ouellette oversees recording projects from pre-production through final mix and master preparation and regularly performs as a multi-instrumentalist on studio productions.

His production practice draws upon more than four decades of professional recording experience.

Pine Island Music Studio / Pine Island Music & Studio

Founder / Producer / Engineer / Musician
1993–2009 | Newbury and Byfield, Massachusetts

Operated a professional music-production and recording business providing production, recording, arranging, session performance, music instruction, and artist-development services.

The studio evolved into Whole Music Studios™ in 2009.

ADlab Studio

Founder / Producer / Recording Engineer
1983–1993 | Salisbury, Massachusetts

Founded and operated ADlab Studio, producing and recording independent artists and commercial music projects.

This period established the foundation of Ouellette’s long-term work in recording, production, artist development, and professional music education.

HIGHER EDUCATION & MUSIC INSTRUCTION

Northern Essex Community College

Music Instructor
1997–2014

Taught music and performance-related studies at the college level for approximately seventeen years.

Instruction incorporated practical musicianship, performance, recording knowledge, instrumental studies, and music-industry experience.

Ouellette’s teaching philosophy integrates technical proficiency with relaxation, body awareness, breath, listening skills, musicianship, and individual artistic development.

EJO Whole Music Virtual Academy

Founder / Lead Instructor

Develops and teaches private and group programs in:

  • Fiddle and violin

  • Voice and vocal technique

  • Guitar

  • Mandolin

  • Banjo

  • Ukulele

  • Songwriting

  • Performance development

  • Recording and studio preparation

  • Artist development

Programs include Vocal Yoga, Fiddle Yoga, Fiddle Physics, songwriting instruction, and adult music-education courses.

Ouellette has also provided music-related vocational and career-development instruction through programs associated with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission / MassAbility.

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

For more than four decades, Ouellette has worked with developing artists at multiple stages of their careers.

His Artist Development model combines:

Phase I — Creative & Technical Development

  • Musicianship

  • Vocal and instrumental development

  • Song development

  • Arrangement

  • Recording

  • Production

  • Studio performance

  • Professional master creation

Phase II — Career & Release Development

  • Release preparation

  • Distribution

  • Artist identity

  • Promotional strategy

  • Media materials

  • Professional submissions

  • Industry positioning

Over the course of his studio and educational career, he has worked with a large and diverse population of artists, musicians, students, and developing professionals.

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION

GRAMMY®-Nominated Recording

Linda Chorney — “Bored”
2022 GRAMMY® nomination — Best American Roots Song

E J Ouellette served as:

Producer • Featured Artist • Recording Engineer • Mixer

This credential reflects Ouellette’s professional contribution to a GRAMMY®-nominated recording. Ouellette does not claim to be a GRAMMY® Award-winning artist.

Josie Music Awards

Musician of the Year — Multi-Instrumentalist
Winner, 2024

Musician of the Year — Multi-Instrumentalist
Winner, 2025

Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville, Tennessee

Additional Josie Music Awards recognition has included nominations in songwriting and vocal categories.

InterContinental Music Awards — 2026

Winner — Best North American Folk
“My Fiddle Tradition”

Hollywood Music in Media Awards — 2026

Official Nominee — Instrumental
“On the Gravel Walk”

Hollywood Independent Music Awards — 2026

Official Finalist
“On the Gravel Walk”

International Singer Songwriters Association — 2026

Multiple finalist recognitions in artist, musician, songwriting, album, and recording categories.

SELECTED RECORDING & CREATIVE PROJECTS

The Fiddle Funnel Sessions — 2026

Original album composed and led by E J Ouellette exploring the musical intersection of New England, Scottish, Irish, Acadian, and French-Canadian fiddle traditions.

Composer • Producer • Engineer • Mixer • Multi-Instrumentalist

The project reflects Ouellette’s broader cultural work documenting, preserving, and extending New England fiddle traditions through original contemporary composition.

Featured collaborators include internationally and nationally recognized musicians from folk, rock, jazz, Celtic, and roots traditions.

Barefoot on the Gravel Walk — 2025

Album centered on New England fiddle traditions and their Celtic, Acadian, French-Canadian, and regional American connections.

Includes the award-winning composition:

“My Fiddle Tradition” — 2026 InterContinental Music Awards, Best North American Folk

“Bored” — Linda Chorney

Producer • Featured Artist • Recording Engineer • Mixer

GRAMMY®-nominated for Best American Roots Song, 2022.

A Fool and His Money — Feature Film

A FOOL AND HIS MONEY — Film & Soundtrack Production | 1989

Score Producer • Score Recordist • Featured Musician • Instrumentation • Foley / Sound Effects

E J Ouellette played a significant role in the music and audio production for the 1989 feature film A Fool and His Money (originally released as Religion, Inc.), starring Sandra Bullock, Jonathan Penner, Gerald Orange and George Plimpton, and directed by Daniel Adams.

Working closely with composer and artist Kip Martin, Ouellette produced Martin's recording contributions and served as score recordist, while also contributing extensively as a featured multi-instrumentalist to the film's music and soundtrack.

His work extended beyond recording and production to the development of the film's instrumentation, soundtrack elements and Foley/sound effects, making the project an early example of Ouellette's multidisciplinary work as a producer, recording engineer, musician and sound creator and an executive music producer for the film.

IMDb officially credits E.J. Oulette [sic] — Score Recordist in the film's Music Department.

Film: A Fool and His Money (1989)
Original Title: Religion, Inc.
Director: Daniel Adams
Composers: Kip Martin & E J Ouellette
Featuring: Sandra Bullock, Jonathan Penner, Gerald Orange & George Plimpton

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE & CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

Ouellette’s work has included performance and musical collaboration in the United States and internationally.

Selected experiences include:

  • Performance with Senegalese artist Baaba Maal at the Zénith Paris, France

  • Musical collaboration and performance experience in Mauritania, West Africa

  • Performance at a U.S. diplomatic event in Nouakchott, Mauritania

  • Musical collaboration involving West African percussion traditions

  • Extensive engagement with Irish, Scottish, Acadian, French-Canadian, Cape Breton, and New England musical traditions

These experiences inform Ouellette’s approach to music as both an artistic practice and a vehicle for cultural exchange.

MUSICAL SPECIALTIES

Multi-instrumentalist specializing in:

  • Violin / fiddle

  • Five-string violin

  • Mandolin

  • Four-string tenor banjo

  • Acoustic guitar

  • Electric guitar

  • Bass guitar

  • Voice

  • Percussion and rhythm-section production

Areas of musical specialization include:

New England Roots • Traditional Folk • Celtic • Acadian • French-Canadian • Irish • Scottish • Folk-Rock • Americana • Instrumental Composition • Songwriting

PRODUCTION & TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

More than four decades of professional experience in:

  • Music production

  • Recording engineering

  • Mixing

  • Arrangement

  • Session direction

  • Multi-instrumental overdubbing

  • Acoustic recording

  • Digital audio production

  • Editing

  • Artist development

  • Studio management

  • Project management

  • Master recording preparation

Current production environment includes professional Pro Tools-based recording and mixing systems and high-resolution digital recording.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Recording Academy — Voting Member

  • ASCAP — Writer / Publisher

  • EJO Whole Music Publishing — ASCAP

  • Founder / CEO — Whole Music Records™

  • Founder — Whole Music Studios™

EDUCATIONAL & CULTURAL MISSION

A central theme of Ouellette’s work is the preservation of human musicianship while creating pathways for the next generation of artists.

His professional practice brings together three complementary areas:

Preservation — sustaining regional musical traditions and the knowledge carried by working musicians.

Creation — composing, recording, and producing new music that allows those traditions to continue evolving.

Education & Artist Development — transferring professional knowledge to younger and emerging artists so they can build sustainable creative lives.

Ouellette’s work particularly emphasizes New England’s historic position as a meeting place for Irish, Scottish, Acadian, French-Canadian, Cape Breton, and American musical traditions.

PROJECT LEADERSHIP CAPACITY

Ouellette brings to funded cultural and artistic projects more than four decades of experience managing creative work from conception through completion.

His experience encompasses:

  • Artistic direction

  • Budget-conscious independent production

  • Personnel coordination

  • Professional recording

  • Educational programming

  • Curriculum development

  • Artist mentorship

  • Public performance

  • Cultural research

  • Music composition

  • Documentation and preservation

  • Media and promotional development

  • Independent project administration

  • Delivery of completed professional recordings and educational outcomes

This combination of artistic, technical, educational, and administrative experience provides a substantial foundation for directing projects involving music creation, cultural preservation, education, community engagement, recording, and artist development.

E J Edward Ouellette
Founder / CEO — Whole Music Records™
Founder — Whole Music Studios™
Producer • Recording Engineer • Multi-Instrumentalist • Composer • Educator
Recording Academy Voting Member
EJO Whole Music Publishing — ASCAP