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Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Robert Margouleff has worked with music legends such as the Isley Brothers, Jeff Beck and Depeche Mode. In his new memoir “Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, DEVO, The Synth Revolution, And My Life Behind The Music,” the author shares stories about working with these stars. It wasn't his intent at the time, but his work helped create an eclectic musical time capsule.

"There were plenty of stories and when I recalled one, it led me to others that had not crossed my mind," Margouleff, 85, said from his Hollywood home. "Like mixing Robin Trower’s album for Crescendo Records back in the day. Trower was an in introspective man. [We were at] Malibu Beach on a weekday. We walked several miles with our feet wet in the surf end [section]. We talked about our work in the studio and music."

Margouleff keeps fans updated on his work on his website (https://www.margouleff.com/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/robert.margouleff/). This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Where did you write this book?

A: I was housebound due to the COVID epidemic. Being isolated gave me the perfect excuse to face my life. And now I've become an author!

Q: Do you have any upcoming trips planned?

A: I will be traveling east from Los Angeles [to speak] at Williams College in Massachusetts in the Berkshires this fall. I am available for in-person appearances for sure. I love public speaking and do a lot of it. As a matter of fact, I just appeared at the National Association of Music Merchants [NAMM] with Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO.

Q: What's the most important thing you've learned from your travels?

A: I learned how to become a combat photographer when I was in the U.S. army in Germany in 1965. As I remember, I was stationed in [the U.S. Army’s] Stuttgart VII Corps.

Q: What is your favorite destination?

A: The mountains of the Berkshires are [among] my favorites because I went to high school there. I also studied at the Tanglewood Summer Music Program, which is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I got to make music 24/7.

Q: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?

A: I grew up in Great Neck, New York, [and] liked trips to Jones Beach [in New York] and Atlantic City [in New Jersey] in the summers with my family. We just went to Jones Beach off of Long Island, and then The Pines on Fire Island in my later days.

Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways?

A: San Francisco, Las Vegas, Palm Springs.

Q: What are your five favorite cities?

A: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Tokyo.

Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A: Italy and Spain.

Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A: Clothes appropriate for where I am going, laptop, phone and a good camera.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?

A: The food. It’s very important to me because I love good quality cuisine native to where I am. At 85, I don’t have any more guilt left.

Q: What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?

A: The best were my trips to Paris, France, in the late 1960s. And London, also. I liked going to Tokyo because it was so different, so clean and organized ... and the funny signs in the hotel. In the hotel it said “Swimming Not.” The worst trip was getting constipated in Tokyo and I couldn’t tell the pharmacist what was wrong. Nowadays there are translator apps.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. You can reach her at www.jaehakim.com, follow her on Instagram and X @goawaywithjae, or read more from her on Substack (jaehakim.substack.com).)

©2026 Jae-Ha Kim. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c) 2026 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.