Veteran mastering engineer Michael Romanowski has secured his sixth GRAMMY win, this time for his work on Immersed, the latest album from artist and producer Justin Gray, which took home Best Immersive Audio Album in 2026.
Romanowski—founder and chief engineer of Coast Mastering in Berkeley, California—handled both the immersive and stereo mastering for the project, a dual responsibility that underscores his fluency in an industry rapidly expanding beyond traditional formats. Over a career spanning more than three decades and more than 4,000 albums, his résumé reads like a cross-section of modern music history, with credits including Prince, Alicia Keys, Bonnie Raitt, and The Grateful Dead.
For Immersed, however, the mission went beyond polish—it was about preserving space. “Justin stayed focused as the artist, and I totally appreciated that,” Romanowski explains. “When I received the music files, I sat down, I listened… I didn't do anything until I listened all the way through.” That restraint, he suggests, is key to navigating immersive formats, where the goal isn’t loudness but dimensionality.
That philosophy marks a shift from the hyper-compressed tendencies of the loudness wars. “What we want out of Atmos… is a sense of space,” Romanowski says. “The more you try to make it loud… the less that space happens.” Instead, he embraces a more relaxed dynamic range—an approach that, perhaps surprisingly, has begun to influence how he approaches stereo mastering as well. The result? Music that invites listeners in, rather than overwhelming them.
Central to achieving that balance is Romanowski’s monitoring environment at Coast Mastering, anchored by a suite of Focal speakers. It’s not just about gear—it’s about trust in what you’re hearing. “With any mastering project I’m working on, knowing my listening environment is one of the most important things in the mastering process. For Justin‘s record, my room, my experience, and my perception of what the music sounds like are what allowed me to make the best decisions to help realize the artist’s creative intent.” It’s a philosophy that reinforces the idea that even in the most advanced technical workflows, the human ear—and instinct—remain the final authority.
For Justin Gray, that trust was well placed. “I have long admired Michael’s work,” Gray says. “As an artist, mix engineer, and producer, I gained confidence knowing that the final mastering stage with Michael was always on the horizon.”
Romanowski’s win adds to an already decorated career that includes eleven GRAMMY nominations and two prior wins for Best Engineered Album, Classical. Beyond the studio, he remains deeply embedded in the evolution of audio technology, consulting for companies like Dolby, Sony, and Google, and contributing to industry conversations at AES, NAMM, and SXSW.
If Immersed proves anything, it’s that the future of music isn’t just louder—it’s deeper. And with engineers like Romanowski shaping that future, listeners can expect to hear (and feel) every dimension of it.
