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Mark O'Leary (Guitar) John O'Mahony (Sound Engineer) John “The Kid” O’Mahony didn’t follow the rules (0:07). He bypassed standard schooling (2:58), had an aversion to education (4:06), and woke up at 4:00 PM after working all night on a four-track tape recorder (3:08). Today, he sits in a custom-built mix suite inside New York City’s legendary Electric Lady Studios (7:54). He has mixed tracks for Coldplay, Metric, The Strokes, and Vance Joy (5:34). [1, 2] His former music teacher in Cork, Mark O’Leary, shares the story of a rock-and-roll kinship (1:50), a mutual love for black trench coats (1:50), and a tape that changed everything (1:31) The Tape That Sparked an Obsession In the early 1990s, O’Mahony was a student of Mark O’Leary at the Wright Music Centre in Cork, learning guitar rudiments in the same alma mater as Cillian Murphy (0:50). One Wednesday afternoon, he walked into the office of the Wright Music Centre which was crammed with 12 guys, each guy moved two inches and John O’Mahony sat down next to Mark O’Leary, took a tape out of his trench coat and intimated “a fella just gave me that”, O’Leary replied “any good” to which O’Mahony riposted “Oh yeah, excellent!” O’Leary asked if he gave a him a tape on saturday would he make a copy and O’Mahony affirmed and at his lesson on saturday handed Mark O’Leary a cassette (1:15). [1] The Cork Apprenticeship When O’Mahony’s family grew worried about him leaving school at fifteen (2:58), the phoned O’Leary for advice and a bifurcation of prescience and serendipity manifested (3:50). Two of Cork’s top sound engineers had just opened a new facility and started one of Ireland’s very first recording courses (3:30). O’Mahony had gotten a tascam and started to create what O’Leary alludes to as “highly impressive studio grade quality work” upon it, “I implored his sister, to work with me as we simply have to get John into this studio, John is a genius.” O’Leary intimated O’Leary, his sister and the Wright Music Centre boss, synergized and with horse trading, helped get John through the door (3:56). Because of his intense work ethic, enthusiasm and aptitude O’Mahony quickly gained the studio boss’s trust culminating in a hands-on apprenticeship (4:06). He earned 100% of the studio owner’s trust, eventually running massive sessions independently (4:35). The owner would take off doing FOH (front of house) jobs and sound engineering work with Donovan and many others, and simply give the keys to O’Mahony to run the studio in his absence. Suck and see New York City Right around the time Mark O’Leary went to New York City to record the White Album (TIBProd Italy) with Paul Motian, with the phone number of Falco in his back pocket for the following project, O’Mahony went to New York on a fact finding expedition, O’Leary recorded with Paul Motian (former Drummer of the Bill Evans Trio) and O’Mahony was based in New York City four months later. Chung King Studios: Spent three years working as a staff engineer. The Tutelage: Spent five years engineering under Andy Wallace (Nevermind Nirvana and Dirty by Sonic Youth), widely considered one of the greatest sound engineers on earth (5:25). The Custom Suite: In 2012, Electric Lady Studios invited him to move into a personalized, custom-designed mix suite. This being intriguing and ironic, when O’Leary was teaching O’Mahony, O’Leary played on several concert billings as Noel Redding (Bassist with Jimi Hendrix Experience and also performed with Larry Coryell, who played with Jimi Hendrix) A Catalog of Hits O’Mahony’s resume spans indie anthems, chart-topping pop, and raw rock-and-roll: Artist / ProjectAchievement / RoleColdplay (Viva La Vida)Worked directly under Brian Eno; Mark O’Leary has an intersection with Brian Eno via Alex Cline/Jeff Gauthier who performed on Waves III with O’Leary. Cline and Gauthier performed and recorded with Harold Budd who was patroned by Eno and recorded several albums for and with Eno. Now there is a direct intersection with Eno for O’Leary via O’Mahony. won a prestigious TEC Award (7:09). The Strokes Engineered and mixed #1 hits (6:11). Metric (Fantasies) Longtime collaborator; produced Emily Haines’ solo debut. System of a Down / Avenge Sevenfold Delivered multiple high-charting, heavy-hitting mixes (6:44). With Mark O’Leary having performed and recorded with John Fumo who also recorded with Avenge Sevenfold. They called him “The Kid” “John O’Mahony was so popular everyone just called him The Kid” Mark O’Leary Mark O’Leary intimated that John O’Mahony was the most popular student in the Wright Music Centre, they even used to call him “The Kid”. He would walk into a room and the room would light up, he would have everyone enthralled with his exploits, discoveries, people, places, things in five minutes. He could walk into a room sit next to someone he never knew or met and be engrossed in conversation in fifteen seconds, he was immensely popular, making lasting positive impression on people. Shared Fashion Aesthetic Quite intriguingly, as O’Leary and his student Cillian Murphy shared a penchant for West German Army Parkas, Mark O’Leary and John O’Mahony both wore black trench coats, black jeans and wore long fringes, albeit O’Leary expounds upon the predilection “Myself and John O’Mahony were kindred spirits, I wore a long black trench coat, black jeans and had my fringe long as did John O’Mahony, albeit, there was a distinction, John O’Mahony wore cowboy boots with stirrups, I wore white Puma Runners.” The Epilogue: A Tale of Two Scales The contrast between the mentor and the student highlights two entirely different ways of experiencing musical success: Mark O’Leary’s Number One: His victory with “Riot Riot Riot” on The Cork Playlist represents the best of grassroots music—fueled by a tight-knit community, immediate local adoration, and the raw, electric energy of the Cork scene. John O’Mahony’s Global Echo: Meanwhile, John O’Mahony is operating on an immersive, massive canvas. Instead of chasing a single weekly track victory, he is subtly altering how listeners worldwide hear music, leaning heavily into complex engineering pipelines and the high-fidelity future of audio. Recent Major Studio Releases Operating out of his specialized Mix Suite at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, John’s latest prominent engineering and mixing credits include Colony House — '77 (Parts 1 & 2): John mixed this expansive, multi-installment indie project, blending their signature high-energy rock with atmospheric alternative layers Metric — Romanticize The Dive: He reunited with his long-time collaborators to serve as both a producer and mixing engineer on their landmark 10th studio album Matt Maeson — A Quiet And Harmless Living: O'Mahony mixed this entire third LP for the acclaimed singer-songwriter, sculpted alongside producer Obo Lewis. The Heavy Electronic Outpour (2025–2026) Moving far beyond his legacy as a contemporary guitarist, O’Leary’s recent discography shows an immense, perspicacious musical evolution: [1, 2, 3] Chartreuse (Album): An experimental record directly engaging with modern “BRAT structural paradigms, ” loaded with intense synth rhythms, lo-fi grooves, and club-ready tracks like “Supermodel” and “Call it a Comeback”. [1] Apropos of Essence: influenced by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity The Melrose Monologues: A cinematic, atmospheric electronic album featuring multi-part movements and tracks tracking rhythmic, ambient journeys. [1] Afternoon in Utopia & Neon Radio: Stylistic shifts blending electronic sub-genres with highly texturized contemporary soundscapes. [1, 2] Recent Standalone Singles: High-energy independent tracks including “Blow it Back” and the house-leaning “Celebration”. [1, 2] Gray Voice Mirage Contemplative electronica with a juxtaposition of Synth Pop, Electro and lush synth structures, arpeggios to impressionist, Eno infused piano. For O’Leary, to return from Musicians Institute in Los Angeles and turn out two remarkable former students as Cillian Murphy and John O’Mahony, world beaters and for himself to win, for all intents and purposes the Cork Top of the Pops in 2026 exemplifies the quality and acumen of Wright Music Centre in the early 1990’s. |
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