Draft:Les Bateman

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Les "Bates" Bateman (1948-2024) worked for over 50 years in the Canadian music industry. Bateman played B3 organ, was an engineer for such studios as Century II Studios (Edmonton) and Sounds Interchange (Toronto), a sound mixer for Second City Television ], and later a technical systems engineer for OVO Sound from 2012-2024. He was well known for building professional audio studios, including most notably SOTA studios in Toronto.

At an early age, Bateman learned how to fix watches at his family's jewelry store, G.W. Bateman Jewellers in Saskatoon. In 1967 Bateman formed the garage/psychedelic rock band Witness Inc. with high school friends Kenny Shields (vocals), Ed Clynton (guitar), Allan Ayers (bass), Dave Tupper (drums), playing the organ. After touring the prairie circuit of western Canada, Witness Inc. was signed by ApexApex Records in 1967, releasing a series of 45s including "I'll Forget Her Tomorrow" and "Visions of Vanessa." "Harlem Girl" reached the RPM (magazine) top 100 charts in Canada and top ten Canada Content Chart in 1968. Bateman co-wrote "Not Your Girl" on the B-side of Jezebel (1968). Witness Inc. unofficially ended in early 1971, with Shields later reforming the band in 1975. After the band split up, Bateman turned to sound engineering and was one of the initial engineers for Century II Studios, a recording studio in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada founded by Tommy Banks in 1972. There, Bateman was credited on albums by such artists as Johnny Shines and Liam Clancy.

In the late 1990s, Bateman shifted his interest to the emerging digital recording industry. He co-founded MusicXPC, which made PCs for audio professionals and was one of the first PC manufacturers certified for use with Pro Tools.

Bateman began working as a technical engineer for OVO Sound around 2012 after being introduced to producer Noah "40" Shebib by producer and mixer Noel "Gadget" Campbell. There, he co-designed SOTA studios in Toronto. Bateman is credited as systems engineer, engineer, and mixer on several of Drake's albums and mixtapes, including Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Certified Lover Boy Drake and 21 Savage Her Loss, and For All the Dogs.