bright brown sound: production and sound engineering
Good music for me is first and foremost a gut reaction. It is as much a response to mood and texture as to melody, rhythm and arrangement. I am as passionate about sound production as I am about coming up with the perfect melody hook which is why I’ve had my feet on stage and in the studio, on both sides of the mixing desk.
I cut my teeth as a producer and audio engineer some twenty odd years ago when I ran an ad in the back of a local San Francisco music magazine for mobile multitrack recording. The response was strong and I developed a niche for bringing high end production sensibilities to live recording. As that continued to grow I co-founded and built Division Hi Fi, a state-of-the-art analog recording studio in the heart of San Francisco. My many collaborations with the 90‘s independent music underground in those days included Mates Of State, John Vanderslice, Jill Tracy, and my own project, Laughingstock. I’ve continued to work simultaneously as a live and recording engineer, as well as a songwriter and touring musician through my move to Brooklyn, NY in 2007 where I formed Bright Brown Sound, my music production moniker named after my current band, Bright Brown.
I’ve named my production style, "sonic cinema." I believe that whether it’s organic or synthetic, commercial or cerebral, music should immerse you the way a good movie theater experience would. It should come at you a little but mostly pull you in. I’ve worked on all kinds of recording systems over the years and learned that technique, attention to craft, and sensibility are far more important in achieving my sound than the gear I work on. It’s knowing how to exploit the limitations of the gear you have that makes good records. I prefer the simple big knobs and faders of the analog world but am happy to work in the box as well to create sonic cinema.
Click HERE for Alex's production demo reel on Soundcloud.
