Meet Dylan Brown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Brown.

Dylan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’d say it started when I was 11 years old. I decided I wanted to play guitar so My mom took me to a second-hand music store and I bought a no-name electric guitar and a book on teaching yourself to play. I didn’t even have an amp just the guitar! Shortly after that, I was gifted a Tascam Pocket Studio. It’s a little 4-track digital recorder. It had microphones on it as well as a couple of instrument-level inputs. I was hooked!

I started writing and recording songs using whatever I could find around the house. I remember setting the record next to my dad’s recliner and beating the side of it with my fist to make a “bass drum.” Cut to 2015 I decided to pursue an education in audio production. I went to a couple of different community colleges and only took audio-related classes. I wasn’t a great student and in 2018 I had all but dropped out.

Fortunately, I was able to secure an internship at the legendary Blasting Room Studios in Fort Collins. I worked there as much as I could for two years soaking up all the knowledge on offer. Then the Covid pandemic… I worked my day job for a while after my internship since the music industry had basically gone underground.

In 2022 I made friends with a label owner in Denver named Eddie Roberts. His label Color Red needed a producer/engineer and I wanted the job! I assisted in a session or two then I became the staff engineer at Color Red Studio. Since then I’ve had the privilege of working on some really cool records by amazing local artists and artists from all over the country and even the world!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh no, the road was far from smooth! Firstly working as an intern in recording studios is not a paid position. So when I wasn’t putting in 25 hours a week at the studio I was working 40 hours a week at my regular job. My personal life was consumed by work and I actually lost some friendships over it.

Then, of course, I started my business in August of 2020 at the onset of the pandemic craziness. The road has slowly started to smooth for me but now the hardest thing is keeping my calendar full!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, I’d say I specialize in making bespoke American records. I have some indy and funk/soul music in my portfolio but I really like to work on rock, blues, country, and folk music. I do my best work in those genres. I like to tell people that their music is unique and that the production of their music should be unique as well. I want every record I make to have its own vibe and sonic palette.

I think what sets me and my work apart from others is that I don’t try to copy a sound. I work with the artist to craft the tonality of their music from scratch. Of course, we draw from our inspirations but the records I make sound like I made them and I think that’s a really cool thing.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
The best advice I could give an aspiring engineer or producer is to just practice. Practice as often as you can! I used to download the multitrack to songs off this website called Cambridge or something or another. I’d mix and remix and mix again tons of songs. I set up a small studio in my apartment and tested out different mic techniques to see what vibe each technique produced.

I mean, I still do a lot of this stuff today at Color Red to constantly expand my repertoire of tricks. One thing I wish I understood earlier on is that while engineering can be technical there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to achieving the sound you want for a particular record. No famous engineer’s mix template or plugin settings will make you a better engineer.

What you need to do is learn the theory behind capturing sounds and learn how to use the tools to manipulate and shape them. Train your ears to listen critically and commit to artistic decisions. When I started working like that I really started to feel like a pro.

Pricing:

• Tracking per day $250
• Tracking per hour $40
• Mixing per song $250

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dylanbrownaudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylan.brown.audio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-brown-12a55a186/

Image Credits
Dawson Brown