Patrick (Bischoff) Brown
Patrick Brown is an American engineer, producer and studio owner. He has been the CEO of several record labels, including Brown Bottle Records and Different Fur Studios. He is the current owner of Different Fur Studios in the Mission district of San Francisco, California.
Biography
Brown spent his early life in Arizona and later moved to Long Island, New York, where he studied web design. He found out that he had a talent for recording after working on various projects with friends and helping friends' bands record. Because of this talent Brown moved to San Francisco in 1998 where, after getting settled, he attended Ex'pression College for Digital Arts. In 2004, during his final semester at Ex'pression, Brown was hired as an Intern at Different Fur. There he was given his first solo session, Gordon Gano from The Violent Femmes. 2006 marked a turning point for the studio because Brown helped bring in various bands through iTunes' Live Sessions. In 2007 Brown purchased the studio from Jeremy Smith. Most studios are not owned by engineers, but Brown purposefully wanted to create a studio that focused on this aspect of the recording process. As owner, he morphed the business model by bringing in more interns, because Brown believes it takes a community of passionately involved people to really create something worthwhile. Since Brown's purchase of the studio, he has been credited as an owner who has "modernized the studio without losing any of the building's pastoral charm".Brown's work has been featured on Pitchfork, Stereogum, Urb, Fader, PrefixMag, Imposemagazine, Vice, Noisey, Spinner, Hybebeast, Spin.com, iTunes New & Noteworthy, iTunes Indie Spotlight, WorldStar HipHop, 2dopeboys, The Owl Mag, Live 105, "Chronicle" the movie, a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial, The Bay Bridged, Impose Magazine, The Bold Italic, Playboy, and his work with The Morning Benders was voted iTunes Indie album of the year in 2008.
Recording Technique
As an engineer, Brown is constantly focused on the sound and vibe in the room. He pays attention to who is coming in and out, the reactions of people, and who needs coaxing in one direction or another. He views being an engineer as an art form in and of itself because he has to look at the sound being put to tape on different levels - the musician's, the consumer's, the technical side, and the sonic side - and balance all of these levels at the same time. According to Brown, "it's sort of like a balance between the performance itself and the actual sound, you know, you're deciding which is more important or how to get both. And they're completely different things."That being said, Brown feels he is an under-producer in that he wants to hear the emotion behind the artist and his/her songs first and foremost. "All in all, I'll do everything I can to make sure things sound the way you expect, and hopefully even better, so that when you leave you are proud of what we've accomplished."
Brown also focuses on trying to get bands to their next place. He constantly thinks about getting artists more attention for their music, which starts with the recording itself, but also includes getting fans out to their shows, telling people about the record, and finding new ways of getting records into the hands of fans.
Brown plans to keep the studio on the creative cutting-edge and in 2011 completed an upgrade accompanied by construction. He is also content to keep the studio focused on local bands and local labels, including Tricycle Records and Omega Records. However, this doesn't prevent the occasional big-name artist from stopping by. And while Brown will focus on getting out the sounds a band wants in their song, he is also going to make sure they're comfortable. Plus, if an artist does something funny, chances are he will tweet about it.
Influences
Growing up, Brown was a fan of artists he first heard through his Mom, including Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Neil Young. He also listened to a lot of late 1980s and early 1990s pop like Technotronic, Lisa Lisa, MC Hammer, and a lot of Bobby Brown. In fact, Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel, which was recorded at Different Fur Studios, is an influential album for Patrick Brown.Brown is a fan of very few engineers but is constantly evaluating other people's works and learning from them. Engineers that Brown finds influential include Russell Elevado, Tony Maserati, and Tom Dowd. However, he draws more inspiration from producers and musicians like Morris Day, Prince, D'angelo, Biggie, Funkadelic's album Maggot Brain, the first N.E.R.D. record, and the first Kenna record. Overall, Brown is influenced by those people and records that have challenged what has been established. This is what helps him grow the most as an engineer, producer, and studio owner; and it is the type of person Brown aims to be.
Discography
Albums
;2006- Karpov - Soliloquy
- Transdub Massiv - Negril To Kingston City
- FM Fatale - Soft Life for Killers
- Vienna Teng - Dreaming Through The Noise
- The Most Holy Trinity - Rituals for Parting
- Chow Nasty - Super Electrical Recordings
- Gravy Train!!!! - All The Sweet Stuff
- Michael Franti & Spearhead - All Rebel Rockers
- The Morning Benders - Talking Through Tin Cans
- Alison Harris - Smoke rings in the sky
- Morley - Seen
- Big Light - Big Light
- Trainwreck Riders - The Perch
- So Many Wizards - Tree
- Flexx Bronco - Volume 2: Off the Record
- The Morning Benders - Big Echo
- Gomorran Social Aid Club - The Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club
- The Gomorrans - Giving Birth To Love
- Victor Harris - Midnight at Malibu
- A B & The Sea - Christmas
- NeaCombo Diffuzion - Round 2 Digital Attack
- Lowered
- Alessandra - So Nice
- Dylan Fox And The Wave - Tunnel Vision
- A B & The Sea - Run Run Run
- The Park - The Process...
- Zodiac Death Valley - Zodiac Death Valley
- Le Panique - Saturday Matinee
- Lilac - Lilac
- Sourpatch - Stagger and Fade
- A B & The Sea - Constant Vacation
- Lilac - Christine
- The Park featuring Darondo and Happy Mayfield - The Silvercloud Time Machine
- Nate Mercereau - $1,000,000 Worth of Twang
- Buttercream Gang - Oh Brother
- Illusion of Self - Illusion of Self
EP's
- 2010 A B & The Sea - Boys and Girls
- 2011 The Park - These Are The Days
- 2011 The Cold Volts - People Noise
- 2011 Dylan Fox and The Wave - Tunnel Vision
- 2011 Bird Call - Other Creatures
- 2011 A B & The Sea - Run Run Run!
- 2011 Ash Reiter - Heatwave
- 2011 Lilac - Lilac
- 2012 Starred - Prison to Prison
Live Session (iTunes exclusive)
- 2007 Black Lips.
- 2007 Rodrigo y Gabriela.
- 2007 Mew.
- 2007 Jack Ingram.
- 2007 Gomez.
- 2008 OneRepublic.
- 2008 Tristan Prettyman.
- 2008 The Blakes.
- 2008 Tegan and Sara.
- 2008 Amos Lee. .
Singles
- 2006 Hey Willpower - P.D.A.
- 2009 Skin & Bones, featuring Chris Chu, Bernie Worrell and 88 keys - Lemonade
- 2009 A B & The Sea - Suzie/Yellow-Haired Girl
- 2011 Skin & Bones, featuring Izza Kizza and Bernie Worrell - Holdn’ Back
- 2011 The Park - Belleville
- 2011 Skin & Bones - Stomp / Pop Painkillaz
- 2012 Midi Matilda - Love & The Movies
- 2012 Grillade - I'd Love to Change the World
- 2012 Surf Club - Reverie
- 2012 Swiftumz - Willy
- 2012 Dirty Ghosts - Eyes of a Stranger
- 2012 Woof - Get it Right
- 2012 Woof - Grimer feat. Antwon & Swiftumz
- 2012 Woof - Black Roses feat. G-Side, Tragik & Doe Eye
- 2012 Woof - Woolybrain
Videos
- The Morning Benders - '
- The Morning Benders - '
- Skin&Bones - '
- Flexx Bronco - '
- Toro y Moi - '
- Chromeo - '
- Chromeo - '
- The Morning Benders - '
- The Morning Benders - '
- The Morning Benders - '
- Ash Reiter - '
- Bird Call - '
- Sourpatch - '
- Grimes - '
- Lilac - '
- Sun Airway - '
- Lower Dens - '
- Yuck -
- UMO - '
- Bobby - '
- Zola Jesus- '
- Araabmuzik -
- The Park - '
- The Park - '
- The Park - '
- Pat Parra - '
- Twin Sister - '
- Lia Ices - '
- Zodiac Death Valley - '
- Lilac - '
- Dam Funk & Master Blaster - '
- B. Bravo and The Starship Connection - '
- Blind Pilot - '
- Of Montreal - '
- The Walkmen - '
- Lee Fields and the Expressions - '
- Gary Clark Jr - '
- Alabama Shakes - '
- Charli XCX - '
- Nicolas Jaar - '
- Bear in Heaven - '
- Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q - '
- The Park - '
- American Hipster Presents - '
- American Hipster Presents - '
- A B & the Sea - '
- A B & the Sea - '
- A B & the Sea - '
- Midi Matilda - '
- Nick Waterhouse - '