Producer, Engineer, Mixer Phil Ek, Producer of Artists

Rebekah Ratlif 9/12/2011 Demo Production Phil Ek: Producer, Engineer, Mixer Phil Ek, producer of artists such as The Shins, Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes, and Band of Horses, prides himself on filling three roles of the music production process: producer, engineer, and mixer. It’s fair to say that he is successful in all three areas. In the nineties Ek moved to Seattle after graduating high school and started in the clubs of Seattle where he worked as an audio engineer. After working for a year and a half, he moved on to recording small demos for anyone that came to him. He would record three song demos on cassette so the artists could try to get gigs in clubs and venues. Ek then attended the Art Institute of Seattle to study recording. During this time he met John Endino, producer of Nirvana, and ended up assisting him in his studios. During his time with Endino and recording demos at Sub Pop records he met members of the band Built to Spill. Ek, creating a good relationship with the band, was asked to record their record “There’s Nothing Wrong with Love” which went on to reach #24 on Pitchfork’s Top 100 albums of the 1990s. Ever since recording that album, Ek has been unstoppable, recording several other Built to Spill records, two number one albums in the US, and two in the US top 40. The Role of the Producer The idea of what a producer actually does could be diferent for many people, depending on their perspective in or outside of the music industry. One, common view is that a producer in charge of every creative decision while a record is being made. While this could be true for producing pop acts like Brittany Spears, Phil Ek just does not function that way. Ek says in his interview with HitQuarters.com “I think the best producer is someone who listens to what’s the best thing about the band and brings out the best in them and sometimes that’s just letting the band be the band.” Ek, like famous country producer Tony Brown, thinks that production should be a collaborative efort between the band and the producer. The role of the producer in Phil Ek’s eyes is a creative guide of sorts that can push a band to its limits. “I think a good producer agrees with what is the best for the band and helps bring out the best and makes it sound the best and have them perform at their best.” Even in reading the very first Chapter Title in “Behind the Glass” by Howard Massey, “It’s all about the relationships.” Phil Ek embodies this philosophy. He has known the members of Fleet Foxes ever since moving to Seattle and has maintained healthy, honest relationships with not only them, but also many other successful independent bands. Ek, commenting on working with bands that he has built relationships with, says, “It’s when you have mutual admiration for the music, you respect each other as people and as creative entities in themselves, producer and band and just simply like each other as people and friends.” The Pre-Recording Process The recording process is crucial to producing an album. Ek is a producer that believes that involvement in many parts of the process is very important. He told HitQuarters.com to prepare for an album, he’ll go visit the bands during rehearsal and practice times to get a feel of how they perform live and what direction the band is going in before sitting in a studio. During this time, he and the band will usually work out the songs and they will figure out what they can change and what they cannot about each song. Once they are in one of the few studios Ek uses in Seattle, he will discuss sonic qualities and desired outcome with the band and maybe even do small demo work. All of this is to get a feel for how the band acts in a studio and to see what works for the band and what doesn’t. A Signature Sound Ek is mostly known for an organic, big, and clear sound. The newest Fleet Foxes album, Helplessness Blues, is a very good example of this. The Washington Times says, “he [Ek] swathes the whole thing in reverb without blurring the lines between each instrument. Listening to the album with headphones is tantamount to watching the band perform inside a large, echoing church but sitting close enough to the front pew to discern each individual note.” In an interview with Sound on Sound magazine, Ek says that he mostly concerned himself with capturing sounds as naturally as possible, paying very close attention to mic placement techniques. He tries to capture the best sound possible so he does not have to process the signal as much. This is so easy to hear in ‘Helplessness Blues.’ He says in the interview, “There was certainly some EQ towards the mixing end of it. But for almost all of the tracking, it was pretty much just a cool mic and a cool sound source. This record was designed to be a really beautiful, huge, naturalsounding record.” It is evident that Ek uses these techniques on his previous records as well. Just take a listen to ‘Cease to Begin’ a Band of Horses record from 2007. It’s slick organic sound employs Ek’s techniques to suit the bands style, making a great sounding album. The Shins’ ‘Wincing the Night Away’, an album that reached Number 1 in the US, also showcases Ek’s talents for natural recording. However, it also shows his range of capability, as the album is more synth based but also manages to sound clean and natural. Overall, Phil Ek, though young, has established himself as a successful producer. He has proved to be talented and versatile, but distinct in his sound. It seems that, along with his talents, his attitude on production and his thorough involvement on the process are what sustains his success. .

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