Scott McDowell: san francisco bay area based recording engineer

I’ve mixed three albums and an EP for Goodnight, Texas: A Long Life of Living, Uncle John Farquhar, Conductor, and The Senseless Age (EP).

“The Railroad”, from their first album, has been picked up by Coors Banquet for their “Carry the West” campaign and was also used for the opening scenes in the first episode of Tiger King.

I really love how these all three of these albums turned out, how their sound manages to feel traditional and modern without breaking a sweat, and how easily they can make americana feel timeless.

Con Brio

I recorded and mixed the Con Brio half of a 7 inch split they put out with The London Souls. I pulled
some fun tricks in the bridge to make it feel like a drum loop, but it's played straight through.

I also mixed half of their latest album: Paradise.

Ty Segall

In early 2019 I spent an inspiring couple of weeks helping Ty Segall finish First Taste out at Panoramic Studios.
I learned a ton, dude’s an incredily inspiring person!

Josiah Johnson

Josiah has a really beautiful collection of songs on his solo debut: Every Feeling On A Loop.

Ben Morrison

I mixed the debut single from Ben Morrison’s upcoming solo record.

Strange Pilgrim

I mixed the first two singles from Strange Pilgrim: Salt and Seagulls & Staring at the Sky.

Max Daniel

I mixed the album Meant to Be by Max Daniel.

The Head and The Heart

I spent almost six weeks with The Head and The Heart, at several different studios, doing pre-production, as well as additional engineering, for their 2016 album release Signs of Light, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.

Select demos from these sessions were released on vinyl as, The Stinson Beach Sessions LP.

Most recently, I co-produced their cover of Neil Finn’s classic Don’t Dream It’s Over and spent 10 days cutting demos for Living Mirage.

Feist

I engineered the first round of basics sessions for the upcoming Feist record, Pleasure. We spent three weeks up at the Panoramic House Studio in Stinson Beach. It was a pretty amazing collection of people to spend time with and Feist is every bit as impressive an artist as I had always imagined.

Don’t Be a Hero

I engineered, mixed, and co-produced a few songs for the soundtrack to Don’t Be a Hero, directed by my good friend Pete Lee. It’s a short film set in Bakerfield, so we whipped up some country tunes. Four songs, written, arranged, recorded, and mixed in one day. The film took a lot more time, but turned out great!

The actual sound for the film was mixed by my pal Jeremiah Moore, who has a mix room across the hall from my studio. We were literally recording the soundtrack the same day he was editing dialogue across the hallway (with Pete running back and forth between the rooms)! It was a fun day at Hyde.

The Rainbow Girls

I had so much fun mixing American Dream record. Erin, Caitlin, and Vanessa are three incredibly creative ladies and we had a lot of fun crazy nights finishing this record together.

Suzanimal

I engineered and mixed the debut record from Suzanimal: Body. This was record full of close friends, we all had too much fun putting it together, and I think it turned out pretty good.

Oona Ruin

I engineered and mixed the some tunes that Avi Vinocur produced with Oona Ruin. I’ve known Oona since the first year I moved to SF, and have been a fan or hers the entire time. It was really fun to be in the studio with her and Avi and I love how it all turned out!

Elizabeth Moen

I recorded and mixed this cool Tiny Desk submission with Elizabeth Moen.

The Brothers Comatose

I recorded and mixed this a couple cover songs with The Brothers Comatose including Ain’t No Sunshine and No Quarter.

Birds & Batteries

Recorded and helped mix three records with Birds & Batteries: Panorama, Up To No Good, and I’ll Never Sleep Again.

We Became Owls

I co-produced, recorded and mixed We Became Owls’ latest EP: There Are Other Animals At The Zoo.

Sadie

I co-produced (along with Katie Day), recorded and mixed a three song EP with Sadie while she was still in eigth grade!

Anastasia

I co-produced, recorded and mixed Anastasia’s latest EP Country Flat, as well as her debut Only The Truth.

The Singer & The Songwriter

I produced, recorded and mixed, the latest EP, Directions with The Singer & The Songwriter.
These two are so wonderful to work with and this EP is something I’m incredibly proud of.

We worked hard in the studio to find a folk sound that [...] people crave.
I think we nailed it while managing to bring something unique to each song.

Kendra McKinley

In October of 2017, Kendra McKinley spent a month living at the Hendry Miller Library in Big Sur as an artist-in-residence. I packed up a rental car full of microphones, a Milkman amplifier, and a vibraslap and spent three nights recording a collection of tunes with Kendra inside the library.

Planes On Paper

I spent a very stormy week out in Stinson Beach recording Edge Markings with Planes on Paper. Navid and Jen are two of the coolest humans and I would give anything to spend another week listening to them sing together every day.

Trainwreck Riders

I recorded and mixed the last Trainwreck Riders album: Ghost Yards.

Kelly McFarling

I've worked on four records with Kelly McFarling: Water Dog, Others, Ridgeline and Distractible Child.

Angelica Rockne

I’ve produced a series of singles with Angelica Rockne.

The Fell Swoop

I’ve produced a series of super fun singles with The Fell Swoop.

Alycia Lang

I wore a lot of hats on the upcoming EP from Alycia Lang (some records get blurry like that), but mostly I recorded and/or mixed a healthy chunk of the music. Alycia is an incredible song writer, with a bold sonic pallet, and funny AF. Every song on the record is so unique, oozes with character, and plays to the strength of the different collaborators she hand picked for each song.

Aviva le Fey

Aviva really didn't want to record her album in SF, so she found a tiny cabin a few hours north in Ukiah. We packed up a rack of preamps, microphones, and mic stands and off we went! I literally threw out my back making this record. Fortunately, Aviva has seat warmers in her van, and by the time we arrived at the recording location, I was mostly recovered. I mixed the whole thing in my apartment in SF, and I think it turned out pretty great!

Mad Noise

I mixed the For My Mother EP by Mad Noise.

José Lobo

I think I performed an actual kitchen sink on the ending of this recording I made with José Lobo.
To be fair, he played everything else but the kitchen sink!

The Stone Foxes

I produced and mixed The Stone Foxes’ last EP, as well as the single for an international Jack Daniel’s campaign.

“While I’m A King Bee might be a cover song, the Stone Foxes add more depth than The Rolling Stones did in 1964. [...] It's one of the most exciting covers of the song since 1957” - Liquid Hip

Sean Hayes

I recorded basics for Sean Hayes’ Run Wolves Run record as well as the Honeybees Falling EP.

Ghost & Gale

I mixed the debut EP for Ghost & Gale.

Sonya Cotton

I co-produced, recorded, and mixed Sonya Cotton’s last two studio records: It Is So and Red River.

The California Honeydrops

I recorded and mixed Like You Mean It, the latest studio album by The California Honeydrops, as well as their live album.

Geographer

Recording/Mixing/Producing for both of Geographer’s first two releases: Innocent Ghosts, and Kites 7”. The single ‘Kites’, is considered the song that “put them on the map”.

“Tailor-made for your own personal late-night dance party”. -- Spin

Kacey Johansing

Recording engineer, mixer and producer for Kacey Johansing’s first record Many Seasons and recording engineer for her second record Grand Ghosts.

Washed Out

I recorded and mixed this live performance video for Yours Truly.

Chasing The Moon

I created and co-produced the Chasing The Moon series with videographer Elijiah Pahati.
The series lasted for three years and we managed to publish 36 episodes (always releasing on a full moon).

Lia Rose

I recorded and mixed Lia Rose’s split record: Conspire.

Vandella

I produced the latest release from Vandella, a four song EP called Shine You Up.
In addition to recording & mixing, I also wrote out some horn charts.

Old Gray Whistle Test

I worked extra hard producing the first EP, Ouroboros, from The Old Grey Whistle Test, the solo project of Vandella’s Tracey Holland. We also had time produce this one off single for a spooky video.

Rupa & The April Fishes

I spent 10 days recording the album Build with Rupa & The April Fishes and producer Todd Sickafoose.

Whiskerman

I recorded overdubs and mixed the this dirty rockin’ Whiskerman EP.

Diana Gameros

I co-produced, engineered, and mixed Diana Gameros’ album Eterno Retorno.

Annie Girl & The Flight

I produced, engineered, and mixed this record by the super talented Annie Girl & The Flight.

“Engrossing, mysterious …heightened and hypnotic.”
- Sylvie Simmons. MOJO album of the month March 2013

Katie Day

I recorded and mixed the Going Nowhere EP with Katie Day, and I produced and mixed the newer Burn It To The Ground EP.

Kevin Rivers

I produced, recorded, and mixed this awesome EP from Kevin Rivers.

Tim Marcus

I really love how this song turned out. I recorded and mixed this song by Tim Marcus for the Kelly McFarling / Lia Rose split album Conspire.

Pretty, Handsome

I recorded the vocals for these rad productions by Pretty, Handsome. Sierra Totten is a classicly trained singer and just awesome to work with, while Stephen Tucker creates the super rich textures with their music. His sounds are so inspiring! Every new song they bring in just completely blows my mind!

Future Shapes

I’ve been producing a bunch of great new music with Future Shapes. Fil plays all the instruments himself, and then gives me plenty of time to get weird with the recordings.