Discography
- Indicates Grammy win.
Andrew Dawson | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 12, 1980 |
| Origin | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Instruments |
|
| Website | http://soundeq.com/ |
Andrew Dawson (born March 12, 1980) is an American music producer, engineer, mixer and songwriter based in Maryvale, Arizona. Dawson is a three-time Grammy award winner and six-time Grammy nominee, having won for his work as engineer and mixer on Kanye West's Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) - each winning the Best Rap Album category. [1] [2] Dawson is also credited with additional production on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . [3] Although Dawson made his initial breakthrough with hip hop artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Common, Tyler The Creator, and P.O.S, Dawson has also moved on to produce and work on records for pop, indie and rock bands including fun., The Rolling Stones, Pet Shop Boys, Sleigh Bells, Baskery and Night Terrors of 1927.[ citation needed ]
Dawson began playing piano at the age of 5, studying jazz and classical piano at a private music conservatory until the age of 16. During the last few years of high school, Dawson interned at a Minneapolis recording studio and during the summers did live sound mixing for outdoor concerts. [4] Dawson then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he majored in Music Production & Engineering. While living in the Boston area Dawson worked at Lexicon - a company famous for manufacturing digital reverb units including the 480L. [5] In 2001 Dawson moved to New York City, where he worked as an assistant then later became a staff engineer at Sony Music Studios. [4] [5] [6] Dawson prefers to work on projects that have meaning, due to his passion for music, and work with artists who are equally as passionate about their records. [7]
In 2003, midway through the recording and producer sessions for Kanye West's The College Dropout , Dawson was called to try for the position of Kanye West's engineer. The rap artist and producer Kanye West had gone through a string of seven engineers, all of whom were fired. [8] Dawson was able to impress the rap star and maintained his position. Since then Dawson has worked as Kanye West's primary audio and mixing engineer. In a period spanning almost 9 years, Dawson has been directly involved in all five Kanye West studio album releases, totaling in sales of over 11 million records [9] [10] [11] and four #1 US albums. [12]
Dawson currently rents a studio inside a house in Arizona, USA. [5] The majority of fun.'s chart topping album Some Nights , including #1 single "We Are Young" was recorded at SoundEQ Studios. [13] Dawson has hosted co-writing sessions with artists and writers including Andy Grammer, Hudson Taylor, Baby E, Zack Waters, K.Flay, Michelle Branch, Kimbra, and Jimmy Harry.
Graduation is the third studio album by American rapper Kanye West released on September 11, 2007, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions took place between 2005 and 2007 at several studios in New York and Los Angeles. It was primarily produced by West himself, with contributions from various other producers, including DJ Toomp. The album features guest appearances from recording artists such as Dwele, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mos Def, DJ Premier, and Chris Martin. The cover art and its interior artwork were designed by contemporary artist Takashi Murakami.
Ernest Dion Wilson, known professionally as No I.D., is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well as his career mentorship of rappers Kanye West, J. Cole and Logic. Wilson first gained success for his role as an in-house producer for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings—leading to largely uncredited work on Dupri's productions "My Boo" by Usher, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow—before reaching commercial success with his solo productions. He worked with Jay-Z to produce his singles "Run This Town" and "Holy Grail," West to produce "Heartless," and Drake to produce "Find Your Love" and "Nonstop"; each have peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Lost in the World" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song features vocals by Justin Vernon of indie folk band Bon Iver, as well as sampling his 2009 song "Woods". It also contains portions of "Soul Makossa" written by Manu Dibango, and samples of "Comment No. 1", performed by Gil Scott-Heron. It was produced by West and Jeff Bhasker, who wrote the track with Vernon and Malik Jones. "Lost in the World" was initially leaked on September 29, 2010, and was 5 minutes and 55 seconds long. The version on the album was divided into two parts, with the outro becoming a new track entitled "Who Will Survive in America".
Jeffrey Nath Bhasker is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013.
"Blame Game" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song features recording artist John Legend and was produced by West, DJ Frank E, and Mike Dean. The song features a hip hop skit provided by comedian Chris Rock. It uses the piano composition "Avril 14th" by Aphex Twin. Lyrically, the song contains West's thoughts on past break-ups and explores themes of unrequited love, heartbreak, and spousal abuse. Midway through the song, Rock delivers an extended monologue as the new boyfriend of West's past lover.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of controversy in 2009, following his interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, West recorded the album at Honolulu's Avex Recording Studio in a communal environment involving numerous musicians. Additional recording sessions took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, along with the New York City studios Electric Lady and Platinum Sound.
"Power" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the lead single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song features additional vocals by soul singer Dwele and is co-produced by West and Symbolyc One. It is built around samples of "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson, "Afromerica" by Continent Number 6, and "It's Your Thing" by Cold Grits. After having recorded it in Hawaii, West reported that 5,000 man-hours were spent developing "Power". In its lyrics, West comments about the United States, his mental health and his critics. Its chorus features an abrasive vocal-riff.
"Monster" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the third single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song features rappers Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj, along with indie folk group Bon Iver. All five credited acts have writing credits on the posse cut, with the production handled by West and Mike Dean. The instrumental is atmospheric and drum-heavy, and the lyrics reflect influences from horror films, creating an eerie composition which drew critical comparisons to the Michael Jackson track "Thriller".
"So Appalled" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song was produced by West, along with No I.D. and Mike Dean, and features verses by Jay-Z, Cyhi the Prynce, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, and RZA respectively, who all receive writing credits. Lyrically, the song explores topics such as the troubles produced from being famous, social concerns and features numerous pop culture references.
Matt Hyde is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He has been credited as engineer, producer, mixer and/or mastering engineer on notable albums such as No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, Monster Magnet's Powertrip, Slayer's God Hates Us All, Hatebreed's Perseverance, Parkway Drive's Atlas, and Deftones' Gore.
"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recording artists, including John Legend, The-Dream, Drake, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Elton John, Ryan Leslie, Charlie Wilson, Tony Williams, La Roux, Alvin Fields, Ken Lewis, Kid Cudi, and Rihanna; the latter two are credited on the official music video and single version, but not on the album version. It is often played along with its accompanying interlude "All of the Lights (Interlude)", which precedes the song on the album's tracklist.
"Dark Fantasy" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and producer Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song serves as the opening track of the album, and was written by West, Ernest Wilson, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean and Robert Diggs. It features an opening narrative delivered by rapper Nicki Minaj, and singers Teyana Taylor and Justin Vernon contribute to the song's hook and provide background vocals. The track heavily samples "In High Places" by Mike Oldfield. The song introduces several of the themes presented on the album and features numerous pop culture references, a gospel-inspired production style, and piano-driven composition. The song received acclaim from music critics, who praised the song as a strong opener to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, complementing West's vocal delivery and the song's production.
"Gorgeous" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The track features a hook provided by Kid Cudi, a recording artist formerly signed to West's label GOOD Music, and a rap verse provided by the Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. The song was written by West, Cudi, Raekwon, No I.D., Mike Dean and Rhymefest, and was produced by West, No I.D. and Dean. It contains elements of Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars' cover version of The Turtles' song "You Showed Me". "Gorgeous" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised the intricacy of the production, the quality of the guest features and the rock music-inspired aesthetic of the song. Several critics cited West's verses as a highlight of the track, complimenting his lyricism and delivery.
"Hell of a Life" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song was produced by West, Mike Caren, No I.D. and Mike Dean. The song features a number of samples and contains backing vocals by Teyana Taylor, signed to West's G.O.O.D. Music label. The song features a production style with influence from rock and heavy metal music, and is notably bombastic and aggressive in nature. The song expresses a narrative about West marrying a pornographic film actress and the traumatic events that follow. It employs highly sexual, nightmarish imagery, and was inspired by West's relationship with model Amber Rose among other real-life events.
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
"No More Parties in LA" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016), featuring vocals from fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was produced by West and Madlib, who began the recording in 2010. The beat was originally offered to Freddie Gibbs before being given to West and Lamar by Madlib. The song was released as the third promotional single from the album as part of West's GOOD Fridays series on January 18, 2016.
"Feedback" is a song by American hip-hop artist Kanye West from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016). It includes a sample of "Talagh" by Googoosh, and West raps about his career experiences. The song charted on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart at number 99 and 92 respectively in 2016.
Ken Lewis is an American record producer, mixing engineer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. He has been nominated by name for his contributions to 7 Grammy-nominated projects including on Eminem's Recovery, Kanye West's The College Dropout, FUN.'s Some Nights, Cuban Link's Chain Reaction and others. He has also contributed production, songwriting, engineering, arranging and/or instrumentation and vocals to numerous gold, platinum, and diamond records including Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk", Lil Wayne and Drake's "Believe Me", and Kanye West and Jamie Foxx's "Gold Digger". He is the creator of two web-based instructional platforms: Audio School Online and Music School Online. Lewis is also half the production team, Katalyst, with Brent Kolatalo.
Brent Kolatalo is an American mixer, record producer, engineer and songwriter based in New York City. Kolatalo has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, Drake, Bruno Mars, X Ambassadors, Future, Chris Webby, Ella Henderson, Taylor Swift, Lorde, OneRepublic, Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey among others.
Noah Goldstein is an American record producer, composer, engineer, and mixer, and also works in A&R. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for his work on Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and has been nominated for six others.
