Sutter Hellwarth

Education

B.M. in Music Production & Engineering; Berklee College of Music 2016

Cum Laude

Where am I at?

I am currently living and working on the West Side of Los Angeles. I work part time as an assistant at the historic 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica, and as a post production audio editor at Post Haste Digital in Culver City. I also freelance as a record producer and engineer. 

• Check out my coworkers on the web!
• 4thstreetrecording.com
• posthaste.digital

What do I do?

            I am a record producer and engineer who takes a holistic approach to making music.  While I have learned a great deal about microphones, signal flow, and audio recording techniques, I prefer to focus on the emotional content of a track first and foremost. My goal isn’t just to get a song written or recorded or published, but to make sure the song has a purpose and a reason to exist; a theme or attitude that everyone involved in the project understands and can help augment.

            My production style is both a product of what I’ve learned in and out of school, and reflection of what I believe to be the role of a record producer in the changing landscape of the industry. My main focus is on the songwriting, arrangement, and vocal performance; all essential elements that cannot be fixed or replicated in the digital realm. However, electronic production, sampling, synthesis, and programming are all essential to making a track sound mainstream. I use a combination of these techniques on almost anything I work on, from simple vocal reverses to completely programmed instrumental and drum tracks. It is important to note that I don’t consider myself a ‘beatmaker’, rather a record producer who uses hybrid production to infuse any type of song with a mainstream feel. I believe that a song from almost any genre can be a commercial success with the right approach. 

My History

            I am a Los Angeles based record producer who recently graduated from Berklee College of Music’s prestigious Music Production & Engineering program. I have been playing music since I was a kid, and producing and recording it since High School. As a teenager I dedicated much of my time to drums and percussion, playing in any group that would let me from my High School jazz band to the Pennsylvania All-State Orchestra to the three-piece alt rock band I formed with a couple of my most talented friends. I tried out all kinds of options for leading a musical life— teaching, writing, classical performance, session playing, you name it—and I learned a great deal from all of these experiences. Thinking that playing drums was my best way in, I spent my first two years after high school at Hofstra University in Long Island, NY studying jazz performance and history, music theory, and musicianship, as well as humanities and social studies. While absorbing a great deal of information and meeting some important people, I knew I would have to refocus yet again to figure out what I was best at. I spent those two years practicing, listening, and growing and was then able to move to Boston where I could be at my best.