BruFlo ● Brüt Flōr ● Brutus Floristicus
Hello! My name is Dan. Professionally I go by Brute Florist. I am a musician, mixing engineer, record producer, arranger, and songwriter. I like to get in where I fit it. I do my mixing and mastering work using a "hybrid" setup. This means I blend outboard gear with "in the box" mixing using plugins. I like this set up because it allows me to use the strengths of both hardware and software, giving me a rich and unique sonic palette to work with. For recording, I use local studios and even rehearsal spaces if need be. I develop a plan that fits the budget and gets the best possible sonic result. I'm currently operating out of Edmonds, WA (just north of Seattle.)
My Recording & Mixing Backstory
I truly started my recording journey in 1989 on a warm summer day in Boulder, Colorado. With a borrowed cassette 4-track and one Sure SM57 microphone I recorded a song by local songwriter Scott Tolchin called "Saturns Rings.". It was Scott on acoustic guitar and singing, and I added a meandering acoustic guitar solo line in the spaces. We were both shocked and delighted with how cool it sounded. That's it. I was hooked!
I started recording all of my bands and all of my friends bands. I was obsessed with capturing sounds. I had stumbled into making field recordings in 10th grade because I thought it was funny to record my friends getting drunk. I dove back into this aspect of recording as well, and it has been a feature of my life ever since.
In 1993 I moved to Austin, TX. I played in a bunch of bands with a ton of amazing people. I got to observe and participate as a musician in real, professional recordings in proper studios with awesome producers like John Croslin and Brian Beaty. I ran live sound at local venues. Me and my friends built multiple DIY recording spaces and cranked out many DIY recordings - good, bad, ugly, gorgeous and bizarre. Along the way I graduated to a TASCAM 1/2" 8-Track reel-to-reel deck, and then a succession of DAWs including Fruity Loops (which became FL Studio), Audacity, Cakewalk, Reason and others that I'm probably forgetting. Eventually I landed on Pro Tools, and that has been my main tool for quite a while. (I also sometimes use Adobe Audition when doing video work, and lately I've been having a great time with Bitwig Studio.)
Coming up in Austin, TX in the 90's was awesome because that was a very DIY scene. We all were like, can't afford a studio, fuck it, lets make combine all our gear and make our own studio in the basement. I have carried that mindset with me. This also caused me to start learning about recording and mixing in tandem. Discovering unorthodox mixing techniques began out of necessity, but quickly became part and parcel of how I've developed my style.
Over the years I have made music, built studios and recorded in Colorado, Southern Oregon, Oakland, Austin (and San Marcos!) I am currently operating north of Seattle in the town of Edmonds, WA.
I started recording all of my bands and all of my friends bands. I was obsessed with capturing sounds. I had stumbled into making field recordings in 10th grade because I thought it was funny to record my friends getting drunk. I dove back into this aspect of recording as well, and it has been a feature of my life ever since.
In 1993 I moved to Austin, TX. I played in a bunch of bands with a ton of amazing people. I got to observe and participate as a musician in real, professional recordings in proper studios with awesome producers like John Croslin and Brian Beaty. I ran live sound at local venues. Me and my friends built multiple DIY recording spaces and cranked out many DIY recordings - good, bad, ugly, gorgeous and bizarre. Along the way I graduated to a TASCAM 1/2" 8-Track reel-to-reel deck, and then a succession of DAWs including Fruity Loops (which became FL Studio), Audacity, Cakewalk, Reason and others that I'm probably forgetting. Eventually I landed on Pro Tools, and that has been my main tool for quite a while. (I also sometimes use Adobe Audition when doing video work, and lately I've been having a great time with Bitwig Studio.)
Coming up in Austin, TX in the 90's was awesome because that was a very DIY scene. We all were like, can't afford a studio, fuck it, lets make combine all our gear and make our own studio in the basement. I have carried that mindset with me. This also caused me to start learning about recording and mixing in tandem. Discovering unorthodox mixing techniques began out of necessity, but quickly became part and parcel of how I've developed my style.
Over the years I have made music, built studios and recorded in Colorado, Southern Oregon, Oakland, Austin (and San Marcos!) I am currently operating north of Seattle in the town of Edmonds, WA.