Andrew Dawson (born March 12, 1980) is an American

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixer and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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 ''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions ...

'' (2005), ''

Graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

'' (2007), and ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Re ...

'' (2010) - each winning the

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

category. Dawson is also credited with additional production on ''

''. Although Dawson made his initial breakthrough with hip hop artists including

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

Tyler The Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ''B ...

, and P.O.S, Dawson has also moved on to produce and work on records for pop, indie and rock bands including

fun. Fun (stylized as fun.) is an American pop rock band based in New York City. The band consists of Jack Antonoff (of Steel Train and Bleachers), Andrew Dost (formerly of Anathallo), and Nate Ruess (then-former lead singer of the Format). Fun fo ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, Sleigh Bells,

Baskery Baskery is a Swedish alternative Americana folk rock band, comprising the three sisters Greta, Stella and Sunniva Bondesson. The band have released four studio albums. History The band formed in 2007 as an offshoot of The Slaptones, who featur ...

and

Night Terrors of 1927 Night Terrors of 1927 was an American pop duo from Los Angeles, California, signed to Atlantic Records. The duo composed of Jarrod Gorbel (ex-front man for Brooklyn outfit The Honorary Title) and former Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett. In 20 ...

Life and career

Personal life

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.An Interview with Grammy Award–Winning Mixer/Engineer/Producer Andrew Dawson
Dawson then attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where he majored in Music Production & Engineering. While living in the Boston area Dawson worked at

Lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...

- a company famous for manufacturing digital reverb units including the 480L.Andrew Dawson: Interview
/ref> In 2001 Dawson moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he worked as an assistant then later became a staff engineer at

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...

. 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. Dawson currently works and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Work with Kanye West

In 2003, midway through the recording and producer sessions for

's ''

The College Dropout ''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received pra ...

'', Dawson was called to try for the position of Kanye West's engineer. The rap artist and producer

had gone through a string of seven engineers, all of whom were fired.Producer's Corner: Andrew Dawson
/ref> Dawson was able to impress the rap star and maintained his position. Since then Dawson has worked as

's primary audio and mixing engineer. In a period spanning almost 9 years, Dawson has been directly involved in all five

studio album releases, totaling in sales of over 11 million records and four #1 US albums.Peak chart positions for albums in the United States: * and

SoundEQ Studios

Dawson currently has his own studio, SoundEQ Studios in Hollywood. The majority of

's chart topping album '' Some Nights'', including #1 single "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, '' Some Nights'' (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011 as the lead singl ...

" was recorded at SoundEQ Studios.Interview: Andrew Dawson
/ref> Dawson has hosted co-writing sessions with artists and writers including

Andy Grammer Andrew Charles Grammer (born December 3, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is signed to S-Curve Records. His debut album, '' Andy Grammer'', was released in 2011 and spawned the singles " Keep Your Head Up" and " F ...

, Hudson Taylor, Baby E, Zack Waters,

K.Flay Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper. Her debut album '' Life as a Dog'' was released in 2014, peaking on ''Billboard''s Heatseekers Albums chart at No. ...

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: ''The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Co ...

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and se ...

, and

Jimmy Harry Jimmy Harry is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Harry has worked with artists such as Madonna, Pink, Weezer, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Fischerspooner, Oh Land, an ...

Discography

* Indicates Grammy win.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Andrew 1980 births Living people Record producers from Minnesota American audio engineers Place of birth missing (living people) Berklee College of Music alumni Musicians from Minneapolis Businesspeople from Minneapolis Hopkins High School alumni