Daniel Wise

Daniel Wise was born and raised in the rural Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. He learned different things from different people. On one side, there were pick-up trucks and shotguns; on the other side, Quakers, Amish, and Mennonites. Two very different things that produced both conflict and understanding in his life. He learned how to deal with opposition, and how to create community out of it. Not your typical upbringing, but a good one. Like his life, his production career developed in an unorthodox way. He didn’t come up the ladder in a large urban studio. His introduction into the music business came as an Artist where he led a 1980s new wave band that toured heavily on the East Coast and opened for the likes of Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, and Toto. Dan always preferred the recording side of being an artist and decided to move to New York City. There, he purchased some recording equipment and set up a small home studio in Hell’s Kitchen where he proceeded to record demos for everyone under the sun (and their aunts and uncles and dogs, too…).

Dan is a producer first, and when he felt that he needed to step up his sonics, he used his demo savings to rent a space in Chelsea and build out a studio. He slowly built it up to eventually include his dream-desk – a 1973 Neve 8038, that happened to be the original board from the Kink’s KONK Studios. After years of success in the music industry, Dan bought a building and built a floor on top. The Shed was created on 3rd Avenue in NYC. He upgraded his desk to an AMEK 9098i to facilitate more complex mixing schemes, but couldn’t part with the Neve, so he racked the entire board and has both consoles in his control room. Apparently, that still wasn’t enough. In his continuing efforts to push the envelope in life, Daniel purchased 24 channels of discreet API mic Pres and EQs with original power supply and now has a third console racked and available for use in his control room. This is something truly unique in the world of recording.

Daniel brings a great deal to the table when making a record. Aside from his talents as a producer and engineer, Dan is a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. As an artist, he conveys a certain sensitivity when working on a project, and describes his goal when making a record as staying invisible. “I don’t have a signature sound, my signature is bringing the utmost out of the artist. My sound is not part of the equation, I just try to get to where they are and capture the artist in those moments when they are at their best, in the best possible way both artistically and sonically.” Daniel has done over 100 records with such artists as SCISSOR SISTERS for Universal, THE SECRET MACHINES for Warner Brothers, EVEN THE ODD for Wrong Records, THE EXIT for Windup, and critically acclaimed records with 22 BRIDES for Universal Records. He also produced two albums for MACEO PARKER (WAR/EFA). He has recorded JOHN MAYER, HERBIE HANCOCK, ROD STEWART, ANI DIFRANCO, and JAMES TAYLOR. In addition to producing and co-writing a record with JOAN OSBORNE, Dan also produced the debut album for Danish recording artist MARIE FRANK (BMG) who won 4 Grammies including Best Pop Album, Best New Artist, and Best Female Vocal, and a track for DAVID POE on Sony Records.

and the beat goes on…