"Even
before I could walk, my dad taught me how to put a record on the record player,"
says Toronto-based producer/mixer Brian Moncarz. Music has been
an integral part of his life since he was young, and his passion for sound has
led Moncarz to work with artists from Moneen (Dine Alone/Vagrant)
and The Junction (Universal Music) to Kyle Riabko
(Aware/Columbia), Silverstein (Victory Records), Pilot
Speed (Maple Music), Rise Electric (feat. Lukas Rossi)
(EMI Publishing) and most recently, Circa Survive (Atlantic Records).
After completing a degree in Radio & Television Arts at Ryerson University,
he began work as a freelance engineer in the Greater Toronto Area. As a self-motivated
entrepreneur, he opened his first studio in 2000 and began honing his skills with
an attitude characterized by humor, calmness and attentiveness in the studio.
Moncarz explains, "In order to keep bands inspired, I feel it's important to maintain
a fun and creative atmosphere while always staying focused on working hard. Recording
a song or an album takes time. Why shouldn't we have a great time doing it?"
While his self-taught engineering style forced Moncarz to learn quickly, it wasn't
until 2005 that he found a mentor in legendary producer, Bob Ezrin."
[Ezrin] taught me how to listen," Moncarz says, "He especially helped me with
mixing and really tuned my ears to hear tones."
That experience was
put to good use in 2007, when Moncarz was hired to produce The Junction's
debut album for Universal Music. That album's first single, "Components of
Four", was quickly picked up by rock radio stations across Canada, and reached
top 10 at 102.1 The Edge in Toronto.
Ezrin introduced Moncarz to
producer David Bottrill (Peter Gabriel, Tool, Silverchair)
and a deep friendship quickly developed. After working together on an EP for We
Are The Take, Moncarz and Bottrill banded together to open Rattlebox
Studios. Their first joint-effort was a co-production of Moneen's
The World I Want to Live Behind, which Exclaim! Magazine heralds
as the band's "watershed album".
2009 was just as busy
for Moncarz, both in and out of the studio. Most notably, he held post as engineer
for Circa Survive's major label debut, which debuted
at #11 on the Billboard Top 200 and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Modern Rock/Alternative
albums chart. It was also named one of the Top 10 Essential albums of 2010 by
Alternative Press Magazine.
In recent years,
Moncarz has worked on Sylvain Cossette's platinum 70's
album, as well as Negramaro's 2010 double platinum release,
Casa 69 as well as mixing Nash's latest release The
Death of Reason (MapleMusic), worked with Canadian singer/songwriter/producer
Joel Plaskett.
In 2012, Brian has a Top Ten Alternative Radio smash with his mix of neverending white lights' "Ghost Ship" while Nash heads to radio in March!
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