Nic Hard's career in music began in the late 90's while DJ'ing in clubs and
house parties throughout Philadelphia and later, London. His love of dance music
drove him to purchase synths and drum machines, then eventually computer recording
programs. Having a deep background in DJ'ing and making dance music has provided
Nic with an incredible foundation and affinity for what has become the backbone
of record making.
After returning to America, Nic took a job at Unique
Studios in NYC where he began to learn the ins-and-outs of studio life. Shortly
thereafter Nic became the house engineer at RPM studios where he had the good
fortune to work with artists such as Joey Ramone, Jack
Bruce, Tito Puente, Eagle Eye Cherry,
Flava Flav and Jesse Malin. Paralleling the
long list of artists there was also the chance to work with many great producers,
mixers and engineers like Michael Barbiero, John Kurzweg,
David Holmes, Dave Sardy and Steve Thompson
among others.
Keith Carlock, Steely Dan's drummer, raves about Nic:
"I have a very particular sound that I have always heard in my head, but never
could get it translated to recordings. Nic naturally knew what to do. He listened
to the drums in the room and "got it" right away. He knew how to get on tape the
balance and mix of the kit just as I heard it while playing, and that's really
incredible and very rare in my experience! I look forward to working with Nic
every time I'm fortunate to do so. He's the real thing."
In 2002,
when he was asked to record and co-produce an album with The Church,
Nic jumped at the chance and went freelance. Nearly a decade later and having
worked with many different kinds of artists in many different studios and environments,
Nic has developed a real sense of competency and technical ability allowing him
to focus on the creative aspects of record production. Nic has worked with young
unsigned bands who have never set foot in a studio before to seasoned recording
artists like Norah Jones, Joey Fatone, Wayne
Krantz and Fred Schneider to studio pros like Keith
Carlock, Tim LeFebvre, Sean Pelton
and Nir Z to name but a few.
Currently, Nic is in a
New York studio co-producing The Kin's major label debut for Interscope.
One of Nic's major accomplishments is his work on the acclaimed album by the boston
band Aberdeen City, who, after working with Nic were signed by
Maureen Kenny and Steve Lillywhite to Columbia records.
The
Bravery is another highlight of Nic's career. He has worked, in one capacity
or another, on almost every release of theirs. Like The Bravery
and Aberdeen City, Nic is seeing many of the unknown bands he
has worked with go on to sign recording and/or licensing deals. Bands like The
Bravery, The Head Set, Midnight Spin,
The Kin and The Perfects have had their tracks
used in numerous TV shows, ads and video games including everything from Twilight
to the Super Bowl.
Some of the up-and-coming acts that have
been working with Nic include The Ropes, TV TV,
Chappo, The Perfects and Midnight Spin---all
of which are continuing to gain notoriety and the attention of music fans. The
Perfects have been scaling the charts at indiecharts.com in addition
to signing a deal with Bunim/Murray. Midnight Spin
won the 2010 Independent Music Award for best Indie/Alt./Hard Rock song. The
Kin, whose first album was produced by Nic, went on to record their second
with Jack Douglas returning to have Nic mix it!
Another area that
Nic has been branching out into is that of movie scores. Now having mixed the
score for a short film directed by Malcolm Lee called Life's
Poison and produced a score for the film, The Price,
which gained favorable reviews at the Vail Film Festival and an honorable mention
at the Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival.
In addition
to producing and engineering, Nic has recently been delving into his roots and
doing remixes. So far he has done remixes for The Kin, The
Bravery, TV TV and Blip Blip Bleep.
In various articles that feature Nic, he stresses the importance
of originality, perspective, detail and aesthetic. He has conveyed that establishing
a great working atmosphere is incredibly important and that workflow, vibe, adaptability
and a collaborative attitude are what help make great records. Nic's emphasis
on creativity and edge in conjunction with a strong sense of style and technical
"chops" have enabled Nic to continually build his reputation as someone who people
love to work with. He has developed into a seasoned Producer/Mixer/Engineer who
is capable of pulling excellent performances from artists of all kinds and delivering
stellar mixes.













