Interview with music producer David Baron

Boiceville-based producer David Baron works with an eclectic range of musicians, from The Lumineers and Lana Del Rey to Shawn Mendes and Shania Twain.

Ulster County has always been a nexus for the musical world, and producer David Baron is keeping it that way.

From his Sun Mountain Studios in Boiceville — an analog-rich space overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir — he’s worked with an eclectic roster that ranges from The Lumineers to Lana Del Rey.

His song with the most cumulative airplay may be Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" — he worked on that with longtime collaborator Kevin Kadish — but his work stretches across genres. He's worked with Shawn Mendes and Shania Twain, Jason Mraz and Jade Bird, Keith Urban and Simon Felice. Before starting his Boiceville studio, he founded and co-owned Edison Recording Studio alongside the multi-talented Lenny Kravitz.

I spoke to David via Zoom to hear about his experience in the Hudson Valley: his music-saturated childhood in Woodstock, moving away, coming back, and working with global superstars and burgeoning local talent.

What brought you to the Hudson Valley?

I grew up here. I spent my early years in Woodstock and went to Woodstock Elementary. My dad was in the music business with a remote recording truck. Albert Grossman [who managed Bob Dylan] got interested and eventually bought my dad’s business, which brought us to Woodstock. I loved the musical connections here. As a kid I saw Todd Rundgren and other amazing things my dad worked on. We left in fifth grade, but I always loved the area and thought it had a special vibe. Later, my wife and I came back as weekenders, and eventually we stopped returning to the city.

Your studio looks out over the Ashokan Reservoir, right?

Yes. It’s a two-floor studio at my house, looking out over the Ashokan Reservoir. It’s beautiful.

How has the location shaped Sun Mountain from the start?

The location is a huge part of why people love coming here. It’s gorgeous. Artists arrive from all over and are enchanted by the mountains, reservoir, trails, and rivers. Many of them have never even been to New York State before.

I just had an artist who came from Tokyo for Sony Japan, and this was the first time she'd ever been to New York State. Same with another artist who grew up in Indiana; she came here to record, but had never been to New York State.

A lot of times, they show up and they're like, "Wow, this is magical. It looks magical. It feels magical."

When you moved upstate and started Sun Mountain, what did you want to do differently?

The biggest change was shifting businesses. In Manhattan I did television scoring and advertising. When I moved upstate, that gradually morphed into record production. It wasn’t planned — it just happened. In Manhattan, my clients were MTV, Showtime, and other networks, all nearby. My wife worked at Entertainment Weekly. Everything was clustered within like four blocks of each other.

Up here, the distractions disappeared. Life became simpler: one project per day, full focus. Someone has to make an effort to come here, so it’s very intentional. That environment is far more conducive to making good records.

So if someone records with you now, they’ve specifically sought you out?

Exactly. It takes effort and cost to come here, so by the time someone arrives, the artist, label, and manager have all committed. In Manhattan, people might casually stop by. Here, it’s never accidental.

Looking at your discography, you’ve worked with established artists like The Lumineers and Shania Twain, and also local breakout talent like Ginger Winn. What has to be true musically or personally before you take on a project?

First, the music has to interest me. If it sounds generic, I’m not drawn in. I look for uniqueness — voices, writing, something new to say. My rule for my own music is that everything must be played by someone, never programmed. I like humanity in the music. I love working with brand-new artists, but also established ones like The Lumineers, with whom I have a long relationship.

There’s a useful diagram about taking gigs: music, money, people — you need two out of three to make a project worth it. If the people are really cool and the music is really good, the money doesn't have to be as good, and so on.

I’ve gone out of my way to work with artists I felt were worth it, and it usually pays off.

With newer artists, does your producer role shift more into teacher or editor?

It depends on the artist. With new artists, yes, there’s a lot of teaching and guiding. With seasoned ones, it’s more about capturing their ideas and executing them. I've been working with a great engineer and assistant, Jillian, and when I'm busy on other stuff I'll often hear her coaching vocalists. The dynamic shifts depending on who’s in the room — it's a combination of who's in the studio with me, including the assistant.

Thinking of the Hudson Valley as a site for music production, what works well and what could be improved?

What works: people love visiting here — the environment, the restaurants, the places to stay.

We could use more professional studio musicians. In Nashville, it’s easy to find players; here it’s trickier, though the infrastructure is growing as more producers move in.

More affordable places to stay for visiting musicians would help too.

Another gap is rental gear. In cities you can rent almost anything; here you can’t. But producers often share gear, so it works.

If you have a musician in from out of town, what places do you recommend?

I show them the Ashokan Reservoir and take them to Bread Alone. They love guitar shops like Kingston Stockade Guitars and Strawberry Fields in Woodstock. For trails, Overlook Mountain is popular. Musicians especially love Kingston and Woodstock. I had one artist here who loves Bob Dylan, and treated Woodstock like the world's best museum. Others love visiting Big Pink or Jimi Hendrix’s old house. Music site tourism is huge.

A few lightning-round questions. Favorite place for coffee or a drink?

Bread Alone, Boiceville location.

A recent Hudson Valley performance that reminded you why you live here?

Young the Giant at Bearsville. Fantastic show in a local venue.

If the building caught fire and you could only save one synth?

My ARP 2500. It’s extremely rare — there are only about 20 working in the world. Losing one would be a tragedy.

Out of all the records you’ve worked on, which should listeners revisit with good headphones?

American Romance by Mike Marcagi. I’m proud of how it sounds. It was finished to analog tape, so it has a noisy but beautiful ambience. My studio’s dead and live zones shaped the sound — drums have room, vocals are sometimes very close. It’s physical space, not electronics, creating that effect.