You may not recognize David Baron’s name, but you probably know some of the music he produces by heart: The Lumineers, Lenny Kravitz, Shania Twain, Shawn Mendes, Lana Del Rey, and dozens of others.
Many of these big-deal clients have recorded right here in the Hudson Valley at Baron’s two-level Sun Mountain Studios, built into the hilltop home he’s owned in Boiceville for two decades. Why he’s settled in the shadow of Woodstock versus, say, NYC or LA, is a fascinating saga, weaving together both the music legacy of the area and his own childhood escapades in the region.
Striking the First Chord
Baron’s musical genius seems to be equal parts nature and nurture. His dad Aaron was a pioneer of remote recording, retrofitting a truck with tape machines, microphones, and other recording gear, all the better to drive around recording concerts—B.B. King’s famous show at Cook County Jail, for instance. Soon, Woodstock impresario Albert Grossman took note and had a stake in the business. This meant that as a boy, Baron often accompanied his dad to Woodstock’s Bearsville Studios during the era when Todd Rundgren and other legendary acts were recording there. This heyday still exerts its pull on him: “I love the fact that I can walk to where Hendrix lived and where Dylan wrote his lyrics,” he says.
In time, Baron proved he was no slouch when it came to making music, too. He was talented enough to attend Oberlin Conservatory, playing classical piano and delving into jazz composition and music technology.
Upon graduation, he and his dad teamed up and filled the almost unquenchable need for TV scoring—jingles, network IDs, and such. Baron’s work can still be heard on PBS, CBS, and others. His skill set evolved in all directions, from playing instruments to arranging and engineering.
But in 2000, it was time to close up shop. The elder Baron wanted to retire, while David, who had crossed paths with Lenny Kravitz, hatched a plan and, together, they opened a studio in NYC’s Hotel Edison. They rented the ballroom and, for eight years, recorded “a ton of insane records there, both with Lenny and a lot of commercial music, for Weeds, Super Bowl ads, and more,” he recalls. But then times changed: The hotel wanted its ballroom back, and Kravitz was bound for the Bahamas.
Going Solo in the Hudson Valley
Baron decided that his upstate weekend place (purchased in 2004) would become his full-time home. Though he’d been making plenty of his own music, his reputation for guiding artists to their best possible recordings was growing rapidly, based on his slew of commercial work and excellent word of mouth. It was time to launch his own studio.
And what better location than in his home, a mere 10 miles from Woodstock. “There’s something about the Hudson Valley that has obviously attracted musicians for a long time,” he says. “It’s a beautiful location. There’s an energy and creativity here.”
His Sun Mountain Studios made its debut, and available slots filled up fast. Maybe his success is due to his genre-jumping genius. “At the core, I’m a classical and experimental musician,” he explains, “but if you asked record executives, they would probably think that I’m more a part of the folk-rock movement.”
Indeed, last April Baron produced the song “Scared To Start” for folk-rocker Michael Marcagi. It hit big, climbing the Billboard Hot 100 and landed Marcagi a deal with a major label. “The exciting thing for me is hearing someone new and connecting with the emotion in their voice,” says Baron.
Household names are frequent guests at Sun Mountain. “Shania Twain worked here. The Lumineers did their last record here,” he notes. The posh space has a stellar collection of rare vintage synthesizers and recording gear that Baron snapped up during the first blush of his success and now keeps in mint condition, wired up and ready to use.
The exciting thing for me is hearing someone new and connecting with the emotion in their voice says Baron.
A Day in the Life
A typical day for Baron means stepping into his studio to meet with artists. “We workshop the songs—play them on piano, play them on guitar, and see how they unfold,” he says. Then it takes two or three days of recording per song. “We begin recording on day one; on day two, more vocals and overdubs. The third day is for mixing in tweaks,” he says. “An album of 10 songs usually takes a minimum of 30 days to make.” Plenty of time for visiting artists to discover the joys of the Hudson Valley, he notes.
Current projects are the new record from The Lumineers, more from Michael Marcagi, and an Irish artist, Darren Kiely. “Those are the three main artists that I can talk about right now,” he says, hinting about other top-secret stuff in the offing.
When he’s not in the studio, he, wife Jinhi, and son Oskar, 15 (a talented classical pianist and violinist), love the nearby Rail Trail—as does their dog, Sputnik. Baron is also a big fan of dining at Woodstock restaurants Sylvia and Good Night, and visiting Colony or the Maverick Concert Hall for classical music played outdoors. “Maverick is pretty magical and has a crazy history,” he says. “Something about this environment beckons people to create their best work, and I’m very happy to be a small part of that process.” – Janet Siroto
The Local Pulse
David Baron produces music for some of the industry’s top acts, yet he doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to new and emerging artists—particularly if they have a connection to the Hudson Valley. Case in point: singer-songwriter Ginger Winn.
“Ginger Winn is a rare diamond; a mature artist who has not released music before [which is] almost unheard of these days,” says Baron, who produced Winn’s debut album, STOP-MOTION, released in June. “It’s exciting to be involved in the inception of an artist as powerful as Ginger.”
Winn, 25, was born and raised in South Carolina, but arrived in the Hudson Valley after answering an online ad for a musician to set poetry to music. The poems were written by 9/11 attorney Matthew Baione during (and about) his many cherished visits to Grahamsville and the Catskills. Baione and Winn—who’s been writing songs since she was a kid—collaborated on new lyrics and rhythms inspired by Woodstock and the surrounding area, and Baron pulled it all together in his Boiceville studio.
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