The Brothers Grin on SoundBetter

With 15 plus years in the Music Industry, we've written and produced tracks with 30 million-plus plays on Spotify, performed on David Letterman, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon. Our tracks are on Apple Study beats Playlist, Spotify New Music Friday, and Amazon's New Dance beats.

We are a multi-faceted production duo who work in an analog studio as well as in Protools, Ableton, and Logic.

Zac is a multi-instrumentalist with a jazz and indie rock background and performs on Synths, Flute, Saxophone, Drums, Bass, Guitar, and Piano. Stu has a mix-engineer and EDM production background, and has a keen ear for arranging and economy, crafting pop gems. We create completely modern sounding, radio-competitive final mixes. We are skilling in crafting hit songs, be it from the ground up - or helping you finish your tracks by adding additional elements; Doing a full production mix - or co-writing with the Artist. There are all various ways in which we have collaborated to reach the right final song. Vibe is king and we don't mess with generic sounding music.

Zac Colwell was part of the psychedelic pop legends of Montreal and is an award-winning composer with a skill for writing commercials for high-end companies such as Facebook, Porsche, Mazda, Aeropostale, Apple iPod and NFL.
Zac produced CHAPPO's first 2 albums, including the song "Come Home" which has over 26 million plays on Spotify.
Stuart is an Award winning Mixer and Sound designer who has worked in Studios in London, NYC and Sydney. He has mixed music for Films, TV and Commercial releases as well as recording bands such as DMA's, The Preatures, Winston Surfshirt and Client Liaison.

I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Fancy Colors

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8 Reviews - 2 Repeat Clients

Endorse The Brothers Grin

by Natalie L.
Verified
Wonderful work, once again!! Highly recommend. I'm super happy with all my tracks so far.
by Ryan D.
Verified
So creative and so amazing!! Highly Recommend!
by ElricAnthony
Verified
Top notch, boys! Thank you for working with me on my vision and being patient with me on my first track!
by Shannon J.
Verified
The Brothers Grin produced a full instrumental track for a cover song based on my references. They did a nice job and were easy to work with. Thanks!
by Eight.Two
Verified
I was stuck in the mud of doing it all myself, so I ditched my DAW for a looper. All I gave The Brothers Grin were loop sketches. Instead of cutting through brambles before I could be expressive, they opened up the path so far ahead, that all I could see was the music. They’re the best hidden gem on Soundbetter! I was able to lean on them for anything that would usually derail my creative flow. Their effortless balance of musicianship and engineering meant that whatever I asked for was a big YES
by Romi J.
Verified
Awesome duo who go the extra mile to make your song sound great. True professionals who are easy to work with! They had great suggestions on song structure, vocals and arrangement to bring the song to the next level. Well versed in multiple instruments which make them an even better value! Will definitely work with them again. Thanks guys! Almost want to give them one star so I'm the only one who gets to work with them :D.
by Natalie L.
Verified
The Brothers Grin is a fantastically talented duo you want to work with! They listen intently to your requests and suggest multiple options for you to choose from. In my case, they were able to put to music the words I could not find to describe the production style I was looking for. Thanks so much! Highly recommend.
by Daniel L.
Verified
They're incredibly talented and are super easy to work with. Our visions aligned completely and I'm excited to continue working with them on all future projects.

Interview with The Brothers Grin

Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. Analog has a classic sound that we already know everyone loves, but also implies a process that is careful and deliberate. Digital is also our friend. In order to create modern sounds we love to use digital for the best it provides and the freedom and experimentation that it allows. We say the best new records use both.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Your records will be treated as if they belong alongside any great piece of music, whatever the genre is.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: We love the renewed fulfillment of always working on new and different projects. It keeps us forever young and fresh.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Where do you see this song living? Playlists, radio, in a DJ's set, being pitched to A&R, sync-licensing catalogs, etc.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: See your end record in your mind, that way we can get going quickly and get results, but also be open to the sound evolving and blossoming
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A turntable and 4 records
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: We come from both the studio side and the live band/touring musician side. Our teamwork revolves around our disparity of experience.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Modern classic/ Classic modern.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: We love great singers, but also DJs who have a raw talent but just need some collaboration to bring out the diamond in the rough.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Trust your instincts
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: We usually work on dance records that want a songwriter's touch and a DJ's mix perspective, or indie rock groups that want a little more of a dance floor vibe, while still keeping their organic sound.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Our strongest skill is probably the things that make our duo different from one another. Zac is a multi-instrumentalist who can play any genre and can create his own classic "samples", and Stu is a dance music wizard who tones down Zac's excesses to refine the sound and bring it into the modern pop or dancefloor world.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: We bring a veteran's ear to what cuts to the heart of the message the Artist is trying to convey. We can play instruments if more of a live feelings is needed for an organic element, we can also help with harmony and chord progressions, or offer vocal production to help bring out the special qualities of a vocalist. Mixing/mastering is important to helping the song speak immediately on first listen, so we bring our records to that quality before leaving our hands.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: First we listen through the Artist's idea, however far along it is. Sometimes it's a simple demo idea that needs an arrangement built up, or it might be a demo where everything is almost there, it just needs some magic and sonic enhancing. Then we discuss with the artist what the goals are for the record. From there we vibe and get inspired after we've talked with the Artist about possible references, or where we envision taking the record. Then we work quickly to capture the feelings of our gut and magic of the process of creating music.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: We work in 2 studios. One is a live-instrument setting with drums, bass, guitar, piano, analog synths, horns, etc. Then we take the production to a mix environment where we focus on sonic quality and focus on a finished product, especially vocal production and arranging, and overdubs.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: We are inspired by the classics from all the eras. The Beatles, The Police, Cassius, Daft Punk, Kanye, ELO, Talking Heads, Radiohead, Blur, Souxsie and the Banshees, Fleetwood Mac, etc., but we use these to inform songwriting approaches, making sure a modern dance or indie record has a strong backbone that will resonate with the biggest audience possible.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: The work we do ranges from taking a demo to the next level with our abilities to add instruments, mix and master, to production input, and even co-writing, if the artist has a strong element that just needs to be brought to life.