James Donahue & Adam Agati

Producers|Composers|Musicians

James Donahue & Adam Agati on SoundBetter

James is a Master of Music from Berklee, producer, instrumentalist/vocalist, composer, arranger, sound designer, engineer with 15+ years in the industry. Adam is an accomplished songwriter, studio & touring guitarist with writing and/or playing credits on several Grammy-nominated records.

James has spent the majority of my career based out of New England & NYC and has been featured in New York Times, Village Voice, Downbeat, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Gawker, and Time Out. He has worked w/ Wynton Marsalis & LCJO, Herbie Hancock, Joe Lovano, Ryan Zoidis (Soulive, Lettuce), Bob Mintzer, Dave Harrington (Darkside/ARMS), Brady Watt (Talib Kweli, DJ Premier), Daru Jones (Talib Kweli, Jack White), Bryan Ladd, Nick Falk (Hiss Golden Messenger, Wood Brothers, Molly Tuttle, Dori Freeman), Jeff Prystowksy (Low Anthem), Burniss Travis, Lyle Divinsky, Carlos de Leon (Tito Puente), Louis Fouché (Jon Bastiste/Late Show)

Adam has been based out of New England, Nashville, NYC, and Toronto. He has worked w/ Ludacris, Marcus Miller, Cory Henry & Funk Apostles, Lalah Hathaway, Archie Shepp, Marc Broussard, Phil Wilson, Mary Mary, Angie Stone, Mikky Ekko, Kiesza, Flosstradamus, Twice as Nice, Mac Miller, Lyle Divinsky, Alice and the Glass Lake, DJ Dahi, Kris Bowers, Erimaj, Kenneth Whalum III, James Genus, Keith Carlock, Larry Graham, Derrek Phillips Manufactory, Jeff Coffin, Eric Roberson, and The Loudhorns. He has played festivals and stadiums around the world, was Miley Cyrus' guitar tutor, and has performed on the Artie Lange Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

Languages

  • English
  • Spanish

Interview with James Donahue & Adam Agati

  1. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  2. A: An indie ork-pop LP with members of Hiss Golden Messenger, Cory Henry's Funk Apostles, Mike Doughty band

  3. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  4. A: Everything.

  5. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  6. A: That a producer is a beat maker or someone who "fixes" recordings. These can be roles of a producer. But: if the ultimate purpose of music is to convey and elicit emotion, then the ultimate purpose of music PRODUCTION is to maximize the intended emotion of a piece within the context of the team members' reality so, put simply, a producer is the person ultimately responsible for the production and its emotional impact on the listener. In more depth, a MUSIC PRODUCER is the person ultimately responsible for determining and bringing together the managerial and financial, technological, musical, and psychological aspects of a recording in order to create the best palpable representation of the artist and their music within the reality of their context. ... and this person should have a clear VISION of what this music will sound like, an aesthetic "north", and should strive to get collaborators to the finish line in a healthy mental and physical manner.

  7. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  8. A: A lot of indie rock, but also pop, hip hop, jazz, Americana, country, electronic, orchestral/chamber, soundtrack and sound design

Gear Highlights
  • SM7
  • 414s
  • VR1
  • Clarett 4pre
  • UA710
  • WA73
  • EQP-WA
  • iCon M+
  • Fender Deluxe
  • Twin
  • Blues Jr
  • BA115
  • pedals
  • Focal speakers
  • most plugins (Izotope
  • NI
  • Waves
  • Spitfire
  • FabFilter
  • Slate
  • etc)
  • ES-135
  • 1974 FG300
  • A1R
  • mandos
  • uke
  • P-bass
  • Benge 3X+
More Photos
  • New York Times pieceMar 30, 2022

    NYT Piece

  • Jazz Now: Adam Schatz & James Donahue, Search And RestoreMar 30, 2022

    NPR - Jazz Now: Adam Schatz & James Donahue, Search And Restore