PHIL EK

PRODUCER | ENGINEER | MIXER

Phil Ek is a producer, engineer and mixer known for his work with artists including Modest Mouse, Grouplove, Band of Horses, Bear’s Den, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Built to Spill, J. Roddy Walston & The Business and The Walkmen, Jake Troth, Smoke Fairies, and SYML to name a few.

Biography

Beginning his career working in live sound in Seattle, Washington, Ek moved on to recording and producing demos for local acts in the 90s. An introduction by a professor would lead him to several years cutting his teeth with influential producer Jack Endino. His mainstream breakthrough came when he produced Built To Spill’s second album There’s Nothing Wrong with Love (Up Records), an album that ranked in the Top Ten of Spin Magazine’s top indie records of all time.

 

Following Built To Spill, Ek would become a first call producer and mixer in the Pacific Northwest, and many of legendary label Sub Pop’s most successful albums bear his name, including multiple records with the Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and The Shins. Ek also helped develop Seattle luminaries Modest Mouse, working on many recordings in their formative years and helping shepherd them from a local indie band to a major label success story. Ek’s discography quickly extended beyond the area, tapped by a who’s who of indie rock beginning in the early 2000s. He produced critical darlings The Walkmen’s Heaven, a record that would spark future solo work with band member Walter Martin, and saw commercial success with Grouplove’s Big Mess (Canvasback/Atlantic). As a mixer, Ek’s credits range from Father John Misty to Manchester Orchestra and Boy & Bear, in addition to records he’s also produced.

 

In recent years Ek produced and engineered Bear’s Den’s So That You Might Hear (Rounder), produced and engineered Wilderado’s Favors (National Anthem), and produced, engineered and mixed several songs on Vance Joy’s Nation of Two (Atlantic). He also mixed Jake Troth’s It Is As If (Atlantic), as well as produced, engineered, and mixed Smoke Fairies’ Darkness Bring The Wonders Home which hit #1 Rock album on the charts. In 2023 Phil co-produced and mixed the album The Day My Father Died (Nettwerk) from artist SYML.

 

Ek continues to be based in Seattle, Washington, but frequently travels around the world to record artists.

Selected Discography

ARTIST

ALBUM

CREDITS

ARTIST

SYML

ALBUM

The Day My Father Died (Nettwerk)

CREDITS

Co-P, M

ARTIST

Bear's Den

ALBUM

So That You Might Hear Me (Rounder)

CREDITS

P, E

ARTIST

Vance Joy

ALBUM

Nation of Two (Atlantic) †

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

J Roddy Walston & the Business

ALBUM

Destroyers of the Soft Life (ATO) †

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

Fleet Foxes

ALBUM

Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

The Black Angels

ALBUM

Death Song (Partisan)

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

Father John Misty

ALBUM

I Love You, Honeybear (Sub Pop)

CREDITS

M

ARTIST

Band of Horses

ALBUM

Everything All the Time (Sub Pop)

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

The Shins

ALBUM

Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop) †

CREDITS

P, E

ARTIST

Built To Spill

ALBUM

Keep It Like A Secret (Warner Bros.)

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

Grouplove

ALBUM

Big Mess (Canvasback/Atlantic) †

CREDITS

P, E, M

ARTIST

Wilderado

ALBUM

Favors (National Anthem) †

CREDITS

P, E

ARTIST

Guster

ALBUM

Evermotion (Nettwerk)

CREDITS

M

*Credit Key: P – Producer, E – Engineer, M – Mixer, † – Selected Tracks

Featured Audio

1. Jake Troth - "Open Door" - It Is As If - (Atlantic) - M

2:25

2. Smoke Fairies - "Disconnect" - Darkness Brings The Wonders Home - P,E,M

3:27

3. Bear's Den "Fuel on the Fire" - P, E

3:55

4. Vance Joy "Like Gold" - P, E, M

3:45

5. The Shins "Kissing the Lipless" - P, E, M

3:20

6. The Black Angels "Currency" - P, E, M

5:11

7. Roddy Walston & The Business "Blade of Truth" - P, E, M

3:34

8. Guster "Simple Machine" - M

3:09

9. Grouplove "Standing In The Sun" - P, E

4:16

10. Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues" - P, E, M

5:04

11. Father John Misty "Nancy From Now On - M

3:54

12. Built to Spill "Carry The Zero" - P, E, M

5:44

13. Band of Horses "No One's Gonna Love You" - P, E, M

3:41

14. Wilderado "Favors" - P, E

3:49

15. SYML - "Believer" - Co-P, M

4:23

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