We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chris Donlin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chris below.

Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My oldest brother Brian. He is four years older than me, with one brother between us. As the youngest in my family, I was very impressionable as a kid, I spent a lot of time observing rather than forging. Anything Brian did I thought was cool. When he got a skateboard, I wanted one. When he started playing lacrosse, I wanted to also. My fondest memory is asking him to put all his music on my iPod. I didn’t really know what was ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ I just listened to all of it because if he listened to it, then it must be cool. He has always been extremely innovative, which lends itself to his career now as an industrial designer. We come from a more traditional family, being a music producer never seemed realistic in my eyes. Watching Brian forge his way in the world as a creative opened my mind to what my own career and path could look like.

Chris, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello world, I am Chris Donlin, producer and songwriter. I got into producing music around 13 or 14 years old. I heard Mac Miller and Kendrick Lamar, then for about four years, I was obsessed with 90’s hip hop. Around the same time, I took home two boxes of records from my Grandma’s house that belonged to my mom and her six siblings. Most of these records spanned from the 60’s-70’s, some early 80’s too. My mom and I organized the records alphabetically and I began going through them one by one. Between the beats of 90’s hip hop, and studio recordings of the previous decades, I got obsessed with who did the behind the scenes work on albums. I knew from a young age I didn’t want to be in the spotlight, I’ve always hated being in front of people.

In the world of production, I have always gravitated toward people who sound unique, people who have a brand or personality. Motown, The Beatles, Tame Impala, Bon Iver, Radiohead, the list goes on. My goal as a producer is to help artists find a sound for their brand, something that truly brings out their personality in the music. I want a listener to hear the music and get a feel for who the artist is as a person through that experience.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love getting to see the artist get their ideas into a tangible form. Everybody has ideas, everyone has some sense of imagination, but helping artists get those ideas out of their head into the world is an amazing feeling.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I mentioned earlier, my family structure is more traditional. I had the best childhood ever, and was lucky enough to spend time was my parents, see them at my sporting events, etc. I strayed away from being a producer for a long time because the narrative of what a creative career brings has always been the opposite of what a more traditional career brings. I accepted that I had to adapt, but it’s freeing because I get to create my own narrative of what a creative career brings.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_donlin/
• Other: Music I’ve Produced: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2sAcMVNGCVi36E7pfoDMBY?si=ca106fd0d8ec4dc3