We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Bustamante a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brandon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I had to be about 16 years old when my older brother heard me rap. He told me to take it seriously and to start making mixtapes while I was a Jr. In highschool. I made 3 of them by the time I graduated and after that I knew I wanted to pursue music and production as a path for my life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started recording music at the of 16. After highschool I went to the College of Staten Island for 2 semesters and left to study at the Institute of Audio Research in Manhattan. After I got my degree in Advanced Media Production and my Avid certification I went on to produce projects of my own and for many others. I always enjoyed producing as it’s putting a puzzle together with pieces only the talent and I can get when we start working together. The services I provide are Recording/Mixing/Mastering/production/Sequencing and if needed help with song writing.
As an engineer I try to make it my job to connect with the artist I work with as it’s a therapy session of sorts. Sometimes it’s hard to collaborate if you or the talent are not in the same headspace, so I try my best to meet in the middle or give constructive input. At the end of the day I just want the product to shine and to leave ego at the door when it comes to creating art. Sure sometimes you’ll clash but if you both care about the end product you’re on the right track.
I’m most proud of my ear for sound and structure. Sound meaning being able to notice the “clicks and pops” most people wouldn’t hear in the background and cleaning up the track in the mastering phase. As for for structure I’m glad I have a good ear on understanding the many ways a track or podcast can go tonally. What can sound funny at one point can sound sad if you just make a small edit so I like to make sure what the artist wants before hand and add my touch to things afterwards.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The goal with my music is to help others think a bit more while also being able to vibe as too much consciousness can sometimes dilute the emotion. I just always learned a lot through music and so if I can add to that and make someones day a bit better or even get them hype then I’m happy. As for the engineering side of things my goal is to help the creative vision of others come to light and maybe give a different perspective on their sound so they can work with some options. A lot of times I find rappers who want to sing or vice versa and I like to be the guy who pushes them to try something new for themselves.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Trying to be perfect. When you start out you want your work to be the best as your names attached to it but over time you find that it’s just not practical. It’s not good for anyone’s sanity and it’s certainly going to slow down production, which is sad cause I’ve had songs I was just sitting on because I didn’t deem them “perfect” when after I dropped them people couldn’t care less and enjoyed the music for what it is.
I’ve had times where I’ve worked with others and while I’m doing my best to fix every little thing they may call to scrap or record the whole song over again. I just want to get as close to perfection as I can before it gets to the point where changes are superficial or useless, especially when the track sounds amazing already or the talent is just trying new things out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brand-nu.bandcamp.com/album/racket
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/brand_nuyork?igshid=NGExMmI2YTkyZg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.bustamante.9/?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@BrandNewYork1
Image Credits
Danny Savoca Stephen Obisanya Jahtiek Long Rob LaRosa Rena Parisi