We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Henry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started playing guitar when I was 12, my dad started me on a guitar with only the four top strings. It made playing a lot easier; it was easier to get the chords down. I learned piano around the same time, and connecting the dots with music theory helped me understand how chords and notes fit together. The piano is a slightly easier way to understand theory than the guitar. I wish I had started learning standard music theory early on, but I learned it pretty well by learning Beatles songs. They’re a master class in more complicated theory along with the basics.

With production, I learned on my own for the first four years. I was working in Ableton day and night, reading countless articles on mixing and production, and creating song after song. I think creating every day, and not getting hung up on perfecting a song, is the best way to learn anything in music. Sure, make things great, but getting stuck on a song will hold you back. I learned that the hard way with a few songs I was hung up on.

I wish I could’ve worked with professionals early on. I had a decent amount of studio experience before I started doing it on my own, so I had some basic tips and tricks, but I didn’t start streamlining my learning until I worked at Hans Zimmer’s studio in Los Angeles. Hanging out with the producers there who were making tracks for sync licensing taught me so much about production and mixing. Having skilled people who could answer my questions was a big game-changer. I learned more in four months there than I did in four years on my own.

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 write songs, produce them, and play all the instruments. I’ve produced for a few other people, but I’ve mostly produced my tracks and co-produced a few with friends. I got started writing songs and playing in bands when I was about twelve years old and played a ton in Salt Lake City and Provo in Utah before moving to California for school. I loved the experience of writing songs and performing them for a live audience, seeing an audience’s reaction in real-time is electric.

When I moved to California, I was living on a ranch on the Central Coast. I didn’t have many options to perform, so I deep-dived into writing and producing. I probably did 50 demos over that time and wrote a couple hundred songs. Most of them are garbage, but I had a blast making them. A few of them I love. I’m releasing those now. “Floating” is the most recent, and “Not Trying” is coming out in May.

Since I play all the instruments for straightforward rock/pop tracks, it’s pretty easy to produce for myself and others. I have a few synthesizers I’ve loved working with. I’m a big fan of hardware gear and analog. I learned recently that analog synths like the Junos and Moogs will change their sound depending on the heat and humidity in a room. You can get some character out of those things. I have a few tracks where the synths are wobbly and a bit detuned, but I love the way it sounds. Music is pretty clean-cut and processed today, so I love having some texture in songs.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

COMPRESSION. It’s great, but I went crazy early on, just throwing it aimlessly on every track. I mean, it was three or four compressors per track pumping like crazy. Wild reverbs on each of them. It was a flattened, loud, and harsh mess. Eventually, I learned that less is more. Some tracks don’t need compression, or maybe even just a touch of an easy compressor. But I love slamming certain things in a compressor now. I’ve found that synths sound amazing when you push them hard through an LA-3A, and vocals can sound amazing with a touch of an 1176 paired with a little LA-2A action. It’s pretty simple stuff in the industry, but I had to unlearn how to use compression completely.

The same is true of reverb. Nine times out of ten, less is more. You don’t need a five-second reverb on every track unless you’re going for that effect.

With all that said, sometimes the most fucked up mixes sound the best. It can be cool to hear something that’s so out there and different. There are no rules, it’s all about what sounds good to you. But you have to learn the rules to know when to break them.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think the biggest thing non-creatives don’t understand about creatives is the need to make something. I don’t think I’d be happy if I weren’t making something all the time. If I go too long without writing a song or working on something, I get a bit antsy. I think it’s something hardwired into the DNA of some people, you just can’t escape it.

Another thing is how daunting it is to pursue something creative. In the pursuit of being creative, if what you’re doing is truly creative, your path has never been done before. Usually, that means the vast majority of what you create won’t work, and you have to suck it up and accept that hard truth. It’d be easier to follow a clear path that’s been done before, where the future is relatively clear. I think that’s why only a handful of people stick it out for the long term. If you have any other options for what you can do with your life, that’s probably a better choice than being creative. Not to be too negative about it, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The rewards and fulfillment of being creative far outweigh the cons. I think you mentally have to have no other option than to be creative in some capacity.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @luckybhenry
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-henry-3301b2220?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@LuckybHenry?si=19Ihn0DV5H1WREzb

Image Credits
Holly Fletcher