We were lucky to catch up with Michael Trepagnier recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I think the first time I uttered the words ” I want to be an artist” was way back to elementary school. I was walking home with a few friends, I think this must have been 4th or 5th grade. There was a route that we would all walk home together on, and once the larger set of neighborhood kids split off from the pack my buddy Philip got to talking about where we would want to live when we “grew up” – I think I said New Orleans – and what we wanted to BE as adults. I said “I wanted to make art”.

I had been a decent visual artist as a kid, and was beginning to play violin in the cobbled together “orchestra”. Overarchingly, I think I’ve always been drawn to making things at some level. My parents, while not “artists”, have always had artistic outlets; things were always being made around the house. My Mom likes the fabric arts like sewing, weaving and as a kid she made really cool stained glass pieces. My Dad is a very creative engineer who can make just about anything, and he is a skilled draftsman too.

I was encouraged to follow my dreams and to make things.

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’m a recording engineer/music producer, and I own and operate Cardinal Song, a recording studio in Oklahoma City, OK. My passion for making records all started when I was a kid. I was drawn to making music pretty early, but I really got excited about the technology behind recording music when I helped make a demo on a borrowed 4-track cassette recorder I found the whole thing exhilarating. “How did the sound coming out of the amps get onto that little plastic tape?” All of this leads up running a pirate recording studio in my college dorm room, then attending audio school after college, and moving to NYC to try and make records for real!

In NYC I worked at The Looking Glass studios, Philip Glass’ studio. I worked with lots of great artists, engineers and producers. I was able to work on some pretty big records from Coldplay, Counting Crows and obviously Philip Glass.

I came back to OKC to start my own studio, building on all that I had learned to that point. I designed built Cardinal Song, initially as a mixing and production studio that I ran from my house, and eventually expanded that into the purpose built recording studio we are now. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented folks here, making records with Hanson, JD McPherson, Jason Isbell, Heather Christian, John Calvin Abney, Kid Again, Beau Jennings and the Tigers to name a few.

I think the most exciting thing about creating your own sandbox is that I have had to opportunity to learn how to build nearly everything in this place. That might be a window sill, it might be a custom guitar or the acoustic treatment. I love what I have created here and I think that it is something people feel when they come into the space. It’s warm and inviting, it feels like home to me and, hopefully, for everyone else that creates here.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Simplicity or limitations as a resource for a larger creative output.

Use what you have and trust your instincts.

I wish that I had really been told to chill out early on – I think that we all go through this – I’d see or hear about someones elaborate technique that makes what they do seem particularly unique. So naturally, I’d get curious and want to try it out. Sometimes I’d learn something, but often it would lead to a form of maximalism that I’d get tired of easily.

Like putting too much paint on the canvas, 3 microphones on a single source or trying to force a song to work when it’s just flawed at the source.

Sure there are times and places for these sorts of techniques, but as a base level of creation I find that simpler is better. Limitations are a CAUSE for creativity. Even if I break one of the limitations (self-imposed or not) that’s a conscious and creative act.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

It’s simple: Buy the products your friends are creating and selling. Do it because you love them and want them to keep making things that make them better humans.

Having a Spotify account isn’t helping anybody make records these days. So if I love that band, I’ll go see them live and I’ll tell my friends about it. I’ll buy a shirt, record or if their a tiny band in a van I can just give them $50 so they can make it to the next town.

I think that our current culture has become complacent on the fact that they’re surrounded by music all the time, it’s an expectation that there will be music on, and while it’s great that we have that as an option, it really matters that we are able to slow down and tune into it. If I’m digging the song overhead, I’ll ask who it is then I’ll go get their record. It might be a local band, or an artist I don’t know about and it could totally re-shape my life. Why would we not want that?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cardinalsongokc.com
• Instagram: @cardinalsongokc.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-trepagnier-61540b61/

Image Credits

Phots by: Rebecca Sarkar, Ryan Magnani and Brian Laws