ABOUT ME
Steven Blake is a Toledo, OH based producer/mixer/engineer who has a steady grasp on what makes the underground, indie music scene tick. Combining real world experience from his years in touring bands with technical and professional skills, Steven has been leaving his sonic mark on bands all around the country for the better part of a decade. He provides a sought after holistic approach that combines first rate sound engineering with just enough production input and creativity to help an artist reach their full potential with each session.
Music was clearly Steven's passion from day one, he started playing drums in bands at a very early age and has always had a project that he put his all into, recording all of his middle and high school bands. He studied audio engineering at Ohio University where he learned the technical skills necessary for his craft, all while continuing to record underground bands, start building his set up, and shadow under established producers and professors. His band Secret Space (Equal Vision Record) introduced Steven to a wider audience, allowing him to meet key contacts who set his recording career in motion. Secret Space recorded their debut LP "The Window Room" at Studio 4 in Philadelphia with Grammy nominated Will Yip, where Steven was able to take in all the tricks of the trade, an experience that influenced his work to this day "In many ways, this experience was formative to me; It allowed me to see first hand how important organization, consistency, and the studio vibe are to the morale of the record." Recently he has been playing drums with Atlantic recording artist Mat Kerekes and writes and records music with his own group Cult Power. Steven is actively out in the trenches with the bands he works with, he walks the walk.
Steven has branched out in the past year to provide the highest quality recordings possible, working out of his full scale studio in Toledo OH and taking on mixing projects remotely. He's been able to work around an artist's needs in the current climate and always provides top priority treatment when he takes on a new project. His personal style and attention to detail sets him aside from other up and coming producers who take a more cookie-cutter approach to the daily needs that artists have throughout the creative process. "My goal is to build a collaborative enterprise for all types of artists and musicians to realize their vision." Simply put, Steven cares, his reputation is on the line with each release.
Though in the grand scheme his audio career is just getting started, Steven has had his name on several major recording projects (including artists on Atlantic Records, Triple Crown Records, and Run For Cover Records among others) and is well known in music industry circles. Several of his featured artists are beloved in the current culture regardless of genre (Citizen, Equipment, Jacob Sigman) and he always has his ear to the ground, finding the best new artists before they break. As his reputation grows the future is bright for Steven, keep an eye out on what he does next.