House music: Denton producer hopes to make it big out West
Nicole Balderas / Senior Staff Writer
Some have argued that Napster, and the ensuing revolution in how people listened to, and how people paid for music, changed the music industry for the better.
Sean P. Jones, an independent music producer and engineer in Denton, doesn’t share similar feelings.
Although the Internet has changed the way music is created and obtained, Jones said creating music still boils down to the pairing of a songwriter and an engineer, which he said has been neglected by the industry and some artists in recent years. As a producer and engineer, Jones hopes to change that.
Photo by: Erika Lambreton
Jones’ professional passion started with early exposure to music. His mother is a classical pianist and church organist and his father has played in the Lincoln and Omaha Symphonies.
“I started in choir as a kid and as it came time to pick an instrument, I fell in love with the drum set,” he said.
Jones’ interest in becoming a professional musician led him to UNT, where he first began recording. By the end of his first semester at UNT, Jones was recording recitals for about 30 individual music students, but he wanted to gravitate toward different avenues of recording.
Jones now records everything from pop solo artists to six-piece funk instrumental groups out of his three-bedroom Denton house, where he keeps more than 100 pieces of equipment.
Jones, who has plans to move to Los Angeles and pursue a career later this year, strives to bring music recording back to its roots.
“I guess that’s the thing. With the technology I have, I can make everything sound as perfect as I want,” he said. “But without a good artist there’s really no point.”
Jones recently worked with UNT jazz studies graduate Kaela Bratcher, who decided to shed her soulful sound for something a little more poppy while recording her debut album.
“The main thing was he offered the creative process I wanted,” Bratcher said.
With the prevalence of music downloading, and a record industry suffering from years of declining profit, Jones said companies are hesitant to invest in new singers.
“I don’t think he necessarily thinks he’s working for me.,” Bratcher said. “It’s more a collaboration.”
Jones said there were a few positives to recording music in the digital age, including cheaper equipment.
With his move to L.A. set for the end of the summer, Jones looks forward to the opportunity to make a name for himself.
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