Brok Mende on SoundBetter

I was the staff engineer at Audiotree Studios in Chicago, IL from 2013-18. I now co-own Friends of Friends Recording in Chicago, IL, with my partner DeAnna Doersch. My work has over a million monthly streams via Spotify alone. I'm drawn to the human experience through music and how it is perceived. An artist at heart and a listener by trade.

I co-own Friends Of Friends Recording, a full fledge recording studio located within Chicago, IL with a beautiful control room and several iso booths, lounge, kitchen, analog and digital gear, and Dolby Atmos mixing capabilities. I also travel for recording sessions throughout the year.

For more examples and information on me and my work visit www.friendsoffriendsrecording.com .

Send me a note through the contact button above.

Credits

9 Reviews

Endorse Brok Mende

by James L.
Verified
Lovely person, lovely work, prompt revisions and feedback. All finished within original deadline. As well as very thorough and productive live remote sessions.
by Humaira S.
Verified
Brok was wonderful to work with - it was super easy, and he did an amazing job on my track! :)
by Judd M.
Verified
There are too many good things I can say about Brok. He is by far one of the nicest human beings I have ever met, and he was instrumental in getting this project done and making it sound absolutely phenomenal. His attention to detail, knowledge, & commitment to getting the best out of the artist is so easily apparent. If I had an idea, he would bring it life in seconds. His help in crafting the sound & structure of the songs was what kept the ship sailing smoothly. Here’s to many more sessions!
by Juan Ricardo Yilo Zeta
I had the opportunity of meeting and work with Brok during a live session the first time, as soon as we shake hands I felt like I can trust and connect artistically with this person and after listening to session and getting to know them better I knew I wanted to work on a full length album together, and we did and it’s really have been the best experience that I’ve had recording an album in my entire career, we accomplished a high peak in sound and interpretations wth Brok like never before. amazing professional and human being! More then a coleage a real friend that i sherish like family.
by Jeremiah Daly
Brok recorded my first full length, and recorded/produced/mixed/mastered my second. We have also done a live album. There is not a better person to work with. He is extremely talented at what he does. He will take the effort to follow your artistic vision and work to create the thing in your head. I don’t think I’ll work with anyone else at this point. Especially considering every time we work on a new project, he does even better than the last. He’s open minded, constantly learning, and a gem in the cluttered world of audio production.
by Brandon Good
I have worked on several things with Brok and he’s become the person I never want to work without. He has an incredible ability to hear things that make you better and pull things out of you that you didn’t realize were there. On top of this he’s easily the most enjoyable person to work with. I will always work with Brok.
by Sen Morimoto
I’ve worked on a couple of my own records with Brok and played in sessions he ran for countless other projects. In every case his ear was precise, his ability to hear direction or inspiration and produce it perfectly in sound was masterful, and his patience and good nature made every artist comfortable with all the tools they need to create. There is nobody I would rather work with while recording!
by Jordanna
Brok and I have released an EP and two singles together, and there's no one else I would rather have engineer, mix, and master my work. Not only is he respectful in terms of artist creativity and control, but he has a skillfully trained ear that lends itself to making my music stronger and more dynamic in all the right places. His work is delivered thoughtfully and patiently which I value greatly as an artist.
by Daniel Hernandez
I’ve been in the music field for almost 20 years and the moment to record your music it’s always so epic and important for every musician that can cause some stress, but it would never be as good as you want if you have no luck with the person capturing your tunes, first time o meet brok it was during my band (ZETA) live session at Audiotree, love at first sight!! Incredible sweet human, the way he connects with the musicians it’s amazing, very loyal to your ideas! And he makes you fell so good during your recording! Brok Mende it’s what you need for a high quality experience into a studio 💽❤️

Interview with Brok Mende

Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: I use both, I have access to some of the best digital plugins, emulations and interfaces but also have a 24 track tape machine and had some of my first professional working experience engineering in Steve Albini's analog studio, Electrical Audio in Chicago.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started recording bands in early high school and then began interning and assisting producers and engineers throughout professional recording studios. Notable mentions are Steve Albini at Electrical Audio. After my internship with Albini, I freelanced out of many different studios throughout Chicago (Shirk, Jamdek, Audiotree, Electrical Audio, Rax Trax, etc). Audiotree hired me on as 1 of 2 staff engineers and I continued to do more and more album production out of their space as well as their own session work. Since then I have found myself traveling a lot more throughout the country working with bands and labels on records. I've been working professionally on record production for the past 9 years. I love to work :)!
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I have worked on a little of everything genre wise. You can look at the Audiotree catalog at Audiotree.tv or on Youtube and you will find everything from latin to metal to singer-songwriter to blue to reggae to hip-hop. All of those sessions were done live and in real-time, recorded and mixed and mastered all in one pass as the band is performing. Because of these fast paced sessions I have become incredibly proficient and comfortable within every genre. For most of my traditional record work though I have found a lot of my clients are within the Indie pop/rock, R&B and Hip-hop communities.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I believe an artist has been working on their "sound" their entire life, informed by their experiences, the people around them, their values, etc. I find my strongest skill is being able to listen to either a track or a performance and learn and understand what it is that artist wants others to perceive when hearing their music and make that come out of the speakers for the listener. Whether it is a summer bop, something light and catchy, an anthem or something heavy, that's one of my favorite parts of my job.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I typically do a lot of live band recording in a studio environment although have recorded many different groups outside of the studio too in "live take-away" esque recording situations (see Audiotree's Far Out series on Youtube). I tend to also mix the projects I record because of the relationship I like to build with an artist.