Darryl Neudorf

Darryl Neudorf
Born	(1964-06-07) June 7, 1964 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Post-Punk, Indie-Rock, Alternative, Synth-Pop, Electronica, Alt-Country, Americana, Ambient
Occupation(s)	Drummer, record producer, audio engineer, teacher
Instrument	Multi-Instrumentalist
Years active	1982–present
Website	www.darrylneudorf.com

Darryl Neudorf is a Canadian musician, record producer, audio engineer. and teacher.

Biography

Early Life

Darryl Neudorf was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. His family moved to Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada when he was 5 years old.

In 1979, at the age of fifteen, he became the drummer for a post-punk collective called Empty Set. The band consisted of his kid sister/vocalist Adele Neudorf, bassist John Brotherton and classmate/guitarist Kevin Kane.

54-40

At eighteen Neudorf moved to Vancouver and joined 54-40 as their drummer. He was with the band from 1982 to 1985.

Neudorf recorded two albums with 54/40 and toured extensively in North America up until his departure. The songs that Neudorf performed, co-composed and produced with them achieved gold and platinum status in Canada.

He is best known during this time for co-writing the hit song "I Go Blind"which was covered by U.S. rock group Hootie and the Blowfish. The song was also featured on the NBC sitcom "Friends" in 1995 and was also included on the "Friends" soundtrack album which led to increased exposure for 54-40 and the song becoming a Billboard Top 10 hit.

In 1985, after three years in the band, Neudorf left 54-40 to pursue a career in music production.

Early Production Career

Later that year, Darryl moved to Toronto and started working at a computer based music studio called QED Media which featured a Fairlight C.M.I. and a Waveterm PPG 2.

In 1986, Darryl filled in as a drummer on a tour with Moev, an electronic synth-pop band, composed of Tom Ferris, Cal Stephenson, Michaela Arrichiello and Nettwerk Productions co-founder Mark Jowett. During that tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a band called the October Game opened for Moev. The singer for that band was Sarah McLachlan. It was this encounter that eventually led to Nettwerk signing Sarah and launching her career.

In 1987, Mark Jowett asked Darryl to work on the Sarah McLachlan project for Nettwerk Productions. This recording, the album Touch, resulted in garnering the interest of Arista Records. She signed a multi-album contract with them and two of the songs that Neudorf worked on with her became commercial hits in Canada. In 1991, Neudorf was invited back to work with McLachlan on her second album, Solace.

In 1993, he filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, Nettwerk, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch, and alleging that he wasn't paid properly for work done on Solace. The judge in this suit eventually ruled in McLachlan's favour on the songs; though Neudorf may have contributed to the songwriting, neither regarded each other as joint authors. The judge ruled in Neudorf's favour on the payment issue.

Miller Block

In 1994, in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Darryl Neudorf and Tracy Pillsworth met with Tom Anselmi of the band Copyright. The three met on the top floor of a building that was built in 1948 through Jim Carrico who had found the Hastings Street space for lease. An artists' co-operative was about to burgeon and become home to a group of people generating dozens of CDs and vinyl representing Vancouver's eclectic underground. Neudorf and Pillsworth lent Anselmi their recording equipment to record what was to become Copyright's second CD, Love Story. The building of a recording studio that was soundproofed and secure followed. The studio was named after the arched words "Miller Block" painted in gold on the front of the building's black and green tiled facade.

Throughout the 1990s, Neudorf designed, managed, owned and operated Miller Block with Tracy Pillsworth (aka Sugarpill), where he did much of his recording and production. This work resulted in scores of releases in a wide variety of genres from underground rock to roots rock to country to avant-garde electronica. Among others, this list includes Cub, Duotang, Neko Case, Kinnie Starr, Herald Nix, The New Pornographers, Superconductor, Kevin Kane, I Am Spoonbender, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System, Faust and Dead Voices on Air. The merging of equipment, space and trust surrounding Miller Block resulted in a creative studio environment that flourished for six years, until the Fall of 2000.

During the Summer of 1998, Darryl performed at Edgefest with Copyright (band), playing keyboards throughout the tour.

Neudorf embarked on an American tour with Dead Voices On Air and Not Breathing in 1999, playing drums.

In 2000, Darryl went on tour throughout Europe playing drums and keyboards with Dead Voices on Air (DVOA), supporting Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius.

Relocation

In 2001, Darryl Neudorf, Tracy Pillsworth and the boxed up studio moved to Toronto, Ontario. Once in Toronto, Neudorf continued to produce and engineer successful recordings, among others, Americana singer Neko Case.

The Audio Recording Academy

During 2002 Darryl Neudorf was asked by Shannon Murray to become the head instructor at, and design the curriculum for, a new audio production school located in downtown Toronto called The Audio Recording Academy. Neudorf remained head teacher until 2008 when during an indefinite leave, producer / engineer Damon de Szegheo took over head instructor duties.

Operation Northwoods Recording Services

In November 2004, after looking for a resort-styled location to set up a recording studio, Darryl Neudorf and Tracy Pillsworth found a creative retreat.

The studio was called Operation Northwoods Recording Services where musicians recorded with Neudorf at the helm, with him either producing, mixing, engineering, drumming and mastering. Among others, these musicians include The Sadies, Jim Cuddy, Justin Rutledge, Bob Egan, The Mohawk Lodge, Jim Bryson, Neko Case, Two Hours Traffic, The Grapes of Wrath, Brementown Players, Robyn Cage, Lily Frost, Blue Rodeo Elliott Brood, Jill Barber, Laura Jean, Language Arts, Lindi Ortega, Scott Helmann, Locas in Love, and The Weather Station.

In 2010, Darryl Engineered a soundtrack with Greg Keeler for the film Gunless.

Primalux

Neudorf relocated to his home town of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada in 2019, just before the arrival of Covid. Though he did some mixing during that time, his studio remained boxed up until October 2024, when he and Tracy Pillsworth founded Primalux Studio and Institute of Music and Technology in a new location with a building that allowed Darryl to put together a Dolby 7.1.4 immersive mixing environment.

Awards

Title	Award	Credit	Date
Sarah McLachlan - Touch	CRIA Certified Canadian Gold	Co-Composer, Pre-Production	1991
Sarah McLachlan - Solace	CRIA Certified Canadian Platinum	Pre-Production	1991
54/40 - Sweeter Things	CRIA Certified Canadian Platinum	Co-Composer, Co-Producer, Performer	1995
I Go Blind	ASCAP Award	Co-Composer	1998
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic	Juno Award - Alternative Album of the Year	Engineer	2001
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone	Grammy Nomination - Best Contemporary Folk Album	Co-Producer / Engineer	2009
I Go Blind	SOCAN Classic Award	Co-Composer	2009
Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind	CRIA Certified Canadian Platinum	Recording and Mixing Engineer	2010
Neko Case and Blue Rodeo	Juno Nomination	Engineer of the Year	2010
Neko Case and Blue Rodeo	Juno nomination	Engineer of the Year	2010
Neko Case - The Worse Things Get The Harder I Fight The Harder I Fight The More I Love You	Grammy Nomination - Best Alternative Album	Co-Producer / Engineer	2013
Jill Barber - Chances	CRIA Certified Canadian Gold	Mix Engineer	2019
I Go Blind	Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame	Inductee	2021

External links

• Official website