Thinking In Sound: Food, Music and Production with Dan Pritikin
Dan Pritikin is a classically trained pianist, songwriter, and accomplished gigging musician.
His career in advertising and post-production began as an audio engineer and eventually music producer at Grey New York where he cut his teeth producing music for global brands at one of most established and long-standing ad agencies on the planet.
From there, he took his talents to Los Angeles, where he went on to produce award winning work with the highly regarded team at Human, and then returned to the agency world as music producer at Crispin Porter and Bogusky. There he produced important work for clients such as Activision, Microsoft, and Burger King to name a few.
In the Summer of 2009, Dan partnered with Jon Darling and Britt Fredensburg to open SOUTH Music & Sound. They quickly made a name for themselves as a premier member of the “new class” of music production companies, prioritizing artistry, in-studio collaboration, and deep client focus.
Today, Dan serves as creative director at SOUTH, leading the team as they continue to create highly visible and highly acclaimed work for countless agencies and brands.
LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?
Dan> Well that’s actually evolved quite a bit over the course of my career.
We used to get somewhat vague and open-ended briefs from clients, and then I would spend a great deal of time brainstorming references and helping the agency to construct a brief more collaboratively. A younger generation of creatives with access to the entire world of music at their fingertips has shifted things.
While we still do some jobs the “classic way,” it’s far more likely that our clients arrive with a pretty fleshed out brief and a reference or two that’s been “pre-gut checked.” While this can be a little bit of a time saver, it can also lead to a whole new set of challenges.
Forward the brief as-is to a bunch of seasoned ad composers and watch as 10 tracks come back that all sound “fine” but pretty similar to each other and to the references. This is a quick way to fall out of love with your idea.
In order to combat this, I began to focus on identifying the right, creatively diverse set of artists and composers to tap for each job. And then I like to take it a step further and customise the brief for the individual writer.
This usually entails simplifying or even omitting some info from the original brief, and often never even sending along the agency references. Perhaps we pull some of our own, or better yet perhaps we point to previous work that these artists have done on their own. Authenticity goes much farther than mimicry and can breathe new life into a project.
This is why I spend most of my time getting to know new, emerging artist and composers who predominantly work outside of advertising. And then I aim to build individualised briefs for them so they come back with ideas that showcase their unique creative voices. That’s usually where the winning tracks come from, and it’s way more fun and exciting then spoon-feeding them an assignment.
LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity - what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang - and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?
Dan> Like everyone else, we’re all a lot more “remote” than we used to be. I’m actually on the East Coast now, while SOUTH’s main studio is in Los Angeles. While it should be no surprise that in-person sessions with clients were more the 'norm' years ago, we were adamant when we built out our studio that it could remain a place that clients would want to come to collaborate face-to-face.
So far, that has stayed true. Last year we did a big campaign for Experian featuring Travis Kelce. The clients prioritised being able to work side by side with us in the studio, which was not only extremely productive for the project but also a greater chance to bond and understand everyone’s personalities and tastes. A much harder thing to do over the phone or email.
Outside of our studio, we do quite a bit of on-set collaboration when needed. Our most recent work for Genesis had us send a team on location to capture car sounds which we later used to produce and compose the music. And about a year ago, we got to be on set for a big 'Call of Duty' project that had us coaching celebrity talent to sing along with our music. A very memorable experience for us!
So yes, I prefer the “gang” approach, hands down.
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Dan> I helped start this company with two of my partners back in 2009, so nothing will ever be as satisfying as waking up in the morning and remembering that we built this thing from scratch and are continuing to employ ridiculously talented people, giving them an opportunity to show the world what they can do.
More specifically, I just love it when a great idea that my team creates wins the day. Advertising is tricky business with a lot of rejection and disappointment and it’s easy to forget to acknowledge a big victory. But it’s important, because that’ll keep you going in the tough times for sure.
LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?
Dan> I actually don’t think the role of music and sound has changed that much. Just like the writers, directors, and editors, we are story tellers. Each story is different and requires a custom approach. But in the end of the day if the content being created isn’t improved by music and sound, then an opportunity was missed. I think that’ll be true no matter what the content looks like and where it lives.
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Dan> I am first and foremost a songwriter and band guy. So my heroes are going to be folks that know how to write a song and also know how to play it. So, yeah, the Beatles, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Barry Gibb, Robbie Robertson, Paul Simon, etc…
LBB> And when it comes to your particular field, whether sound design or composing, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?
Dan> I can’t stop watching YouTube videos about Jeff Lynne and how he produced records, either for his own projects or other artists. And since my role is more production and creative direction these days, of course I’m fascinated by Rick Rubin (who isn’t?) and other heavy hitters like Jimmy Iovine, Quincy Jones, Phil Spector, Steve Albini, to name just a few obvious ones. It’s all about how you get exceedingly talented people to give you their best work, and there’s a reason that these folks are so damn famous for that.
LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (lets say going through client briefs or answering emails) - are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you? What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?
Dan> Nope, can’t listen to music at all when I’m trying to do something else. I don’t understand how anyone can. Music demands so much of my attention, that when it’s playing, it’s all I can focus on.
LBB> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work?
Dan> If it doesn’t sound good on sh*tty speakers, then it doesn’t sound good. While there’s a lot of creative fun to be had when taking advantage of different technologies and different formats, the best artists know that their work needs to be able to move you in any context.
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Dan> My job involves me listening to countless demos, revisions, references, etc, so I actually have to look for ways to give my ears a rest. One way is to not listen to music at all. Podcasts, talk radio, the sound of my own thoughts. Another way is to listen to something very familiar so I can let go a little bit and not concentrate so hard.
Of course, there are many days filled with me researching and getting to know new potential artists and collaborators. I like to download a playlist of their work and bring it in the car with me. Sometimes I make up an errand to run just so I have an opportunity to do that.
LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take (are you a vinyl nerd, do you have hard drives full of random bird sounds, are you a hyper-organised spotify-er…)?
Dan> I still have all my CD’s somewhere. And I still have a lot of purchased mp3s from the early 2000s on a hard drive. But I’ve basically transitioned to Spotify: playlists, favourite artists, suggested stuff. etc. I’ve always loved the radio. I like being surprised by something that comes on rather than digging something out of my own collection. I also like to imagine that there are other people out there who are listening to the same thing and being equally excited by it.
LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics really excite you and do you ever relate that back to music (e.g. history buffs who love music that can help you travel through time, gamers who love interactive sound design… I mean it really could be anything!!)
Dan> Food. My wife and I used to go out to eat a ton before we had kids, especially when we were living in LA. But even now, I love to try new things or new versions of things I already love, and I am constantly reminded about the similarities between a recipe and a musical composition or production. How people seem to respond to food and music that have an interesting combination of flavours or sounds, and not too much of any one thing (even if you really like that one thing.)
LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?
Dan> Our honeymoon in Europe offered us a rare opportunity to experience different cultures, and at times, different sounds and music. The market places in London and in Barcelona sounded like nothing I’d heard before. And of course the street musicians that you find in those cities and in Paris were very different than what we had in LA and NY.
But truth be told, the most profound influence I had was when I was living in some more “up and coming” areas of Brooklyn back in my 20s. The Latin and Caribbean beats were so new and fascinating to me then, and they still bring back awesome memories of having no money and nowhere to be.
LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years?
Dan> I’m at an awesome age where my kids are starting to discover music for themselves. There are times where they catch me singing along in the car and they start to ask about the songs. They all love to guess if it’s John or Paul signing when the Beatles are on. Watching them fall in love with some of the same old music that I enjoy totally reinvigorates my passion for it.
And of course my 9-year old is fully in Taylor Swift land, so I’m along for that ride. Personally, I find Taylor “just ok.” (I know it’s not meant for me) but my daughter’s excitement for her has motivated me to suggest some other new artist that I think she’d enjoy: Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Miley Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter to name a few.
