For Thom Monahan, recording is all about collaboration. From his earliest days recording friends to a career producing highly acclaimed records, the key to making memorable recordings has been his acute sensitivity to the artist's intentions. "Knowing what a song is about makes it easier to tell a story in a long form," he says.

It's a skill he's cultivated by spending many hours on both sides of the glass. Thom spent more than a decade as a bassist and multi-instrumentalist in the Pernice Brothers, the Lilys and Monsterland, and learned his trade knocking around studios in his native New England. As a staff engineer at the notoriously rough and tumble Slaughterhouse, "We never knew what was going to come in the door," he recalls, "but we knew we'd have to have a sound in less than an hour."

At Slaughterhouse, Thom learned to record in an all-analog tape environment, but has since embraced digital technology, and most frequently uses a hybrid methodology. With a natural curiosity about technological frontiers that fuels a lifelong desire to innovate and experiment, Thom remembers lugging around an eight-track analog recorder in a flight case during the 1990s. "I lived in a place where we couldn't make a lot of noise, so I learned to take quiet sounds and make them as big as possible," he notes tellingly.

Drawing on these experiences, he brings to the table both inventive technical expertise and a sense of empathy for the artist and the creative process. "It's always more about the performance than about fidelity," he offers. "There's a balance between a love for the artist's performance versus making a sound that translates what the performance is about."

Using modern recording technology to make albums that sound like vintage classics is all in a day's work for producer Thom Monahan. His collaborations with artists such as Devandra Banhart and Vetiver have redefined the sound of indie rock, establishing Monahan as one the most respected producers in the genre.

Currently, Thom is in the studio finishing production on the new Chris Robinson Brotherhood CD, his third-in-a-row with the band.  Additionally, he's finishing a new album with Henry Wolfe and mixing the latest from The Donkeys.  Thom begins pre-production on Horse Thief in late April.

Two thousand eleven brought success with two of his recent productions:  Big Moon Ritual and The Magic Door, both by Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Very different, very magical albums by one of the finest bands alive led by The Black Crowe's lead vocalist Chris Robinson.  He's also been in the studio producing new music by Henry Wolfe.  

Previously, Thom mixed Blake Hazard's upcoming release, mixed the music for James Franco's film "Rebel", produced/recorded/mixed Neal Casal's brilliant new release, Sweeten The Distance (The Royal Family), Night Moves' Colored Emotions (Domino) and Sera Cahoone's Deer Creek Canyon (Sub Pop).  Thom also produced Beachwood Sparks' gorgeous gem The Tarnished Gold, their first album in 11 years. He also produced and mixed the latest by Brisbane's indie-pop The John Steel Singers.

In 2011, Thom put in a yeoman-like schedule producing, recording and mixing Vetiver's The Errant Charm (Sub Pop), doing the same for a track with Peter, Bjorn and John, mixing English singer/songwriter, Mary Epworth's successful Dream Life (Hand of Glory), mixing the critically-acclaimed debut release by singer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson entitled Gentle Spirit which received the #4 spot on Mojo Magazine's 2011 Best Albums of the Year, producing and mixing Fruit Bats' Tripper (Sub Pop) and The Papercuts' Fading Parade (Sub Pop).

Previouly, Thom mixed Skaters EP and produced the latest by He's My Brother She's My Sister in Los Angeles after returning from Spain where he produced and mixed his second CD with Geva Alon.

Addiionally, Thom produced albums for Fujiya & Miyagi, Leopold and His Fiction and Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie. Johnny Irion said, "I'm glad [it didn't work out with] The Edge. Thom Monahan has the best ears in business right now and made all kinds of great stuff." "The album has moments where you feel like you are listening to the harmonies of Johnny Cash and June Carter," writes L.A. Record.

Devendra Banhart, the Jayhawks' Gary Louris, Little Joy, Lavender Diamond and Brightblack Morning Light are releases on stalwart independent labels including Matador, Sub Pop, Domino and Rykodisc. Along the way, he's developed a comfort level in both cutting-edge studios and home recording environments, with a broad sonic palette that includes sonorous acoustic music, rich orchestral pop, and electronically manipulated textures derived from contemporary and vintage synths and sequencers. Equally at home with a live room full of musicians all playing together or head down intensely editing overdubs, "I think it's about identifying with the artist and figuring out what they need to make their music come to life," he adds.

A voracious record collector and enthusiastic student of recorded music with a seemingly bottomless knowledge of audio technology and history, Thom says his inspiration continues to come from being a fan first. "My idea of pre-production is listening to records with an artist," he says. It's appropriate that the payment for his first professional recording gig wasn't in cash, but in music - he received a Bongwater double LP and a Jesus & Mary Chain bootleg in exchange for recording GG Allin.