The Road to Beyoncé and Cowboy Carter: While the Beyhive was all aflutter over Beyoncé at last winning the coveted Grammy for Album of The Year for her genre-busting Cowboy Carter—bringing her overall total to an all-time record 35—an entire village of songwriters, producers, and engineers celebrated as well. One of these was Dani Pampuri, a multi-talented Brazilian born engineer credited with recording ten tracks and providing engineering assistance on another. Since connecting with Beyoncé he has served as sound engineer on her album The Lion King: The Gift (the soundtrack accompanying the live-action Disney remake) and played an essential role in the live album recorded during the singer’s historic Coachella Performance. In 2009, after building a large clientele of bands and working for years in various studios in Sao Paulo (including his own C4 Studios), he (along with his brother Filipe) moved to L.A. to continue working with an artist who had caught the attention of producer Jay Baumgardner, owner of NRG Studios in North Hollywood, one of the most prestigious in L.A. After working and touring with different bands, Pampuri—also a talented drummer—set up camp and began engineering for both NRG’s clients and many others he brought in via word of mouth.
A Diverse Roster of Artists:
As chief engineer of NRG Recording Studios, Pampuri has worked on many independent projects in addition to high profile sessions spanning jazz to pop and rock. His versatility, expertise, and intuitive way of working with artists has led him to work with the likes of Tank and the Bangas, Chika, Jean Dawson, Summer Walker, and a live session for Dua Lipa when she was first blowing up. Even as he was achieving extraordinary success in the U.S., he began missing the rich culture of his native country, admitting that “being away started to break my heart.” He now spends a lot of time there, engineering and mixing projects for numerous Brazilian artists, including rapper and singer Baco Exu do Blues, pop singer Rael, and singer-songwriter Maria Sena.
His Own Hive: Beyond his resume as a sound engineer and producer, Pampuri is also the co-founder—with his brother Filipe—of Beetronics, an L.A.-based brand that has made a major name for itself in the effects pedal industry in the international market. The name came from “Bee,” Filipe’s nickname as a kid, and the company began with the pedals he had built for himself on tour. Their home page says “Welcome To the Hive” in bold letters and declares “We’re buzzing bees crafting pedals as unique as you are! With fuzzy, buzzy tones and expressive modulations, we’re all about letting you bee yourself.” While the duo, whose manufacturing shop is connected to their studio The Hive in Sherman Oaks, CA, has fun with visuals and innovative design, they are equally dedicated to exceptional craft and sound quality.
Quote from Dani Pampuri: “I really enjoy the chaos of the studio environment, when things are going crazy when there’s a large band or an orchestral session with a lot of musicians. Everyone in that environment wants to tune into something special and there’s always a fine line between what could work and what will work. I love the feeling of pulling it off. Engineering is all about the energy you bring to the session. There are technical aspects in addition to the artistic and psychological. To some degree, my job is to set the tonality of the room while handling everyone’s expectations.”
Contact Dani Pampuri, 323-975-7119
