Cynthia Daniels Takes Her Music Career To The Next Level - 27 East

Arts & Living

Arts & Living / 1360034

Cynthia Daniels Takes Her Music Career To The Next Level

icon 16 Photos

Cynthia Daniels in the studio. BY COURTESY CYNTHIA DANIELS

Cynthia Daniels in the studio. BY COURTESY CYNTHIA DANIELS

authorMichelle Trauring on May 14, 2013

Cynthia Daniels got a late start this past Sunday morning. At 8 a.m., instead of her usual 6 a.m., she scarfed down a banana, cracked open a bottle of water and jumped into her state-of-the-art, East Hampton-based recording studio to work on her latest project.
She gave herself over to music engineering and production when she was a teenager growing up in Stamford, Connecticut, while listening to rock ’n roll. Even then she knew she would be working many hours, many days and many years to “get good at it,” she said. And she would also need a little luck.

“As they say, ‘The truth will out,’ the music will out,” the now 56-year-old said. “And you need to be at the right place at the right time, just like musicians. But in the end, the music speaks.”

It has a lot to say, and Ms. Daniels is all about spreading the word. Already the host of 88.3 WPPB’s MonkMusic Radio, the recording engineer recently kicked her 40-year career up a notch by launching her own independent label, MonkMusic Records.

Its debut album, “YoungBlood,” is by an emerging East Quogue rock band, InCircles. The three-piece group—vocalist Jewlee Trudden, bassist Eric Ponto and drummer Tyler Allen—has a cohesive sound, Ms. Daniels said. They have a certain level of musicianship, originality and energy. Their souls are starving, not just hungry.

And Ms. Daniels is not settling for anything less. She is not interested in collecting a roster. She is starting off slow, for now focusing on high energy and alternative rock ’n roll (“Surprise, surprise,” she laughed) in a day and age when the traditional record-label model is dead.

“There are ways out, because people are not going to stop being artists, thank God, and they don’t have to,” Ms. Daniels said. “We all have to get on the brain train and figure out a way. I’m tired of handing a recording artist a CD they’ve spent all their money and time writing and creating and saying, ‘You’ve just finished the easy part. Congratulations.’ And they’re just like, ‘That was easy?’”

The next step is making it, which is subjective for each artist. That is where Ms. Daniels now steps in, with a serious dedication and mean work ethic, she said.

“I wanted to see if I could help this particular band and others in this genre do that. Make it,” she said. “I have no illusions. Lady Gaga is a Cinderella story. So is Madonna. These are real-life fairy tales. It’s not that they’re false, it’s that they’re fairy tales that you’re going to meet the prince and he’s going to chase after you and he’s going to search the countryside for you. That doesn’t happen all that often. It’s a confluence of vectors, it’s a confluence of activities and hard work like any successful person. It doesn’t go on 9 to 5. You have to live and breathe the music.”

Ms. Daniels always has lived and breathed music. She grew up on “prog rock”—Genesis, Jethro Tull, The Who, The Doors—and it was while combing the back of a Yes album that she stumbled across her future profession: recording engineer. She was 16.

“My boyfriend at the time was a guitar player in a band, so I was learning the guitar and I knew I had a love of scientific things and how things work, and a soul-saving deep love for music,” she said. “I was pretty sure that there was a way to make a living at it without taking my chances on being a rock star, because I didn’t think I had the goods for that. So I sought out the definition of what I wanted to do and found it very quickly.”

The ambitious teenager moved to Boston University to study film, broadcasting and recording engineering. There, she fell into the punk and rock scene—Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Todd Rundgren. While still in college, she spent a summer at a recording institute in Greenwich Village, where she was—unsurprisingly—the only female student.

She’s since gotten used to it.

“I’m always the only girl, except when I work with musicians who are not males,” she said. “Why? You know what, we’d have to ask them, right? In my mind, who wouldn’t want to do this? This is my ideal life, my ideal job. Every day of my life, I’m the luckiest person in the world.”

A lot of mixing is about blending, Ms. Daniels explained. It has taken her decades of experience and countless trials and errors to master, what she calls, a “sonic stew”—several takes of a performance with the correct balance of energy and excitement as close to musical perfection as possible, coupled with subtle effects and textures generated through editing, equalizing and contouring, she said.

The “sonic stew” recipe has earned her two Grammy Awards—one in 2002 for her work on the cast album of “The Producers,” which sits proudly in Ms. Daniels’ studio, and another in 2011 for “Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies,” also in a special place next door in her home.

“Working on ‘The Producers,’ did I know what it was going to be when we recorded it? No,” she said, picking up the award. “Wanna hold it? It’s heavy. It’s heavier than you think.”

She weighed it in her hand and did a double take when checking out its bottom, left-hand edge.

“Oh, I seem to have a chip on the ol’ Grammy,” she said in a mock British accent. “A little Sharpie will fix that, just like the toes to my leather boots.”

A long list of big names have walked through Ms. Daniels’ studio—Alec Baldwin, Paul McCartney and Beyoncé, just last summer, to name a few—but it was Chaka Khan who inspired the recording engineer to move from Manhattan to East Hampton full-time in 2006, eight years after she bought her summer home that she shares with Cori Krane, and three cats and a dog.

“Chaka Khan was a very big highlight in my career,” Ms. Daniels said. “We not only went to Abbey Road and recorded the London Symphony after recording her in New York, but it was the first major album I mixed out here in East Hampton. And it was when I made my decision to move my whole studio out here.”

Before renowned recording studio architect John Storyk designed Ms. Daniels’ three-room, light-filled facility in 2011, various rooms in her home served as temporary spaces. With every move, she pasted acoustical foam and reflective materials onto the walls, creating mini-studios wherever she needed them.

“That day, when I moved all of my equipment out of my New York apartment, I knew I would do everything I could to do most of my work here,” said Ms. Daniels, who writes and performs her own music locally in her free time. “This is not a home studio. It’s actually a completely separate building. It’s every bit the studio that a New York studio is. It may not have as much real estate as some of the larger rooms, but we get rhythm sections in here all the time.”

She laughed and clicked away from her computer’s desktop, pulled up a few basic tracks on her editing software and got to work, adjusting the levels on her console. She closed her eyes, swaying to the music and effortlessly flipping between the keys on her keyboard to start and stop when the mood struck her.

The background image on her computer was a photo captured after the 2011 Icelandic volcano explosion.

“It kind of felt like the journey that you take with people around here. Musicians are trying to get inspired and I kind of liked the way that felt,” she mused about the picture. “A long, unknown road with some big storm going.”

For more information, visit cynthiadaniels.net.

You May Also Like:

Springs Artist Fitzhugh Karol Debuts Outdoor Sculpture Show at Duck Creek

The Arts Center at Duck Creek will present “Fitzhugh Karol: On the Grounds,” a site-specific ... 8 Jul 2025 by Staff Writer

La Goulue Sur Mer Arrives in Southampton, With a Dash of Chaos and a Side of Style

“Is it true?” said the anxious DM on my Instagram account. “Is La Goulue really ... by Steven Stolman

Art on a Line: Guild Hall’s Clothesline Sale Hangs Tough for 2025

Guild Hall’s beloved Clothesline Art Sale returns on Saturday, July 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The annual event, a Hamptons tradition since 1946, transforms the museum’s lawn into a sea of original artwork — hung on clotheslines — and offers visitors the chance to purchase local art at accessible prices. Jackson Pollock once sold a painting at the sale for $250, and past participants have included Lee Krasner, Alfonso Ossorio, Elaine and Willem de Kooning and other art-world icons. The event continues to offer a rare opportunity for the public to view and purchase work by East End ... by Staff Writer

The Climate-Friendly Fitness Routine

“Live simply so that others might simply live” — Mahatma Gandhi The first time I ... by Jenny Noble

Joy Behar Gets the Last Laugh in ‘My First Ex-Husband' at Bay Street Theater, July 14-19

Emmy Award-winning comedian and co-host of “The View,” Joy Behar stars in “My First Ex-Husband,” a bold, funny and heartfelt new play based on true stories from her life. The limited engagement runs July 14 through 19, at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. With razor-sharp wit and no filters, “My First Ex-Husband” explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex and relationships. Adapted from Behar’s personal experiences, the show is both deeply personal and widely relatable. Behar will appear on stage on July 14, 18 and 19. Also appearing nightly, July 14 through 19, are Veanne Cox, a Tony-nominated ... by Staff Writer

Experience the Rhythms of Brazil With Nilson Matta’s Voyage Quartet

Grammy-nominated bassist Nilson Matta will lead his Brazilian Voyage Quartet at The Church on Friday, July 25, at 6 p.m. The concert is part of Hamptons JazzFest. The group features acclaimed guitarist Chico Pinheiro and offers a rich exploration of samba, bossa nova and modern Brazilian jazz. Matta, a founding member of the renowned Trio da Paz and longtime collaborator with Yo-Yo Ma on the Grammy-winning “Obrigado Brazil” project, is known for blending traditional Brazilian rhythms with contemporary jazz. His lyrical bass playing and deep rhythmic connection have earned him international acclaim. Guitarist Chico Pinheiro, recognized as a leading voice ... by Staff Writer

At the Galleries for July 10, 2025

Montauk The Depot Art Gallery, at the Montauk railroad station at the corner of Flamingo ... by Staff Writer

Round and About for July 10, 2025

Fireworks Shelter Island Fireworks The Shelter Island fireworks will be held on Saturday, July 12, ... by Staff Writer

Curtis Institute of Music Alumni and Faculty To Perform in East Hampton on July 22

Talented alumni and faculty from the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music will tour the East Coast this summer, with a concert scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton. The event is presented by Music for Montauk. The program features beloved melodies ranging from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” to works by Brahms and de Falla. Performers include mezzo-soprano Katie Trigg, violinist Elissa Lee Koljonen, pianist Hanchien Lee, and Curtis Institute President and violist Roberto Díaz. The concert program includes: Manuel de Falla’s “Suite Populaire Espagnole,” performed by Díaz (viola) and Lee (piano); ... by Staff Writer

'Bonnie & Clyde' Cast and Crew Announced for Bay Street Musical

Bay Street Theater has unveiled the complete cast and creative teams for its pulse-pounding musical ... 7 Jul 2025 by Staff Writer