IN-HOUSE PRODUCERS AND ENGINEERS
Are you searching for a producer and engineer? Here is a little bit about our in-house staff.
ANDRE MORAN
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André Moran is the chief engineer/in-house producer at Cedar Creek Studio and took over management of the studio in early 2022. With over 25 years in the business, between recording, mixing, producing, and playing in bands, he has worked with an eclectic mix of artists and clients from indie to jazz, hip hop to folk, world, alternative, pop, orchestral, music for film/TV and more. While best know for his guitar work (electric/acoustic/lap steel/slide), André is also proficient on keys and bass.
After earning a degree in Music Production & Engineering at Berklee School of Music in Boston, Andre relocated to San Francisco, working at some of the top recording studios in the Bay Area including The Plant, Hyde St, Studios, Dolby Labs, Laughing Tiger Studios, and others. At the same time, he continued playing in bands, eventually joining forces with his later-to-be wife, Noelle Hampton. Together, they toured around the country, and after visiting Austin and falling in love with the town, they decided to relocate here in 2004.
That same year, André met Mark Hallman (see below) and began working at Mark's studio, The Congress House Studio, where he made his studio home for 18 years. There he acted as chief engineer, working side by side with Mark, as well as working independently, and produced some fabulous records there.
In addition, he has played guitar in multiple bands, and along with his wife, Noëlle Hampton (see below), co-founded their band The Belle Sounds. For over 15 years, Andre taught Audio Engineer & Production at Austin Community College.
MARK HALLMAN
Mark Hallman is producer, songwriter, engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked with Carole King (appearing on six of her albums as a performer and producer), Ani DiFranco, Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves, Sean Taylor, Will Sexton, Iain Matthews, Tom Russell and many more.
In the mid-'70s, Hallman was one of the two principal singer-songwriters for Boulder, Colorado-based rock band Navarro. Navarro put out two albums on Capitol Records, Listen in 1977 (produced by Hallman) and Straight From the Heart in 1978.
While recording at Caribou Ranch in 1977, Carole King needed a backup band. Dan Fogelberg suggested Navarro and brought her to see them perform at The Stage Stop in Rollinsville. Hallman had been the guitarist in Fogelberg's band as well. Although Navarro had broken up by the time King called, she asked Hallman if the band would like to back her for an album on Lou Adler's Ode Record label. That album was never released but Navarro reformed for that gig and followed up with three albums recorded with her for Capitol Records.
Navarro, and Hallman in particular, found a quick ally in King. She signed the group to her label and tapped them as her session band for Simple Things, which reached No. 17 on the Billboard pop album charts. Before long, Hallman was producing King's albums and performing in her band full-time.
Hallman relocated to Austin, Texas with King in 1980. He later opened The Congress House, the longest continually-operating recording studio in Austin. In 1990 and 1991, Hallman won Best Producer at the Austin Music Awards, held during the South By Southwest Music Conference.
In 1995, Ani DiFranco chose Hallman's Congress House to record her album Dilate. The song "Glass House," co-engineered by Hallman off of DiFranco's 1999 CD Little Plastic Castle was nominated for a Grammy in 1998 for Best Female Rock Vocalist.
A feature-length film, The Shopkeeper: A Documentary about Mark Hallman & the Music Business, produced by Rain Perry, was released in 2016.
NOELLE HAMPTON
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Noëlle Hampton has been creating music for almost 30 years. She plays guitar (electric/acoustic), keys (piano/synth), harmonica, drum programming and live percussion and has a specialty in vocal production/coaching and vocal harmonies.
Noëlle and André Moran met in San Francisco over 25 years ago, fell in love and have been together and creating music since then. She performed under her name and released multiple albums that ranged from alternative rock to Americana. After moving to Austin with André they eventually formed their current project, The Belle Sounds. After working with a few fabulous producers she wanted to push her music further into the 80s influenced synth pop that she always loved, so she started producing her own tracks and taking them to André to use his expertise in finalizing the recording and mixing them. This has sharpened her production skills greatly, leading to creating their favorite music yet.
She has a great ear for melody, arrangements and lives by her intuition. She is available for projects to produce, co-produce with André, offer vocal production or coaching and available for harmony/background vocal sessions.
You can listen to The Belle Sounds here: