Ben Leinbach

Ben Leinbach is an award-winning producer, composer, recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He works mostly in what he calls "world music", a broad territory that takes in reggae and ska, gospel, soul and funk, and Brazilian and African sounds. Each artist he works with brings their own influences into the studio. He often layers instruments from different parts of the world, usually over lush background textures with a little psychedelia, in the hope of a universal sound that connects with listeners everywhere.

He grew up listening to popular music and playing rock and roll, and after college he pursued a career as a rock and jazz drummer. He then took an internship at Spark Productions, a recording studio in Oakland, California. There he learned recording, mixing and mastering, and he worked on hip hop, R&B, gospel, jazz, Latin jazz and world music sessions. Combined with his background in music theory, composition, arranging and playing several instruments, that training led him to producing.

A turning point came when Jai Uttal arrived at Spark Productions to record "Beggars and Saints". The two became close friends, and Ben has recorded every one of Jai's albums since, including the Grammy-nominated "Mondo Rama". They have also co-written music and released four albums of world music together. Through Jai he met percussionist Geoffrey Gordon, and through Geoffrey he met Shiva Rea. These connections led him into yoga music and kirtan, the call-and-response form of ecstatic singing and prayer. In that world he has recorded and produced projects with Deva Premal and Miten, Snatam Kaur, Donna De Lory, Jaya Lakshmi, David Newman, Mike Cohen, Brenda McMorrow, Johanna Beekman, Katie Wise, and Rob and Melissa, among others.

Ben works from his home studio in San Anselmo, California, just north of San Francisco. He produces, records and mixes for artists in many genres, and he is also called on to mix or master projects and to add instrumentation to recordings in progress. In his own words, he aspires to create transcendent music that holds the full range of human experience, so that listeners feel more deeply and live more fully.