From brain to speaker, Michael Kolar has been guiding the vision of talented artists for over twenty years. Raised in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, he developed an ear for music at the age of six, landed an internship at Bzipp Studio at fifteen and had set up his own studio by sixteen. At twenty one, Michael was leading artist relations, logistics and acting as audio engineer on the road for George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. After some time on the road, he returned to his hometown to hone his craft, earning a degree in Recording Arts & Sciences from Columbia College Chicago. Upon graduation, his focus switched fully to his studio in Chicago and he began recording albums for some of the world’s biggest artists. What began as a small production studio in his childhood home is still called Soundscape Studios—and has since recorded albums for artists and groups including Zane Malik, FKA Twigs, M.I.A., Chance The Rapper, George Clinton, Ludacris, Action Bronson, Raekwon, 2 Chainz, Naked Raygun, No ID, Wyclef Jean, Talib Kweli, Vic Mensa, Jamila Woods, Chingy and others. Michael is the Former Vice President of the Engineering & Recording Society and his mixes boast a combined total of over 100 million streams. In 2009, he co-founded an indie record label called Closed Sessions. In his time away from the studio he enjoys dinners with his wife, traveling and collecting obscura. He believes life is better soundproofed, but adds: “really loud music fucking rules.”

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