Different Fur Studios (formerly Different Fur Trading Company) is a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

located in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

area of

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, at 3470 19th Street. Since 1968, Different Fur has recorded music from a wide range of artists, including major

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning musicians as well as many important independent musicians. Different Fur Records Store front sign

History

Different Fur was founded in 1968 by the

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

Patrick Gleeson Patrick Gleeson (born November 9, 1934) is an American musician, synthesizer pioneer, composer, and producer. Career Gleeson moved to San Francisco in the 1960s to teach in the English Department at San Francisco State. Gleeson began experimentin ...

and John Vieira. Its name was suggested by poet

Michael McClure Michael McClure (October 20, 1932 – May 4, 2020) was an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous ...

, while he was being recorded by Gleeson. By the early 1970s Gleeson was doing sessions with

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albu ...

on his recently acquired 8-track recorder and

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

. It was his expertise in early synthesizers, like the Moog, which eventually led Gleeson to collaborations with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, whom Gleeson credits with helping Different Fur get off the ground. By 1971 Gleeson was working with Hancock on his albums '' Crossings'' and ''

Sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...

''. He went on to record many of the synthesizers on Hancock's master work ''

Head Hunters ''Head Hunters'' is the twelfth studio album by American pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur T ...

'', as well as several solo albums at Different Fur. Different Fur front doors

Gleeson eventually sold Different Fur in 1985. However, it remains an active recording studio to this day. The studio is currently owned by Engineer Patrick Brown. In February 2009, the relatively unknown and very recently signed to

Fat Possum In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple e ...

band

Wavves Wavves is an American rock band based in San Diego, California. Formed in 2008 by singer-songwriter Nathan Williams (born June 12, 1986), the band also features Alex Gates (guitar, backing vocals), Stephen Pope (bass guitar, backing vocals) an ...

filmed a video with bloggers yourstru.ly. The project was a three-part live filming of the two-piece band playing some of the songs off their new EP including "So Bored." While the original videos only received modest views after release, they marked the beginning of an ongoing partnership between Different Fur engineers and YoursTruly video producers that have resulted in live sessions with

The Morning Benders Pop Etc (pronounced "pop et cetera"), formerly known as The Morning Benders, is an indie rock band. They originally formed in Berkeley, California but moved to Brooklyn, New York later in their career. In 2008, they released their debut album ''T ...

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has rele ...

Little Dragon Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Little Dragon's ...

Big K.R.I.T. Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. Af ...

Toro Y Moi Chaz Bear (born Chazwick Bradley Bundick; November 7, 1986), known professionally as Toro y Moi, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s ...

, P.O.S,

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label ...

, San Bruno's Death Cab For Cutie etc. Artists who have recorded at Different Fur include

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

The Units Units were an American synthpunk band that was founded in San Francisco in 1978. It was active until 1984. They were one of America's earliest electronic New wave music, new wave bands, and have been cited (along with The Screamers and Suicide ...

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bob ...

, Primus,

Rodrigo y Gabriela Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo and Gabriela) are a Mexican acoustic guitar duo whose music is influenced by a number of genres including nuevo flamenco, rock, and heavy metal. The duo's recordings consist largely of instrumental duets on the flam ...

, Daniel Selby,

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...

Tristan Prettyman Tristan Ann Prettyman (born May 23, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter from San Diego, California. She was signed to Virgin Records until 2013 and released her first major label album '' Twentythree'' on August 2, 2005, followed by her sec ...

and music for Peanuts TV Specials have been recorded here. Different Fur was featured in the ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, ...

'' Music section on June 15, 2011. The article focuses on work done with a number of local bands and artists.Ian S. Port: "Fresh Times for Mission Recording Studio Different Fur" article on SF Weekly
/ref>

Selected discography

;2012 *Sourpatch - ''Stagger and Fade'' *A B & The Sea - ''Constant Vacation'' *Lilac - ''Christine'' *The Park featuring Darondo and Happy Mayfield - ''The Silvercloud Time Machine (7")'' *Nate Mercereau - ''$1,000,000 Worth of Twang'' *Midi Matilda - ''Love & The Movies'' (single) *Starred - ''No Good'' (single) ;2011 *Dylan Fox and The Wave - ''Tunnel Vision'' *Bird Call - ''Other Creatures'' *A B & The Sea - ''Run Run Run!'' *NeaCombo Diffuzion - ''Round 2 Digital Attack'' *''Lowered - (Mastering)'' *Alessandra - ''So Nice'' *The Park - 'The Process...'' *The Park - ''These Are The Days'' *The Park - ''Belleville'' (single) *Zodiac Death Valley - ''Zodiac Death Valley'' *Le Panique - ''Saturday Matinee'' *Lilac - ''Lilac'' *The Cold Volts - ''People Noise'' *Ash Reiter - ''Heatwave'' *Skin & Bones featuring Izza Kizza and Bernie Worrell - ''Holdin' Back'' (single) *Skin & Bones - ''Stomp / Pop Painkillaz (remix)'' (single) ;2010 *Flexx Bronco - ''Volume 2: Off the Record'' *A B & The Sea - ''Boys and Girls'' *A B & The Sea - ''Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'' *

- ''

Big Echo ''Big Echo'' is the second studio album released by The Morning Benders, currently known as POP ETC, in 2010. It was co-produced by Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor.Ryan, Larry (February 26, 2010). "Caught in the Net: A lo-fi wall of sound effe ...

'' * Big K.R.I.T. & Grillade - ''The Wuz Here Sessions'' *

Michael Franti & Spearhead Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

- ''

The Sound of Sunshine ''The Sound of Sunshine'' is the third studio album by the American funk and disco group The Sunshine Band. The album was produced by its vocalist Harry Wayne Casey, who did not perform vocals for the album, and Richard Finch. It was released ...

'' *Gomorran Social Aid Club - ''The Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club'' *The Gomorrans - ''Giving Birth To Love'' *Victor Harris - ''Midnight at Malibu: The Essential Victor Harris'' (Omega Records) ;2009 *The Morning Benders - ''iTunes exclusive'' *Trainwreck Riders - ''The Perch'' *A B & The Sea - ''Suzie/Yellow-Haired Girl'' (single) *So Many Wizards - ''Tree'' *Skin & Bones featuring Chris Chu, Bernie Worrell, and 88 keys - ''Lemonade'' (single) ;2008 *Michael Franti & Spearhead - '' All Rebel Rockers'' *

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) *

Loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family R ...

- ''Secrets Of The Sea'' (2008) *

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) *Mister Loveless - ''Two Words'' *The Morning Benders - ''Talking Through Tin Cans'' * The Blakes - ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) *

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) * Rupa & the April Fishes - ''Extraordinary Rendition'' *LoCura - ''Animas'' *Alison Harris - ''Smoke rings in the sky'' *Morley - ''Seen'' *Big Light - ''Big Light'' *

Amos Lee Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 20, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock, and soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in English ...

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) ;2007 *

Black Lips Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999. History The band formed in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Rer ...

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) *

Chow Nasty Chow Nasty is a blues-rock trio based in San Francisco. The group, composed of singer/guitarist Damon Harris, bassist Joey Enos, and multi-instrumentalist Zac Hewitt, formed in Chicago in 2003. Harris, Enos, and Hewitt, all native Californians, ...

- ''Super Electrical Recordings'' *

The Mother Hips The Mother Hips is an American rock band based in the San Francisco Bay Area. History Formation and debut Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar), Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals), Isaac Parsons (bass) and Mike Wofchuck (drums) met in 1990 while attendi ...

- ''Kiss the Crystal Flake'' *

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) * Mew - ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) *

Jack Ingram Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...

- ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) * Gomez - ''Live Session'' (iTunes exclusive) *

Leni Stern Leni Stern (born 28 April 1952) is a German jazz guitarist and singer. Early life Stern was born Magdalena Thora, in Germany on 28 April 1952. She was interested in music from an early age, beginning piano studies at the age of six and takin ...

- ''Africa'' *

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

- ''Electric Ballroom'' *

Jetboy This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series. Astronomer The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...

- ''The Glam Years'' *The Most Holy Trinity - ''Rituals for Parting'' *Gravy Train!!!! - ''All The Sweet Stuff'' ;Early 2000s (decade) *Transdub Massiv - ''Negril To Kingston City'' * Re:ignition - ''Empty Heart Loaded Gun'' *FM Fatale - ''Soft Life for Killers'' *Karpov - ''Soliloquy'' *Evening - ''Other Victorians'' *Vienna Teng - ''Dreaming Through The Noise'' *Hey Willpower - ''P.D.A. (US Bonus Track)'' (single) ;1990s *

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appear ...

- ''Fantômas'' *

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

- ''California'' * Sylvester - ''Step II'' *

George Winston George Winston (born December 26, 1949) is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana ( Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known fo ...

- ''Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi'' *George Winston - ''Forest'' *George Winston - ''Summer'' *Mr. Bungle - ''Mr. Bungle'' * Primus - ''Sailing the Seas of Cheese'' *

Autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

- ''

Mental Funeral ''Mental Funeral'' is the second album by Autopsy, released in 1991 by Peaceville Records. Track listing *All music by Autopsy. Lyrics by Chris Reifert – except track 5, Eric Cutler Personnel ;Autopsy * Chris Reifert – vocals, drums *D ...

'' *Primus - ''Frizzle Fry'' *

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

- ''Serious Hits... Live!'' ;1980s *

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

- ''Don't Be Cruel'' *

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

- ''Touch the World'' *

- ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' *

- ''Rainbow Delta'' *

- ''Symbiosis'' *

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

and

The Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...

- "Rockin' And Romance" *

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

- ''

Flying in a Blue Dream ''Flying in a Blue Dream'' is the third studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 30, 1989 through Relativity Records. It is one of Satriani's most popular albums and his second highest-charting release to date, reaching No. 23 o ...

'' *Daniel Selby - ''Finishing Touches'' *Whispers - ''Just Gets Better with Time'' *George Winston - ''Winter to Spring'' *George Winston - ''December'' *George Winston - ''Autumn'' *Erasure - ''Dreamlike State'' (B side to ''Star'') *

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

- ''Characters'' ;1970s *

Shigeru Suzuki is a Japanese musician, songwriter and guitarist. He first became known as a member of the influential rock band Happy End in the early 1970s, before starting a solo career and becoming a prolific session musician. As of 2006, Suzuki had contr ...

- '' Band Wagon'' *

- ''Come Back Jonee'' and ''Shrivel-Up'' from '' Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!'' *

Coke Escovedo Joseph Thomas "Coke" Escovedo (April 30, 1941 – July 13, 1986) was an American percussionist, who came from a prominent musical family including five musician brothers and his niece, Sheila E. He played in various genres, including R&B, ja ...

- ''Comin' at Ya'' *

- ''Disco Fantasy'' *

Pablo Cruise Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer * Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo Bren ...

- ''A Place in the Sun'' *

Lenny White Leonard "Lenny" White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". He has won ...

- ''Big City'' *Patrick Gleeson - ''Patrick Gleeson's Star Wars'' *Patrick Gleeson - ''Beyond the Sun - An Electronic Portrait of Holst's "The Planets"'' *

- ''Waiting'' *

- ''Thrust'' *Herbie Hancock - ''Head Hunters'' *Herbie Hancock - ''Sextant'' *Herbie Hancock - ''Crossings'' *Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express - ''Happiness Heartaches''

References

External links

Different Fur — official site
{{Authority control Mission District, San Francisco Recording studios in California Companies based in San Francisco Music of the San Francisco Bay Area