Howard Bilerman (born September 25, 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

musician, sound engineer, and record producer based in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

."Goldfish finishes what it started 21 years ago"
Jordan Zivitz, ''Montreal Gazette'', April 26, 2017"Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: Jama Ko – review (Out Here)"
''The Guardian'', Robin Denselow, 24 Jan 2013 He co-owns the

hotel2tango The Hotel2Tango (sometimes referred to as Thee Mighty Hotel2Tango and abbreviated H2T) is a 24-track analogue recording studio situated in the Mile End district of Montreal, Quebec. The current facility is the second to bear the name, and was pr ...

recording studio, and played drums for the band

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...

. Across his recording career, Bilerman has worked on albums by several prominent Canadian artists, including

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also locate ...

Wolf Parade Wolf Parade is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Montreal. The band released three full-length albums before taking a five-year hiatus in 2011. They announced their return in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP in May of that year, and a ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, Bell Orchestre, U.S. Girls and

The Weather Station The Weather Station is a Canadian folk music band fronted by Tamara Lindeman, formed in 2006. The band membership has changed over the years, and as of 2022 includes Lindeman (lead vocals, piano), Ben Whiteley (bass), Johnny Spence (keyboards), ...

Early life and education

Bilerman grew up in Montreal where he attended

St. George's School of Montreal St. George's School of Montreal is an independent school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada founded in 1930. It consists of two campuses: the elementary school campus in Westmount, Quebec, and the high school campus in Montreal just 15 minutes' walk fro ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Concordia University in 1994.

Career

Beginning in 1996, Bilerman started a studio called ''Mom & Pop Sounds'', first in his parents' basement, then in a loft in

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

. In addition to his own material under the name EAVESDROPPER, he recorded tracks for local bands such as The Paper Route, Bionic, UVBC, The Spaceshits,

Tricky Woo Tricky Woo was a Canadian garage punk band, based in Montreal, Quebec. The "classic lineup" of the band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Dickson, guitarist Adrian Popovich, bass guitarist Eric Larock and drummer Patrick Conan. Tricky ...

& Goldfish. As of 2000, Bilerman runs the

recording studio in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

along with Efrim Menuck and Thierry Amar of

and A Silver Mt. Zion, and Radwan Moumneh. Bilerman was the drummer for the band Arcade Fire between 2003 & 2004; he recorded and drummed on their debut album, '' Funeral'' as well as acting as sound engineer. He has also drummed on songs by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band,

Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the release of '' Sweet ...

, Basia Bulat, Sons of an Illustrious Father, Lilah Larson,

Peter Peter Peter Peter may refer to: *Peter Peter (Canadian musician) (born 1984), Canadian singer-songwriter *Peter Peter (Danish musician) Peter Schneidermann better known as Peter Peter (born 12 August 1960) is a Danish rock musician and former member ...

, Rich Aucoin,

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the oth ...

and Angela Desveaux. As a recording engineer or producer, Bilerman has a credit on over 500 records, including those by Handsome Furs,

Coeur de Pirate Cœur is the French word for heart, and may refer to: * '' Cœurs'', a 2006 French film by Alain Resnais * Coeur (playing cards), a brand of playing card produced by VEB Altenburg in East Germany People with the surname * Jacques Cœur ( – 1 ...

Lou Doillon Lou Doillon (born 4 September 1982) is a French-English singer, actress and model. Personal life Doillon is the daughter of French writer/director Jacques Doillon and English actress/singer Jane Birkin. She has six brothers and sisters: K ...

Perfect Pussy Perfect Pussy was an American rock band from Syracuse, New York. The band consisted of vocalist Meredith Graves, guitarist Ray McAndrew, drummer Garrett Koloski, bass guitarist Greg Ambler and keyboardist Shaun Sutkus. The band was known for ...

, Charlotte Cornfield,

British Sea Power Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rival ...

, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band,

Thalia Zedek Thalia Zedek (born 1961) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi both of which, according to ''Spin'' magazine, "made big ...

, CPC Gangbangs,

, U.S. Girls,

Grant Hart Grantzberg Vernon Hart (March 18, 1961 – September 13, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-songwriter for the punk rock band Hüsker Dü. After the band's breakup in 1988, he released his first solo album '' ...

Bassekou Kouyate Bassekou Kouyaté (born 1966) is a musician from Mali. His band is known as Ngoni ba. He was born into the Kouyate family in Garana, Barouéli Cercle, 60 kilometres from Ségou, in 1966.Frank Bessem's Musiques d'AfriqueBassekou Kouyate/ref> At th ...

The Wooden Sky The Wooden Sky are a Canadian indie folk band based in Toronto, Ontario. The band originated after lead singer Gavin Gardiner, of Morden, Manitoba, wrote songs for a school project while attending Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan Uni ...

The Barr Brothers The Barr Brothers is an indie folk band founded in Montreal, Quebec in 2006, consisting of two American brothers Andrew (drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards) and Brad Barr (guitar, vocals), as well as bassist Morgan Moore, pedal steel guitaris ...

, Basia Bulat,

Leif Vollebekk Leif Vollebekk is a Canadian indie folk singer-songwriter, whose 2017 album ''Twin Solitude'' was a shortlisted finalist for the 2017 Polaris Music PrizeSarah Davachi, Bell Orchestre, Sons of an Illustrious Father,

Dan Boeckner Dan Boeckner (; born 5 February 1978) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and podcaster. He is best known as one of the frontmen of Wolf Parade, which he helped found in 2003. Since 2013, he has also been a member of the Montreal-based ba ...

's band Operators, and Halifax's Nap Eyes. In 2012, Bilerman travelled to Mali to record an album by ngoni player

, despite political unrest in the country at the time. Bilerman is a frequent host of

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, most ...

public lectures, where he interviews fellow producers & musicians. Those include

Bob Johnston Donald William 'Bob' Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel. Early days Johnston was born into a professional mus ...

, John Simon,

Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style. Early life Loog Oldha ...

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

Brian Paulson Brian Paulson is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer from Minnesota, best known for recording albums by Slint, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Superchunk and Wilco. Paulson grew up in Bemidji, Minnesota, but moved about 200 miles so ...

Guy Picciotto Guy Charles Picciotto ( ) (born September 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC. He is best known as the guitarist and vocalist in Fugazi and Rites of Spring. Career Rites of Spring ...

& Rough Trade Records founder

Geoff Travis Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978. Biography Travis was ...

. He has also been a frequent instructor at

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. In 2016 Bilerman was one of the engineers on

's Grammy award winning song " You Want It Darker"."It was kind of nice to sort of feel something was this important"
''Radio Noon Montreal'', October 20, 2016, Season 2016, Episode 300266617

Production discography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilerman, Howard 1970 births Living people Canadian male drummers Canadian record producers Anglophone Quebec people Musicians from Montreal 21st-century Canadian drummers 21st-century Canadian male musicians