Brian D. McTear

Brian McTear is a Philadelphia musician, studio owner, record producer, and non-profit founder. He is best known for his 2009-19 recording documentary series Shaking Through, and his work on music with Grammy winners The War on Drugs, Joan Osborn, and contributions to Kendrick Lamar's first single, "The Recipe". He was a child in the 1970 and 80s, one of 7 kids in a family with profound financial struggles. At 2 years old he was diagnosed with the deadly disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF) when the life-expectancy was only 6. And while medical advancements inched his outlook forward, by the time he turned 11, his sister was born with CF as well. Bolstered by family and community, McTear rallied through his teens, making music, playing in bands and building his first studio in the early days of 90s DIY culture. In his 20's he built Miner Street Recordings, his studio to this day where he produced key sample hooks used in Kendrick Lamar's breakout single, "The Recipe", mixed records by Joan Osborne, and future Grammy winners The War on Drugs, produced seminal music by Sharon Van Etten, and Kurt Vile, and mentored the now Grammy winning recording engineer Jonathan Low (Taylor Swift). In 2009, Brian founded the nonprofit, Weathervane Music, which produced Shaking Through, a donation-funded documentary recording series - and the inspiration for Equal Loudness.