Robert L. Smith

His work includes collaborations with major recording artists, charting releases, film projects, and educational initiatives within the music industry.His work includes producing, recording and mixing numerous Billboard top 100 charting songs including 'Teenage Dream' and 'Hey, Soul Sister' with The Warblers for hit television show Glee. Robert has worked on recording projects with Lady Gaga for the single 'Speechless' which topped the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart in 2010 as well as tracks by Aerosmith, David Bowie, U2 and Stacie Rose.

Robert is a founding member of New York's Pyramid Recording Collective, and has his own music production company called Defy Recordings.

Early Life and Education Smith developed an interest in music production and audio engineering during the transition from analog to digital recording technologies. He entered the New York recording industry during the late 1980s, a period often regarded as the final era of large commercial recording studios.

Career

New York Studio Years Beginning in 1987, Smith worked in New York City's major commercial recording facilities during the height of the analog studio era. This period provided extensive experience in recording, editing, mixing, and production across a wide variety of musical genres.

Among his professional influences were producer and engineer Phil Ramone , producer Neil Dorfsman, and producer and engineer Gary Lyons.

His recording work also includes projects involving Christina Aguilera , Nile Rodgers , Sia, Lenny Kravitz, Cyndi Lauper, Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi, Luther Vandross, George Clinton, Billy Porter, and Lang Lang. He contributed to Lady Gaga's single "Speechless," which reached the top of the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart. , including performances by The Warblers of "Teenage Dream" and "Hey, Soul Sister," both of which appeared on the Billboard Hot 100.

Additional film and television credits include Over the Moon, The Get Down, For Colored Girls, Waitress, The Devil Came on Horseback, Baseball: The Tenth Inning, Knuckleball, The Seven Five, Alias Ruby Blade, and No Woman No Cry.

Defy Recordings In 2007, Smith founded Defy Recordings, a production facility in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. and the City College of New York, and has participated in professional development initiatives within the creative industries. Grammy Award winner for Miles Davis's Doo-Bop (1993) Grammy Award nominee for Glee: The Music, Volume 4 (2011) Grammy Award nominee for Liza Minnelli's Gently (1996) Grammy Award nominee for Rickie Lee Jones's It's Like This (2000)