Rob Bisel
Rob Bisel is an American music producer, engineer, mixer and songwriter. A four-time Grammy award winner, he has worked with artists including SZA, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Harry Styles, Don Toliver and Jennie Kim.
Rob Bisel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bisel in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Robert Bisel 1992 (age 33–34) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2015–present |
| Website | robbisel.com |
Rob Bisel is an American music producer, engineer, mixer and songwriter. A four-time Grammy award winner, he has worked with artists including SZA, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Harry Styles, Don Toliver and Jennie Kim.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Bisel was raised in Moraga, California. Although he sang in the school choir and played bass, he was mainly interested in music production. He began recording friends in his bedroom when he was 14, and at 17 got an internship at Studio 880 in Oakland.[3]
Bisel studied music at the University of Michigan. During the summers, he interned for Mark Needham, an engineer and mixer who had worked with artists including Fleetwood Mac and The Killers. Bisel learned from watching Needham mix and later cited him as an influence.[4]
Career
[edit]Rick Rubin, Shangri-La, Kendrick Lamar, Doja Cat, Grammys
[edit]Following his college graduation Bisel moved to LA, where he met Dana Nielsen, an engineer who worked frequently with Rick Rubin at Rubin's Shangri-La studio. He was hired as a runner at the studio in 2014, and later worked with Rubin as an assistant engineer and engineer. Bisel said that Rubin inspired him, "fueling his hunger to dive deeper into production." [3]
In addition to Rubin, at Shangri-La Bisel engineered for artists and producers including Mark Ronson, Travis Scott, and Harry Styles. He also served as an engineer on Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers during the six-month period that Lamar recorded at Shangri-La. In 2022, he worked with Lamar once again, earning a Record of the Year Grammy nomination for "The Heart Part 5" and an Album of the Year nomination for Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Bisel was nominated for Grammy awards in the same two categories for engineering Doja Cat's album Planet Her and the single "Kiss Me More" the previous year.[5][3]
SZA and SOS
[edit]In 2020, Rubin recommended Bisel to SZA, who had booked Rubin's studio and home in Kauai to begin recording her second album, the follow up to her multi-platinum debut, Ctrl. They spent a week in Kauai, "just vibing and coming up with song ideas", before returning to Los Angeles. They picked up their collaboration in LA and were working at SZA's home in Malibu at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. SZA invited Bisel to shelter-in-place at her house, and together they continued to work on the album.[6] In a 2023 interview, Bisel said: "It was a pretty crazy situation, because she was used to going to big studios with tons of people coming in and out, and suddenly it was just the two of us, and I had to step into much more of a Rick Rubin producer role than just be the typical engineer. It gave me the space to present beats to her that I had made, alone or with others. If she liked the beat, she recorded over it. She also ended up really liking the way I recorded and mixed her vocals, which led to me mixing songs as well.” [3]
The album, SOS, was released in December 2022. Bisel engineered the album, mixed 10 songs, and co-produced 11 of the album's 23 tracks. He also co-wrote 15 songs, including the double-platinum single I Hate U and Kill Bill, which was the #1 song on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts for 23 weeks, breaking the chart's record for weeks at #1.[7][8] The album was #1 on the Billboard charts for ten weeks,[9] and #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop for a record-breaking 41 weeks.[10] Bisel hit #1 on the R&B producer chart in May 2023.[11] In 2025, he won the Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS and Best R&B Song for the track "Saturn."[12][5]
Personal life
[edit]Bisel lives in Los Angeles. His recording studio, Ponzu, is named after his dog.[3]
Grammy Awards
[edit]| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | "Saturn" (SZA) | Best R&B Song | Won | [5] |
| 2024 | SOS (SZA) | Album of the Year | Nominated | [5] |
| SOS | Best Progressive R&B Album | Won | [5] | |
| "Kill Bill" (SZA) | Best R&B Performance | Nominated | [5] | |
| "Kill Bill" | Record of the Year | Nominated | [5] | |
| "Kill Bill" | Grammy Award for Song of the Year | Nominated | [5] | |
| "Snooze" (SZA) | Best R&B Song | Won | [5] | |
| "Ghost in the Machine" (SZA and Phoebe Bridgers) | Best Pop Duo/Group Recording | Won | [5] | |
| "Low" (SZA) | Best Melodic Rap Performance | Nominated | [5] | |
| Girls Night Out (Babyface) | Best R&B Album | Nominated | [5] | |
| 2023 | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar) | Album of the Year | Nominated | [5] |
| "The Heart Part 5" (Kendrick Lamar song) | Record of the Year | Nominated | [5] | |
| 2022 | Planet Her (Doja Cat album) | Album of the Year | Nominated | [5] |
| "Kiss Me More" (Doja Cat song) | Record of the Year | Nominated | [5] |
Selected discography
[edit]| Year | Artist | Title | Credit | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Ruen Brothers | Point Dune | Mixing Assistant | [13] | |
| 2016 | DRAM | Big Baby D.R.A.M. | Engineer | [13] | |
| Kanye West | The Life of Pablo | Production assistant | [13] | ||
| 2017 | Eminem | Revival | Editor/assistant engineer | [13] | |
| Neil Young & Promise of the Real | The Visitor | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Jovanotti | Oh, Vita | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Billy Corgan | Ogilala | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Brent Faiyaz | Sonder Son | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Warbly Jets | Warbly Jets | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Sonder | Into | Mastering | EP | [13] | |
| 2018 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun | Editor, assistant engineer, mixing assistant | [13] | |
| Muse | Simulation Theory | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper | A Star Is Born (soundtrack) | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| The Ruen Brothers | All My Shades of Blue | Mixing assistant | [13] | ||
| Neil Young & Promise of the Real | Paradox (soundtrack) | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Towkio | WWW. | Engineer/mixer | [13] | ||
| Garren Sean | End of the Night | Mixing, mastering | [13] | ||
| Brent Faiyaz | Make Luv | Engineer, mastering | [13] | ||
| Sonder | "One Night Only" | Mastering | [13] | ||
| 2019 | JackBoys | JackBoys | Engineer | [13] | |
| Harry Styles | Fine Line | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | Colorado | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Madison Ryann Ward | Beyond Me | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Daniel Caesar | Case Study 01 | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Jovanotti | Jova Beach Party | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Tyler, The Creator | IGOR | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Bakar | "Hell n Back" | Assistant engineer | Single | [13] | |
| Kate Tempest | The Book of Traps and Lessons | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Asante | sleek boy | Mastering | Remixes EP | [13] | |
| Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real | Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Mark Ronson | Late Night Feelings | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Laundry Day | Homesick | Engineer | [13] | ||
| The Avett Brothers | Closer Than Together | Editor, assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Santana | In Search Of Mona Lisa | Editor, assistant engineer | EP | [13] | |
| 2020 | SZA | "Good Days" | Vocal producer, engineer | Single | [13] |
| Megan Thee Stallion | Good News | Engineer | [13] | ||
| SZA | "Hit Different" | Songwriter, additional production, engineer | [13] | ||
| The Strokes | The New Abnormal | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real | Naked Garden | Assistant engineer | [13] | ||
| Louis Tomlinson | Walls | Engineer | [13] | ||
| 2021 | SZA | "I Hate U" | Producer, songwriter, engineer mixing, mastering |
Single | [13] |
| Jean Dawson | "Ghost"" | Producer | Non-album single | [13] | |
| SZA | "The Anonymous Ones" | Producer, engineer | Single | [13] | |
| Kali Uchis | Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) | Engineer, mixing | [13] | ||
| James Blake | Friends That Break Your Heart | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Summer Walker | Still Over It | Engineer | [13] | ||
| Isaiah Rashad | The House Is Burning | Engineer, mixing | [13] | ||
| Various Artists | Space Jam: A New Legacy | Engineer | Soundtrack | [13] | |
| Baird | "Beluga v2 (feat Berhana)" | Mixer, mastering | Single | [13] | |
| Sonder and Jorja Smith | "Nobody But You" | Mixer, mastering | Single | [13] | |
| Doja Cat | Planet Her | Engineer | Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year and Record of the Year (for "Kiss Me More") |
[13][5] | |
| Santana | Blessings and Miracles | Engineer | [13] | ||
| 2022 | SZA | SOS | Producer, songwriter, engineer, mixer, guitar, keyboards | [13] | |
| SZA | "Kill Bill" | Producer, writer, engineer, mixer | Single | [13] | |
| Fousheé | Softcore | Producer | [13] | ||
| Chloe George | Penny | Producer | EP | [13] | |
| Babyface | Girls Night Out | Producer, keyboards, drum programming | [13] | ||
| SZA | Ctrl | Mixer | Deluxe edition | [13] | |
| ImaniCarolyn | Into the Blue Light | Mixer | [13] | ||
| Doechii | She / Her / Black Bitch | Engineer | EP | [13] | |
| Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers | Assistant engineer | Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year |
[13][5] | |
| Kendrick Lamar | "The Heart Part 5" | Engineer | Grammy-nominated for Record of the Year |
[13][5] | |
| Baird | BIRDSONGS, Vol. 3 | Mixer | [13] | ||
| 2023 | Don Toliver | Love Sick | Producer | [13] | |
| Reneé Rapp | "I Hate Boston" | Songwriter | [13] | ||
| Wallice | Mr. Big Shot | Producer | [13] | ||
| Tate McRae | Think Later | Bass, composer, drums, engineer, guitar, lyricist, synthesizer, producer | [13] | ||
| 2024 | SZA | Apple Music Live | Composer, keyboards, lyricist, producer | [13] | |
| 2025 | Jennifer Lopez | "Birthday" | Co-writer, producer | Non-album single |
References
[edit]- ^ Hiatt, Brian (January 29, 2023). "The Making of SZA's Chart-Topping 'SOS'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (February 4, 2024). "SZA Wins Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS at 2024 Grammys". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Inside Track: SZA 'Kill Bill'". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ^ "Mark Needham Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Rob Bisel | Artist | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (October 11, 2023). "Meet SZA's Secret Weapons: Her 'SOS' Producers". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Anderson, Trevor (September 28, 2023). "SZA's 'SOS' Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Conteh, Mankaprr (October 3, 2023). "What's Behind SZA's Biggest Year Yet? Work, Wonder, and 'Weird Shit'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (February 21, 2023). "SZA Makes It Nine Weeks at No. 1, and Rihanna Returns to Top 10". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Tuccillo, Andrea. "SZA's 'SOS' breaks a 'Billboard' chart record". Power 106.9 - Omaha's #1 For Hip Hop & Hits. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Zellner, Xander (May 12, 2023). "Rob Bisel Hits No. 1 on R&B Producers Chart Thanks to SZA Hits". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ France, Lisa Respers (November 10, 2023). "Grammy nominations 2024: See the full list of nominees". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp "Rob Bisel Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2023.