Beau Sorenson

Beau Sorenson
Beau at Smart Studios in 2009
Background information
Born	1980 (age 36–37)
Genres	Experimental, electronic, ambient, rock, indie rock, indie pop, alternative rock, punk rock, noise music, drone music
Occupation(s)	Recording engineer, record producer, musician, remixer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Hometapes, Burger Records, Crash Symbols
Associated acts	Beaunoise, Exurbs
Website	beaunoise.com

Beau Sorenson (born 1980) is an American record producer and engineer. He has worked with Death Cab For Cutie, Bob Mould, Superchunk, Sparklehorse, Jars of Clay, Yellow Ostrich, The Lonely Forest, Field Report, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and Elsinore. Originally from Wisconsin, Sorenson spent his early career at Smart Studios in Madison, later moving to Portland, Oregon to become an independent producer and engineer. He releases electronic music, collaborations, and remixes under the name Beaunoise, and is a part of "band-like" project, Exurbs.

Beau Sorenson was born and grew up in northwest Wisconsin. Beau took piano and guitar lessons, played in his high school band, and tried his hand playing in a few bands when he was a teenager, but didn't take the normal garage band route to becoming a recording engineer. Living in a remote area provided him with space for making lots of noise taking apart and building all types of electronics, and for experimenting with four-track recorders, synthesizers, and drum machines.

Sorenson attended Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College from 1999–2001, obtaining an Associate of Science degree in IT and computer support. Later he moved to Madison to study music recording at Madison Media Institute. About having attended a recording school, Sorenson said, "there are far more people graduating from recording school than there are opportunities. On the other hand, the old model of interning at a studio is becoming extinct, so there isn't a clear path to being a recording person. Has there ever been, though? It's always been a little strange and convoluted. When I worked at Smart, Mike [Zirkel] always said, "You don't choose to make records – it chooses you.""