Hi, I’m Stephen Angus — a Colorado-based audio engineer and musician who’s spent most of his life chasing sound, playing with good people, and shaping performances that feel honest and alive.

My roots are in classical and jazz saxophone, grounded in the musical legacies of Michigan — a foundation that began early with a father who was a professional drummer, teacher, and band director. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by excellent teachers in a community that valued music.

I studied music performance at Michigan State University on a jazz scholarship, and over the years I’ve lived, worked, and performed in Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, and Detroit, each place leaving its mark on my ear and instincts. I’ve performed in big bands, jazz quartets, touring rock groups, Americana projects, twang country bands, New Orleans-style second-line ensembles, pit orchestras, traditional Irish groups, polka bands, Mexican groups, and Motown tribute bands — playing everything from pop covers to avant-garde improvisation. I cover all the saxes, plus flute, clarinet, a smattering of keys, and hand percussion, and I’m equally at home reading charts, transcribing parts, or playing by ear, listening and responding in real time through the unspoken language of music.

I’m closely connected to the original Colorado Sound — Western roots, Front Range grit, and open-space sensibilities — and to the rich traditions of New Mexican music, which I’ve had the privilege of playing for many years. I’ve shared stages with its bands in casinos, racetracks, state fairs, and American Legion halls. It’s a musical community and genre I respect and cherish in equal measure. These experiences continue to shape how I play and how I record.

Technical work has always paralleled my creative life. During my time living and working in Washington DC, I ran a small scenery and fabrication company, building pieces for clients including the Pentagon and the Kennedy Center. I also worked as a voice-over actor for radio and became certified to record books for the Library of Congress Books for the Blind — work that sharpened my sense of pacing, breath, and nuance. I was also acting professionally on stage and in films during this period.

My passion for engineering and recording has grown into a major part of my professional life. I’ve been involved in recording sessions and live sound situations ranging from intimate living rooms to outdoor stages in front of 5,000 people. About fifteen years ago I began investing seriously in the craft — time, money, and a lot of sweat — working regularly out of OhmTown Studio in Longmont, building my chops session by session and in the countless hours since, creating albums, singles, and live captures for bands and artists in studios, clubs, halls, and makeshift spaces of every kind. Over the years I’ve developed methods, signal chains, and workflows that consistently produce excellent results, supported by a deep, carefully curated mic locker, high-quality preamps, monitoring systems, and a mobile recording rig that lets me work anywhere music happens. I’ve learned through thousands of hours of reading, research, listening, experimenting, problem-solving, and simply doing the job.

But I owe a great deal of my approach to a childhood friend who became a Grammy-winning engineer and studio owner in New York. He brought to the work an attitude that was open, positive, and non-judgmental, yet deeply discerning about sound and craft. In many ways, every recording I make is a quiet tribute to our relationship.

At heart, I’m someone who loves sound — the way it moves through air, brings people together, and turns a moment into something lasting.