PROFILE
Colin Buchanan
As the band’s youngest member, Colin Bu-
chanan had to miss his high-school gradua-
tion ceremony when popular PEI indie rock
outfit Paper Lions (then called the Chucky
Danger Band) recorded their debut album at
the CBC’s Halifax studio. In the 13 years since
those sessions, Buchanan has developed a
successful career as a producer and engineer
out of a successful career in music.
“That was my first exposure to the world
of recording in a proper studio,” he recalls,
“and as far as I’m concerned, was well worth
the sacrifice of missing that little milestone.”
Buchanan was born and raised on PEI
and started strumming a guitar at an early
age, learning a few tricks from John and Rob
MacPhee, his friends down the road in the
small town of Belfast. The three, along with
friend David MacDonald, formed Paper Lions
in 2004 and have enjoyed a fruitful career in the
years since as one of the biggest-ever musical
exports from Canada’s smallest province.
A die-hard music fan for as long as he
can remember, Buchanan says he was always
mystified by the record-making process,
which made the sessions at the CBC studios
particularly revelatory.
“I was just a kid, so merely observed and
didn’t come close to touching that SSL con-
sole they had at the time, but I remember
having grand visions for all the different guitar
layers I was going to do,” he says with a laugh.
“And they indulged me, though looking back,
I realize they didn’t really have to.”
As Paper Lions’ career flourished, so did
Buchanan’s interest in production and engi-
neering, growing from a curiosity to a hobby
to, ultimately, a career. He points to two key
people that had a significant impact on that
transition: Toronto-based producer, engineer,
and mixer Dan Weston and Charlottetown-
based counterpart (and frequent Professional
Sound contributor) Adam Gallant.
Weston produced the Lions’ 2010 EP, Tro-
phies, cut at Jukasa Media Group in Southern
Ontario. “It’s an unreal studio with amazing
gear,” Buchanan enthuses. “Dan and I really
got along during those sessions. He saw my
curiosity and indulged me all kinds – listening,
taking notes – and when it came time to mix
the record, he asked me to help out, which I
realize now was super generous.”
Buchanan was thrilled by the idea, and
drove by himself from PEI back to Jukasa
for the sessions; however, the console died
during their work on the very first song. Told
it would be weeks until it was back in action,
By Andrew King
Buchanan made the nearly 20-hour return trip
empty-handed. A month later, he made the
same journey – this time with better results.
As for Gallant, their first formal collabora-
tion was on an album for fellow PEI rock outfit
The North Lakes. “I really wanted to produce
something myself but really had no Pro Tools
chops or anything,” Buchanan explains. “But
I knew how to work with bands and write
songs and arrange things, so I asked Adam if
he’d help me do all the things I couldn’t do
– which was pretty much everything except
barking orders at the band [laughs].”
In lieu of compensation, his only request
was that the band fly him to Ontario to mix
the record with Weston, making that album,
Grand Prix, a collaboration with his two big-
gest studio influences.
In the years since, Buchanan and Gallant
have worked closely together to the point
that the former is now based out of the latter’s
space, The Hill Sound Studio in Charlottetown.
The first project he engineered entirely on
his own was innovative rock outfit Coyote’s
Proof of Life in 2014. Another milestone was
attending a week-long Mix with the Masters
seminar in the South of France, where he
and Gallant got to study under Greg Wells
(Katy Perry, Adele) and Andrew Scheps (U2,
Metallica).
And then there was Paper Lions’ ac-
claimed 2016 release Full Colour, which found
his work as a musician and producer/engineer
harmoniously intersecting. “That was a real
crossroads for me, going from the more
organic indie rock sound to a full-scale pop
production, trying to dive into that world of
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Sound.
20 PROFESSIONAL SOUND
big-sounding ‘80s classics,” he says.
More recent highlights include albums
and tracks with artists from the wider East
Coast region like Adyn Townes, Kinley, Little
Cities, Quiet Parade, Driftwood People, and
Awoke.
While he’s currently involved in a slew of
different bands and projects in various creative
capacities, his two “main projects” are Paper
Lions and emerging dreampop band Sor-
rey – both of which find him performing as a
member, writing songs, and taking the reins on
production and mixing. On the studio side, he’s
also been collaborating remotely with a band
called Lizzy & the Fanatics from Montreal, and
is just finishing up a project with a PEI folk artist
named Shane Pendergast.
Asked about life outside of the studio
and jam space, he laughs and says, “Even my
‘spare time’ is music-based. Most of my pals
are musicians and in music, and most of the
conversation revolves around it, too.”
That said, he has taken up golf and yoga of
late, as both offer a peaceful respite from the
hustle of studio life and an ever-buzzing phone.
“I try to keep as humble as possible,” Bu-
chanan says when asked about future career
goals. “I had very humble beginnings, taking
opportunities more for education and growth
than money, and I try to maintain that ethos.
I’m proud of the skillset I’ve honed, but I know I
can always get better and really like being able
to hear improvement with each new thing.”
There have been plenty of other sacrifices
in pursuit of that growth since those fateful
sessions in Halifax, but looking back, Buchanan
has no regrets; it’s all been more than worth it.