# Nick Sylvester

Nick Sylvester is an American record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music executive. He is best known for his writing and production work with Channel Tres and Yaeji, and as the creative co-founder of Godmode Music.

## Early life and education

Sylvester was born and raised in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. In high school, he played trumpet professionally in wedding and jazz bands.
Sylvester attended St. Joseph's Prep and Harvard University, where he was a writer for The Harvard Lampoon concurrently with Colin Jost, Simon Rich, and Zach Kanin. In 2002, Sylvester raced Albert Hammond Jr. and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes in a go-kart race hosted by the Lampoon in the streets of Cambridge.

## Career
### Journalism, writing

Sylvester wrote about pop, rap, dance, indie and experimental music for the music publication Pitchfork from 2002 to 2006 and served as an editor from 2004 to 2006.
In 2006, while he was a writer and senior associate editor at The Village Voice, he was suspended for his essay “Do You Wanna Kiss Me?”, a piece about Neil Strauss's The Game, after the essay was revealed to contain fabrications about a secret society of pickup artists. Later that year, he was hired as a writer by The Colbert Report, and continued to write articles for n+1, The Wire, and New York Magazine.

### Songwriting, record production

From 2008 to 2012, Sylvester produced, co-wrote, and played drums in the Brooklyn punk rock music group Mr. Dream. In 2009, Sylvester lived with James Murphy in Los Angeles during the recording of the music that would become LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening. His time in Los Angeles with Murphy was when Sylvester extensively learned how to record, mix, and produce. Sylvester also wrote an essay for the release of Shut Up and Play the Hits, and he also performed in the men's chorus for the then-final LCD Soundsystem shows in 2011.
In 2014, he produced La Isla Bonita by Deerhoof, as well as the Northtown and Ratchet by Shamir. In 2016, Sylvester moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his career as a songwriter and record producer. He has co-written, produced, recorded, mixed, and remixed for a variety of artists, including Channel Tres, Yaeji, Shopping, Honey Dijon, Denzel Curry, Tyler, The Creator, JPEGMafia, and The Dare.
In 2017, he co-founded Godmode Music, an artist development company that blended traditional record label and management, based originally on his vanity label for Mr. Dream. Sylvester co-wrote and produced the recordings of the artists signed to the company. At Godmode, he also co-developed the music workflow app Bounce. He exited the company in 2022 and started a new label, called smartdumb, in 2023.
In 2022, it was announced that Sylvester had scored the 30 for 30 documentary “American Son” about tennis player Michael Chang, directed by Jay Caspian Kang.

## Personal life

Sylvester married ESPN analyst Mina Kimes in 2015, and lives in Los Angeles with their dog Lenny. Their first child, a boy, was born in fall 2023.

## Discography
### Songwriter and record producer

| Year | Artist | Song | Album |
| | Uffie | "Oopsie" | Oopsie/Alchemy |
| 2023 | Uffie | "Alchemy" | Oopsie/Alchemy |
| 2023 | Isola | "Last Winter" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "Too Soon" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "Red Balloon" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "Aquarius" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "Heaven" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "In the Dead of Night" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "For Thee I Sing" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "Prayer" | LP1 |
| 2023 | Isola | "Sundowner" | LP1 |
| 2023 | The Dare | "Sex" | Sex EP |
| 2023 | Avalon Emerson | "Karaoke Song" | & the Charm |
| 2023 | Channel Tres | "Sleep When I'm Dead" | Real Cultural Shit |
| 2023 | Channel Tres | "6am" | Real Cultural Shit |
| 2023 | Channel Tres | "Just Can't Get Enough" | Real Cultural Shit |
| 2023 | Channel Tres | "Big Time" | Real Cultural Shit |
| 2023 | Channel Tres | "All My Friends" | Real Cultural Shit |
| 2022 | Channel Tres | "Acid In My Blood" | Acid / Ganzfeld |
| 2022 | Channel Tres | "Ganzfeld Experiment" | Acid / Ganzfeld |
| 2022 | Channel Tres | "No Limit" | non-album single |
| 2022 | Honey Dijon | "Show Me Some Love" | Black Girl Magic |
| 2022 | PawPaw Rod | "Message (Better Days)" | Another PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2022 | PawPaw Rod | "Beautiful" | Another PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2022 | PawPaw Rod | "Lovetap" | Another PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2022 | PawPaw Rod | "Shining Star" | Another PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2021 | LoveLeo | "BUZZCUT" | non-album single |
| 2021 | LoveLeo | "TUNG TIED" | non-album single |
| 2021 | PawPaw Rod | "HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS" | A PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2021 | PawPaw Rod | "Glass House" | A PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2021 | PawPaw Rod | "Thin Lines" | A PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2021 | PawPaw Rod | "Lemonhaze" | A PawPaw Rod EP |
| 2020 | Isola | "Ischia" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Isola | "Any Day" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Isola | "Canis Major" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Isola | "Said It Again" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Isola | "Two Birds" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Isola | "La Notte" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Isola | "Ricorda - Tell Me" | EP1 |
| 2020 | Channel Tres | "i can’t go outside - intro" | I Can't Go Outside |
| 2020 | Channel Tres | "2000 chevy malibu" | I Can't Go Outside |
| 2020 | Channel Tres | "skate depot" | I Can't Go Outside |
| 2020 | Channel Tres | "broke down kid interlude" | I Can't Go Outside |
| 2020 | Channel Tres | "fuego" (feat. Tyler, the Creator) | I Can't Go Outside |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "BOYFREN" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "RECENTLY DELETED" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "AHHHHHHH" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "HEAD OVER HEELS" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "ROSIE" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "LEMONS" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "BABYFREEZE" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2020 | LoveLeo | "ROCKBOTTOM" | LOOK AT THIS MESS IVE MADE |
| 2019 | Channel Tres | "Orpheus" | Black Moses |
| 2019 | Channel Tres | "Brilliant Nigga" | Black Moses |
| 2019 | Channel Tres | "Black Moses" (ft. JPEGMafia) | Black Moses |
| 2019 | Channel Tres | "Sexy Black Timberlake" | Black Moses |
| 2019 | Channel Tres | "Raw Power" | Black Moses |
| 2018 | Channel Tres | St. Julian (Intro) | Channel Tres EP |
| 2018 | Channel Tres | "Controller" | Channel Tres EP |
| 2018 | Channel Tres | "Jet Black" | Channel Tres EP |
| 2018 | Channel Tres | "Topdown" | Channel Tres EP |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Peru" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Pumper" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Nail Polish" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Missile" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Dial My Number" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Blaze Up" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Clermont" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Time To Fade" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Technique" | Autopilote |
| 2018 | Mai Lan | "Pas d'amour" | Autopilote |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "Feelings Change" | EP2 |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "Raingurl" | EP2 |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "Drink I'm Sippin' On" | EP2 |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "After That" | EP2 |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "Passionfruit" | EP2 |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "Therapy" | Therapy |
| 2017 | Yaeji | "Last Breath" | Last Breath |
| 2017 | Mai Lan | "Vampire" | Autopilote |
| 2016 | Yaeji | "New York 93" | Yaeji |
| 2016 | Yaeji | "Guap" | Yaeji |
| 2016 | Yaeji | "Noonside" | Yaeji |
| 2016 | Yaeji | "Feel It Out" | Yaeji |
| 2016 | Yaeji | "Full Of It" | Yaeji |
| 2016 | Mai Lan | "Technique" | Vampire EP |
| 2016 | Mai Lan | "Haze" | Vampire EP |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Vegas" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Make A Scene" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "On the Regular" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Call It Off" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Hot Mess" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Demon" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "In For The Kill" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Youth" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Darker" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "Head in the Clouds" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Shamir | "KC" | Ratchet |
| 2015 | Sky Ferreira | "I Blame Myself" (Negative Supply Remix) | non-album remix |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | Paradise Girls | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | Mirror Monster" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Doom" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Last Fad" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Tiny Bubbles" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Exit Only" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Big House Waltz" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "God 2" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Black Pitch" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Deerhoof | "Oh Bummer" | La Isla Bonita |
| 2014 | Shamir | "If It Wasn’t True" | Northtown |
| 2014 | Shamir | "I Know It’s A Good Thing" | Northtown |
| 2014 | Shamir | "Sometimes A Man" | Northtown |
| 2014 | Shamir | "I’ll Never Be Able To Love" | Northtown |
| 2014 | Shamir | "Lived and Died Alone" | Northtown |

### Mr. Dream

| Album | Release Year |
| The Ultimate in Luxury | 2014 |
| Fatherland | 2012 |
| Trash Hit | 2011 |
| No Girls Allowed | 2010 |
| Mr. Dream Goes to Jail | 2009 |