Music House PULL Celebrates 5 Years Of Sonic Succe: Creative Partnership Between Composer Mitch Davis And Producer Scott Brittingham Proves A Winning Combination

Before founding the prolific New York music company PULL with Executive Producer Scott Brittingham 15 years ago in 2001, composer Mitch Davis spent a lifetime developing his craft - a journey that would eventually lead him and Brittingham to launch the intriguing SoHo studio he now calls home base. Along the way, Davis has quietly built a career that has heard his music played around the globe.

Photo Caption: PULL's Mitch Davis and Scott Brittingham (inside right) with U2's The Edge and Bono in New York.

A musical chameleon, Davis' work displays amazing diversity - review his reel, and you'll see he's proficient with a mind-bending array of musical genres. It's a skill he chalks up to his sincere appreciation for and interest in all forms of music.

Long before the word career' ever even crossed my mind, I was fascinated with the technical aspect of music production, Davis says. I wanted to discover what gave different styles their unique fingerprints.

Davis and Brittingham are zeroed in on composing music that can't be found anywhere else for commercials, TV and full-length films. The music houses recent notable projects include Nike, Pepsi, Exxon, American Express, Verizon Wireless, Discover Card, Northwell Health Qualcomm, Dell and UPS. Their TV work includes the 2015 Emmy Winner for ESPN's World Cup coverage, and the launch campaign for USA Network hit series Mr. Robot. On the film side, recent PULL credits include The Butler, The Fifth Estate, Mission Blue, Two Night Stand and Time Out Of Mind.

See PULL's recent work here: http://www.pullpullpull.com/#thework

With PULL we knew we would have more creative freedom, and be able to invest in our creativity - instruments, recording equipment - rather than staff, Brittingham explains. In turn, that would make our studio a place you couldn't wait to hang out in.

Early Focus On Music Production:

At first, Davis followed a natural progression familiar to many serious musicians. It started with 4-track cassette Portastudios, then expanded rapidly: on to 8-track reel-to-reel multitrack recording, then sequencers, to outboard gear, and locking tape to time code. Finally incorporating digital audio recording into the arsenal, he dove further and further into experimentation with different genres.

Davis focused on creating music, which authentically captured a music style's essence. Armed with that knowledge after years of study - both formal and self-taught -- he wielded these techniques as the jumping-off point to take his music in totally new directions. The best way to break the rules is to know them inside and out.

He continued to hone his skills recording his own bands. Eventually, Davis' reputation led him to opportunities in the underground industrial scene blending guitars and synthesizers in what was a very exciting and fertile time for music as a whole.

Where guitar was once his main instrument, Davis began to immerse himself further into the world of analog synthesizers and sound design. He released a couple of beat-heavy records under the alias 1L and appeared, as 1L, in two films documenting the electro scene happening at the time.

Orba Squara And Launch of iPhone:

Never one to remain stagnant, Davis decided to create multiple new aliases to branch off and go further into the abstract worlds of freeform noise and regimented glitch. When he felt he had pushed those to their limits, Davis did a complete turnaround and went in a unique folky singer/songwriter direction with his Orba Squara records.

The debut Orba Squara album, Sunshyness , would go on to become among the most heavily synch-licensed records ever, including landing a placement in the early iconic Apple iPhone commercials.

Along the way, Davis was exploring a whole other side of sound: scoring music to picture, an exciting avenue that gave him a brand new skillset to dissect. His first foray into this world was at the famed NYC music house tomandandy, where as staff composer, Davis was able to bring his unique brand of music - a sound which was once deliberately underground - to a very different audience. It was there that Mitch met Scott Brittingham and the seeds of the productive partnership that became PULL were sown.

The Push for PULL

Formerly a producer at agency McCann Erickson, Brittingham had an ear for talent, and quickly noticed Davis capabilities. Collaborating on multiple high-pressure projects, the pair formed a lasting bond that led them to the same action plan: form a two-person music house, which could be unusually nimble. In 2001, they officially split from tomandandy and launched PULL.

It was a strategy that paid off, and went in directions that neither of them dreamed of. PULL moved into a roomy space just off SoHo's beaten path on the corner of King and Varick streets and quickly built a dedicated client base, leading to a portfolio of music created for elite brands including Nike, Apple, AT&T, ESPN, American Express, UPS, Mercedes, LOreal, Volvo, Wild Turkey, Absolut, Smirnoff, MTV, Vh1, Captain Morgans and many more.

U2, Bobby Womack And Beyond

But as PULLs reputation for composing grew on Madison Avenue, word also spread in the underground about Davis' unique studio. He gradually built it into an atmospheric pod for scoring commercials, filling it with an incredible collection of vintage gear and instruments that's an inspiring slice of heaven for all who enter: analog recording hardware, guitars, synths, mandolins, glockenspiels, accordions, sitar, violins, harmonicas, toy pianos, xylophones, ukuleles, old telephones and dozens of other sound-makers seemingly fill every available square inch - each one of them there to express the sonic ideas that enter the head of Davis and his clients.

Photo caption: Live performances from the late Bobby Womack and

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