Cole Halvorsen
Engineer/Producer/Musician
775-813-8201
Cole Halvorsen is a recording engineer and music producer hailing from Reno, Nevada. Raised in a musical household, Cole was introduced to the guitar by his father, a country singer who instilled in him a deep love for roots-based music. As a teenager, Cole’s fascination with sound led him to purchase his own recording equipment, where he began capturing songs—both his own and those of his friends—in makeshift home studios. What began as a hobby soon turned into a calling, and by the time he was 19, Cole had moved to Portland, Oregon to pursue a career in music.
In Portland, Cole found his footing at Flora Recording & Playback, the studio of acclaimed and Grammy nominated producer Tucker Martine. Over the following years, he engineered sessions with Martine and collaborated with other respected producers such as John Congleton, Joe Chicarelli, and John McEntire. These experiences gave Cole a rich education in both the technical and artistic sides of music production. His time at Flora sharpened his ear for sonic detail and gave him a deep understanding of analog gear, recording techniques, session workflow, and musical storytelling. His credits include work with a wide range of artists such as Mt. Joy, The Decemberists, Madison Cunningham, Bill Frisell, Yebba, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Whitney, Band Of Heathens, Sleater-Kinney, Tortoise, Charlie Parr and many more.
In 2023, Cole returned to his hometown of Reno to open a new chapter—bringing his knowledge and experience to artists in the Sierra Nevada region. While technically adept at recording music across genres, Cole has a distinct sensibility rooted in Americana—favoring the warmth and intimacy of singer-songwriter, folk, indie, country, jazz, soul, and blues traditions. His production style emphasizes organic textures and human touch, often inspired by the timeless character of analog recordings made on tape—records that carry the hiss of the room, the imperfections of real instruments, and the soul of performances unpolished by digital perfection.