Mobtown Studios is an artist-friendly recording, mixing and mastering studio owned and operated by producer Mat Leffler-Schulman and designer Emily Leffler-Schulman.

We moved the studio from Washington, DC to downtown Baltimore in 2006 with the intention of providing a warm living room environment in which local artists and bands could record affordably and comfortably. Shortly after, we opened our doors to the Baltimore music and recording community.

The studio is located in a large light-filled 1890s converted rowhouse in Baltimore’s historic Charles Village neighborhood, near Penn Station and the Station North Arts District. Our four-room 1,000 square foot facility was masterfully planned by acoustical engineer Julien Robilliard (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) and employs a variety of innovative and modular acoustical treatments to shape your sound.

Mobtown occupies a niche between the sterility and prohibitive costs of large commercial big-box studios and the limited flexibility often found in home studios. (While we firmly believe that amazing things can happen in a basement with a laptop, nothing can replace a finely tuned room run by a producer or engineer with a trained ear when you want the sound and experience of a professional studio.)

We offer an organic mix of vintage and modern in both our gear and our approach. We believe that the war between analog and digital is a bogus one in an industry that is continuously evolving. Each has its place and Mobtown bridges the gap as a hybrid studio. But we certainly love our vintage tube gear!

We also love to find new possibilities in unconventional instruments and tools. Whether it’s an African xylophone, HVAC ducts, a Quaker oatmeal box or a century-old pump organ, if it can make noise, it can make music.

Mat Leffler-Schulman

Producer / Mixer / Co-owner

Mat has spent the better part of his life fascinated by recording and manipulating sound. He received a BS from the renowned Music Recording program at Middle Tennessee State University and after went on to work with Warner Bros. Records. Known as a “musician’s producer”, he’s a drummer, analog synth obsessed and takes great pride in his collection of theremins, vocoders and tube preamps. He listens to an eclectic and diverse range of music exemplified by the artists he has worked with including Future Islands (Thrill Jockey) to Waka Flocka (Warner Bros.) to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Paul Mercer

Engineer / Producer

Paul has been producing bands and artists in the Northeast for longer than he can remember. With a strong background in music theory and a developed multi-instrumental skill set, he brings a communicative, open-minded and deliberate vibe to recording sessions. Having spent good time honing his skills on “both sides of the glass”, he is known for going to any length to capture the most emotive performance.

Sean Mercer

Engineer / Producer

As a songwriter, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, Sean has been active in the Baltimore music scene for ten years, sharing stages with Of Montreal (Polyvinyl) and Wild Nothing. Recently he has worked with up and coming musicians Sun Club, Lauren Ruth Ward (The Voice), and Julia Brown. More than just a knob-turning engineer, Sean has an ear for recognizing talent and helping to spark creativity and experimentation in the studio, yielding one-of-a-kind recordings. Sean graduated with a Music/Audio Engineering degree from the University of Maryland in under four years. This ability to come in under deadline and above expectations has become instrumental to his recording process.