Born in Los Angeles, Nick Norton grew up going to shows in the Ventura County punk scene, playing guitar and sax in bands, and spending summers on Catalina Island. He went to college for music and political theory at UC San Diego, where he discovered minimalism, noise rock, and avant garde classical music, and to grad school for composition at King’s College, London, and UC Santa Barbara. While earning his PhD Nick assisted electronic music pioneers Clarence Barlow and Curtis Roads with their work and got hooked on using audio technology to make art. During his studies Nick founded the experimental concert series Equal Sound, completing his doctorate with a dissertation titled “Concert Production As Composition.”
Nick was working in live sound when the pandemic hit in 2020. Seeing his friends’ livelihoods suddenly cancelled, he put up a fundraiser with Equal Sound and it went viral. With a team of volunteers, Equal Sound’s Corona Relief Fund raised and distributed over $100,000 to out-of-work musicians.
While the concert industry took time to recover, Nick transitioned to work in sound for film and television and wrote and produced his first full-length album, Music For Sunsets. About it, Foxy Digitalis said, "Music For Sunsets is an expansive sonic treat. There is so much thought and craft in each of these 12 tracks, it’s hard to believe this is only his debut. Within these lively ambient soundscapes, moments are held with care, and the inward searching becomes a beautiful sonic glow. It’s a wonderful record.” Mixed by GRAMMY nominated producer Lewis Pesacov, the album is available on all major platforms and via Nick's bandcamp subscription page.
When he’s not composing or playing, Nick jumps between working as a music editor in the film industry, engineering concerts and albums, and making music with his friends. Nick is very active in his community—he serves on the Emerging Technology Committee of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, regularly produces projects in support of charitable causes, and teaches production at Santa Monica and Moorpark Colleges. A student of Zen Buddhism, he enjoys punk rock, cinema, travel, fancy meals, nature, sci-fi, art, dogs, and being in or near the ocean.
