{"id":136019,"date":"2026-02-17T11:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/136019\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:53:17","slug":"how-a-grammy-winning-bad-bunny-song-came-together-in-the-east-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/136019\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Grammy-winning Bad Bunny song came together in the East Village"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fab Dupont was in the nominee area of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles when he heard Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cDeb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos\u201d won album of the year. Within minutes, Dupont\u2019s phone blew up with hundreds of congratulations texts.<\/p>\n

Someone whose work already contributed to a handful of Grammys, he mixed the song \u201cWELTiTA\u201d\u00a0 on the winning album at his Flux Studios in the East Village.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou work on something, it\u2019s recognized as being the best that year,\u201d he said at Flux on 2nd Street. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A musician who plays numerous instruments, sound mixing engineer, music producer, songwriter and owner and operator of Flux Studios, Dupont has worked with (and for) many of the world\u2019s biggest, best-known musicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He and his team have done work for Bad Bunny, David Crosby,\u00a0 Isaac Hayes, Snarky Puppy, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Toots And The Maytals, Bon Jovi, Marc Anthony,\u00a0 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Queen Latifah and Residente as part of a long list.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lorde recorded a lot of her last album in the Fabulous room (designed by Luca Medus) where Dupont mixed the Bad Bunny song along with many other performers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jonas Brothers recently blocked out an entire floor for 10 days in the eight-room,10,00-square-foot studio for a writing camp and music marathon.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey recorded 37 songs,\u201d Dupont said, noting his team worked with them. \u201cThey\u2019ll refine the songs, weed out the ones not as good as they want, take the best ones and release them over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some watched Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl show out of curiosity, he watched with some of the satisfaction of working on the record that helped win that gig.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad Bunny is a very important artist and his album is a very important album,\u201d Dupont said. \u201cIt\u2019s really a cultural phenomenon.\u201d
\n\"Fab<\/a>Here\u2019s how Fab Dupont and The E Village Studio mixed a Bad Bunny Song.Photo courtesy of Fab Dupont\n<\/p>\n

In the mix<\/p>\n

Fab Dupont produces music, but often as with Bad Bunny mixes the music, combining and balancing dozens of tracks to create the final sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s someone who takes a vast array of recorded instruments and mixes it down to two channels, so you can play it on your headphones,\u201d Dupont said of mixing. \u201cI\u2019m basically a chef. I take all the ingredients that the producer made, the recipe, I put it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dupont mixed and co-produced Parlour Magic\u2019s latest work, led by Producer, composer and media artist Luc Bokor-Smith, including a single titled \u201cEmbassy\u201d debuting\u00a0 February 20 and an album titled \u201cThe Embassy\u201d debuting June 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always thought a good analogy is a film editor. The mixer is the editor,\u201d said Bokor-Smith, a Flux resident as well as performer who plans to tour in a four-piece band this year. \u201cI get to experience Fab the producer in addition to fab the mixer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dupont co-produced three David Crosby albums with Michael League of Snarky Puppy (Lighthouse, Here If You Listen and Hello Moon, not yet released).\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI made plenty of suggestions on the Crosby albums, because I was a co-producer,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was a lot of back and forth.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He wants to satisfy himself and artists whose work he is collaborating on. \u201cThe labels hire me, but I work for the artist. My mission is to make the artist happy,\u201d he said. \u201cThe labels want the artist to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bad<\/a>Bad Bunny performs during the halftime show.REUTERS\/Mike Blake
\nTraining and taste<\/p>\n

Dupont and Flux have attracted musicians worldwide from Canada, Brazil, Spain, France, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia and elsewhere to a 2nd Street music Mecca hidden behind a nondescript door.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people come here because they want to work with me personally,\u201d Dupont said. \u201cSome come here because the equipment is unbelievable. Some come here because it feels good, it feels creative. Some come here for all three reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four-story building blends into the block: A service elevator carries performers up and down.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s discrete,\u201d Dupont said. \u201cThat allows them not to have to dash out to their Uber because fans are waiting outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

The building had its place in music history before Flux from punk to classic rock and roll. \u201cThe Strokes recorded their first album in this building.\u00a0 That studio was called Transporter Realm at the time,\u201d Dupont said. \u2018\u201cThe Rolling Stones recorded demos to Bridges to Babylon in this building. The studio was called Dangerous Music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fab<\/a>Fab Dupont and Croz.Photo courtesy of Fab Dupont
\nIf you can make it here\u2026.<\/p>\n

Fabrice Dupont grew up near Paris, studying saxophone (his father picked the instrument and then other instruments). He, in his teens, decided to mix records, making one for a friend and for his piano instructor, Emmanuel Bex.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI proved myself, went to my piano teacher and made that record,\u201d he said. \u201cIt came out pretty good. It got distributed and helped his career take off.\u201d<\/p>\n

He won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, coming to New York City 25 years ago.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here knowing no one,\u201d he said. \u201cI was generous with my time and skill. I made records for free for a couple of years. I helped people. They were grateful and they helped me grow with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2009, he opened Flux at its current location, named for printing music on tape and change. \u201cIt would always be changing,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it would be a good name for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He named its studios such as Dangerous, Magic and Fabulous. \u201cI don\u2019t like to call studios numbers and letters,\u201d he said. \u201cIt involves a hierarchy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He likes being in the East Village, which he calls \u201cthe epicenter of music in New York\u201d near the Mercury Lounge, Arlene\u2019s Grocery, Pianos, Night Club 101 (formerly the Pyramid Club) and formerly Rockwood, Max Fish.<\/p>\n

Bokor-Smith said Dupont worked with local and global performers to create his own epicenter.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cFab has built a community around Flux that extends beyond the people who are here,\u201d Bokor-Smith said. \u201cFlux is different because of how hands-on Fab is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dupont seems at home at the studio (he actually lives in the building) as he goes in and out of studios near stacks of speakers, synthesizers and artwork.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason this is fun is because there is no rule. There is no answer. Sometimes the band comes in and they do it in one take,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes somebody comes in with one lyric idea. They don\u2019t even know the chords. And you put everything together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dupont isn\u2019t fluent in Spanish, but had Bad Bunny\u2019s lyrics translated to better mix to match meaning and mood.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI speak music Spanish. I know how to go louder, brighter, softer, darker. More drums. Less drums,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels good. It feels bad.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He has worked with Bad Bunny since, mixing \u201cAlambre P\u00faa,\u201d (nearly 7 million YouTube views) which the performer used to open his residency at the (Jos\u00e9 Miguel Agrelot) Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. WELTiTA on YouTube has gone through the roof, racking up 66 million views.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really happy that this record got recognition. It made me genuinely feel joy,\u201d Dupont said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s an important record. It\u2019s nice when the universe is balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Dupont is known in the industry, most music fans familiar with the music he worked on don\u2019t know his name, but there are benefits.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI get to go buy my cheese and nobody bothers me,\u201d he said. \u201cI have absolute freedom, except if I go to a music conference.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fab Dupont was in the nominee area of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles when he heard Bad…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[6014,7624,57816,57817,2538,9,24,55,54,56,57818],"class_list":{"0":"post-136019","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-bad-bunny","9":"tag-east-village","10":"tag-fab-dupont","11":"tag-flux-studios","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-city-news","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-weltita"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}