Zach Dawes

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Lore & Background

Zach Dawes grew up in Encino, California, where his musical journey began on the piano before he switched to bass to fill a role in a childhood band. He later majored in Film & Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His career took a significant turn assisting and engineering for T Bone Burnett, playing bass on soundtracks for 'The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond' and 'Inside Llewyn Davis', as well as Lisa Marie Presley's 'Storm & Grace'. Dawes has toured extensively with Mini Mansions, Sparks, The Last Shadow Puppets, and Courtney Barnett. His collaborative spirit shines through his work with Este Haim on the Netflix show 'Nobody Wants This' and his extensive songwriting contributions to Sharon Van Etten's film projects.

In Their Own Story

From composing all three seasons of Amazon's 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' to scoring the 2021 Netflix thriller 'There's Someone Inside Your House', Dawes has shaped the sonic landscapes of modern television. His work extends to historical dramas like 'A Small Light' (2023) and comedies such as 'The Big Door Prize'. In 2019, he served as music supervisor for the South by Southwest award-winning film 'Peanut Butter Falcon'. On the production front, he recently worked on Lana Del Rey's tracks 'Take Me Home Country Roads' (2023), 'Oh Henry' (2025), and 'Bluebird' (2025). His discography with Mini Mansions includes releases like 'The Great Pretenders' (2015) and 'Guy Walks Into A Bar...' (2019), while his bass lines can be heard on Arctic Monkeys' 2018 album 'Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino', marking a rare but direct intersection with the band in question.

Reader's Guide

For those tracking Dawes' credits, note his specific contributions: he co-wrote and produced songs for Sharon Van Etten's 'Remind Me Tomorrow' (2019) and 'We've Been Going About This All Wrong' (2022). His film scoring includes 'Grease Rise of the Pink Ladies' (2023), Angelyne (2022), and HBO's 'Generation' (2021). In his personal life, he married partner Molly Grassini on September 25, 2022. The wedding was a notable gathering attended by members of Arctic Monkeys, Warpaint, and his own band, Mini Mansions. While he is not a member of Arctic Monkeys, his presence at the wedding and his bass work on 'Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino' represent the closest professional links between him and the Sheffield group.

Did You Know?

• Dawes switched from piano to bass because the band he was starting needed a bass player.
• He earned two Grammy nominations for Album of the Year for his producing work with Lana Del Rey.
• His wedding in 2022 was attended by members of Arctic Monkeys, despite him not being a member of the band himself.
• He composed music for all three seasons of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' and the first season of 'Nobody Wants This'.
• Dawes majored in Film & Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz.