Production Expert Podcast

In this edition, Host & audio engineer Ashea is joined by Production Expert Founders Mike Thornton and Russ Hughes & post-production audio engineer Paul Maunder, to address one of the most significant regulatory changes affecting the audio and music production industry: the new EU AI Act. With implementation now in force, this episode cuts through the hype and confusion to explain exactly what the law requires, how it applies to audio professionals, and what both individuals and platf...

In this special "Watercooler Podcast" edition, host Ashea is joined by producers and mixers Dom Morley, Matt Lawrence, and Adrian Hall—for a candid conversation about the isolation of solo audio professionals and the critical importance of peer support and collaboration. Dom, Matt, and Adrian have maintained a monthly "water cooler chat" since working together at Metropolis Studios. This episode explores how this simple monthly ritual became essential to their careers and mental health, discu...

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Todd Urban, General Manager at Softube, educator at Passaic County Community College, and creator of the Urban Sound Studio YouTube channel. With over 30 years of experience in audio production, Todd discusses Softube's philosophy of being "rock and roll scientists," the evolution from Console One to the groundbreaking Flow Studio hardware, and how creative workflow and intentional pre-production can transform recording and mixing practices. Todd sha...

In this Production Expert Podcast Special Edition, Mike Thornton, co-founder of Production Expert invites Orfeas Boteas, founder and CEO of Krotos, and Matthew Collins, head of product, to address significant community concerns following the release of Video to Sound integration for Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. This candid conversation tackles difficult questions about the company's strategic direction, the role of AI in sound design, misleading social media practices, and Krotos' ...

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Todd Urban, General Manager at Softube, educator at Passaic County Community College, and creator of the Urban Sound Studio YouTube channel. With over 30 years of experience in audio production, Todd discusses Softube's philosophy of being "rock and roll scientists," the evolution from Console One to the groundbreaking Flow Studio hardware, and how creative workflow and intentional pre-production can transform recording and mixing practices. Todd sha...

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Mark Gittins, immersive audio engineer and owner of SenSound studios, currently working on broadcast for a major international football tournament, and Pieter Doms, co-founder of AREAL Technologies from Belgium. Together they discuss the invention and development of immersive audio monitoring technology, the AREAL SR1 headphones, and how spatial audio is transforming professional audio production. Pieter shares the fascinating origin story of how ARE...

Quiz Time! In this podcast episode, immersive audio engineer Mark Gittins joins Ashea from Kansas City to go head-to-head with AREAL co-founder and audio engineer Pieter Doms for our World Cup Music Quiz. England vs Belgium just took on a new, immersive meaning!

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Eloise Whitmore and Tony Churnside, award-winning sound designers and co-founders of Naked Productions, for a frank discussion on how AI tools like Descript are fundamentally changing audio production—and not always for the better. Eloise and Tony address the critical issue of how AI-assisted editing is eroding the art of natural dialogue pacing, how younger generations of producers are losing foundational skills, and what audio professionals must do...

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Eloise Whitmore and Tony Chernside, co-founders of Naked Productions, an award-winning sound design and audio production company specializing in BBC radio dramas and acclaimed audio content. Eloise won the Radio Sound Designer and Producer of the Year award in 2013, and Tony is a multi-award-winning sound designer and technical producer behind the acclaimed satirical BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Skewer. Together, Eloise and Tony discuss the evolut...

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Matt Lawrence, a Grammy Award-winning mixer, producer, and engineer who has worked on some of the most influential records of the past 20 years. In this first part of a two-part conversation, Matt discusses his journey into the audio industry, his perspective on the current state of the music industry in 2026, and how the landscape has changed for studios, artists, and record labels over his career. Matt brings invaluable insights from two decades of...

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Matt Lawrence, a Grammy Award-winning mixer, producer, and engineer who has worked on some of the most influential records of the past 20 years. In this first part of a two-part conversation, Matt discusses his journey into the audio industry, his perspective on the current state of the music industry in 2026, and how the landscape has changed for studios, artists, and record labels over his career. Matt brings invaluable insights from two decades of...

"Behind some of the world's greatest hits lies a great question: does constraint breed genius? In this Podcast Edition, Drummer Steven Gilchrist (Graham Coxon, The Damned, and Boney M) and Grammy winning engineer Liam Nolan (Rihanna, Stormzy, the Black Eyed Peas) sit down with our Host Ashea to reveal the behind-the-scenes of Adele's 'Hello,' the meticulous process behind the legendary Drumopolis project with Tony Visconti, and what it really takes to engineer records that resonate globally. ...

The number of women working as audio engineers and music producers is falling, not rising. Ashea is joined by British-Ghanaian producer, rapper and author Nana Ayebi-Kwakye to discuss why the gap is widening, where the signs of hope are, and the thinking behind her children's book Delasi On A Mission, written to show young girls that the studio is a place they belong. Women In Audio: Why The Numbers Are Falling, With Nana Ayebi-Kwakye The proportion of women working as professional audio eng...

Description In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Arnd Kaiser, Product Designer Strategist at Fender Musical Instruments, and Tony Carridi, Global Revenue and Go-To-Market Executive at Fender PreSonus. Together they discuss the strategic rebrand of Fender Studio, exploring what this evolution means for music producers, audio engineers, and musicians using Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software. This conversation goes beyond the surface-level rebrand to explore the vision driving Fende...

In this episode Ashea is joined by Arnd Kaiser and Tony Cariddi of Presonus/Fender for a tense guitar and synth quiz designed to really test your abilities. If you fail it's worth thinking long and hard about your career choice because you're likely an impostor ;) Enjoy!

Description In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Stephen Gallagher, an Emmy Award-winning composer and music editor with credits on major film and television productions, and Tilman Sillescu, creative director, co-founder, and principal composer at Sonuscore. This is Part 2 of the Lord Of The Strings, continuing their in-depth exploration of professional film and television scoring. In this episode, Stephen and Tilman delve deeper into the collaborative process between composers and di...

Description In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Stephen Gallagher, an Emmy Award-winning composer and music editor with credits on major film and television productions, and Tilman Sillescu, creative director, co-founder, and principal composer at Sonuscore. Together they explore the craft of composing for film and television, diving deep into orchestration techniques, string articulation, music production tools, and the creative workflows that define professional film scoring. Whether...

Description In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Richard Hilton, an award-winning producer and engineer who has worked extensively with Nile Rodgers and Chic, and Steve DeMott, Grammy-nominated producer and engineer from the acclaimed Tribe Collective. Together they dive deep into compression techniques, mixing workflows, and the art of working backwards in music production. The proportion of modern music production relies heavily on understanding the nuances of audio engineering, and ...

Today on the Production Expert Podcast, Ashea puts Richard Hilton and Steve De -Mott's compression trivia knowledge to the test. So how did you do you? Let us know. About Our Guests: Steve DeMott: Producer, engineer, songwriter, and musician who has worked with the Grammy nominated Tribe collective Richard Hilton: Musician and producer well known for his work with Nile Rodgers and Chic

Description In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Andrew Scheps, a three-time Grammy Award-winning mixer and producer, for Part 2 of their in-depth conversation about professional mixing in the era of immersive audio. Building on the discussions from Part 1, Andrew delves deeper into practical techniques for mixing in Atmos and spatial audio formats, with particular focus on the unique challenges of mixing for headphone playback, binaural rendering, and maintaining mix translation acros...

Description In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Andrew Scheps, a three-time Grammy Award-winning mixer and producer renowned for his work with iconic artists and his expertise in both stereo and immersive audio mixing. In this candid conversation, Andrew discusses his career journey, his approach to mixing in Atmos, his creative workflow, dealing with difficult clients, navigating impostor syndrome despite significant achievements, and his perspective on the future of mixing and music...

In this week’s episode, Ashea is joined by Hyunkook Lee (Professor of Psychoacoustics and APL founder), Emre Ramazanoglu and Mark Gittins, for part two of The Science Of Listening, where they discuss Psychoacoustics, HRTF, multidimensional audio, virtual reality, the future of immersive in the music and audio industry and what’s in store for VIRTUOSO. About Our Guests: Hyunkook Lee: Professor of audio and psychoacoustic engineering, Founder/director of the APL, & recording/mixing ...

For 25 years, Professor Hyunkook Lee has been researching surround sound and immersive audio. Since 2010, his focus has been on height perception—specifically, how we perceive and localize sounds coming from above. His discoveries have fundamentally changed how we approach immersive mixing. One critical finding: time differences don't work in the vertical domain the way they do in stereo. Instead, height perception relies almost entirely on spectral cues and the pitch-height effect, where hig...

Windmill Lane Recording Studios has hosted some of the most significant recordings in music history. But what is it about this legendary Dublin facility that keeps world-class artists and producers returning? In this episode, Tony Perry takes us on a journey through three distinct studios, each with its own character and sonic signature. Studio One—designed by Andy Munro—features a 144-input Neve console and was built to work beautifully with orchestras. Studio Two, housed in what was once an...

In this edition Ashea is joined by Mat Pataki and Andreas Pohl from remote collaboration platform Sync DNA. Where they discuss how, Sync DNA is helping audio professionals and artists get in the zone without being in the room together aka the 'Now' moment. About Our Guests: https://www.syncdna.com/ Mat: Chief Architect Mat Pataki is Chief Architect at SyncDNA™. He's built cloud platforms that serve millions of users at companies like Uken Games and Jam City. But he's also ...

In this podcast episode Russ Hughes talks film scoring with Stephen Gallagher & Mark Willsher (Lord Of The Rings). Learn More About Stephen Gallagher Here: https://bio.site/StephenGallagher Learn More About Mark Willsher Here: https://bio.site/pin3hot Finds Of The Week: Mark: Apple & Blackberry Bakewell Tart Stephen: A Sunny Place For Shady People by Mariana Enriquez Russ: The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis

In this episode Ashea is joined by Shane Lavin, founder of Sonic Summit, where they discuss the power that paradise can have on our creative abilities. Learn more about Sonic Summits here: https://linktr.ee/sonic_summit

In this 2 part interview, Ashea chats with Producer, Musician & Immersive Mix Engineer Justin Grey about his new fully immersive album Immersed. Experience the album and learn more about Justin here: https://justingraysound.com/immersed/

In this two part interview, Ashea chats with Producer, Musician & Immersive Mix Engineer Justin Gray about his new fully immersive album Immersed. Experience the album and learn more about Justin here: https://justingraysound.com/immersed/ Talking Points: Inspiration for the album & The writing processThe expressive use of space (reverb)Connecting audio and visuals to tell a storyCapturing sound in 3DHow using a Dolby Atmos playback system helped artists with their creativity

James Richmond and the Production Expert team discuss building a hybrid analogue summing using cascading SSL X Rack chassis and used modules, plus Luke Goddard on the PreSonus StudioLive Series III SE. The conversation moves through Yuzu custom Pro Tools keycaps, experimental tape-and-percussion music finds, and a practical discussion of studio chairs, sit-stand desks, and the cost of poor posture. Useful listening for anyone weighing the cost and benefit of bringing analogue summing back int...

In this podcast short, Ashea narrates an article by Luke Goddard about the importance of getting a second opinion, even when ‘solo mastering’. Read The Article Here: https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/self-mastering-doesnt-have-to-mean-solo-mastering

In this edition Ashea and Julian are joined by James Richmond (former SSL) & Production Experts Luke Goddard where they walk through Julians checklist from his blog article: Is Your Studio Resilient ? About Our Guests: James Richmons is a producer/engineer based in Oxfordshire, UK. Production Expert’s very own Luke Goddard. Yes that one!

In this podcast short, Ashea narrates an article by Russ Hughes about the dangers of saying yes to everything. Read Along With The Article: https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/drowning-in-ideas-how-audio-pros-can-learn-to-say-no

In this edition, Julian & Ashea are joined by Will Shanks and James Santiago of Universal Audio, where they discuss UA’s impact on bringing hardware magic to the digital age. About Our Guests: Will Shanks: Senior Product Designer / Professional Plugins James Santiago: Senior Product Designer / Guitar Products Talking Points: The Secret History of the A-Type ProcessorA-Type processor, and how UA pushed it even further with modern circuit mods and expanded creative features.A-Type as histor...

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Christian Luther of Playfair Audio, where they discuss tips, tricks and gear to assist mix engineers and producers with their creativity. About Our Guest: Christian Luther: Christian is the founder of Playfair Audio and a seasoned audio software developer from Hannover, Germany. With a background in electrical engineering and years of experience at companies like Kemper Amps and Sennheiser, he’s spent his career building tools that make audio p...

In this edition Ashea chats to Alex West (music manager, radio presenter for BBC, KM FM and Reprezents Radio in London) about the pros and cons of being Neurodivergent (ADHD and Autistic) while working in the music industry.

In this episode Ashea and Julian are joined by Auribus CEO Juan Elias and CFO Neal Gustafson where they discuss how AI software is changing the industry, possibly like we've never encountered before. Is it time to embrace change in an ethical way? Talking Points: The AI revolution in the audio industry and why choosing ethical options is so important.A literal game-changer, despite this phrase being embarrassingly over used- let’s discuss the ways that Auribus is changing how we make music.Vo...

In this podcast short we bring you an informal yet very informative casual chat between Nathaniel Reichman and Mark Donahue of sound mirror on the mysteries of Direct Stream Digital.

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Thomas Lund from Genelec and Stephen Wheatley from HearAngel where they discuss the importance of safe listening levels and how to protect our most valuable asset that we have as audio and music professionals... Our Ears. About our guests: Thomas is convenor of the EU working group to prevent hearing loss in music listening and gaming; and researcher at Finnish monitoring company, Genelec. Out of a medical background, Thomas has worked in Danish ...

In this podcast episode, Ashea has a candid chat with Artist, Producer, Singer/Rapper, youth mentor and Big Brother UK 2024 runner up Marcello Spooks, about tough beginnings inspiring creativity, being under immense public scrutiny and whether, being 'delulu' the 'solulu' to making your best work. Listen To Marcellos New Music Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7BLmHCX9A Keep Up With Marcello's Delusion: https://www.instagram.com/marcellospooks?igsh=MTducHRocGY2Z...

In this edition Ashea and Julian are joined by Source Elements technical co-founder and CEO Rebekah Wilson and principal inventor and co-founder, Robert Marshall, where they deep dive into the beginnings, the middle and the future of Source Elements, and why it's at the forefront of seamless, stress free remote recording. About Our Guests: Robert Marshall: Principal inventor and co-founder, overseas product development concepts and sales & support teams. He is the recording /mixing engi...

In this edition, Julian and Ashea are joined by Grammy winning producer/engineer and extremely tired touring musician William Wittman and engineer/producer & indie label owner Steve DeMott, where they discuss the latest things they love and perhaps don't love so much in audio right now.

In this podcast short Ashea narrates an article by Russ Hughes discussing the genius creative work behind the Netflix show Adolescence. Click here to follow along with the article:

In this podcast short Ashea narrates an article by Russ Hughes, discussing the disastrous predictions about the audio and music tech industry that have yet to come true. Read The Article Here: https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/three-music-technology-predictions-that-never-came-true

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Korey Pereira, Mike Thorne and Reid Caulfield, where the guests unpack what they believe helped them develop such successful careers so far, along with sharing some no-nonsense advice about what they would do differently if they were to build an audio business from scratch in 2025. About Our Guests: Korey Pereira is a Dialogue Editor and Sound Supervisor for film and television< a member of the Motion Picture Sound Editors Board of Dir...

In this podcast short, Julian explains why, unlike some audio pros (who use different DAWs for different tasks such as writing vs mixing) he only uses Pro Tools. Link to the Article: https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/why-i-only-use-pro-tools-as-my-daw-of-choice

In this edition, Julian & Ashea are joined by sound designer, re-recording and score mixer Roger Guerin and Production Expert founder Russ Hughes, where they delve into the past and present of sampling for TV & Film, and discuss industry tips for professional and aspiring sound designers & producers. Talking Points: A history of sampling.Present day sampling practices.Tips and industry insights for sound designers & producers in TV & Film. Finds of the week: Julian: UAD ...

In this podcast short, Ashea narrates an article by Russ Hughes, where he delves into his experience with depression and anxiety. Creative people are more likely to experience mental health issues, partly due to the immense pressure we are often put under, so it´s important to take time for ourselves to reflect and be attentive to our mental and physical health. The holidays can be a good time to do this. If you are affected or know someone who is struggling with the issues mentioned in thi...

In this podcast short, Ashea narrates an article by Russ Hughes, where he delves into his experience with depression and anxiety. Creative people are more likely to experience mental health issues, partly due to the immense pressure we are often put under, so it´s important to take time for ourselves to reflect and be attentive to our mental and physical health. The holidays can be a good time to do this. If you are affected or know someone who is struggling with the issues mentioned in thi...

In this podcast short, Ashea narrates an article by Russ Hughes, on the perils the instant success trend plaguing the audio industry right now, and what we as professionals can do to address it.

Welcome to the Production Expert podcast. In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by President of the AES Leslie Gaston Bird & audio engineer Ephie De Angelis, where they discuss their journeys into the world of audio and music production. Talking Points: Our journey into audio and productionWhat we get out of itInspiring others- the importance of representation, (you can’t be what you cant see).AES and advocacy. Learn more about AES here: https://aes2.org

In this Podcast Short Julian explains his reasons for nominating 5 skills which he thinks every engineer would benefit from learning, and 3 which, while very worthwhile, don't make the list. The original article can be found here and the article by Damien Kearns referenced in the podcast can be found here.

Welcome to the Production Expert podcast. In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Andy Bensley & Marcel Schechter of Genelec. Where they discuss why a great listening environment is the best time saver, and how to get the best setup for our individual needs. About Our Guests: Andy Bensley: joined Genelec as Regional Business Development Manager in 2019. Based in the UK, Andy has huge experience in analysing and tuning the in-room performance of loudspeaker systems in a wide range ...

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by producer & mega musician Mark Thompson, where they discuss new tips, tricks, and things they generally love (or hate) right now. Talking Points: Good advice or cool production tips you´ve learned that you´d like to share.Plugins or hardware that people need to know about. Finds Of The Week: Julian: Krotos Ambience generator Ashea: Waves Center Mark: Orla Gartland

Russ wonders if all this modern recording technology is actually damaging our creativity rather than enabling us?

Ashea and Julian are joined by Luke Goddard and Luke Stephen Ramsey to break down what actually makes a record memorable, from Kylie Minogue and Madonna to Charlie XCX, Sam Fender and the 1975. The panel digs into signature sounds, vocal timbre, tempo decisions and the production choices that separate songs that fade from songs that stick. A conversation about craft, taste and why some records survive playback systems they were never designed for. The panel works through a set of records span...

In this podcast short Russ Hughes says; "You are going to come up against all sorts of problems when recording and mixing. Occam’s Razor is an indispensable tool we ignore at our peril."

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Luke Goddard and Paul Maunder, where they discuss tried and tested production rules and ask, does anyone care about that anymore and if so, why? Talking Points: Being in the room with the artist/client, is it still necessary? Does it even matter?Have listeners' ears become accustomed to things like Auto tune, heavy compression, would anyone care if we stopped doing these things?Loudness Wars- does anyone care anymore?Mix Assistants E.g EZ mix, ...

In this podcast short Russ Hughes explores how audio professionals can get ahead in marketing. "I remember being on Zoom call with some of the most respected names in music production some time ago. I was talking about marketing strategies to help them get new clients and to grow their businesses. As we went through the Q&A time and the session drew to a close one of them said; “What we really want is for you to do this for us!” They weren’t joking, they all knew how important marketing i...

In this edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Miles Fulwider, Producer, Engineer & Educator working extensively in Immersive formats and CEO of ADK Microphones. where they discuss how to take the simplistic, ‘less is more’ approach by capturing the best sound at source. Talking Points: You can’t polish a ****, why capturing the best sound in the recording process will make your life easier.Mic and recording techniques for a ‘Grammy’ worthy sound. The only gear you’ll...

In this edition Julian is joined by William Wittman & Steve DeMott, where they discuss transparency vs colour. Talking Points: Coloured Vs Transparent gear,(mics, etc) when, why and how do you use it?Arguments for and against.Gear recommendations.Recommended by Steve: Q2 Audio Finds of the week: Julian: New IEMs William: youtube channel : Sorted Food Steve: Netflix DocuSeries - Rise of Empires: Ottoman

In this edition Julian & Ashea are joined by David Barber, President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Reid Caulfield, sound editor, mixer & audio consultant in Los Angeles & Alex Gregson, head of audio & Post Production mentor at 344 Audio, where they discuss how to adapt to the shifting goal posts in Post Production. Talking Points: Post Production, post Covid, How has it changed? Has remote working affected/improved things for you, if so how?With so many AI and o...

In this edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Justin Webster of The Cargo Cult and Mixing Engineer Paul Maunder, where they discuss ways in which we can apply tools used in Post Production to improve our immersive music mixes. Talking Points: What are some techniques that you often hear/use in Post Production that could benefit music mixes?Perfecting the low end, LFE channel. (Subquake)Panning tricks Cutting/Creating in Stereo vs surround.Human Perception in 3D&nbs...

In this edition, Julian & Ashea are joined by Noam Levinberg of Safari Pedals & Mark Gittins from Sensound, where they discuss how to break free from outdated schools of thought during the production and mixing process. Talking Points: Wild thoughts on classic studio techniques- what are some new, out there or avant-garde techniques or practices that work well work for you and conversely, what are some outdated tips/workflow?Breaking free from limiting schools of thought examplesMix...

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Grammy Award-winning Producer, Engineer & Musician Chris Shaw & Multi-Platinum Engineer Bainz , where they discuss ways in which we can streamline our workflow to help stay in the creative zone. Talking Points: What are some repetitive & time consuming tasks in our production/mixing workflows and what can we do to cut back on them and stay creative? Finds of the week: Julian: The Sopranos Ashea: Sonicbox Studi...

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Eli Krantzberg, where they discuss the newly released Logic 11. Talking Points: New Logic Session Players Global Track and Region Chords Stem Splitter ChromaGlow Dolby Atmos Enhancements Sound & Producer Packs Pitch Source Parameter Logic Pro for iPad 2 Eli's Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCNPNC0eRBI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92n-Nc-5kX0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7GuEgViHI Finds of the week: Julian: Universal Audio ...

In this week’s edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Mark Gittins, where they discuss some of the secrets behind a successful immersive mix. Talking Points: Mixing the new Judas Priest album How does your approach differ when mixing in Atmos vs stereo? Important things to consider Maintaining the feel of the stereo mix Workflow Rooms, headphones ,monitors, home setups and tips for mixers getting started with immersive mixing. Finds of the week: Julian: Shure Nexadyne Mics Ashea: Glaze 2 ...

In this week’s edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Paul Maunder, where they discuss some of the best advice, tips and tricks they've learned during their careers to date. Talking Points: Workflow tips, shortcuts and things you’ve discovered along the way Recording, production and mixing tricks. Things you wish you knew when you first started out Mindset tips How has your approach changed since entering into this industry? Who were your mentors, inspiration and reasons for adopting a di...

In this week’s edition Ashea is joined by Dallas Taylor from Defacto Sound & Twenty Thousand Hertz Podcast, where they discuss the sound design process behind some of the world's most famous brands. Talking Points: Working to a brief: What is your process for capturing the mood and creating an experience that complements the visual storytelling? Sound choice, inspiration, foley etc. What makes a sound instantly recognizable, e.g Netflix. What is the process like getting to that point? ...

In this week’s edition Julian and Ashea joined by Anna Bulakh of Respeecher, where they discuss the importance of ethics in AI and how to proceed with caution. Talking Points: What are some of the current threats AI poses in society/the audio and music industry today?Synthetic media, voice cloning software and other tools are still in their early stages but are incredibly powerful tools that can all be really useful if used wisely, however there needs to be ethical principles in place...

In this week's edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Steve DeMott, where they discuss the music industry Gatekeepers of today, who are they and are they worse? Talking Points: Social Media age and the “democratization” of the industry.Labels vs the new A.I/Digital gatekeepersYoutube, Google and artist revenue Finds of the week: Julian: High Strung/Nashville Strings Ashea: MCenter Steve: Pulsar 1178

In this week’s edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Reid Caulfield, where they discuss a recent article from the LA Times and ask ‘Is AI coming for our jobs, and should we be worried?’ Talking Points: LA Times Article: https://www.latimes.com/.../ai-artificial-intelligence... From the article: "In the music and sound-recording industry, the tasks most likely to be affected by AI are voice generation and cloning, music generation and recording and lyrics composition, ...

On request of our listeners. In this week's episode Ashea is joined by Russ Hughes and Paul Maunder where they give tried and tested advice on how to make a living in today's audio industry. Talking Points: What was your first pro gig and how did that come about?Getting work in a traditional studio settingFreelancingTypes of clients and how to deal with themBalancing a day jobWhen/how to transition into full time Finds of the week: Ashea: All You Need To Know About The Music Busines...

In this week’s edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Oliver Thomas and Maurice Patist from PMC. Talking Points: PMC & its history - background of company Relationship with UGM/Dolby PMC and suitability for Immersive - any particular features which you think make them particularly suitable? How does an ATL differ from a ported or band pass cabinet in performance? PMC and DSP, Network Control What, if anything, can you share about future developments at PMC? Finds of the week: Julian: ...

Talking Points: In this episode Ashea is joined by Russ Hughes & Lexie Morgan of HHB London and formerly iZotope, to give three different perspectives on the recent UK government report about the obstacles women are met with while pursuing a career in the music industry. Summary of the UK Government report: The Report: Production Expert Article: Let’s briefly discuss how we feel about this report and how our experiences correspond with the data from the report. Sexual Harassment & S...

In this week’s edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Eli Krantzberg where they discuss some of the stand out gear and plugins from NAMM 2024. Talking Points: Wolff Audio Console Heritage Audio i73 SSL 360 Blue Cat Audio Yamaha- Seq track Raven MTi2 Beyerdynamic -DT-770-pro ACE Studio - AI vocal synthesizer Finds Of The Week: Julian: Kii SEVEN Ashea: Solodome Eli: The red plastic water flask my wife got me for NAMM

In this week's edition Julian & Ashea are joined by audio engineer and current student James Watts, where they discuss ​​whether music education is adapting to meet the evolving needs of students and the industry. Talking Points: How much emphasis is placed on the following? Hands on experience, using hardware, navigating a mixing desk and traditional studio setups.A.I and one knob plugins: How granular are you taught to get with plugins?:Career Goals & Prospects: Training for commer...

In this week’s edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Steve DeMott where they discuss the importance and power of saying 'no' in a music production environment. Talking Points: ‘The Power of No’ in music production, recording & mixing. Expanding on William Wittmans article: Finds of the week: Julian: PMC 6-2 Ashea: Sketch Casette 2 Steve: Zoom H6 field recorder

In the final edition of 2023, Ashea is joined by Russ Hughes & Reid Caulfield. Where they discuss the important topic of managing mental health, particularly in the audio industry. Talking Points: Dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues that plague freelancers and audio professionals. The stigma attached to mental health issues. The role of social media and how it can affect our mental health. Coping and good practices to reduce stress etc. Finds of the week: Ru...

In this week’s edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Ary Maudit, where they discuss studio roles, terminology and definitions, are they changing, if so how? Talking Points As an engineer at Strongroom, what is your role, and what are the main things you get asked to do? Have you witnessed people’s role changing/morphing over time, if so how?Producer, beatmaker, songwriter let’s discuss our interpretations of those roles and how they have developed/changed.Stems,multitracks. Any definitions ...

In this week's episode Julian and Ashea are joined by Graham Kirkman, where they discuss the gear and software that they wouldn't want to live without. Talking Points: Let’s discuss some of the gear/software that we find ourselves relying on and why that is.Open Back Headphones, Sit Stand Desk, Macbook Pro,VisLM, Celemony Melodyne. Neve 1073 Mic Pre, Neumann U87. Logic ProFinds of the week: Julian: Caldigit TS3 Plus - Ashea: Waves Silk Vocal Graham: Suppe...

In this week’s edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Eli Krantzberg, where they dissect the meaning of the commonly used term 'Sounds Like A Record'. Talking Points: We hear the terms ‘radio ready’ and ‘sounds like a record’ used a lot in this industry, so let’s break down the elements that make a song worthy of that statement, and why do some songs fail to sound like this? Music is constantly changing, and so the definition of a ‘record’ surely has too. Let's compare some hits of yester...

In this week’s edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Steve DeMott, where they discuss the future of music production and emerging trends in the world of audio. Talking Points: Let’s discuss some of the new trends and practices we are seeing pop up in the industry in general. Steve, you mentioned a few days ago that you’ve noticed a trend in audio plugins, how they seem to be geared towards improving subpar recording techniques- Let’s discuss this point. Are there any areas that need mor...

In this week’s edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Luke Steven Ramsay, where they discuss how to revive and make use of old material, that’s currently collecting dust on our hard drives. Talking Points Do you have a lot of unfinished material sitting around on your hard drive? If so, why do you think that is? Let’s discuss some useful ways as producers we can make use of the old unfinished material. Are there some good tools you know of to speed up & help the process of finis...

In this week’s edition Julian is joined by Ashea & Siobhan Anderson. Where they compare 3 of the most well known DAWs and ask, ´Does your DAW do this?´ Talking Points: What first attracted you to your DAW of choice?Let’s briefly discuss platform compatibility for Logic X, Pro Tools & AbletonWhat do you like about your DAWs user interface? Have you tried other DAWs, what didn’t you like about them?MIDI, Virtual Instruments and samplers: What is this like with the DAW you use, is there...

In this week’s edition Julian is joined by Ashea & Marcel Schechter from Genelec , where they discuss ‘Solving Room Acoustics For Better Mixes ’ Talking Points What are some common acoustic problems in recording studios, and how can they be solved? How can room size and shape impact the acoustics of a recording space? Are there specific materials or treatments that are essential for improving room acoustics in a studio? .What role does speaker placement play in achieving optimal...

In this week’s edition Julian is joined by Ashea, Paul Maunder and Roger Guerin, where they discuss the pros and cons of an education in audio. Talking Points: How has education helped you in terms of knowledge and your career?There’s a plethora of free material online, on Youtube etc, how valuable is learning via this method?The value of structured courses. ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’Should we learn from the very beginning? Can learning backwards be a thing?Online vs attended...

In this week’s edition Julian is joined by Ashea and James Richmond, where they discuss Perpetual Licences vs Subscription Models. Talking Points Pro Tools Perpetual Licences are now available for sale exclusively through authorised Avid resellers, they will not be sold via the Avid Web Store, thoughts on this? Pros and cons of perpetual licences vs subscription-based models from both the consumer and companies perspective. Compatibility issues- Operating Systems- Backwards fo...

In this week’s edition Ashea is joined by Russ Hughes & Vincent Hervy, where they discuss, how A.I and new technology is changing the audio industry. Ways in which A.I/ new technology has changed the way we work in music up until nowHow will our jobs need to evolve with the ever improving advances in technology?How can we make A.I work to our advantage? Finds of the week: Toy Box Audio- Thump One The Godfather Of Harlem - TV Series

In this week’s edition Julian is joined by Ashea and Gareth Nuttall, where they discuss how arrangement can affect the mix. Talking Points: How often do you end up changing parts of the arrangement to improve a mix? The importance of sound selection, layers and instrument placement.Frequency masking and arrangement tricks that can help. Filling in frequency gaps:Combining kick and bass, for a better low end.Vocal layers and processingFinds Of The Week: Julian - Miso Gochujang ...

In this week’s edition Julian is joined by Ashea, Graham Kirkman and Steve DeMott who discuss ‘Plugin UIs. What are the important things that developers need to consider?’ Talking Points: How important are visuals to us?Visual, graphical displays vs skeuomorphic designs, what are some of the pro’s and cons?What Plugin UI features do you think improve your mix/production decisions and why? Inter-Plugin communication and why is that useful to us?How can plugin developers make better use o...

In this week's podcast, Ashea is joined by Russ Hughes and Karen Down (The Support Squad) who discuss 'Mental Health In The Music Industry'. What are some of the challenges and pressures that audio professionals face in the music industry that might impact their mental health?Pressures of freelancing-How do we address the financial and emotional pressures that audio professionals might experience, and how does this impact their mental well-being? How does the music industry handle issu...

In this week’s podcast Julian is joined by Ashea, Dom Morley and Steve DeMott who discuss ‘How much do traditional analogue rules still apply today?’ All four of us are producers/mixers of slightly different vintage, so it would be interesting to go around the table and hear a little about which techniques & practices we learned from and perhaps how that affects our workflow today. Gainstaging, 32 bit recording- Is anyone working with this?Analogue workflow (e.g. making ...

In this week's episode Julian and Ashea are joined by George Tizzard and Rick Parkhouse of SUPER-Hi talking about the creative vision and technical decision making behind a chart hit. Talking Points Starting a track, what is your approach, does it change depending on the vibe/artist?Producing for very established artists, what is the process, how involved are the labels/artist in the sound and how does that differ to writing your own material?Making the ‘right’ decisions in production ...

In this week's Podcast Julian is joined by Ashea and Ian Shepherd for a discussion about about mastering in the streaming age. Ian Shepherd is a mastering engineer of 25 years experience who has become well known for his work around the detrimental effects of the loudness wars. He runs the Production Advice blog and hosts The Mastering Show podcast. Talking Points Mastering for Streaming Platforms, let’s talk specificsLoundness Normalisation and Album NormalisationLoudness Wars, are they ...

Following up from our podcast looking at how post mixers use the new expanded Track Widths in Pro Tools 2023.6 Julian and Ashea are joined by Steve Genewick and Nathaniel Reichman to discuss Atmos for Music and whether track widths beyond 7.1.2 are significant for music mixers. Finds Of The Week Ashea - Gearfest UKNathaniel - Auto Align 2Steve - Vanguard Audio V44SJulian - UAD Capitol Mastering Compressor

In this week’s Podcast Julian is joined by Ashea, Gareth Nuttall and William Wittman who discuss fixing in the mix. Can it be done successfully? Finds Of The Week: Julian - Space Lens in Clean My MacAshea- Avid Collab with Audio Movers or CHAPEAGareth - Hi Hat Bleed TrickWilliam- Dr. Tver Robert pedal by Aclam

In this weeks episode Julian is joined by Ashea, Roger Guerin and Korey Pereira. They discuss the extended track widths introduced in Pro Tools 2023.6 and what they mean for Atmos mixers. Let’s go round the table and talk about each of your current work and how affected by Atmos it is.What has changed in Pro Tools 2023.6 regarding Track Widths?What is the 7.1.2 ceiling and why does it exist?How is greater track widths better? Lets talk about beds vs objects and channel agnosticism. Why is 7.1...

In this week's episode Julian and Ashea are joined by Greg Tan and Steve DeMott to discuss producing music for picture. Talking Points What is the creative process when composing music for movies/video games. How do you approach capturing the desired mood and atmosphere? What’s the collaborative process like with directors, producers, and other members of the creative team to understand their vision and translate it into musical compositions? When/how does a brief arrive? What f...