ANAK Creates Podcast | Coffee with Creators

This week I am talking with Emmett O'Reilly, who is an old friend of mine and we've been making music together for years. Emmett is a part of a number of bands, including his own personal project, the Toronto punk band Pkew Pkew Pkew, and Stuck Out Here, as well as Owen Wilson and many more. Due to the recent pandemic, Emmett has crossed over the other side of music making. With the lack of live s...

The music business is changing, and for studios and freelancers, we need to change with it. The tools we use and approaches to building out businesses needs to grow as well, and today's guest is right on the for-front of that. Brady Hoggard is the founder of Sonido Software, which is a project management software system built specifically for recording studios (of all sizes) and freelance producer...

It's important too be comfortable in order to create your best. If you're in a studio where you don't want to touch anything, is to fancy, or where you are strapped for time, that is not a good position to be in when it comes to being your most creative self. In this episode I talk about how make sure your comfortable, but still seek discomfort in other ways to create your best. I also give some e...

I'm joined by Malcolm Cottle, an avid home recording hobbiest, who has been developing his skills for many years. He is a drummer who has perfected techniques for recording himself (and his drums) in his home studio, which is nothing fancy but yet he can make it really work. We dive into how he records himself, how he got the drum sounds for the There's Nothing Holding Me Back cover that we just r...

It's so important to take care of yourself and take time for yourself, outside of work or your creativity. This will drastically help your creativity and avoid you from becoming burnt out. In today's Podcast I talk about taking time for yourself, and also share my journey through some really hard times for me creatively, and how the new cover song I just released help me get through that.

It’s so important for new (and established) producers and engineers to never get to stuck in their ways. Experimentation is the key to success and continually developing your sound. These days there are 2 different sides of this. A lot of online education about production and mixing is very exact, telling you the steps that you must follow. On the flip side, we have never had more tools at our dis...

As 2020 comes to a close (one of the craziest years in my life time) I feel like it’s only fitting to have a more personal episode, where I just talk a little about my key takeaways from the past year, what I liked, what was great about this year and what I’m looking forward to next year. I do some positive reflection and encourage you to do the same. While this was a crazy year, there are also so...

This week's podcast is inspired by a book I am currently reading called "The Practice - Shipping Creative Work" by Seth Godin. I wanted to explore the thought's I had while reading this and how they directly relate to audio engineering, mixing and music creation. I break the simple steps down into a formula for creators or those who want to be creators, on how to actually create. So many people ca...

This week's episode I wanted to explore the push and investment in podcasting which both Spotify and Apple Music are doing. The competition that Spotify has started by investing Millions into podcasting is great, but I wanted to explore how this will effect their core music streaming service and it's artists. What is good, what is bad and what do I wish they would do for artists. While I do think...

Spotify is a company I enjoy watching grow and develop new things. I don't always agree with them with what they do, however, they are continually innovating in their space. This episode I'm talking about their new "story" feature, which is currently in a testing period, but I wanted to touch on my thoughts of the good and bad route this feature could take, and where I think they need to go with t...

There are a million sides to every story, but the latest controversy about Grimes getting funding from FACTOR, while having an already successful career and not even living in Canada has sparked some questions. This isn't meant to bash her or her management company, as there are many sides to everything and it's impossible to know, however it's more about my thoughts about how it looks from the ou...

In Episode 8, I discussed the lawsuits that were happening in the music industry, how ridiculous they are, and how there's such a blurry line between being inspired and ripping someone off. This week, I share my thoughts on how the music industry seems to be the only one treated like this, and other creative fields seem to be able to literally use parts of other people's creative work and not only...

Spotify has announced a new experimental feature to allow artists and labels to boost songs in their algorithm's suggestions. While this sounds great, it comes at a cost, which is a lower royalty rate for those who opt in to using this. While all the details aren't announced yet, I go through my thoughts based on what we do know and how this could be terrible for artists all around, and giving mor...

Over the last number of years, the amount of lawsuits involving copyright infringement in songs has been steadily rising. It seems like everyone who can see any kind of similarity in a song wants to get as much money as they can. Where is the line that turns something from being considered "inspired by" or "in a similar genre of music" into a legal copyright infringement and constitutes lawsuit ac...

In this week's episode of the podcast, I discuss how I manage multiple projects on the go, and how so many things at the same time actually helps me thrive and impacts my creativity in the best way possible. We talk about how to re-frame your mind from getting overwhelmed to letting it actually help you accomplish so much more.

Can you really make hit quality music from your bedroom? Is it that much more economical? How do they influence your creativity? In this episode I wanted to discuss home recording, as home studio production and recording has it reached new heights with technology getting so much better. There are huge projects that are recorded in home studios, or small studios. We all have access to much of the s...

In light of the latest Joe Rogan censorship, I wanted to talk about what's happening and discuss the importance of being authentic with your creativity. The importance of authenticity and where it impacts creators can sometimes been overseen, and taken over for "business" slowly until it's no longer true to the artist. This is important for both creators as well as the executives and the business...

With what's going on in the world right now, it's really showing us the importance of having multiple income streams and different ways that we can generate income with our skills. Freelancers, being able to work on different kinds of projects, since (as we'll discuss) work won't come back all at once and evenly since the whole "supply chain" of creativity has been interrupted. As artists, its imp...

The first Episode with a guest! I am so excited! This week I am joined by my old friend Malcolm Cottle. Malcolm owns Gorillaback Productions, is the drummer from Deny The Threat, and has an upcoming musical project Sons Of Horus. In this episode we sit down to talk about our journey together, freelancing and networking in the creative industry (both video, photography and music) how we have always...

Something we all have to remember is, the arts (movies, music, podcasts, books, youtube creators, etc) helped us all get through these crazy times. But how is this whole thing going to affect creative industries? With filming productions shut down & postponed, how does that look for the chain of people down the line from the actual filming? For smaller creators, how does this effect them, and...

Welcome to Season 2 of the ANAK Creates Podcast! Finally, after a bit of a break, I'm back. In this episode, I address what's going on in the world, and how to help yourself stay creative even if you're in lockdown or less than ideal creative situations. I go through ideas to help you spark some creative energy, like Collaborating Remotely, Scheduling Your Time, Making Covers or copying things to...

When being creative with your art, or even working on building your business, building your website, or writing social media posts, we all fall into times of being creatively uninspired and feeling like we have fun out of ideas. The biggest problem can sometimes be trying to force something to much, which often has the opposite effect and hinders that creative flow. This week I talk about 3 ways I...

Overthinking the tiny details of your art can hinder your creative output. This episode we talk about how to recognize when you are overthinking, how it's hurting your art in ways that you hadn't even thought of. I then have 6 tips to help you stop overthinking, and avoid falling into that trap, and ultimately help you create your best work!

Networking with people in your field (and outside your field) is so important, and this week we talk about why, how it strengthens connections, and opens up opportunities. I give you some insight into networking in general, and some tips to help you build your network up to be as strong as possible. In-person networking is something I feel people don't realize how important it is, and especially w...

We discuss why the fear of failure has no place in creativity, trying to copy others is hindering your personal style. In this week we discuss why that fear stops you from creating your best art, and why that fear will be it's own downfall. You need to be true to yourself to be your most successful self, and be happy no matter what happens! Comparing yourself to what's popular has hits place, but...