Music Production Podcast

Derek VanScoten is a guitarist, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer, who makes music as Cloudchord. An Emmy-winning musician, Cloudchord is producing psychedelic chill-hop music, and sharing his process in unique and inventive music production tutorials. On this episode, Cloudchord busts out his guitar and demonstrates his live looping technique and sound design work that can be found on his n...

Ableton Certified Trainer and host of the Ableton Live Music Producer Podcast, Dan Giffin, joins the show to talk about Ableton Live 11. Dan shares his screen as we go through some of our favorite new features and workflows in the beta version of Live 11.  Be sure to catch Dan's Ableton Live Music Producer Podcast, where he talks about all things Ableton Live with a variety of knowledgeable guests...

On the 200th episode of the Music Production Podcast, we talk about setting goals that are more likely to be accomplished. They say that 75% of people that set out on a new year resolution give up by the end of January. It's not because they are lazy, it's because the goals are not well-crafted. We will talk about how to set achievable goals, as well as the importance of just starting. Listen on i...

It's just over halfway through #Jamuary2021. In this episode, I share some of the lessons I've learned and the musical experiments I've embarked on. Along the way, I musical examples from my jams to illustrate. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Music Production Podcast 197 - Start the Year Right with Jamuary: https://brianfunk.com/blog/jam...

Will Darling runs the web site EDMTips, where he teaches electronic music production. EDMTips covers a wide range of music genres and techniques, and has tons of helpful materials for producers. Will and I had a great conversation about his work, building his brand and YouTube channel, and his teaching. Will discusses some practical solutions to common problems producers face. Listen on iTunes or...

#Jamuary2021 is a challenge to create a little bit of music every day during the month of January, and share it online. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece or a completely finished product. The point isn't the quality of the music; it's to set up a disciplined routine of making some music every day. In this episode, I discuss Jamuary in depth and explore ways you can make the most of it and have f...

Tobias Karlehag is a musician from Sweden, who is releasing his ambient album Process in January 2021. Tobias has an extensive musical training from a diverse set of teachers across the globe.  Tobias and I had a great conversation about his musical background and how that has led him to his new ambient release Process . We spend a lot of time discussing various parts of the music making process,...

Federico Chiesa is an Italian musician, composer, and synth enthusiast, based in Brooklyn, NY, who makes music as OORA. Federico's work is based on strict limitations and deep exploration of his gear. Daily discipline and consistency has made him a prolific creator who is steadily growing his audience. Federico and I had a wide ranging conversation about his work and the gear he uses. He told how...

Todd Reynolds is a violinist, educator, and music technologist. He's worked with Steve Reich, Yo-Yo Ma, Bruce Springsteen, and many more household names. His album Outerborough was Amazon Music's classical album of the year. Todd teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. He is pushing the boundaries of music technology, and recently, he has begun teaching artists how to create an online presence....

Knowing how to write effective emails could be the key to your success as a musician. It is likely you will be reaching out to a variety of people for help with your music career.  As a high school English teacher, I wanted to share a few tips and techniques to help you get the most out your emails. Members of my Music Production Club will get access to an email template, complete with notes and e...

Karen Emanuel is the CEO of Key Production, a company that specializes producing and manufacturing physical packaging for albums. She runs a luxury eco-lodge on a lake in Nicaragua. In 2018, Karen won the prestigious NatWest Everywoman prize, celebrating her accomplishments as a female entrepreneur. Karen shared her experience in the music industry, beginning in the late 1980's, and how loyalty an...

Miguel Rios is a singer-songwriter living in Australia. His new album Slaughter House Road was recorded with strict boundaries and creative restrictions. This approach allowed him to capture emotional and organic performances.   I spoke with Miguel about his songwriting process and the methods he used to record his new album. He explained how his vision for the album came together naturally, and h...

Vasja Veber is a co-founder of Viberate, a platform that gives artists important analytics to help grow their careers. Vasja is also the manager of techno artist UMEK and has a long career in the music industry. Vasja and I spoke about Viberate and how it can help artists, venues, and labels make important business decisions. Vasja shares how some outside of the box thinking helped him and his com...

Rick Seibold is a songwriter and recording artist living in Los Angeles. Rick produces music for television and film, including shows like Grey's Anatomy, American Idol , and Bates Motel . He has won two GMA Dove Awards, and has composed for four Billboard #1 albums. Rick and I spoke about his work in the television music industry. Rick shared his techniques for collaborative songwriting, and how...

Tommy Zee runs Tommy Zee and Co., a music production company that makes music for some of the world's largest brands, such as Nike, Adidas, Google, Sony, and more. He created the site Making Music for Brands that teaches producers how to get in the business of producing music for companies. It's always great to catch up with Tommy Zee and get a healthy dose of his positive energy. Tommy and I talk...

Tobi Hunke is a professional drummer and music producer. He is an educator and Max for live programmer who releases his work on the website Ableton Drummer. Tobi teaches drumming and music production to classes, as well as in one on one sessions. I had a great conversation with Tobi. We discussed his work and experience, as well as live performance and developing tools for drummers to use with Abl...

Niraj Naik is an ex-pharmacist turned influential spiritual teacher, professional musician and holistic health expert. Niraj runs SOMA Breath, which uses music, breathing, and meditation for healing. Niraj produces music in a variety of genres, and created the music for the Wim Hof Method.  Niraj and I had a nice conversation about his work and how he harnesses the power of music, breath, and medi...

Rivita is musician, producer, and author of Composer Cave Challenge . Born in India and living in Los Angeles, Rivita studied music in a variety colleges, while traveling the world learning about different musical cultures. She is releasing a new book of music making prompts and exercises called Composer Cave Challenge . I had a great and wide ranging conversation with Rivita about her music, educ...

Colin O'Donohoe is a composer and musician known as World Maestro. Colin has traveled the world seeking musicians from all genres and cultures for the Pangean Orchestra, which seeks to celebrate and preserve musical cultures while joining them with other traditions. He does work for television and film, and recently released "The Prayer Garden," a meditative piece that combines Native American Flu...

Elina Segall is a musician and producer from Stockholm living in Los Angeles. Elina won the Warner Music Talent contest and earned a record deal... which she ultimately turned down. She has gone on to pursue her own artistic vision and define her own path in the music industry. Elina and I had a great conversation covering her musical background and why she turned down the record deal she won. We...

Matthew Boerum is the CEO and founder of Audible Reality, a new app that allows you to listen to music in 3D audio. The app lets users to choose specific "vibes" for a customized listening experience. Matt is is an award-winning audio engineer, musician, educator and PhD candidate in Sound Recording, with plenty of background in 3D audio production for music and virtual reality.  Matt and I spoke...

Rob Wreglesworth and Jack Edwards are long-time friends who have decided to write, record, and release an album from scratch within one year. They are documenting the entire process on their podcast, Tunelighting.  Rob, Jack, and I had a great conversation about their mission to create an album in one year and document the process. We spoke about their progress so far and the challenges they face....

One of the biggest problems we music producers face is too many options. We get stuck because we can''t decide. This episode of the podcast is all about purposely limiting yourself so you can find creative solutions to your problems. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Music Production Club - Monthly subscription for tools and inspiration to make m...

Stephen (Stephen Swartz) is an indie-electronic music artist, from Virginia, living in Los Angeles. In 2015, his hit single "Crossfire" amassed over 100 million streams. It led to him releasing his 2016 debut LP Sincerely that garnered fan and critical praise. Stephen is about to release his new album Akrasia on August 21st. Stephen and I talked about his career and work. We explored how his deep...

Anton Zytnik is a producer and musician from Australia, living in Berlin, who makes music as Orphan Train Project. He has been producing music for the last 30 years and has maintained a quite prolific output.  Anton and I had a great conversation about our strikingly similar musical backgrounds and surrounding philosophies. Anton shared some very practical tips and approaches that allow him to sta...