Music Production Podcast

Emre Yilmaz is a guitarist and singer songwriter from Istanbul Turkey, living in New York. He's done work for film and commercials. Emre is an avid meditator and yoga practitioner, and often produces music for those environments. I had an excellent and wide ranging conversation with Emre. We explored the idea of self and the artist. We discussed how the mind works and how that affects our music pr...

Remute is a techno artist who is bringing new meaning to "minimalism." Revolting against our maximalist culture, Denis Karimani (aka Remute) programmed and released his latest album on the Sega MegDrive 16-bit video game system of the 1990's (known as "Sega Genesis" in the USA).  On this episode of the Music Production Podcast, Denis Karimani (aka Remute) discusses his work as an artist and how he...

Dani DiCiaccio produces experimental electronic music with a hint of pop as KYOSi. She just released a new EP Negative Space . Dani has produced music for film, theatre, and podcasts.  In this episode, Dani shares her thoughts on experimental music and live performance. We talked about how saying yes to a variety of different projects can help expand one's artistic horizon.  Listen on iTunes or St...

David Abravanel has worked with some of the most important companies in music production. He has done marketing work for Ableton, Eventide, and Sensel. He writes for Ableton's blog, Create Digital Music, and many more. He always seems to be right in the middle of the action. On this episode, David shares his experience working for various music production companies. As a confessed plug-in hoarder,...

Drew Mayhills is a musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer in Australia. He releases music as Mayhills. Drew creates visceral and emotive music, ranging from energetic and angry to soft and soothing. His work moves people on the dance floor and in yoga and meditation studios. Drew has committed himself to a new release every month. Drew and I talked about staying disciplined and focused...

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 aims to move people emotionally with his music. Tommy began as a banker by day and DJ by night before quitting his job and starting his company.  In this episode, Tommy Zee talks about creating music and sound for brands. Tommy discu...

I've been accumulating some field recordings over the last few months, and on today's episode we do something with them.  I used recordings of the checkout line at Costco, my dogs eating ice cubes, and crickets in the rain. After about 30 minutes of experimentation, I wound up with a textured synth pad, a beepy pluck instrument, some interesting transitional noises and risers, and a Drum Rack of m...

Quality comes from quantity, so make as much music as you can. The more you do anything the better you get at it. In this episode, I talk about a few things that have inspired me lately, and they all have to do with being prolific.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: JUNO-106 Ableton Live Pack - The instruments used to make the intro music. Drumtr...

Abid Hussain is an electronic and alternative rock music producer, Ableton Certified Trainer, and licensed attorney. Abid gave a helpful speech on sampling and copyrights at last year's Loop conference. He produces music under the name Nebulae.  In this episode, Abid gives some unofficial legal advice on sampling and copyrighting your music. We also discuss dealing with and overcoming creative blo...

They Owe Us is an electronic, rock, alternative (my words, not theirs) duo from Sweden. They have an affinity towards vintage analog gear and homemade drum kits. They've just released their debut album Broken English and Sad Serenades . I got to speak with Rane and Kris about their creative process, the new album, and live performance. They shared their approach to writing and recording, which the...

We all have the same 24 hour days. No one is more successful than you because they have more time. The most productive people make time. In today's episode of the Music Production Podcast, we discuss 10 things you can do to make the most of your time and get more done.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Ableton Live 10.1 Keyboard Shortcuts  - pri...

Ben Mendoza is the founder of Beatchain, a powerful new data science and digital marketing platform that helps artists connect with and grow their fanbase. Beatchain allows musicians to target new and existing fans by collecting data and using machine learning. Artists can use this information to learn what posts are most effective, target people in specific geographical locations with specific in...

URSA is a new music streaming service that allows artists to share bios, album liner notes, pictures, lyrics, photos, videos, and more with their fans. It promises to make deeper and more meaningful connections between artists, fans, and the music.  In this episode of the Music Production Podcast, I sit down to talk with URSA's founders Christopher Jones and Chad Royce. Chris and Chad are artists...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;" -Shakespeare I've decided to drop the name AfroDJMac and move forward using my actual name, Brian Funk. I've wrestled with artist names for a while and decided to just drop it. The result has been surprisingly liberating. In this episode, we talk about artist names, why we have, and if we even need them. I'll go...

Matty Harris is a mixing and mastering engineer who has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Sammy Adams, Lil Yachty, A$AP Rocky, Cousin Stizz, Cam Meekins, and many more. He runs the online mixing and mastering site MixandMasterMySong.com. Matty and I had a great conversation about some best practices in mixing and mastering. Matty shared some of his favorite tools and offered some practical advice that c...

Musicians and artists are often thought of as creatives. We build, construct, and create out of thin air. In this episode, I explore the benefits of changing our thinking as that of a creator to that of an observer. By becoming an observer, we are noticing and curating the art and music. It can take the pressure out of the creative process and teach us to be more openminded.  Listen on iTunes or S...

It's impossible to live in a constant state of inspiration. Truth is, inspiration is quite rare. And when it comes, it is hard to hold on to. So what can we do when we don't feel like getting to work or we don't have any ideas? This is a struggle I am currently feeling, so I made a list of things I can do to regain some inspiration and find new ideas. This episode of the podcast is really a pep ta...

David Frangioni is a drummer, music technologist, studio designer, and author of the book Crash , which is an illustrative chronicle of rock and roll's legendary drum kits. He has worked with a who's who of rock legends like Aerosmith, Sting, Ozzy Osbourne, Ringo Starr, and KISS. His company, Audio One, builds and installs the most high-end luxury studios. David just released the book C rash! The...

Mark Cawley is a hit songwriter, with credits to his name for artists like Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Joe Cocker, and many more. His new book, Song Journey: A Hit Songwriter's Guide Through the Process, the Perils, and the Payoff of Writing Songs for a Living , offers practical steps and advice for songwriters. It's currently the #1 new release in the Music Composition category on Amazon. Mark also...

If one thing is for sure, you will run into problems while producing music. Maybe it's a technical issue, a creative issue, or a personal issue, either way, you are sure to have them. So what do you do?  In this episode, I offer some ways of rethinking problems from something bad to something good and productive.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes...

GARDNSOUND is the work of Gardner Beson, a musician, producer, and YouTuber known for his helpful tutorials. Gardner generously shares his production techniques and skills with his audience. He runs Gardnsound Studios, which caters to artists that excel at breaking through the barriers that contain conventional EDM. I had an interesting and wide-ranging conversation with Gardner. The first five mi...

As I've been working on my live performance set, I've found two simple things helping quite a lot: to-do lists and done lists. In this episode, I share how I am using simple lists to help with my productivity and motivation. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: REEL SYNTHS V1: PROPHET 6 - Ableton Live Pack made with sounds of the Prophet 6 analog sy...

Jason Timothy Ward runs the site MusicSoftwareTraining.com, where he teaches you how to produce music by not just showing you the tools, but also addressing the mental side. What I love about Jason's work is his ability to deal with the philosophical side of his art. Jason has tremendous insight on how our mind often gets in the way of our work, and offers practical solutions we can all use. In ou...

The kitchen of a restaurant can be one of the more hectic workplaces. In order to make delicious dinners in all of the chaos, chefs need to be extremely disciplined.  As music producers, we can learn a lot about our craft by observing how chefs manage to complete their art in the "heat" of the moment (couldn't resist the pun :). Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify ; watch on You...

Eshan Khadaroo has performed with Grammy award winning artists such as Cirque Du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Imogen Heap, and many more. In recent years, Eshan has been releasing some of the finest tutorials and video courses for Ableton Push under the name Push4Life. Eshan just released a new video course called Getting to Know (and love) Chromatic Mode on Ableton Push 2. Eshan is offering listeners...