Music Production Podcast

Raul Sotomayor is a musician, producer, and DJ from Mexico City. Raul makes Afro-Caribbean electronic music as Tonga Conga. He has a record label and studio named Kaya Records and produces music for a wide range of artists. Raul and I had a great time talking about his work as Tonga Conga and his background as a percussionist and DJ. He shared some thoughts on building a studio area that is comfor...

Andrew Huang is a musician, producer, video maker, and sound explorer. He's known for his YouTube channel which currently has over 2.35 million subscribers. Andrew recently released the Transit plug-in with Baby Audio, the Ghost Pedal with Endorphines, and the iOS Flip sampler. His new book,  Make Your Own Rules , details his story as a music industry misfit and shares advice on how to build a car...

Stavroz is an organic and cinematic electronic music group from Belgium. The award-winning 4-piece combines DJ-style electronic performances with acoustic instruments such as bass, guitar, wind, and brass. In December 2023, they released their Kick Up the Dust EP, combining a variety of styles, moods, energies, and instrumentation. I spoke with Gert from Stavroz, whose varied role in the band incl...

Brent Hendrich is an award-winning mix engineer with over 20 years of experience in the Nashville music industry. He has worked in just about every stage of the recording process and within a wide variety of musical genres. In recent years, Brent has become a specialist in mixing pop music.  Brent and I spoke about his work as a pop music mixing engineer. He shared valuable mixing techniques and s...

Will Hatton is a music producer and educator. He runs the popular Inspired By... YouTube Channel and has taught music for over a decade. Will releases music under the name Hush Child. Will and I had a great time talking about a wide range of topics. We discussed his work and success with his YouTube Channel. Will shared some insights about how he carved his own path in the music industry. We spent...

Amanda Cawley is an award-winning orchestral composer for film, television, and video games. Amanda's work includes the documentary Visionary Gardeners , the animated series Fireman Sam , and the video game  Siegebreaker .  Amanda and I spoke about her work creating sonic worlds for film and video games. She shared how she overcomes creative challenges and blocks, as well as the mental game of wri...

Yeuda Ben-Atar, aka Side Brain, is a musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer. Yeuda has taught countless students both online and in person. He first caught my attention around 2010 using his Sega Dreamcast arcade stick and other video game controllers to perform with Ableton Live. Yeuda regularly releases Ableton Live Packs and tutorials and holds a weekly "Study Group" where he and par...

Chloe Echo is a singer/songwriter, producer, and educator originally from New Zealand and living in Los Angeles. She just released her new EP Past Life . Chloe teaches for Berklee Online. Chloe and I got a chance to reconnect after meeting and writing music together at the Monterey Songwriting Retreat. She spoke about how her past has brought her to where she is now as a person and artist. We refl...

Lanier Sammons is an engineer, composer, and teacher at California State University, Monterey Bay. He teaches recording and technology, and has worked on many records, films, concert hall works, and installation pieces.   Lanier and I spoke about his work as a teacher and producer, as well as his new track, a cover of ZZ Top's "Waiting for the Bus." We discussed our experiences together at the Mon...

Filip is a musician and producer who runs the YouTube Channel Flow Prod. Filip shares practical tips and techniques that help music producers improve their music and workflows. Filip and I spoke about his work as a producer and YouTuber. He shared some thoughts on balancing music and life, as well as some practical approaches that allow him to create more music at higher levels.  Listen on Apple ,...

Alex Geringas is a producer, composer, and Grammy-winning songwriter. He has 16 number-one songs in Germany and won a Grammy for his co-writing of Kelly Clarkson's "Dark Side." He has written music for Batwheels , the entire Trolls TV franchise, and collaborated with Timbaland on the theme for Fast and Furious: Spy Racers . Alex and I had a great conversation about his work in television and film...

Joseph Holiday makes music as Snakes of Russia. His new album, True Surrender, releases on Friday, October 13, 2023. Joseph also creates soundscapes for films and sound design work for Ableton and Spitfire Audio.   For Joseph's second appearance on the Music Production Podcast, we discussed his workflow and process for his new album. Joseph spoke about traveling to Salem, MA to God City studio whe...

Peter Bell is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and teacher at Berklee College of Music. He composed the themes for This Old House, New Yankee Workshop, Victory Garden, the ABC After School Special , the award-winning film Radio Cape Cod , and countless jingles and production tracks. He recorded with Bonnie Raitt and the James Montgomery Band and has two Emmys, seven NEBA awards, and six...

Jörgen Kjellgren is a musician and producer from Sweden. His new album, Bluebird , comes out September 14th and combines singer-songwriting and ambient music beautifully.  Jörgen and I spoke about his new album, Bluebird. Jörgen shared his songwriting and recording techniques. He went into detail about how the songs were started with lyrical writing and the production techniques he used to bring e...

Bobby Owsinski is an audio engineer, producer, author, and educator. His book, The Mixing Engineer's Handbook is in its 5th edition and is a foundational part of college classrooms. Bobby writes about music production and gear on his blog Music 3.0 . He also hosts the Podcast Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle , which covers the latest industry news and features interviews with assorted music professio...

Lynden Williams makes music as Divorce Court. His new album, Two Hours , marks a new direction with his collaboration with Chase Lambert. Lynden also works as a documentary filmmaker for Ableton.  It was great to reconnect with Lynden! His music and workflow have evolved tremendously in the years I've known him. Lynden shared insights he learned from artists while filming documentaries with Ableto...

Our favorite artists inspire us to make our own music. But it's easy to get caught up in trying to replicate their sound. In doing so, we ignore what is our number one advantage over every other music producer in the world. In this episode, we talk about why we can't and don't even want to sound like our favorite artists and what we can do to unlock our own musical super-power that can set us apar...

JP Rende and Kat Raio Rende are a husband and wife songwriting team and founders of Earworm Music. JP and Kat write and produce music for kids television, animation, film, and commercials. They won an Emmy for their song "Friends with a Penguin" sung by Billy Porter on Sesame Street. They've produced music for various shows including Gabby's Dollhouse, Baby Shark's Big Show, Barbie's Dreamhouse Ad...

Sarah Belle Reid is a performer and composer. She plays trumpet, modular synthesizers, and a wide array of electronic gadgets. Sarah holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the California Institute of the Arts. She teaches music technology and modular synthesis at universities and her own online programs. Sarah spoke about how she combines her classical training with electronic music production and...

James Patrick is a music producer, educator, and author of the new book Sound Design for Electronic Music . James is one of the first Ableton Certified Trainers and he co-founded the electronic music school Slam Academy.  James and I spoke about his work as an educator, the history and philosophy behind Slam Academy, and his new book Sound Design for Electronic Music . James shared how everything...

Dave Gebroe is the host and creator of the show Discograffiti , a music podcast that delivers the objective truth about the entire discography of every single artist and band that ever existed. He has written, produced, and filmed two feature films, The Homeboy and Zombie Honeymoon .  Dave and I spoke about his show Discograffiti and the depths he goes to ensure that he and his guests leave no sto...

Ross Lara is a music producer, film composer, and the CEO and founder of Archipelago Entertainment. His studio is the highest-altitude Dolby Atmos installation in the world. His music is inspired by nature and he has worked for brands like Red Bull, Meta, and Epic Games. Ross and I spoke about the importance of bringing emotional impact into our music. Ross went into depth about how he builds worl...

Brandon Reed is the creator of the 12 Hour Sound Machine (No Loops or Fades!) Podcast. The show provides listeners with 12 hours of soothing sound to help people relax and sleep. Episodes feature 12 hour stretches of white, pink, and brown noise, as well as environmental sounds like babbling brooks and forests at night, and even more unusual sounds like popcorn popping and diesel engines. To date...

EmmoLei Sankofa is a composer, producer, musician, and artist. Credits include Emmy award-winning "Watch Out For the Big Grrrls," the Lizzo documentary series, STARZ's "Step Up", and newly released, "Three Ways," which recently premiered on Hulu .  EmmoLei and I had a wide-ranging conversation about her career and creative process. We wound up exploring some deep philosophical and evolutionary asp...

How come we get so good at creating one short section of music only to get stuck when it's time to create the next section? If a song is a collection of different sections, why is it so hard to string a few sections together to make a song?  In this episode of the Music Production Podcast, we explore a big mistake that all but prevents us from finishing songs.  Listen on Apple ,   Spotify ,   Goog...