Music Production Podcast

We completed another Jamuary challenge to make music each day during the month of January. There are a lot of important lessons about making music that I've learned along the way. This episode highlights one of the biggest! Listen on Apple or Stitcher or Google or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Website - https://brianfunk.com Intro Music Made with 16 Bit Ableton Live Pack - https://brianfu...

Liina Turtonen is a musician, producer, and educator, who runs the LNA Does Audio Stuff YouTube channel. Liina is an Ableton Certified Trainer who focuses on making music production more accessible for all people while teaching confidence and workflow strategies for overcoming the challenges of making music. Listen on Apple or Stitcher or Google or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Liina's We...

Showing up is literally the most important part. Here are some thoughts on the importance of being consistent with your music-making, as well as a pep talk for #jamuary2022. Listen on Apple or Stitcher or Google or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Website - https://brianfunk.com Intro Music Made with 16-Bit Ableton Live Pack - https://brianfunk.com/blog/16-bit Music Production Club - https:/...

The Pleasure Principle is a psychological phenomenon that likely plays a role in how we make music. In this episode, we explore how we can use the Pleasure Principle to our advantage and avoid allowing it to negatively impact our music-making. Listen on Apple or Stitcher or Google or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Video Game Bundle - https://brianfunk.gumroad.com/l/videogame Music Producti...

Keppie Coutts teaches songwriting and runs the YouTube channel "How to Write Songs." Keppie studied and taught at Berklee College of Music. Her credits range from genres diverse as folk, pop, and heavy metal. Her latest work is on a new audiobook/album Mothertongues . Keppie and I spoke about her songwriting process and the challenges songwriters face. We explored what it means to turn nothing int...

Francisco Dean is a trained jazz musician and music educator at the University of Chicago Lab School. Francisco composed a piece for his school's electronic music ensemble for the Jewish Student Association's Holocaust Remembrance event. Every sound was created with samples from Holocaust artifacts from the Illinois Holocaust Museum.  In my opinion, this is one of the finest examples of using mode...

Bill Small is a musician, songwriter, and founder of Artist Mind Inc. He has lots of experience in just about all aspects of the music business. Bill applies what he has learned over the years as a personal coach for people from all walks of life, including artists, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs.  Bill shared many of his techniques and strategies for helping people define success in their li...

Tyler Campbell is the founder of Alder Audio. He hand makes high-quality ribbon microphones in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Coming from a background in chemistry, music, and working for his father's business, Tyler combines his skills to create his own unique microphones. Tyler and I spoke about ribbon microphones and how he started creating them. Like so many things in life, the path was not planned. We...

I recently read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont, a book of advice for writers. Although it is intended for writers, there are some really nice lessons for us music producers. This episode of the podcast is all about those lessons and how we can apply them to our music making. Listen on Apple or Stitcher or Google or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont - https://amzn.to/3...

Serik Slobodskoy is a music producer and founder of the Hyperbits music school. Serik began his musical career in bands, then became a DJ and music producer. After an exciting period of touring, he found his true calling in teaching music production. Serik and I had a great conversation about his career and the surprising, and sometimes upsetting, twists and turns along the way. We spent a lot of...

Valery Vermeulen is a Belgian mathematician, lecturer, data analyst, and electronic musician. His new album, Mikromedas , was made using data from black holes. Valery and I had a great conversation about his new album and finding creative ways to create music. We spend some time discussing the nature of the universe and black holes, and it all relates back to making music. This is a deep and somet...

Making music is a challenging mental game. Every session involves puzzles and obstacles.  The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a psychological phenomenon we humans experience while learning new things. It causes us to overestimate our abilities in the beginning and question them as we advance.  Understanding how the Dunning-Kruger Effect impacts us can help us reach new levels in our music production. Lis...

Kristopher Ragnstam is the creative force behind The Owe Us, a rock/alternative/electronic band from Sweden. Kris recently released the band's new album, Kram , to much critical acclaim.  Kris and I sat down for our second talk on the podcast. We discussed how he manages to balance the raw energy of musical performance while maintaining a certain level of polish. We cover philosophical approaches...

Adam McHeffey is Director of Marketing at Artiphon. Artiphon is using cutting-edge technology to create intuitive musical instruments anyone can play. Their latest instrument, the Orba, resembles a sliced-in-half grapefruit that musical newcomers will be making music with within minutes while giving seasoned musicians new levels of expression and flexibility. Adam and I spoke about making music mo...

So much of music production is in our mindset. Is yours working for you or against you? Listen on Apple or Stitcher or Google or Spotify ; watch on YouTube Support the Podcast on Patreon and get exclusive mini-episodes - https://www.patreon.com/brianfunk Brian Funk Links: Website - https://brianfunk.com Intro Music Made with Juno 106 Ableton Live Pack - https://brianfunk.com/blog/juno-106 Ableton...

John Bobo and Felix Nieto are The Slang, a rock band that is releasing their new album, Divide, on 9/24/21. John, a singer-songwriter, and Felix, a producer and engineer, collaborate out of Washington DC to create their blend of alternative, rock, and power pop music. John and Felix talked in-depth about their process of collaborating with each other. Generally, John assumes the role of songwriter...

Alarke (Mary Alouette) is an award-winning Los Angeles-based electronic pop singer, songwriter, music producer, and artist coach. Alarke helps artists find their unique voice through personal and artistic exploration. She recently released her new single "Future Self." Alarke and I spoke about her music and work as an artistic coach. She shared how life experiences define us and shape us as artist...

Frank Demilt is the author of The Blueprint: The Bible for Becoming a Successful Performing Artist in the Digital Age . Frank is the Head of Artist Development and A&R at Water Music Publishing. Frank helped create Sloppy Vinyl, a premier artist development and entertainment company in New Jersey. Frank and I spoke about his new book, The Blueprint , which takes artists from the very first steps o...

Calvin West is a musician and producer who specializes in music lyric videos. Calvin creates lyric videos for artists and labels that capture the artistic vision of the music. He also offers music mastering services. Calvin and I had a great conversation about the evolution of album art and how there are new digital extensions available to musicians. We got into how musicians can give their fans m...

Carter Lee is a producer, composer, and educator. He hosts the Themes and Variations Podcast, where musicians discuss music related to particular themes. Carter is the head of community at Soundfly, a site for online music education. Carter holds degrees in musical performance from MacEwan University and Berklee College. Carter and I had a great conversation about musical performance and productio...

Matt Ramsey teaches singing lessons using mixed voice technique. Matt founded Ramsey Voice Studio in 2012 and is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and YouTuber . His YouTube channel has amassed a huge following and helped singers all over the world. Matt and I had a great conversation about vocal technique. We discussed things singers can do to help improve their voice and vocal range. Matt sha...

Pietro Weber makes synthwave music under the name Bitapart. Bitapart's new album, Telecommander , is inspired by 80's action movies.  Pietro and I had a great conversation about music production and his techniques to create his signature sound. He discusses the use of Teenage Engineering's OP-1, Ableton Live, and analog gear. Pietro shared some great tips on staying inspired and productive. Listen...

Chris Stallone makes synth-heavy music as 80's Stallone. His work embodies the sound of 1980's action movie montages and is perfect for your next workout or party. Chris and I spoke about his process and artistic vision. Chris shared how he likes to approach making music. It was an inspiring conversation with an artist whose music I really enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spot...

Ben Burnes is a producer, live streamer, and game programmer. He releases unique sample packs and is very active in the music production community. Ben participates in a 2 Hour Track Challenge every week. He is currently readying his new album Hey for release. It was great to speak with Ben again; he was the very first guest on this podcast! Ben shared how he keeps himself disciplined with his 2 H...

Stimming is a music producer from Hamburg, who recently released his new album,  Ludwig . Stimming creates reviews for the latest in electronic music instruments. His video series "Beats on a Budget" helps aspiring musicians to get started in music production without breaking the bank. Stimming and I spoke about his new album and some of the techniques he used to get such unique and interesting so...