Secret Sonics

Gavi Kutliroff is a folk musician, singer-songwriter, audio engineer, and editor of Secret Sonics! In this conversation, Gavi and Ben let loose and chat about the intersection of artistry, audio, music production, and everything in between. They also go over lessons learned from the podcast and discuss goals/aspirations for the new year. You can follow Gavi on Social Media IG - https://www.instagr...

Charlie Deakin-Davies is a record producer, songwriter, musical director, and multi-instrumentalist based out of London, England, UK! In our conversation Charlie and I go deep on the following: Getting their start and charting from a young age Being naive and productive vs. experienced with imposter syndrome Working with Gary Barlow MDing and touring Pop songwriting sessions Major labels signing T...

Hill Kourkoutis is a Juno Award-winning music producer, mixing engineer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Toronto, ON, Canada! In our conversation Hill and I go deep on the following: Building trust with artists Her background as a touring musician Preproduction Guitar tone Hill’s approach to production and mixing Getting the right drum tones Nostalgic sounds can bring out certain emotio...

Richie Beretta is a music producer and mixing engineer originally hailing from NYC and currently based out of San Diego, CA, USA! In our conversation Richie and I go deep on the following: Paul McCartney’s bass tone Recording on Dad’s tape machine Recording is stopping to capture a moment in time The woes of pop culture and discontent over Art becoming content Richie's quest for authenticity Liste...

This episode originally aired in August of 2021 Original show notes - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/8/1/secret-sonics-106-justin-craig-letting-musicality-guide-production Justin Craig is a Grammy-nominated music producer, mixing engineer and musical director based out of Brooklyn, NY, USA. In our conversation Justin shared his journey from Lexington, KY to musical directing on B...

Martin Cooke is a music producer and mixing engineer based out of LA, CA, USA! In our conversation Martin shares his story; studying at Berklee college of music, moving to LA, working at Henson, and later for Rich Costey, and eventually going freelance and doing his own thing. We chat about the producing vs the mixing mindset, getting clients, outboard gear, how he gets guitar and drum tones prese...

Benny Faccone is a 17-time Grammy Award-winning music producer and audio engineer based out of LA, CA, USA! In our conversation Benny shares his story; studying at Berklee college of music, moving to LA, assisting at A&M, and getting his "in" as an engineer working on Latin records. We chat about working with great producers, Analog vs. Digital sound and stereo width, panning, working with Santana...

Mixing phenoms Andrew Maury and Jesse Ray Ernster return to the podcast in a live AMA event that was recorded last month. In this conversation, Andrew and Jesse answered some of your burning questions and we went deep on so many topics including being overly self-critical, deliverables (what Andrew and Jesse actually provide their clients), Atmos, analog summing (and is it worth it?), saturation,...

Sam Pura is a record producer, audio engineer, and mixing engineer based out of Fremont, CA, USA! In our chat, Sam shares his unique approach to making records; how he reamps guitars, tunes drums, mixes, and edits every single transient on the recording! We chat about making sure the music is excellent before worrying about the business, mixing with impact, caring too much about projects, and so m...

Mikko Gordon is a record producer, audio engineer, and mixing engineer based out of London, England, UK! In our chat, Mikko shares his story; from playing in bands to doubling down on the studio thing, meeting and working with Nigel Godrich, and working with some of today's biggest indie/alternative acts! We chat about finding artists he really wants to work with, establishing an aesthetic on a re...

Mike Indovina is a mixing and mastering engineer based out of Toronto, On, Canada, and the owner of MasterYourMix.com! In our chat, Mike shares his story; from playing in bands to doing the studio thing to writing a book on mixing! We chat about finding a process that works for you and sticking with it, mixing templates, how he's able to master his own mixes, and working in the box. We also talk a...

Jim Homes is an audio engineer, music producer, mixing engineer, and one half of Boe Weaver, a production duo based out of the Isle of Wight, UK! In our chat, Jim shares his story; getting signed almost on a whim really young, building a studio with his brother, and remixing for major label artists. We chat about doubling down on your strengths, trying to keep the human elements in a production, t...

Jonathan Friedlander is an audio engineer, music producer, mixing engineer, and the owner of Quality Sound, based in Jerusalem, Israel! In our second chat on the air, Jon talks about adjusting his studio to the pandemic, always getting better at his craft, and making sure to get credit for his work. He goes deep on his approach to recording vocals, working fast, recording and mixing drums, and his...

Justin LaPointe is an audio engineer, music producer, mixing engineer, and the owner of Barnhouse Sound on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada! In our chat, Justin talks about his journey in audio; from interning at a large facility to building a destination recording studio. He goes deep on creating an environment that fosters creativity, capturing live bands, and getting great drum sounds. We also chat...

Tim O'Sullivan is a music producer, audio engineer, and mixing engineer based out of LA, CA, USA! In our second chat on the podcast, Tim brings us up to date and shares what he's done since our last conversation; the closing of Barefoot Recording, setting up an Atmos room for Greg Wells, touring with Chicano Batman, and setting up his own studio in Frogtown. He goes deep on working on the latest R...

Shachar "Shak" Boussani is a mixing and recording engineer based out of LA, CA, USA! In our chat, Shachar shares his journey; being inspired to move to a big music city on a trip to London, moving to Los Angeles, working in post-production, eventually opening a recording studio, and most recently working for big-time mixer, Bob Horn. He goes deep on his approach to recording and mixing including s...

Ed Boyer is an arranger, producer, and audio/mixing engineer for a cappella music based out of Connecticut, USA! This episode first aired on February 27th, 2021 Original show notes - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/2/27/secret-sonics-086-ed-boyer-shaping-the-sound-of-a-cappella-music In this episode, check out Ed's journey; from recording his collegiate a cappella group to mixing...

Skyler Cocco is a singer-songwriter, music producer, and mixing engineer based out of LA, CA, USA! In this episode, discover Skyler's approach to production and mixing, how she won a competition and got her song in front of her favorite band, when to sign a label deal (and when not to!), and so much more. Check it out! This episode originally aired on January 10th, 2021 Original Show Notes - https...

Matt Snell is a music producer and audio/mixing engineer working out of Genesis Sound in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! This episode originally aired on August 23rd, 2020! Original show notes - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2020/8/23/secret-sonics-060-matt-snell You can find Matt on Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snellular5/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.snell...

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Alex Crescioni is a music producer, mixer, and the owner of Stygian Sound based out of LA, CA, USA! In our chat, Alex shares his journey - from musician to engineer focused on heavy genres. He goes deep on his approach to producing and mixing heavy music, mixing and mastering in the same session, adding creative elements in the mix, embracing his own artistic style, producer's roles, and blurred l...

John Greenham is a mastering engineer based out of LA, CA, USA! In our chat, John shares his journey - from musician to mastering engineer. He talks about his philosophy when it comes to mastering; approaching it from a musician's mindset, working fast, shaping a song with EQ to maximize energy, and focusing on the vocals. We chat about why being in LA is so important, working with Billie Eilish a...

Stephen Kerrison is a mastering engineer based out of Liverpool, England, UK! In our chat, Stephen shares his journey from a touring musician to studio as a mastering engineer. He talks about the Weird Jungle mastering collective, instilling confidence in the artists he works with, working in the box, tools of the trade, and using his instincts to master. We also chat about Seth Godin marketing ta...

Josh Bonanno is a mixing engineer based out of Nashville, TN, USA! In our second conversation on the podcast, Josh catches us up to date and we talk about so much, including how he tries to spread knowledge and build community on the internet, the weird state of the social media platforms, and the real life community in Nashville. We chat about having patience, quantity leading to quality, trustin...

Ramera Abraham is a vocal producer and sound engineer based out of London, England, UK! In our conversation, Ramera tells her story - studying at the Abbey Road Institute, building relationships, and hitting the ground running as a vocal producer. She goes deep on her approach to working with artists - using emotional intelligence in a session, extensive session prep, microphone preferences, choos...