The Human Music Podcast

Ep. 112 - [Music Artists People Love To Hate] How do you feel about the Chainsmokers? How about Nickelback? What about Macklemore, Creed, Marshmello, T-Pain, Skrillex? Why do so many people get mad at these artists? Is it because they’re inescapable? Is it because they break expectations? Or maybe they changed the game and people weren’t ready? Whatever the reason, there are some artists that peop...

Ep. 111 - [Arrangement and Transitions] It’s not just what you do in your music, it’s when you do it in the song. Context is important! How do you prepare the listener for the change in musical sections? Where do you build tension and where do you give release? How many great ideas do you need to have in a song? When do you add things and when do you take them away? Are you doing too much? Also, d...

Ep. 110 - [Micaela Kingslight on Collaboration and Song Catching] Micaela Kingslight is a singer, songwriter, music teacher, guitar player, multi instrumentalist and much more. In this episode we discuss how she learned to sing harmonies from her opera singer parents at age 3, how chicken McNuggets launched her recording career, learning jazz to become a better music teacher, finding joy through c...

Ep. 109 - [Tips for Producing Vocals] What is vocal comping? How do you mix vocals? What is a vocal chain and what belongs in it? What about compression, EQ and De-Essing? How do you do the “wet” effects like reverb and delay without washing out your takes? How perfect do you need to make your vocal mix? We each dive into our own vocal chains to let you know how we get our vocals to sound how we l...

Ep. 108 - [Tips for Recording Vocals] What’s most important, lyrics, melody or rhythm? How can gibberish help you be a better songwriter? What can you do if you need to fix the pitch on your vocal take? How can you sing the right pitch in the first place? What do you do if you’re having trouble nailing a line? This episode will help you get that good take so you can get to mixing your record! Song...

Ep. 107 - [Collab Bro?] What percentage of collabs go unfinished? What does it take to finish them? What ‘soft skills’ do you need to have to achieve collab victory? Do either of you even currently have the skills to finish a track? Are you being appropriately realistic and patient? What are some good ways to begin or approach collaboration? How do you discuss a percentage of splits for ownership...

Ep. 106 - [Spencer Tribwell on Presence, Breathwork and Happy Accidents] Spencer Tribwell is a creative coach, event planner, breathwork and meditation facilitator and much more. In this episode we dive into his previous life as a flying squirrel, facing and naming fears, sitting with emotions without judgment, how creative stress brought him to meditation, the power of breathwork, the original so...

Ep. 105 - [THE 2 Year Anniversary Party!] That’s right, we made it two full years of episodes! We hung out with some of our humans in the Dojo TV live chat to talk about our favorite moments, answer questions, reminisce on gigs Luke and RIP Kenny played in 2019, discuss how to get gigs, whether or not you need a manger, finding friends instead of networking, advice we wish we had learned sooner, b...

Ep. 104 - [How Do Music Producers Avoid Burnout?] We are diving into Luke Rain’s experience burning out in 2021, RIP Kenny’s work on his album, flow state, going directly for your goal vs taking the scenic route, myopic focus vs zooming out for a wider perspective, following your joy, working with divine masculine yang energy compared to divine feminine yin energy, making a clearing in your life f...

Ep. 103 - [Tesko on Adding Vulnerability to Music] We are interviewing our very own Tesko! Listen to his superhero origin story about how guitar and guitar hero launched his love for playing and finding music, how recording himself and bands lead him to learn engineering, the power of finding true mentorship from ill. Gates, his shift from live to electronic music, tips on how to get good at the s...

Ep. 102 - [RIP Kenny Has The Urge To Be Creative] This week we are interviewing our very own RIP Kenny! You can finally know what instruments he played in the school band, who were his earliest musical influences, how he got into electronic music and started DJing, how doing mashups led him into producing, how he honed in on his musical style, diving into sound design and then modular synthesis, a...

Ep. 101 - [Luke Rain and the Connectivity of Music] That’s right, we’ve passed one hundred episodes and it’s time that you all hear the full superhero origin story of yours truly, Luke Rain aka Trap Jesus. Hear about my first musical influences and instruments, how I started out producing, rapping and throwing shows in Seattle, how I started traveling and building my musical community, the moments...

Ep. 100 - [Alter. On Music Release Strategies] Alter. is back on the show! He was here for episode 041 and was visiting RIP Kenny’s Oregon studio so he dropped in for an update. We discussed release schedules, releasing albums vs singles, optimizing his life for putting out new music, abundance vs scarcity mindset, taking care of mental health, finding the space to gain perspective on your songs,...

Ep. 099 - [Music Money Explained with Hayden THC] What copyrights are generated when you make a song? What are the royalties you could be collecting? When are those royalties generated? Where do you sign up to collect those royalties? Hayden THC is back on the podcast to answer all these questions and more, plus we dive into Performance Rights Organizations or PROs, Mechanical Rights, Neighboring...

Ep. 098 - [UHNK Moves the Musical Energy Flow] UHNK is back as our first ever 3 time guest! In 2021 he took an introspective break away from music, and he opened up about the mental struggles of getting back into the swing of writing, but he says he’s back with an evolved style that is more melodic but still super bassy! We also talk about his song editing process, sound design approach, breaking...

Ep. 097 - [House Ninja’s 3 P’s: Production, Podcasting & Performing] The House Ninja is an Atlanta-based DJ, producer, and entertainer with a love of costumes, gaming conventions, mystery and heroism. His podcast Producer Life brings actionable and informative information to music producers. On this episode we spoke about live DJ setups, creating his own live visuals, time management, branding...

Ep. 096 - [MetroGnome On Viral Success, Chasing Validation and Finding Inner Peace] MetroGnome is a musician and music producer from New Delhi, India now living in Seattle, WA. He came up in India playing multiple instruments and touring with the band Fire Exit before moving to the US and falling in love with electronic music production. His finger drumming videos on YouTube went viral in 2012 and...

Ep. 095 - [Smart Boy on Authenticity, Consistency and Nostalgia] Smart Boy is a musician, producer, DJ and vocalist from Aberdeen, NC, living in Atlanta, GA. He has a lifetime of music experience, from playing music in church, to marching bands, to production, engineering, DJing and even music education. He hosts Smart Wave Radio which you can catch every Tuesday at 8pm Eastern on all social strea...

Ep. 094 - [Hayden THC is Betting on Himself] This week our guest is Hayden THC, a producer, songwriter, artist, engineer, and creative from Nashville who now lives in Atlanta. In 2018 Hayden got a songwriting placement with EDM artist Cazzette for the single, “ Run Run ”, which got over 3 million streams within a few months of release. Hayden’s production, writing, and engineering credits also inc...

Ep. 093 - [Agent M on Beat Battles and Collaboration] This week our guest is Agent M, a producer from Seattle who is now located in Atlanta. He came up through the beat battle scene, in Seattle and beyond, with iStandard, Death by Stereo, Beatmatch and more! Now he has moved on to collaboration with other producers and artists such as Osbee Chill, Marl, Ilana, Latnie, and a collab beat tape with B...

Ep. 092 - [Organization and Time Management for Music Producers] It’s time to get organized! But in order to get organized you need time! Today we dive into some of our methods to organize our days, weeks and months, as well as our projects, libraries and hard drives! We will be doing a part two for this episode in the future so hit us with questions in our YouTube comments or our Instagram inbox....

Ep. 091 - [Being a Self Sufficient Music Producer] In order to be a successful producer you need to learn how to learn on your own. So how do you learn to be self-sufficient? Gotta do your googles, and learn how to google. Figuring out where you're trying to go really helps you get there. And you have to be able to integrate your new knowledge into your routines. But you also have to understand WH...

Ep. 090 - [Branding for Musicians] Before you start releasing music you need to think about branding. This involves choosing a potential name, checking to see if others are using it and whether you can get the social media handles. Is the name memorable, spellable and googleable? Once you have a name, you’ll need a specialized font for your logo, and maybe an emblem and a color scheme that represe...

Ep. 089 - [Intro To Modular Synths] RIP Kenny has been building his modular synth setup for a while now, and Tesko has been getting into building his own synth modules from kits. This week we discuss why you may want to look into mod synths, what the workflow is like, some of the coolest units they’ve used so far and how much money and which types of gear you would need to get started in modular s...

Ep. 088 - [Taking Creative Risks] Many producers get stuck in the trap of trying to do the thing their favorite artists already did, becoming bogged down in cliches and being afraid to take creative risks. It’s time to step out of the box and make your own box that’s outside that first box! Let’s get our hands dirty and talk about taking creative risks! Song of the Week: Tesko - Smells Wonky https...