The Spirit Studios Podcast

Issie is finishing her first year studying BA (Hons) Popular Music, Songwriting and Performance. With 12 years of experience in music she decided to study with us at degree level to work towards her goal of being a full time artist. She has been making the most of the course, collaborating with other students on the course and performing at Open Mic nights around Manchester.

Toby is in his first year studying BA (Hons) Music Business and Event Management. After growing up performing and producing music he decided to study the operations of music industry, so far exploring publishing, live event planning and artists management. To build his experience and support his studies, Toby has started working in the industry as a show rep at renowned venues like YES and The Dea...

Coming to the end of his first year of Music Production with Foundation Entry, Gustavo has been making the most of his time at Spirit, creating his first sample pack, exploring different recording techniques in the studio, and embracing new genres when collaborating with students on compositions.

Tilly is finishing her first year studying Entrepreneurial Audio Production after finding her interest in sound for visual media and post-production. Inspired by the soundtracks of Hans Zimmer, and scores for games like ‘The Last of Us’ she loves how sound design and scores elevate the storytelling, and elicit a particular mood.

Cameron is an artist and producer who releases music under the pseudonym ‘Treks.’ Despite only being in his first year, he’s already made a serious name for himself performing at venues across Manchester, including a sold out gig Academy 3 before he was even studying at Spirit.

Getting ready for a summer of stage teching at festivals wasn't something Lilly would have expected two years ago. When starting her degree in 2022, she was a self-professed ‘studio kid’ but over the past two years she’s followed a route into live sound, something that’s surprised both herself and everyone else.

If you’re a fan of the Northern grime scene, you’ll likely recognise third year Music Production student, Bradley aka ‘Blizzard.’ Starting out in Manchester grime collective ‘Mayhem’ he’s featured on platforms such as SB:TV, Fire in the Booth, and BBC Radio 1 Xtra. Nearly a decade later Bradley is back in the North West, coming to the end of his degree.

If you’re a lover of the Northern indie-rock scene, you’ll likely know our third year Music Production student, Drew. Frontman for the well-renowned band Rosellas, he’s set for the world stage, having recently sold out a show at Manchester Academy. We managed to sit down with Drew in between tour planning and prepping for the 2023 Degree Show. Listen to Rosellas' latest track HIDEAWAY on all strea...

Like a lot of our students, Harvey didn’t join us straight after leaving college. It was only in lockdown when he decided it was finally time to pursue his passion in recording and production. But with two years of study under his belt, he now has a huge variety of recording experience including piano and drums, as well as full bands and ensembles. Follow Harvey's journey: @HarveyBishopMusic

Corey is a Producer and Rapper who releases music under the artist pseudonym ‘Superlative’. Despite still only being in his second year, he’s made a serious name for himself. With his latest release 'The Wave' surpassing 15.5 million Video Views on TikTok in just seven days, the future's certainly looking bright. Follow Corey: @official_superlative

Coming from a small town, it was no small decision for Sarah to pursue a career in live music - but she’s certainly not looking back. She's no stranger to the world of podcasting, having hosted, edited and promoted a number over the years. We sat down to hear all about her first year as a student at Spirit. Follow Sarah: @sarahwilliamsaudio Listen to her podcast: @shoutlouderzine Find out more abo...

Al chats with rapper and producer Corey Brown, aka Superlative. Corey talks about his journey from producing bedroom beats to collaborating with Mr Scruff and touring with renowned hip hop collective The Mouse Outfit. Links to Corey's work: https://www.instagram.com/official_superlative/ https://www.sprhub.com/

Tom produces music under the name Whitely and recently released his latest album, A Happy Place. He chats to Al about his production workflow, favourite synthesisers, and the wonders of making dance music with Gameboys. Listen to Whitely here: https://ptesquad.bandcamp.com/album/a-happy-place  

Join Al as he explores the nostalgic sound of Vaporwave, with sugar-coated synthesisers, dreamy reverbs, and surreal sampling techniques.  

Get groovy with Al as he makes a Nu-Disco track in Ableton Live, complete with vintage strings, glittering arps, and funky 'chic' guitars.

Get skanking with Al as he creates a dub reggae track in Ableton Live.  WARNING: This episode contains heavy bass, booming drums, and psychedelic spatial effects.

Al chats with producer, engineer and soon-to-be Spirit Studios graduate Ryan Davies. Ryan talks about his experience working in studios and at festivals, collaborating with artists, and developing his own business creating handbuilt plate reverbs. Follow Ryan on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rubosound/

Join Al as he combines deep grooves, big bass sounds and chopped up vocal samples to create a banging modern deep house track. 

Al chats with drummer and producer Vicky O'Neon who has performed with acts like Clean Bandit, Rachel K Collier and Hans Zimmer. In this episode Vicky talks about her work with non-profit music organisations Girls Rock London and Rock Donna and shares insights into her upcoming YouTube series 'Drumming Through the Decades'. Follow the link to see more from Vicky: https://linktr.ee/vickyoneon  

Sit back and relax with Al as he uses Ableton Live to create a mellow chillhop track that combines elements of classic hip hop with lush instrumentation and lo-fi production techniques.

Al and David talk with live entertainment promoter Steve Tilley, a director at Kilimanjaro Live with clients including the likes of Ed Sheeran and Catfish and the Bottlemen.

Al and fellow Spirit Studios tutor David chat with music and entertainment lawyer Stephen Kempner, a partner at UK law firm Statham Gill Davies. Stephen gives a legal perspective on areas such as artist contracts, 360 deals, and music sampling.

Al chats with producer Lewis Jones about creative guitar sampling, making music in a shipping container, and flying out to Italy to engineer for Mika.

Join Al as he reworks the contents of a sample pack into a brand new track as part of Spirit Studio's Creative Block campaign.  Download the sample pack here: tinyurl.com/641ly6no  Watch Al's Creative Block video on Youtube here: https://tinyurl.com/jhkwt9fk

Feeling uninspired? Struggling to start a project? Join Al as he reuses, recycles, and repurposes sounds as part of Spirit Studios' new campaign: Creative Block.    Download the sample pack here: tinyurl.com/641ly6no