What's That Sound?

Stu Watts chats with Ish Quan, also known as "Mixedbyish" has been in the industry now for over half a decade, and has had the privilege of working on hundreds of released records in Australia and many more outside of Australia. Many records by Ish have been placed on Spotify editorials, played on major radio, and performed in stadiums. Ish has developed his audio skills through his bach...

Stu Watts chats with Keelan Sanders, who is a producer, mix engineer, songwriter and musician based in Naarm (Melbourne), who's worked with artists including Children Collide, Beddy Rays, Screamfeeder and more. Starting out in Meanjin (Brisbane), he began working as a producer in 2017 at The Shed with help and guidance from producers Darek Mudge and Bryce Moorhead. For the next couple of years...

Stu Watts chats with Tahlia-Rose Coleman, who stands out as an exceptional audio engineer, boasting over a decade of experience in both analog and digital mastering techniques. Recently nominated for Mastering Engineer of The Year at the MPEG Music Awards, she has swiftly become an indispensable asset to the Australian Music Industry. Starting out at Studios 301, Tahlia not only made her mark but...

Stu Watts chats with Emily Hopley, who is an engineer/producer and artist with her band Upsetter. Her passion for music and production started at an early age, she started interning at a local Gold Coast studio when she was 15, which lit a fire in her to get into audio and the music industry. Over the years, Emily has worked in studios around Gold Coast & Brisbane, assisting fantastic awards w...

Stu Watts chats with Alex Lahey, who is an LA based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and writer from Melbourne, Australia. Despite studying jazz saxophone at university, Alex hit her stride with her distinctive brand of infectious indie rock as showcased through two successful albums released on Dead Oceans in US/Europe and via her imprint Nicky Boy Records in Australia/NZ, where she’s been ARIA G...

Stu Watts chats with Becki Whitton, who is an engineer, songwriter and producer working out of Melbourne’s Carriage Studio. Her approach in the studio balances focus and ease, and centres on a thirst to find the most powerful expression of a song’s emotional core. Becki has received ARIA, AWMA, MPEG and Music Victoria Award nominations for her sound work, and managed sound for Girls Rock! Camp ACT...

Stu Watts chats with Greg Rietwyk, who is a songwriter, guitarist, producer and mix engineer from Melbourne, Australia. With a keen ear for honest, raw and organic productions, Greg has become a fixture in the Australian garage and indie rock scenes. Working with notable acts such as The Pretty Littles, Mid City, Bec Stevens, Money Boys & Neighbourhood Youth, as well as songwriting, production...

This bonus episode focuses on the different ways you can go about building a full time freelance audio career, hosted by Stu Watts and features guests MixedbyTrae (mixing engineer) and Riverine (producer/mixing engineer/artist). Key points in this episode: Building relationships Outreach techniques Marketing systems and running ads ...and more Do you have a topic you'd love us to focus on? Let...

Another bonus episode which will allow host Stu Watts and his guest to dive deeper on a specific topic. This episode unpacks what today's mastering engineer looks like, and features guest Nicholas Di Lorenzo who is a mixing and mastering engineer, and the owner of Panorama Mixing & Mastering. Key points in this episode: Comparing the landscape of the music industry today vs 10+ years ago H...

Stu Watts chats with Dylan Ollivierre, who is an award-winning songwriter, producer, and musician based in Perth, Western Australia. Dylan’s story began when his parents met on Bob Dylan’s yacht. They named the son after him and a life in music was soon to follow. Ever since then, Dylan has been inspired to create records that will stand the test of time. Launching the Money War, the band he share...

Stu Watts chats with Award-winning producer Anna Laverty, who has built an exceptional and ever-growing show reel of credits, which has solidified her reputation as one of Australia’s finest creative talents. Having cut her teeth under the tutelage of award-winning producers Paul Epworth (Adele, Primal Scream, Foster The People) and Ben Hillier (Blur, U2, Elbow) at London’s famed Miloco Studios, w...

Stu Watts chats with Shaun Fuller, who is a musician, sound engineer and musical director from Melbourne, Australia. Beginning his career as a guitarist for bands such as Brighter at Night and Harbours, Shaun gained interest in studio work after recording with producer Malcom Besley, going on to work as his assistant on Platinum and Gold selling records for Northeast Party House, City Calm Down an...

Stu Watts chats with Josh Beattie, who is an indie-pop songwriter and producer based on the Gold Coast. Known for blending the mainstream with the obscure in a colourful sonic fashion, he's worked with artists in Germany, the US, the UK, Taiwan, Kenya, and of course at home in Australia. Josh started his career as a sound editor composer for film & television- especially psychological thri...

Stu Watts chats with Jack Arentz, who is a prolific songwriter, producer and mix engineer, and co-owner of Joyluck Studio in Thornbury, Melbourne. Recent years have seen Jack cut his teeth working with artists such as Golden Features, The Presets, LucianBlomkamp and Cam Bluff, while lending his services as a songwriter, mix engineer and producer to acts such as I Know Leopard, Congrats and Mild Mi...

Stu Watts chats with Gormie (Alex O’Gorman), who is a Recording and Mix Engineer and Producer based at his Collingwood Studio, Purple Wayne. Prior to this Alex worked professionally at Risk Sound Studios in Port Melbourne, with a focus on Voice Over and Short Film Audio. Alex left Risk Sound in 2016 to focus on touring as a Bassist for Melbourne band Big Smoke, and to co-produce their debut LP ‘Ti...

Stu Watts chats with Calvin Bennett, a Western Australian-based producer, songwriter and musician whose credits list to date reads like that of someone at least 10 years his senior. Having signed last year a worldwide distribution deal with Downtown Music Services/DashGo, Bennett’s successes to date include two Western Australian Music Song of the Year Awards (and another seven nominations) for bo...

Stu Watts chats with Dr Lachlan Goold, who is a recording engineer, producer, mixer, popular music educator, researcher and lecturer in Contemporary Music at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Better known in the music industry as Australian music producer, Magoo, he is a two-time ARIA award-winning producer and engineer having worked with an extensive list of Australian artists. Since 1990, he...

Stu Watts chats with Tony Mantz (aka Jack The Bear), who is the owner and founder of Deluxe Mastering. He has had over 35 years working in many facets of the music business in both Australia and overseas, but found his niche in mastering. Tony (or Jack as he is also known), was trained in vinyl mastering at the famous Frankford Wayne Labs in NYC. For decades now Tony has mastered for many of Austr...

Stu Watts chats with Mitch Kenny, who is one of the world's leading engineers, having some impressive credits to his name including Beyoncé, Elton John, Zedd, Quincy Jones, Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa and Boyz II Men. Then there's his work with some of Australia's finest: Daniel Johns, Hermitude, Dune Rats, Paul Kelly, Delta Goodrem and Josh Pyke among others. Even if you...

Stu Watts chats with Alex Markwell, who is a founding member of The Delta Riggs, and has produced, mixed and co-written the entirety of the band’s critically acclaimed catalogue, including their Triple J Feature Album “Dipz Zabazios.” Alongside numerous world tours and countless Australian dates with the Riggs, Alex has continued to hone his craft as a gifted producer and songwriter. His talents a...

Stu Watts chats with Nick Melitsis (aka London Topaz), who is a Dance/Electronic artist hailing from Melbourne, Australia. He channels a reimagined, deep and melancholy musical vision with a sense of elegance and stirring ambiguity. London Topaz is built upon the signature style of hypnotic vocals infused with an emotion-driven electronic brand, highlighting sonic precision beyond his years. The p...

Stu Watts chats with Terry Hart, who is an acclaimed mixer and producer with over two decade's experience in music production. He has produced and mixed some of Australia's most celebrated artists and his work has received multiple ARIA® nominations. He began his career in the audio industry at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne, working his way up to become one of their lead engineers, and st...

Stu Watts chats with Callan Alexander (aka cln), who is a music producer, mix engineer, songwriter and vocalist based in Brisbane. His original songs and compositions under the cln project have accumulated over 30 million streams to date. He holds a Research Master’s degree in Ecoacoustics, and is currently undertaking a PhD in the same field. His career was kickstarted by winning Universal Music...

Stu Watts chats with Xylo Aria, who is an artist, producer and the founder of online learning platform, Music Production for Women (MPW). Through MPW, she is determined to break down barriers women face when approaching music tech by creating a learning pace that is supportive and safe. Since launch in 2019, MPW has taught in excess of 7000 women from over 120 countries, partnered with global bran...

Stu Watts chats with Simon Moro, who has over 20 years of experience as a mix engineer and producer. His unique ability to empathetically connect with an artist and understand their vision was born out of training under Michael Brauer (Coldplay, The Kooks, Grizzly Bear) which taught him that capturing the essence of the artist is paramount to creating the best mix. Having worked with labels such a...