Engineer and Producer Louis Austin tells Paul White about his early days in the industry, where he developed his recording skills working with Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Sweet and Judas Priest. Louis became an expert is capturing drum and guitar sounds and shares some useful tips on miking instruments and capturing room ambience.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:12 - Getting Into The Industry
00:59 - Starting Out As A Tape Op
02:29 - First Solo Session
03:35 - Early Fleetwood Mac Sessions
06:15 - Working With Queen
09:23 - Buying A Studio And Going Freelance
13:19 - How The Industry Changed
17:00 - Recording Sweet
18:56 - Getting A Good Drum Sound
22:02 - Going Mobile
24:56 - What Makes A Good Recording Engineer
26:18 - The Most Difficult Session
27:49 - Changing Career Direction

"Often you went to a studio where you had to adapt the studio to suit your needs, whereas on the mobile you had all the technology with you and you just use what rooms you fancied. Little living room for an intimate vocal, you know, it's all there, basically".

Louis Austin Biog
Louis Austin launched his career at De Lane Lea Studio in the 1970s, assisting on Fleetwood Mac’s Green Manalishi and Oh Well albums. He quickly rose to chief engineer and then pursued a freelance engineering / production career, recording Queen’s first album, Def Leppard, Deep Purple, Sweet (Action, Fox on The Run), Leo Sayer (Platinum) and 3 Judas Priest albums including the multi-Platinum Screaming For Vengeance.

A close co-operation with Deep Purple’s singer Ian Gillan resulted in Kingsway Recorders, a  studio in London that recorded artists such as Steve Hackett, David Coverdale, Sweet and Ian Gillan's own musical projects. Austin later built a mobile recording studio called Fleetwood Mobile, the largest and best equipped in its day and in 1988 launched the retailer Home Service, selling bespoke studio packages. He later diversified into marketing and handled the international sales & marketing for AD Systéme. In the 90’s he worked for various audio companies as a PR specialist, including spending 15 years at Genelec.

https://www.louisaustin.com/

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Lawrence gives us a fun insight into his early years in the industry as an assistant producer, and offers a valuable selection of tips and ideas for launching a successful studio career today.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:35 - Working At Metropolis
02:26 - Recording Van Morrison
05:02 - Capturing A Moment
07:10 - The Craft Of Recording
09:34 - Learning From Others
13:32 - Musical Interests
15:04 - Getting Into The Industry Today
19:08 - Starting A Mix
22:40 - Time Spent On A Mix
24:25 - The Importance Of Pre-Production
26:55 - Different Approaches To The Same Mix
28:56 - Dither And Delay

#SSL #Neve

Matt Lawrence Biog
Matt Lawrence is a GRAMMY Award-winning mixer, producer and engineer who has worked on some of the most influential records of the past 20 years, contributing to over 11 billion streams worldwide. Matt is also a certified Dolby Atmos mix-engineer. Credits include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Bat For Lashes, Black Eyed Peas, Ellie Goulding, Foals, Frank Turner, Flowerovlove, George Ezra, Declan J Donovan, Laura Marling, Tom Chaplin, Tom Walker, Kodaline, You Me At Six, Macy Gray, Mumford & Sons, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sande, Sugababes, Beverley Knight, Katherine Jenkins, Keane, One Direction, Robbie Williams, Scissor Sisters, Kylie, Eric Clapton, Shirley Bassey, Joan Armatrading, George Michael, The Who, The White Stripes, The Vaccines, Van Morrisson, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Paloma Faith and Groove Armada. It was for his work on Mumford & Sons ‘Babel’ album, that won Matt a Grammy. Debuting at number one on both sides of the Atlantic, it has since gone 4x Platinum in the UK and has sold over 2.5 million copies in the US alone.

Starting out at Van Morrison’s studio in Bath, Matt worked on no less than seven of his studio albums, as well as with other artists such as Annie Lenox, Paul Weller and Stereophonics. Following a move to London’s Metropolis Studios, Matt rose through the ranks to Chief Engineer, working with acts such as U2, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Joe Cocker and Garbage, as well as more leftfield artists such as Bjork, DJ Shadow, Goldie and Jeff Beck. Honing his skills working alongside such a variety of high calibre producers and mixers has given Matt an almost unrivalled education and experience in making records. Names such as Sir George Martin, Gus Dudgeon, Marius DeVries, Butch Vig, Steve Osborne, Ben Hillier, Guy Sigsworth, Alan Moulder, Gary Langan, Nellee Hooper, Michael Kamen, Bill Price, Norman Cook, Mark Ronson, Justin Timberlake, Timberland and Will.i.am have all had a direct influence on his career. Although Matt’s work has already contributed to many hit records internationally, he also enjoys working with new and up and coming artists from an early stage in their careers.

Matt’s vast background in immersive and surround sound mixing allowed an easy transition into Dolby Atmos, where he has mixed albums for a wide range of clients, such as Lumineers, Mumford & Sons to NSG. Matt has also established himself as a ‘go-to’ for Live broadcast mix supervision, where during the busy festival season (namely Glastonbury, Reading and R1BW) he works alongside the artist and the BBC to ensure that the performances stand out as timeless concert classics. The ever-increasing client list who’s benefited include a wide range of artists such as George Ezra, Arctic Monkeys, Declan McKenna, Confidence Man to The Last Dinner Party. Matt’s production and mix work continues apace with current productions for Finnegan Tui and Olivier Martin and mixes for Jack Garratt and Flowerovlove.

https://www.matt-music.com/

Kevin Paul Biog
Kevin Paul started his career as a DJ but quickly found his passion was sound engineering. His first audio job was at Soho Studios in 1991, moving to Konk Studios six months later, where he worked alongside successful producers and engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Adam Mosley, Pascal Gabriel and Gil Norton, as well as bands such as The Kinks, Galliano, Terrorvision, UFO and Elastica.
 
After working on archiving the Depeche Mode back catalogue in 1994, he was offered an engineering role at Mute Records’ in-house studio, which eventually lead to a position as Head Engineer, which gave him access to the entire Mute Records roster. Highlights include mixing Goldfrapp’s “Felt Mountain”, David Bowie’s “Hours” and Nick Cave’s “No More Shall We Part”. He also worked in 5:1, mixing Moby’s “Hotel”, Goldfrapp’s “Black Cherry“ and more for DVD.

In 2004 Kevin went freelance and re-mixed the entire Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back catalogues for SACD/DVD. Since 2008, Kevin Paul has been in charge of mixing and remixing performances at the iTunes Festivals in the UK and Germany. He has mixed over 100 artists to date, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The XX, Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Linkin Park, Florence & The Machine, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Jessie J., Norah Jones, Oasis, Mumford & Sons, N.E.R.D., Lykke Li, James Blunt, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip, Paul Weller and many more.

He continues to record, engineer, produce and mix many projects in music and film, runs the mixing and surround mixing modules for the Masters Degree course at UK’s Westminster University and divides his time between London and Berlin. Recent works include the International selling new album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and mixing the latest album of Denmark’s “Dúné” with the first single premiering at the Danish Music Awards, plus the latest iTunes Music Festival.

http://www.kevin-paul.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Genelec's new UNIO PRM (Personal Reference Monitoring) solution ensures reliable and consistent monitoring across multiple environments. In conversation with Sam Inglis, R&D Director Aki Mäkivirta and Regional Business Development Manager Andy Bensley explain how UNIO integrates existing technologies such as SAM (Smart Active Monitoring), GLM loudspeaker manager software and Aural ID binaural headphone monitoring with the new 9320A reference controller and Genelec's first ever pair of headphones.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:21 - About The UNIO Ecosystem
01:53 - 9320A Reference Controller And 8550A Headphones
04:53 - How Aural ID Works
07:17 - Secondary Referencing
11:08 - Is Emulating Control Room Acoustics Desirable?
14:03 - Why We Still Need Monitors
15:33 - Head Tracking Capabilities
17:02 - Incorporating UNIO Into An Existing Studio
18:48 - Professional Tools For Home Studio Use
20:20 - Personal Aural ID Settings
23:37 - Designing The 9320A Reference Controller
26:18 - Developing The 8550A Headphones
30:39 - Setting Up For The Best Workflow
32:40 - Future Developments

Genelec Biog
Since 1978, Genelec active studio monitors and subwoofers have delivered truthful, neutral sound reproduction - enabling engineers and creatives to make accurate and reliable mix decisions, even in challenging rooms.

Founded in Finland by childhood friends Ilpo Martikainen and Topi Partanen, the company’s first monitor, the S30, instantly became the blueprint for Genelec’s future direction. Its active design delivered consistent performance, total reliability, and the ability to adapt to the acoustic environment it was operating in.

The following decades have seen a string of technically innovative Genelec releases, from the now-legendary 1031A nearfield model to the latest coaxial point source models from The Ones family. Genelec’s growing range of Smart Active Monitors work closely with GLM calibration software, allowing each monitor to be completely optimised for the room, producing mixes that translate consistently to the outside world.

https://www.genelec.com/

Aki Mäkivirta joined Genelec in 1995. He originally worked for the Nokia Research Centre and teamed up with Ari Varla of Genelec during a joint venture between the two companies, where Mäkivirta demonstrated how to replace analogue filters with digital processing using the 1031A nearfield monitor. As a result, Mäkivirta joined Genelec to pioneer the creation of the original 8200 series of Smart Active Monitors, before becoming R&D Director in 2013.

Andy Bensley joined Genelec as Regional Business Development Manager in 2019. Based in the UK, Andy has huge experience in analysing and tuning the in-room performance of loudspeaker systems in a wide range of studios – from the smallest bedroom to the largest post production studio.

Sam Inglis Biog
Editor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006).

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Universal Audio - Behind The Brand
As CEO of Universal Audio, Bill Putnam Jr has pioneered some of the most important innovations of the last 35 years. In conversation with Sound On Sound's Sam Inglis, he traces the Universal Audio story back to its founding by his father Bill Putnam Sr in 1958. We hear how and why Bill Jr decided to relaunch the Universal Audio brand, and how they moved from meticulously recreating Bill Sr's analogue designs to cutting-edge digital modelling, culminating in today's launch of the latest generation of Apollo recording interfaces.

Chapters

• (00:00) - - Introduction
• (00:25) - - Bill Putnam Sr.
• (04:24) - - A Natural Entrepreneur
• (05:49) - - From Physics To Electrical Engineering
• (10:44) - - Early Technological Hurdles
• (12:46) - - Digitally Emulating Analogue Equipment
• (14:39) - - The Challenges Of Emulating Tape And Speakers
• (17:35) - - The SHARC Processing Chip
• (18:18) - - The Endurance Of DSP Platforms
• (20:44) - - Developing The Apollo Audio Interface
• (21:47) - - The Advantages Of Thunderbolt
• (23:16) - - Adding DANTE To The x16D
• (25:02) - - The New Generation Of Apollo Interfaces
• (26:09) - - Multichannel Speaker Calibration With Sonarworks
• (28:21) - - Getting Digital Corrective EQ Accepted
• (29:43) - - Townsend Labs And Mic Modelling
• (30:40) - - The Bock Microphone Range
• (32:26) - - The Motivation For Creating LUNA
• (36:55) - - Developing Products For Guitarists
• (38:46) - - The Next Steps For Universal Audio

Universal Audio Biog
Universal Audio was founded in 1958 by Bill Putnam Sr., a passionate innovator and favourite recording engineer of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles and more. Putnam was the inventor of the modern recording console, the multi-band audio equaliser and the vocal booth, and he was the first engineer to use artificial reverberation in commercial recording. Alongside his friend Les Paul, he was also involved in the early development of stereophonic recording. Many of his legendary studio and equipment designs are still in use today.

Universal Audio was re-founded in 1999 by Bill's sons, James Putnam, a skilled audio engineer and Bill Putnam Jr, who earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. Their two main goals were to faithfully reproduce classic analogue recording equipment in the tradition of their father and to design new digital recording tools with the sound and spirit of vintage analogue technology. Their award-winning products include the UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform and the Apollo audio interface, first introduced in 2012. Universal Audio is headquartered near Silicon Valley in Scotts Valley, California. A few miles away in Santa Cruz is the Universal Audio Custom Shop, where their classic analog gear is still hand-built, one unit at a time.

Sam Inglis Biog
Editor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006).

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Andrew McPherson is a composer and Professor of Design Engineering and Music in the Dyson School of Design Engineering, based at Imperial College. Here he talks to Nick Rothwell about the Augmented Instruments Laboratory, a music technology research team that he leads, whose ongoing projects include the Magnetic Resonator Piano and the Bela open-source platform.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:30 - A Background In Composition And Electronic Engineering
01:57 - The Magnetic Resonator Piano
09:50 - TouchKeys USB Touch Sensor
13:05 - Developing Ideas Within A Community
15:47 - Using The Piano Within Different Genres
17:19 - Bela Open-Source Hardware Platform
22:15 - Augmented Instruments Laboratory
23:50 - Laurel Pardue / Augmented Violin
25:15 - Getting Nuanced Performances
26:22 - Overcoming Latency Issues
27:31 - Future Predictions

Andrew McPherson Biog
Andrew McPherson is a computing researcher, composer, electronic engineer, and musical instrument designer. He is Professor of Design Engineering and Music in the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, where he leads the Augmented Instruments Laboratory. Andrew holds undergraduate degrees in both engineering and music from MIT, an MEng in electrical engineering from MIT, and a PhD in music composition from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Imperial in 2023, he has been a professor in the Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary University of London.

Andrew’s musical instruments are widely used by performers and composers across many genres, and his research has led to three successful crowdfunding campaigns and the spinout of Augmented Instruments Ltd, which develops Bela, an open-source audio maker platform. He currently holds two fellowships: a Senior Research Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering on embedded hardware for audio and music, and an ERC/UKRI Consolidator Grant investigating the cultural implications of engineering decisions. He is deeply committed to teaching: Bela is used in the classroom by dozens of universities, and his online course on audio programming has been followed by learners around the globe.

https://andrewmcpherson.org/
https://instrumentslab.org/

Nick Rothwell Biog
Nick Rothwell is a composer, performer, software architect, coder and visual artist. He has built media performance systems for projects with Ballett Frankfurt and Vienna Volksoper, composed sound scores for Aydın Teker (Istanbul / Kapadokya), Shobana Jeyasingh, AWA Dance, Luz&Mannion Dance (Flamenco) and Undercurrent Theatre, programmed physical media sculptures with Simeon Nelson and Rob Godman, live coded in Mexico and in Berlin with sitar player Shama Rahman, collaborated with the body>data>space collective in Prague, Paris and Dresden, written software for Studio Wayne McGregor, Beinghuman in Kathmandu, the Pina Bausch Foundation and Nesta's FutureFest, consulted for Tate Modern, and developed algorithmic visuals for large-scale outdoor projections in Poland, Estonia, the Cambridge Music Festival and Lumiere (London / Durham). He has taught design at CODE Berlin and currently runs the Computer Science undergraduate course at University of the Arts London.

Nick Rothwell - Project Cassiel - https://cassiel.com

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Mix Engineer and Producer Caesar Edmunds talks to Kevin Paul about his route into the industry via formal education at LIPA, before gaining work experience with Alan Moulder at Battery Studios which earned him a permanent position as an Assistant Engineer. He now works out of his own Dolby Atmos approved studio in London.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:45 - Education And Work Experience
05:44 - Moving From LIPA To The Studio
09:02 - Working For Alan Moulder
13:00 - Moving To Own Studio Space
13:33 - How To Approach A Mix
16:17 - Enhancing Drums And Guitars
18:19 - Listening Carefully And Getting The Right Feel
21:04 - Mixbus Setup
22:50 - Favourite Hardware And Plug-ins
24:21 - Using Your Ears And Your Eyes To Mix
25:34 - Looking After Your Health In The Studio

Caesar Edmunds Biog
Caesar Edmunds is a Grammy Award winning mixer, engineer & record producer based in London. He trained at the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts (LIPA), gained work experience at Battery Studios assisting Alan Moulder and won the MPG Breakthrough Engineer Of The Year award in 2020. He now works out of his own Dolby Atmos approved studio in London.

Caesar has worked with artists such as Beach House, Queens of the Stone Age, PJ Harvey, The Killers, St Vincent, Ozzy Osbourne, Foals, Code Orange, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Wet Leg, Ride, Suede, Two Door Cinema Club, The Last Dinner Party and Hinds.

https://www.caesaredmunds.com/

Kevin Paul Biog
Kevin Paul started his career as a DJ but quickly found his passion was sound engineering. His first audio job was at Soho Studios in 1991, moving to Konk Studios six months later, where he worked alongside successful producers and engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Adam Mosley, Pascal Gabriel and Gil Norton, as well as bands such as The Kinks, Galliano, Terrorvision, UFO and Elastica.
 
After working on archiving the Depeche Mode back catalogue in 1994, he was offered an engineering role at Mute Records’ in-house studio, which eventually lead to a position as Head Engineer, which gave him access to the entire Mute Records roster. Highlights include mixing Goldfrapp’s “Felt Mountain”, David Bowie’s “Hours” and Nick Cave’s “No More Shall We Part”. He also worked in 5:1, mixing Moby’s “Hotel”, Goldfrapp’s “Black Cherry“ and more for DVD.

In 2004 Kevin went freelance and re-mixed the entire Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back catalogues for SACD/DVD. Since 2008, Kevin Paul has been in charge of mixing and remixing performances at the iTunes Festivals in the UK and Germany. He has mixed over 100 artists to date, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The XX, Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Linkin Park, Florence & The Machine, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Jessie J., Norah Jones, Oasis, Mumford & Sons, N.E.R.D., Lykke Li, James Blunt, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip, Paul Weller and many more.

He continues to record, engineer, produce and mix many projects in music and film, runs the mixing and surround mixing modules for the Masters Degree course at UK’s Westminster University and divides his time between London and Berlin. Recent works include the International selling new album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and mixing the latest album of Denmark’s “Dúné” with the first single premiering at the Danish Music Awards, plus the latest iTunes Music Festival.

http://www.kevin-paul.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Music Producer and DJ Danny Briottet gives a fascinating insight into his formative years, including the global musical influences that shaped his career, being part of Rhythm Riders and organising warehouse parties across West London.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:30 - Rhythm Riders
03:15 - London Sound Systems
06:02 - Getting Into Music and Visiting Berlin
12:33 - DJing in New York
17:05 - Renegade Soundwave
22:28 - Warehouse Parties
24:20 - The First Singles on Mute
26:59 - Equipment Used in Early Recordings
30:03 - Creating A Unique Sound
35:50 - Releasing 'In Dub'
39:35 - Favourite Equipment and Workflow

Kevin Briottet Biog
Musician, DJ and producer. Founder member of Renegade Soundwave, UK electronic music pioneers at the forefront of the original dance / electronica explosion of the late 80s/ 90s with seminal tracks such as The Phantom, Women Respond To Bass and Probably A Robbery. RSW name-checked as a primary influence on artists such as The Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers, whist the 1988 release Ozone Breakdown is often cited as the first Jungle tune. 

Danny’s production and remix credits include Depeche Mode, Cypress Hill, Grace Jones, Aswad, Radiohead, Moby and Orbital, together with a wealth of World Music artists such as Esma Redzepova (Macedonia), Amina Anabi (Tunisia) and Cheick Tidiane (Mali). 

Danny Briottet continues to DJ globally playing his unique mix of dub-influenced sounds from bass and breaks, through dubbed-out deep house and downtempo electronica, and hosts The ElectroScope Show on London’s Soho Radio, mashing up electronic music from the 70s to the present.

Danny’s new full-length artist album is due for release next year.

https://www.dannybriottet.com/

Kevin Paul Biog
Kevin Paul started his career as a DJ but quickly found his passion was sound engineering. His first audio job was at Soho Studios in 1991, moving to Konk Studios six months later, where he worked alongside successful producers and engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Adam Mosley, Pascal Gabriel and Gil Norton, as well as bands such as The Kinks, Galliano, Terrorvision, UFO and Elastica.
 
After working on archiving the Depeche Mode back catalogue in 1994, he was offered an engineering role at Mute Records’ in-house studio, which eventually lead to a position as Head Engineer, which gave him access to the entire Mute Records roster. Highlights include mixing Goldfrapp’s “Felt Mountain”, David Bowie’s “Hours” and Nick Cave’s “No More Shall We Part”. He also worked in 5:1, mixing Moby’s “Hotel”, Goldfrapp’s “Black Cherry“ and more for DVD.

In 2004 Kevin went freelance and re-mixed the entire Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back catalogues for SACD/DVD. Since 2008, Kevin Paul has been in charge of mixing and remixing performances at the iTunes Festivals in the UK and Germany. He has mixed over 100 artists to date, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The XX, Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Linkin Park, Florence & The Machine, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Jessie J., Norah Jones, Oasis, Mumford & Sons, N.E.R.D., Lykke Li, James Blunt, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip, Paul Weller and many more.

He continues to record, engineer, produce and mix many projects in music and film, runs the mixing and surround mixing modules for the Masters Degree course at UK’s Westminster University and divides his time between London and Berlin. Recent works include the International selling new album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and mixing the latest album of Denmark’s “Dúné” with the first single premiering at the Danish Music Awards, plus the latest iTunes Music Festival.

http://www.kevin-paul.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Daniel Miller, founder and chairman of Mute Records, talks to Kevin Paul about his entry into the music industry, the origins of the label and of his enduring love of modular synthesis.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:58 - Early Musical Influences
03:57 - First Encounter With Synths
06:14 - The Korg 700s
08:50 - Setting Up The Label And The First Release
11:56 - How To Choose Artists To Sign
14:10 - The Music Business
17:38 - A More Relaxed Atmosphere
19:07 - What Makes A Good Producer
20:49 - Getting Started With Modular Synths
24:35 - Discovering Eurorack
29:21 - Modular Live Performances
32:11 - Working As A DJ

Daniel Miller Biog
Daniel Miller is the founder and chairman of Mute, a record label and publishing company with a long history of global Number One chart successes. Since its launch in 1978, Mute now has an artist roster that includes Goldfrapp, New Order, Can, KÁRYYN, Daniel Blumberg, Desire Marea, Louis Carnell, Josh T. Pearson, Erasure, Swans and Miss Grit, with offices in London and New York.

Miller's early interest were electronics and synthesizers and he studied for a Diploma in Film and TV at Guildford School of Art (1969-72). After college, he worked as an assistant editor and editor in TV and advertising, before travelling and DJing across Europe. In 1976 he returned home and with a Korg 700S keyboard and a TEAC four-track recorder, made The Normal’s first single. He set up Mute to release the single in 1978 and the initial plan was for a minimum pressing of 500, but Rough Trade offered to distribute the single nationally, persuading Miller to press 2,000 copies.  Called ‘TVOD’, it was backed with ‘Warm Leatherette’ and this electro-pop classic was later covered by Grace Jones on her epochal 1980 album of the same name.

Further Mute releases soon followed and in 1980 Miller met Depeche Mode. When their original songwriter Vince Clarke left to form the synth-pop duo Yazoo in 1981, Miller suddenly found himself with two highly successful pop acts. Throughout the 1980s, Mute expanded at a careful pace, bringing Nick Cave and Erasure to the roster and expanding its international reach. New labels The Grey Area and NovaMute were launched plus a deal with Blast First saw the ‘Theme from S’Express’ become their first Number One single in 1988. Moby’s 1999 album ‘Play’ grew slowly from a modest success into a 10 million selling phenomenon.

After several years working within the structure of the Labels Division of EMI, 2010 saw the label return to its independent roots. Mute continues to nurture fresh talent and Miller remains heavily focussed on Mute’s creative output and is also a well-respected and sought after techno DJ, playing regularly worldwide.
https://mute.com/artists

Kevin Paul Biog
Kevin Paul started his career as a DJ but quickly found his passion was sound engineering. His first audio job was at Soho Studios in 1991, moving to Konk Studios six months later, where he worked alongside successful producers and engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Adam Mosley, Pascal Gabriel and Gil Norton, as well as bands such as The Kinks, Galliano, Terrorvision, UFO and Elastica.
 
After working on archiving the Depeche Mode back catalogue in 1994, he was offered an engineering role at Mute Records’ in-house studio, which eventually lead to a position as Head Engineer, which gave him access to the entire Mute Records roster. Highlights include mixing Goldfrapp’s “Felt Mountain”, David Bowie’s “Hours” and Nick Cave’s “No More Shall We Part”. He also worked in 5:1, mixing Moby’s “Hotel”, Goldfrapp’s “Black Cherry“ and more for DVD.

In 2004 Kevin went freelance and re-mixed the entire Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back catalogues for SACD/DVD. Since 2008, Kevin Paul has been in charge of mixing and remixing performances at the iTunes Festivals in the UK and Germany. He has mixed over 100 artists to date, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The XX, Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Linkin Park, Florence & The Machine, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Jessie J., Norah Jones, Oasis, Mumford & Sons, N.E.R.D., Lykke Li, James Blunt, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip, Paul Weller and many more.

He continues to record, engineer, produce and mix many projects in music and film, runs the mixing and surround mixing modules for the Masters Degree course at UK’s Westminster University and divides his time between London and Berlin. Recent works include the International selling new album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and mixing the latest album of Denmark’s “Dúné” with the first single premiering at the Danish Music Awards, plus the latest iTunes Music Festival.

http://www.kevin-paul.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

President and co-founder of Arturia, Frédéric Brun, talks to Sam Inglis about the company's eventful history, taking in highlights such as the innovative MiniBrute, the epic PolyBrute and the company's first stage keyboard, the new AstroLab.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:52 - Storm & The Early Days Of Software Synthesis
02:53 - Emulating Classic Analogue Synths
07:23 - How To Approach An Emulation
08:24 - IRCAM And Physical Modelling
10:56 - Expanding Into Hardware
13:43 - The MiniBrute: Arturia's First Analogue Synth
18:16 - Synths For iPad & iOS
20:03 - The MatrixBrute
24:26 - The Importance Of User Feedback
26:48 - Development Time
28:53 - Moving Into Different Market Sectors
30:36 - Pigments: An Original Soft Synth
31:37 - The PolyBrute Morphing Analogue Polysynth
33:32 - AstroLab: Arturia's Stage Keyboard

Arturia Biog
Based in the French city of Grenoble, Arturia have built on their roots as pioneering developers of virtual instruments to become one of the world's leading manufacturers of analogue, digital and software synthesizers, controller keyboards and audio interfaces.

Launched in 1999 by college friends Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, the company initially started out by developing software that could accurately emulate retro analogue synths. In 2003 they started to work with some of the major manufacturers, turning out virtual versions of classic Moog, Roland, Yamaha and Sequential Circuits synths.

In 2012 they launched their first analogue synth, the MiniBrute, later followed by the MicroBrute, MatrixBrute and PolyBrute.

Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, the company continues to grow and their product line now includes a wide range of soft synths, apps, controllers, audio interfaces and hardware synths.

Sam Inglis Biog
Editor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006).

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Alan Moulder, 2024 recipient of the Icon Of The Year Award from the Music Producers Guild, talks to Kevin Paul about his early years at Trident Studios and finding his specialist areas, plus tips on how aspiring producers and engineers can get started in the industry today.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:30 - Starting Out In Indie Rock
02:28 - The Route Into Trident Studios
04:50 - Going Freelance With Dave Stewart
06:48 - Learning To Mix On An SSL Desk
09:03 - Developing The Studio With Flood
09:42 - Hiring Studio Assistants
13:14 - Structured Working Methods
14:27 - Actively Promoting Studio Assistants
16:48 - Deciding How To Handle A Mix
19:21 - MIDI Mapping With Battery
20:38 - Adding Intensity To The Mix
23:49 - Favourite Pieces Of Kit
25:43 - What's On The MixBus
26:08 - Method For Creating Stems
28:13 - Things To Avoid
30:31 - Making Use Of The Reference Mix

Alan Moulder Biog
Alan Moulder is a leading global Mixer/Producer and Engineer. Working mainly in the UK and USA since the 1980’s, Grammy award winning Alan Moulder has been at the helm of some of rock music’s most iconic records.

His production, engineering and mixing credits include Nine Inch Nails, The Killers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Then Crooked Vultures, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Arctic Monkeys, Led Zeppelin, Death Cab For Cutie, Ride, Queens of the Stone Age, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Suede, Interpol, Iggy Pop, Simple Minds, Ozzy Osbourne and Wet Leg. Alan also received the prestigious ‘Icon of the Year’ award at the recent MPG Awards 2024.

https://www.alanmoulder.com/

Kevin Paul Biog
Kevin Paul started his career as a DJ but quickly found his passion was sound engineering. His first audio job was at Soho Studios in 1991, moving to Konk Studios six months later, where he worked alongside successful producers and engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Adam Mosley, Pascal Gabriel and Gil Norton, as well as bands such as The Kinks, Galliano, Terrorvision, UFO and Elastica.
 
After working on archiving the Depeche Mode back catalogue in 1994, he was offered an engineering role at Mute Records’ in-house studio, which eventually lead to a position as Head Engineer, which gave him access to the entire Mute Records roster. Highlights include mixing Goldfrapp’s “Felt Mountain”, David Bowie’s “Hours” and Nick Cave’s “No More Shall We Part”. He also worked in 5:1, mixing Moby’s “Hotel”, Goldfrapp’s “Black Cherry“ and more for DVD.

In 2004 Kevin went freelance and re-mixed the entire Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back catalogues for SACD/DVD. Since 2008, Kevin Paul has been in charge of mixing and remixing performances at the iTunes Festivals in the UK and Germany. He has mixed over 100 artists to date, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The XX, Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Linkin Park, Florence & The Machine, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Jessie J., Norah Jones, Oasis, Mumford & Sons, N.E.R.D., Lykke Li, James Blunt, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip, Paul Weller and many more.

He continues to record, engineer, produce and mix many projects in music and film, runs the mixing and surround mixing modules for the Masters Degree course at UK’s Westminster University and divides his time between London and Berlin. Recent works include the International selling new album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and mixing the latest album of Denmark’s “Dúné” with the first single premiering at the Danish Music Awards, plus the latest iTunes Music Festival.

http://www.kevin-paul.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Producer and Engineer Tim Bran talks us through his early career at Island Records, being invited to tour as a session musician, recording London Grammar and setting up his own collaborative tech and studio projects.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction

01:22 - The Early Days At Island Records

04:58 - Musical Taste

06:33 - Informative Years In The Bunker

08:10 - Being Invited To Tour

10:40 - Rez Rocket Surfer - A Virtual Band

15:47 - Developing Artist Management Skills

21:17 - Being Diplomatic In A Team

24:20 - Taking Chances And Being Creative
26:10 - Working With Roy Kerr And London Grammar

31:42 - Collaborative Projects And Learning New Techniques
38:07 - Being Respectful Of Other Talent In The Room
41:07 - Mixing During The Recording Process
45:17 - Dealing With Demo Love
47:14 - Favourite Hardware And Software
52:54 - Avoiding Dither And Delay

Tim Bran Biog
Tim Bran began his production career in his own studio in Guernsey where he grew up. He then worked in the legendary Fallout Shelter Studios at Island Records in London where he collaborated with artists such as Julian Cope, Mica Paris, Omar and ex-Big Audio Dynamite band Screaming Target (with whom he formed an alliance and created the seminal dub/ambient band Dreadzone later on). He toured for ten years then decided he needed to be in his home from home- the studio - so gave up touring and dedicated himself to production and writing.

He co-produced London Grammar’s debut album If You Wait with his production partner Roy Kerr as MyRiot and has worked with artists such as Birdy, Paul McCartney, Rae Morris, La Roux, KT Tunstall, Halsey, The Verve, Imelda May and Primal Scream. Recently his work includes Haevn, Abby Sage, Axel Flovent and Wild Rivers.

Today, Tim Bran continues to make waves in the music scene, working with both established and up-and-coming artists. With each project, he brings a fresh perspective and a dedication to pushing musical boundaries, ensuring that his influence on the industry remains as vibrant as ever.

http://www.echobeachmanagement.com/artist/tim-bran/

Kevin Paul Biog
Kevin Paul started his career as a DJ but quickly found his passion was sound engineering. His first audio job was at Soho Studios in 1991, moving to Konk Studios six months later, where he worked alongside successful producers and engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, Adam Mosley, Pascal Gabriel and Gil Norton, as well as bands such as The Kinks, Galliano, Terrorvision, UFO and Elastica.
 
After working on archiving the Depeche Mode back catalogue in 1994, he was offered an engineering role at Mute Records’ in-house studio, which eventually lead to a position as Head Engineer, which gave him access to the entire Mute Records roster. Highlights include mixing Goldfrapp’s “Felt Mountain”, David Bowie’s “Hours” and Nick Cave’s “No More Shall We Part”. He also worked in 5:1, mixing Moby’s “Hotel”, Goldfrapp’s “Black Cherry“ and more for DVD.

In 2004 Kevin went freelance and re-mixed the entire Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds back catalogues for SACD/DVD. Since 2008, Kevin Paul has been in charge of mixing and remixing performances at the iTunes Festivals in the UK and Germany. He has mixed over 100 artists to date, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The XX, Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Linkin Park, Florence & The Machine, Deadmau5, David Guetta, Jessie J., Norah Jones, Oasis, Mumford & Sons, N.E.R.D., Lykke Li, James Blunt, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip, Paul Weller and many more.

He continues to record, engineer, produce and mix many projects in music and film, runs the mixing and surround mixing modules for the Masters Degree course at UK’s Westminster University and divides his time between London and Berlin. Recent works include the International selling new album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and mixing the latest album of Denmark’s “Dúné” with the first single premiering at the Danish Music Awards, plus the latest iTunes Music Festival.

http://www.kevin-paul.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts