Working Class Audio WCA #573 with Natalie Bibby – AIR Studios, Direct to Disc, Attended Sessions, MPG, and Connecting with Others
Dec 9, 2025
01:11:03
In this episode of Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes mastering and lathe cutting engineer Natalie Bibby who works at AIR Studios in the U.K.. Natalie has worked with Kraftwerk, Bring Me The Horizon, Lola Young, Jimmy Eat World, The Vaccines, Lewis Capaldi, GIRLI, and CATTYShe's also led a world-class mastering workshop at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, UK.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Early musical influences
- Starting in recording & mixing
- University training & goals
- Metropolis internship lessons
- Moving into mastering
- Live cuts & direct-to-disc
- Half-speed mastering overview
- Learning & mentorship insights
- Joining AIR Studios
- AIR Studios
- Value of attended sessions
- Managing client expectations
- Hybrid mastering workflows
- How mastering engineers listen
- Common mixing problems
- Music Producers Guild
- Challenges for studios
- AIR’s cutting reputation
- Vinyl cutting process
- Mastering vs. cutting
- American mastering mystique
Links and Show Notes:
Matt's Rant: How we present ourselves
Credits:
- Guest: Natalie Bibby
- Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
- WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
- The Voice: Chuck Smith