Music Production Podcast

Paul Zgordan works for Mubert, a company that develops tools for making music created by artificial intelligence. Mubert creates algorithmically generated music using samples uploaded by users. Mubert's generative music is targeted towards businesses that need music for their products (apps, spas, video games).  Paul and I discuss Mubert in detail, from its technology and how it is being used. We explore whether artificial intelligence will endanger the jobs of musicians. Paul also shares ideas on how musicians can use AI to further their artistic vision.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Mubert - AI Music Solution Mubert Beta - join and participate in Mubert's #I-am-the-world project to create the never ending collaborative generative music stream in A Minor.  Walkthrough Video- Short video on uploading samples to Mubert. Google Magenta - AI Max for Live devices. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

Hazel Savage is the CEO and co-founder of Musiio, a company that uses artificial intelligence to automatically analyze and tag music to make it more discoverable. Hazel is a life-long musician and music technologist, working for companies like Shazaam, Pandora, and Universal.  Hazel and I talked at length about Musiio and its potential to influence the music industry. We also get into what makes music human and why she isn't afraid that artificial intelligence will replace artists. The conversation goes into a lot of big questions that new technologies will ultimately raise for everyone in the music industry. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Musiio - Hazel's company that helps make great music more discoverable. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

David Marston and Phil Celeste are musicians, producers, and long-time collaborators who just finished a new track called "Airwaves." Phil (aka Life on Planets) and David have managed to make their partnership work over barriers of time and distance, and have had successful releases both together and separately. Phil, David, and I had a nice conversation about music production and collaboration. We talked about how they both help guide each other in the studio, and how they also know when to work on certain aspects of a project separately. We also talk about releasing albums on labels and independently, as well as a ton of other related topics.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Life on Planets (Phil Celeste) David Marston Life on Planets & David Marston - "Airwaves" "Airwaves" Lyric video David Marston & Life on Planets - "Take Your Time" Life on Planets - "Fork In The Path" (David Marston & Dan Izco Remix) Phil's Guitar, used on "Airwaves" Garden of Earthly Delights Soul Clap Records Chill-Struments Ableton Live Pack Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

Julie Covello, aka DJ Shakey, is a DJ, producer, performer, and founder of Warper Party. It's hard to overstate how important Julie's role in the shaping of live electronic music has been. Warper Party is a monthly live electronic music event that has been running since 2005. So much of what modern live electronic music has become has roots in the community Julie has helped build.  In this episode of the podcast, Julie talks about the early days of Warper Party and how community has helped her and the scene in general grow and develop. We learn about the days of modding MIDI controllers into creative live performance tools and how the live electronic music scene has changed over the years.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: DJ Shakey Instagram Warper Party Instagram Shakey's Record Fair Instagram Empire Breaks NYC Instagram The Plaster Cramp Instagram Warper Party Radio Extravaganza Matt Moldover - Father of Controllerism DJ Tech Tools - Founded by Ean Golden Dan Freeman - creator of Ableton Push "key-tar," Blinky. Mojo Video Tech - The Art of Projection Mapping, Brooklyn. Improbable Confetti - The Plaster Cramp Radio Show. Ill Gates - Creator of the Producer's Dojo. Chill-struments - Ableton Live Pack made with the OP-1. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

William Kage is a video game programmer and music producer, who produces music in the style of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System sound card. William built SixEngine, a web-based 16-bit video game engine. William releases music in the style of the SNES and is working on a new 16-bit RPG called Otosan. William and I had a great conversation about his work and the challenges of writing within restrictions of the Super Nintendo's sound card. We discuss how game composers were able to find creative solutions to the limitations using some clever sampling techniques. William also gives some nice sound examples to help explain how this type of composing works. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Official Site - The hub of William's work, his music, SixEngine, and Otosan. SixEngine - 16-bit web-based game engine. Otosan - 16 bit role playing game William is developing. miniVerb - 8-bit chip tune reverb plug-in. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

It's very exciting when a new update comes out for your computer. There are new features and tools that may make things much easier, smoother, and faster. However, if you rely on your computer to make music, an update can break that system. Instead of enjoying new features and workflows, you will be stuck trying to figure out why nothing works.  And if you are on a working machine, ask yourself why you need to update. Is it really Resistance? Are you avoiding work? Don't get stuck with a machine that doesn't work. Stick with what does and wait for things to iron out! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Create Digital Music explains why you don't want to upgrade yet. Bobby Owsinki offers insight on why you shouldn't update. Ableton's official Mac OS compatibility help page. War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

Ben Burnes is a producer, live streamer, and game programmer. He releases unique sample packs and is very active in the music production community. Ben is known for not only sharing his work and projects, but also creating projects and collaborating with the community to make them come to life.  Note! In the episode we mention Ben's Two Hour Album Challenge. At the time of our talk, we didn't expect the show to go live before then, but we pulled some strings and made it happen! If you want to be a part of the Two Hour Album Challenge, it starts Friday October 11, 2019 at 6PM GMT and ends Sunday October 13, 2019 at 6PM GMT. Go to Two Hour Album Challenge for more details. And if you miss this one, there is another one planned in January. Ben Burnes was my first guest on the Music Production Podcast. It was great to reconnect with him. Ben shared wisdom and lessons he's learned from completing nearly 200 2-hour track challenges. He spends a lot of time discussing the growth he's undergone by making himself vulnerable by live streaming as he attempts to write a song in 2 hours. Lots of great insights! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Support Ben Burnes on Patreon Ben's Work: Abstraction Ben on YouTube 2 Hour Album Challenge 2 Hour Album Challenge on Bandcamp Shakka and Pal's Podcast Color Jumper - Ben's Video Game. 2 Hour Track Challenge Playlist 2 Hour Track Challenge Recordings The Tree That Was A Forest Composer Quest Podcast Ben's first appearance on the Music Production Podcast. Tommy Zee on the Music Production Podcast Vespers on the Music Production Podcast 24/7 Eurorack Modular Music Stream Ben's tutorial on How To Use Famitracker Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

Drew Vespers is a musician, producer, and founder of Warp Academy, an Ableton Certified Trainer Center in Canada. Warp Academy is one of the leading producers of high quality online music production education. His tutorials have helped thousands of musicians (including myself!) grow and develop into successful artists. Drew's music combines elements of rock, jazz, hip hop, and electronic bass music, and been released on a variety of record labels.  I really enjoyed talking with Drew about his work, Warp Academy, and how he manages to stay so productive and focused. This conversation covers a lot. We cover advanced mixing techniques, which has become a passion of Drews. There's also quite a lot along the lines of getting and staying productive. Drew shares practical tips on health and mindfulness, as well as many resources and books that have helped him keep his attention on his work. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Warp Academy - Ableton Certified Trainer center Drew founded. Vespers - Drew's personal work as an artist and teacher. YouTube - Subscribe to Warp Academy for tons of tutorials. Nexus - Facebook Group for producers to share knowledge and ideas. The Mod Method - Drew's video course designed to give the tools and inspiration to create music you can be proud of. Ableton Push 2 Jumpstart - Ableton Push 2 video course I made with Warp Academy. 5 Focus and Productivity Hacks - Drew shares some tips on getting work done. Book Recommendations: Stealing Fire Optimum Nutrition for the Mind Deep Work The Power of Full Engagement App Recommendations: Freedom - Block the internet and apps for focus. Self Control - free alternative to Freedom that I'm experimenting with. Vitamin R - Productivity app. Free Downloads: Mixing Template - Drew's Mix Template for Ableton Live Song Structure and Energy Heat Maps - Derived from the MOD Method video course. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk  

Jörgen Kjellgren is a prolific ambient producer from Sweden. Since May 2018, Jörgen has release 9 EPs. He has developed a working method that uses restrictions to encourage creativity. In this episode, Jörgen shares how discipline and restrictions has allowed him to become a prolific producer. Jörgen shares his thoughts on progressing ideas into finished piece of music and how the Japanese concept of "Wabi-Sabi" has allowed him to silent the internal critic. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Bandcamp: Jörgen's music on Bandcamp. Soundcloud: Jörgen's music on Soundcloud. Spotify: Jörgen's music on Spotify. Apple Music: Jörgen's music on Apple Music. YouTube: Jörgen's work on YouTube. Wabi-Sabi - Japanese concept of impermanence and imperfection.  GUITAR CHORDS Sample Pack: The sounds that made the introduction music for today's episode. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider.  And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Enjoy! Brian

I recently had a hard drive fail and I have lost years of music, photos, and other stuff. It might be gone forever.  This episode is a public service announcement and reminder to back up your files and back up your back ups! Your digital work is irreplaceable. Today, I share a few ideas on how to back up your work, and also think about how to handle this loss on a psychological level. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Guitar Chords - My new Sample Pack that I used to create the intro music. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk