Music Production Podcast

If one thing is for sure, you will run into problems while producing music. Maybe it's a technical issue, a creative issue, or a personal issue, either way, you are sure to have them. So what do you do?  In this episode, I offer some ways of rethinking problems from something bad to something good and productive.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: REEL SYNTHS V2: MOOG MG-1 Ableton Live Pack - the intro music was composed using this new Ableton Live Pack Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac

GARDNSOUND is the work of Gardner Beson, a musician, producer, and YouTuber known for his helpful tutorials. Gardner generously shares his production techniques and skills with his audience. He runs Gardnsound Studios, which caters to artists that excel at breaking through the barriers that contain conventional EDM. I had an interesting and wide-ranging conversation with Gardner. The first five minutes center around his pet parrot Lyla, who was present for the conversation. Then we move on to studio production techniques and some synthesizer talk. We even get to topics of ethics and personal online legacy. This is a great example of a conversation that covers all kinds of seemingly unrelated topics, which all come together under the spirit of making music. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Website - Gardner's music on Bandcamp. YouTube - Gardner’s impressive collection of helpful and inspiring videos. Twitter - Gardi B on Twitter (only the most recent posts exist!) BIP - Bounce in Place - Max for Live device that simplifies the resampling process. Casey Neistat - Famous YouTuber who comes up in conversation. Color Jumper - Video game by Ben Burnes. Ben Burnes - on the Music Production Podcast.  Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk

As I've been working on my live performance set, I've found two simple things helping quite a lot: to-do lists and done lists. In this episode, I share how I am using simple lists to help with my productivity and motivation. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: REEL SYNTHS V1: PROPHET 6 - Ableton Live Pack made with sounds of the Prophet 6 analog synthesizer, sampled to reel to reel tapes.  Workflowy - Great tool for making to-do lists. Eshan Khadaroo - Push4Life on the Music Production Podcast. Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac

Jason Timothy Ward runs the site MusicSoftwareTraining.com, where he teaches you how to produce music by not just showing you the tools, but also addressing the mental side. What I love about Jason's work is his ability to deal with the philosophical side of his art. Jason has tremendous insight on how our mind often gets in the way of our work, and offers practical solutions we can all use. In our second conversation, Jason and I pick up where we left off, talking workflow, best practices, and the philosophy of making music. I found it extremely valuable and inspiring. I hope you do too! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Jason Timothy Ward - My first conversation with Jason on the podcast episode #14. MusicSoftwareTraining.com - Read Jason's blog. Seriously. You will learn and grow. Music Habits - The Mental Game of Electronic Music Production - Jason's 5-star reviewed book on Music Production Making and Finishing an Album - Words of wisdom on a tough topic Do it Like Your Life Depends on it (Because it Does) - Need some motivation?! How I Wrote 49 Songs in 1 Year - Jason wrote a song almost every week for a year. Here's the story of how. Learn with Splice - a great collection of mini-courses from Jason, myself, and some great musical minds. WASHED Ableton Live Pack- A collection of analog synth sounds bathed in dense effects and built into Ableton Live Instruments. Minor Thoughts by Divorce Court - Track by Divorce Court that uses WASHED Ableton Live Pack Lynden Williams on the Music Production Podcast - Divorce Court appears on the 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs.

The kitchen of a restaurant can be one of the more hectic workplaces. In order to make delicious dinners in all of the chaos, chefs need to be extremely disciplined.  As music producers, we can learn a lot about our craft by observing how chefs manage to complete their art in the "heat" of the moment (couldn't resist the pun :). Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Micro Cassette Ableton Live Pack - all sounds in the intro music were made with this collection of instruments built from sounds recorded to a handheld micro cassette recorder. Organizing Like a Chef Makes for Good Habits - NPR broadcast from August 2014 (not 2005 as I mistakenly said in the show) that inspired this episode. Seconds Pro - Interval Timer app for your phone. 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac  

Eshan Khadaroo has performed with Grammy award winning artists such as Cirque Du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Imogen Heap, and many more. In recent years, Eshan has been releasing some of the finest tutorials and video courses for Ableton Push under the name Push4Life. Eshan just released a new video course called Getting to Know (and love) Chromatic Mode on Ableton Push 2. Eshan is offering listeners of this podcast access to the first set of tutorials in the new course for free at: http://push4life.eu/afrodjmac I had a great conversation with Eshan. We discussed his new course, the state of electronic musical instruments, and finding balance as an artist and working musician. Eshan's work is backed by philosophic thinking that guides him from project to project, and he shares those perspectives with us in this episode. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Push4Life - Stay up to date with Eshan's work. Getting to Know (and LOVE) Chromatic mode - An introduction to Ableton Push 2 Chromatic Mode, utilizing Bach's Prelude 01 in C Major. Free Samples of Chromatic Mode - Eshan is graciously offering listeners of this podcast free access to the first few tutorials. YouTube - a wealth of tutorials and videos by Eshan. 5 Things Every Ableton Push 2 Beginner Should Know - Eshan's first Push tutorial, which went viral. Music Sound and Silence - Eshan's podcast. JNTHN Stein on Muisic, Sound, and Silence DiViNCi on Music, Sound, and Silence Push4Life on the Music Production Podcast - my first conversation with Eshan. DiViNCi on the Music Production Podcast Huston Singletary on the Music Production Podcast Claire Marie Lim on the Music Production Podcast Session Drumming - Eshan's work as a session drummer. Melodics Course - Check out Eshan's finger drumming course on Melodics. Fugue Machine - iOS app for writing Fugues. Mad Zach - Multi-talented finger drummer and sound pack designer. 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac

Nate Beaudry makes music as Chef Elf. He is an incredible example of discipline and hard work. Nate has released a new track every day since January 1, 2018; that's over 400 tracks!  Nate and I had a great conversation about making music, staying productive, and finding ways to show up every day and get to work. Nate shares some tips he has discovered over the last year that has helped him keep working. The conversation covers lots of topics and even takes some unexpected turns to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Chef Elf - Nate's home for his music. Over a Year of Music - Nate's collection of 8-bit cover albums. YouTube - Nate's channel featuring his 1 minute snippets of his music. Instagram - Where Nate mercilessly produces a music video every day for over a year. Star Wars The Last Jedi Review - Nate's extremely thorough review of The Last Jedi. Spose "The Stolen Album" - Spose's rough unfinished release that was almost lost forever. Dr. Chris Warren - sound designer, composer, installation artist, and signal processing researcher. How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way - Classic book about comic book illustration. Super 8-Bit Ableton Live Pack - I don't think any person has made as much use of this Pack as Nate. 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac  

Tom Frampton is the creator of Mastering the Mix, a site dedicated to teaching producers how to get the best mixes of their music possible. He recently released a new service called Bounce Boss that simplifies and streamlines the collaboration process. Tom also has a host of plug-ins that can help you create the best mix possible. This is the second time I've had a chance to talk with Tom. We discussed his new project, Bounce Boss, and got into the truth of what is happening when you load plug-ins into your mixes. Tom is an experienced producer and mastering engineer, and he kindly shares his wisdom in this episode. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Bounce Boss - Simplify collaborations with Bounce Boss. Mastering the Mix - Tom's web page, featuring a helpful blog, his book, and some great plugins. Animate - A plugin that can bring a mix to life. Levels - A plugin that is taking track analysis to the next level! Expose - A plugin that will show potential problems within your mix. Reference - A plugin that allows you to compare your track to other tracks, and highlights the differences between them. Never Get Stuck Again - Tom's new book, packed with practical and technical help to finish music. Decoding the Mix of "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars - Tom analyzes the mix on his blog. Special Offer - Get a free trial of all three of Tom's plugins, plus a free chapter of Never Get Stuck Again. Tom on Music Production Podcast #54 - My first conversation with Tom on the 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac  

It's episode 100! I felt a lot of pressure to make episode 100 something special. Soon the anticipation grew into anxiety and worry. It's very common for us to build things up so big in our minds that they seem insurmountable. In this episode, I retreat back to the same approach that got this podcast started in the first place and discuss how we can apply that to making music. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube Show Notes: Music Production Podcast #1: The approach towards this episode has gotten me to number 100. REEL SYNTHS v.1: PROPHET 6: Ableton Live Pack I demonstrate in the opening of the show, made from reel to reel tape samples of the Prophet 6 analog synthesizer. ------------- 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac  

Mark Mosher is a Synthesist, Composer, Performer, Founder of the Rocky Mountain Synthesizer Meetup, and hosts the Sonic Encounters Podcast. He has run his music production blog, Modulate This! (now merged with his MarkMosherMusic.com website) for about 15 years. Mark plays in a number of ensembles and has produced music and visuals for the stage, planetariums, and picture. Mark and I had an excellent conversation about his work as a synthesist, composer, and live performer. We discussed his musical workflows and use of visuals in his performances. Mark also deconstructs and takes us behind the creative process of his newest single "Disconnected." This episode is loaded with both practical and philosophical wisdom from Mark's diverse and extensive experience as an artist. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Artist Site – http://MarkMosherMusic.com Podcast – http://SonicEncounters.com Rocky Mountain Synthesizer Meetup – http://RockyMountainSynth.com Beat Cypher Event – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1980133178941598 Disconnected” Single – https://markmoshermusic.com/2019/01/21/new-single-disconnected-spotify-itunes-amazon-googleplay-bandcamp/ “Swarm of the Nanobots” – Sonic Encounters episode with emulation of a Dewanatron Swarmatron using an Octatrack –https://markmoshermusic.com/2016/02/27/011-swarm-of-the-nanobots/ Interactive visuals gallery with Resolume – https://markmoshermusic.com/interactive-visuals/ Mark Mosher Guest Solo Performance – Boulder Laptop Orchestra Event at CU Atlas Institute – https://youtu.be/ScpItttfGlY Mountain Skies, Asheville, NC - http://spaceformusic.net/mountainskies/ Carbon Dioxide Ensemble with Tom and Victoria Lundy – http://CarbonDioxideEnsemble.com | Video (no)poem duo with Darwin Grosse – https://nopoem.net/ A.I. Winter duo with Michael O’Bannon – http://aiwinter.net Glenn Main - http://ghmain.no/   Norway’s got talent clip 😲 https://youtu.be/m_Hvssy-xjE Zebra Attack 1 Free Ableton Live Pack: https://www.afrodjmac.com/blog/2011/12/15/afrodjmac-and-mark-mosher-zebra-attack-ableton-live-rack-38 Zebra Attack 2 Free Ableton Live Pack: https://www.afrodjmac.com/blog/2011/12/28/ableton-rack-40-zebra-attack-ii-mark-mosher-afrodjmac The Round WaveTable Free Ableton Live Pack: https://www.afrodjmac.com/blog/roundwavetable 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 AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac