Music Production Podcast

Francis Preve is a sound designer, journalist, and educator. He teaches synthesis and sound design at Austin Community College. His writings on synthesis, sound design and gear can be found in top publications such as Keyboard magazine, Computer Music Magazine, and CDM. Francis has contributed synthesizer presets to just about every major manufacturer of hardware and software synths. It is quite likely you have some of his sounds in your collection.  This is the second time Francis has taken time to be on the podcast; he is our first repeat guest! Francis discusses his teaching and some of the projects he has been involved in over the past year. It was a wide ranging conversation with plenty of interesting tangents, as well as lots of useful and practical information about sound design, synthesis, and even #vanlife. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Official Site - The main hub for Francis's work. Instagram - Follow Francis's journeys in sound design and #vanlife. SympleSound - Francis's store for his sound and preset packs. Scapes - Synthesized recreations of natural environments. Francis' Apple News Channel - a great way to keep up with Francis's work. Serum Toolkit 3 - The 3rd installment of Francis's critically-acclaimed Serum presets. Austin Community College - Where Francis teaches. Look for big growth here in the arts and music departments. Free Serum Winter Pack - A collection of Serum sounds made by Francis's Synthesis 2 students. Synthwave for System 8 - Francis teamed up with Carma Studios to produce this collection of retro synth sounds for the Roland System 8. Korg Volca Modular Review - Francis's thoughts on the new Volca from Korg. Music Production Podcast #38 - My first podcast with Francis. And some topics that came up after we stopped recording... Sound Waves Levitate Small Objects  Quantum Harmonic Oscillator  Ray Kurzweil on Ramona TV Tropes 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 time for another NAMM show! This weekend, manufacturers from around the world will gather in Los Angeles to showcase their latest gear. It's one of the most exciting times of the year for music makers. Perhaps there will be the announcement of that magic piece of gear that will finally enable you to release all that music locked up inside you... The truth is, you probably already have everything you need to make that music. And further more, much of what you have likely sits in your studio gathering dust, never having reached its full potential. Unfortunately, us artists are extremely vulnerable to and new advances in technology and the clever marketing that accompanies it. In this episode, I try to offer some ideas and thoughts on how we can fight the inevitable gear lust NAMM brings us. Stay strong and fight off the NAMM gear lust! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: NAMM - National Association of Music Merchants website. Music Radar - Music Radar's wall to wall coverage of NAMM. Moog Sub Phatty PLUCKS - a FREE Ableton Live Pack to quench the thirst for new gear. PLUCKS - my latest premium collection of instruments for Ableton Live and Logic Pro X. (Sorry, I know putting that link here is a bit hypocritical!) EchoMelt - Psychic Modulation's beautiful VST/AU audio effect machine.   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

Zaak Kerstetter is an Ableton Certified Trainer, producer and performer. He makes music as Zenotope, combining elements of glitch, ambient, downtempo, and bass with doses of classical and sci-fi. Zaak has worked at many different music production schools and is currently working and teaching at KMGLife.  I met Zaak at Ableton Loop in November, and we hit it off immediately. We talked about making music, production tips, and education philosophy. So I was excited to pick up our conversation in a more focused setting. With a background in punk rock and experimental music, Zaak has some unique insights about producing electronic music and building a community of music makers.  Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Zenotope - Keep up with Zaak’s music. KMG Academy - Zaak heads up the Ableton Music Production Program. Boulder Ableton User Group - Zaak organizes the Boulder, Colorado Ableton Live User Group. 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

Sahil Lavingia is a designer, writer, painter, and creator of Gumroad. Gumroad is a platform designed for artists to sell and share their work; it’s what I use to distribute all of my own products. While still a teenager, Sahil was the first designer for Pinterest. Sahil and I had an awesome conversation about art, music, and the creative process. We discussed simplicity and productivity. I was immediately struck by the depth of his focus and his ability to see connections between so many seemingly different areas of life. This conversation transcends any one form of art and applies to just about any activity one might partake in. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Gumroad - The platform Sahil creator for artists to share their work with the world. Twitter - Follow Sahil on Twitter. Instagram - Keep up with Sahil’s artwork. Across the Border - A charming and engaging short story by Sahil. Great Interview with Sahil AfroDJMac Music Production Club - Get the January 2019 download, PLUCKS for Ableton Live and Logic Pro X. PLUCKS Ableton Live and Logic Pro Pack 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

Cuckoo is well-known for his playful personality, fun music, and deep music-gear tutorials with the little circular mirror. Music Radar just voted him the best music tech personality in the world. I first came across Cuckoo in 2011 when he started producing some of the best OP-1 tutorials, which showed me creative ways to use the OP-1. Since then, he has consistently stepped up his game, providing ever more useful tutorials, sound packs, and inspiring jams. After months of discussion, Cuckoo and I finally found a time to talk that fit our 6-hour timezone separation. Cuckoo generously shared some of his tips at staying productive and completing big projects. But he also opened up about the challenges of creation that we all face. It was comforting to know that someone like Cuckoo, with near superhuman output, still struggles to overcome these very human challenges. He offered some of his techniques he uses to persevere. It was a great candid and relaxing conversation that I’ve been excited to have for some time now. Enjoy! Show Notes: Official Site - Connect to all things Cuckoo. Instagram - Check out Cuckoo’s jams and explorations of his musical toys. YouTube - Plenty of long-form tutorials on the latest gear. Patreon - Cuckoo’s work involves a lot of time, energy, and experience, if you like it, help him out! Samples and Packs - Lots of unique and Cuckoo-styled sound packs. BandCamp - Listen to Cuckoo’s music. Music Radar - Music Radar just named Cuckoo the best music tech personality in the world! Tindra’s Light - Cuckoo’s animated short film. Cuckoo Clothing - Get your Cuckoo shirts, hoodies, and tank tops. VDMX - Live visuals software. Do Ink - iPad animation software. Yea Yea Yea - Short cartoon music video I made some years ago. 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

Margaret Harmer is a trained percussionist and electronic music producer. She runs a professional recording and production studio called Shifting Waves. Margaret just finished work on Voices From Eris, a collaborative album featuring female electronic artists from around the world. Voices From Eris brings together women of all different backgrounds, and is made up of all different styles of electronic music. I first met Margaret through my work with Berklee Online, while facilitating the Ableton Live sampling course. Maraget’s music and her dedication to growth and exploration stood out immediately. In this episode of the podcast, Margaret discusses her work, background, and the tremendous effort which went into Voices From Eris. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Official Site - The main place for Margaret’s work. Voices From Eris - Foundraiser site. Voices From Eris - SoundCloud site. Voices From Eris - BandCamp site. The store of Voices From Eris - Margaret writes about the process of producing the album. YouTube - Margaret’s performances and experiments. Shifting Waves - Margaret’s recording studio and label. The artists featured in the episode: Meri Nikula / Ode To The Women Who Were Silenced Sweden http://www.merinikula.com https://vimeo.com/merinikula Jude Casseday aka dejacusse / Song of Sirens Durham, North Carolina, USA https://dejacusse.blog https://soundcloud.com/dejacusse Rosa Latva / Merenneito Finland www.rosalatva.com rosalatva.bandcamp.com Peggy Nelson / Sagitta Boston, Massachusetts, USA http://velveteenbenjamin.com/ https://soundcloud.com/otolythe Sissel Berntsen / Black stone gong Norway http://sisselberntsen.no https://soundcloud.com/sissle/wldpool2017 Sofy Yuditskaya / Persephone’s song New York, USA http://yuditskaya.com Margaret Harmer / There is a way Geneva, Switzerland http://www.shiftingwaves.com https://www.youtube.com/user/MargaretHarmer 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

Huston Singletary is the lead sound designer for preset creation at Ableton. He heads a team of sound designers that create the “sound” of Live. Over the years, Huston has done sound design and preset creation for numerous instruments, including Omnisphere, Novation Peak, Prophet X, and so many more. He documents a lot of his work and experiments on his Instagram page. Today, Ableton has released a free gift created by Huston called Singularities. Singularities is a collection of 40 Instrument Racks Huston built from samples of classic synthesizers. In this episode, Huston discusses his role at Ableton and the team of talented sound designers he has assembled to create the beautiful palette of sounds featured in Ableton Live. He discusses his brand new free pack, Singularities, which is available on Ableton’s site for all versions of Ableton Live 10. Huston generously shares some of his wisdom on designing sounds, programming synths, and working with a well-rounded team of talented sound designers. This one is a real treat for the synth-nerds out there! Enjoy. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Singularities - 40 free Ableton Live Instruments from Ableton, created by Huston. Instagram - Huston has been posting great jams and performances on IG. Bandcamp - Listen to Huston’s music on Bandcamp. Art + Music + Technology - Listen to Huston on Darwin Grosse’s excellent 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

Claire Marie Lim is a music technologist, interdisciplinary artist, and live performance designer. A recent graduate of Berklee College of Music, Claire is a multi-instrumentalist who produces music as dolltr!ck. Claire has played an important role in planning and developing Berklee’s new Electronic Digital Instrument program, which welcomes modern technologies such as drum pads, MIDI controllers, and laptops as instruments of study. Claire’s work is paving the way for the future of music education. In this episode, Claire discusses her work at Berklee and in the school’s revolutionary Electronic Digital Instrument program. We examine where traditional musical instruments and performances meet modern technologies and genres. Many interesting questions are raised in how new music technologies and tools can find a home in the structure of traditional educational programs, as well as how these technologies challenge the fundamental structure of the programs. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Official Site - The main hub for Claire’s professional work. dolltrick - Claire’s work as the artist dolltr!ck Own Devices - Pieces for motion and electronics Eventuate - Claire’s EDI friend who performs and makes music with his modular rig, Monome grid + arc, and electric guitar BeatMask - instrument that converts beatboxing to drum samples in real-time Shawn Wasabi clip that is often shared by Berklee faculty Toss of a Dice - choreography by Jiri Kylian Jesper Nordin - Creator of Gestrument on the Music Production Podcast Jacob Haq - iOS YouTuber on the Music Production Podcast Let’s Get Physical - Music Production Podcast about the importance of movement while making music. 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.comfor music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs. Brian Funk AfroDJMac

Evan Chandler produces music as Slynk. He’s known for his unique blend of funk and EDM, and has an amazing collection of YouTube tutorials that dive deep into music production. Evan’s work has a unique character and originality that has brought him much success as an artist. Evan and I had a pretty wide ranging conversation. I was excited to learn how he makes his music move with so much groove; he shared some great tips. We spoke about his work and touring, as well as how teaching can often be the best way to learn. I found Evan’s overall attitude and approach to work really inspiring. There’s a lot of great info in this episode. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Slynk’s Official Site - the hub of all things Slynk. YouTube - Slynk has a ton of useful and deep music production tutorials. SoundCloud - Listen to Slynk’s music. Put it on at a party. Watch everyone have fun. Chop That Wood by Milez Benjamin - Great example of that drunken loose swing. 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

Dan Giffin is a musician, producer, and engineer, who runs the site Live Producers Online, which is a social membership site for learning Ableton Live. Dan’s podcast, Ableton Live Music Producers Podcast, centers around learning Ableton Live, and features many exciting guests who share their own personal stories and experience. Philia is the name of Dan’s musical project, and he just released a new album, Miracles Happen All The Time Vol. 1. I’ve been a fan of Dan’s podcast for a while now, and after meeting at Ableton Loop, we finally connected and had the chance to talk. Dan talks about how he arrived where he is today, recording, producing, and engineering at The Lodge Recording Studios. He discusses his music and his teaching of Ableton Live. Dan shared lots of interesting stories we can all learn from. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Live Producers Online - a social learning web site for Ableton Live, run by Dan. Ableton Live Music Producer Podcast - Dan’s podcast. Catch me on the Audio Effects Tips and Tricks Episode. Philia - Dan’s musical project. Miracles Happen Vol. 1 - Dan’s new album. DanGiffin.com - Dan’s official web site. The Artisan’s Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus 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