
hanging out with audiophiles
My name is Jamie Lidell and I'm gonna delve into the heady magic of creating music in a modern studio, probe the depths of production, get tech crazy with mixing tricks, studio skills and equipment. I'll be joined by fellow musicians, engineers and all-round audiophiles who kindly share their tips, stories and ingenious insight from the bizarre world of music production. I shall answer questions and seek knowledge from other music makers on a quest to discover how to make things sound RIGHT. I will also share some studio trickery on each episode as I explore some of my favourite innovations in music tech and my creations... outpourings from the weirdo brain! Welcome to a place for musicians, producers and listeners alike as we "cheers" our love of everything audio.
Latest episodes

Jan 13, 2020 • 2h 24min
HOWA EP 62 - TIGA
EP 62 - TIGA Cosmic connection! Me and Tiga were born on the SAME day and the SAME year. PRETTY rare situation I’d say. Feels right to kick off the 2020 with a little happy coincidence ! Hello by the way. Who is TIGA? You kidding me? Well let’s break down the man in a timeline styleee. - He was born on an amazing day in an amazing year. - He’s run a record store (I mean for YEARS) - He’s DJ’d all over planet - He’s been in a movie with other great Canadians. - He’s a multi dad and he’s even a pod man like me :) First off here’s the details about the pod: “Last Party On Earth” is its name and it was launched in summer 2019 featuring chats with top folks such as Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Carl Cox He promises more to come :) Tiga has made a load of music. Like 3 LPs and a ton of singles AND he’s remixed just about everyone and their dog! Here’s a taste of the levels: LCD Soundsystem – "Beat Connection" (Tiga Edit) Cabaret Voltaire – "Nag Nag Nag" (Tiga & Zyntherius Radio mix) Depeche Mode – "Shake The Disease" (Tiga Remix) Depeche Mode – "Suffer Well" (Tiga Remix) Pet Shop Boys – "Minimal" (Tiga's M-I-N-I-M-A-L Remix) / (Tiga's M-I-N-I-M-A-L Dub) The Prodigy – "Thunder" (Tiga Remix) The xx – "Shelter" (Tiga Remix) Disclosure - "Magnets (feat. Lorde)" (Tiga Remix) He even tackled my 2010 single – "I Wanna Be Your Telephone" (Tiga’s Party Like It’s 1990 Remix) It's rather banging! Yep We get into his LUCKY ways, the power of nativity Minimalism as a lifestyle and a productivity booster The reasons why we make art! It’s alll here Welcome to pod TIGA ____ In the nitty I reimagine note onsets and their relationship in space as delays from one another That allows me to make a song about time. Causality in action ______ Music from the show comes from Body Copy and a new EP called Spirit Dance: https://soundcloud.com/BodyCopyMusic

5 snips
Dec 25, 2019 • 1h 50min
HOWA EP 61 - DAVE SITEK
Merry Crimble one and all! Yo ho ho and so forth as we smoke some peace at Dave's house. I hope you are all enjoying some down time and it's good hang. If not I call this one the escape pod so hopefully you can relax a little as we get into our hearty end of year ramblathon. Dave is a legitimate legend at this point. His work speaks for itself. He's produced some heavy shit in his time. TV on the radio anyone? Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beyonce, Weezer... Liars. The list goes on and on and it's all crazy and plenty magic. At one point Mr Sitek is chatting about the Jefferson starship guitarist. so here's a Jorma_Kaukonen link :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorma_Kaukonen We get into a lengthy one about the power of boredom, the inevitable struggles with loneliness in 2019/2020 and many a juicy topic. In the nitty I make EVERYTHING sleigh. Yep. That's right. Kind sponsorship comes from Dave's fave monitor folk ADAM AUDIO. makers of rather fine speakers. Dave has 2 pairs. They are banging.

Dec 9, 2019 • 1h 36min
HOWA EP 60 - BAYNK
My son always reminds me that New Zealand is 8000 miles from Nashville. That number is etched in my head now but What could it MEAN? Surely being surrounded by that lush and splendid setting growing up must have a huge impact on ones sonic sense? I feel a ramble coming on! Yep we meander-chat about the wind, pavlova (important beef. Not beef Pav, the other kind of beef), the promise of 20% sax and the giddy power and cruelty of naivety in the world of Baynk. I had a good writing hang with him in LA sometime ago and was happy we found a sec to natter. I realized this chat is showing it’s age now as we had this convo a year ago. I was curious how things might have matured and settled for Jock in this time. He has kept the releases very controlled and high quality. Well worth a listen! His “Someone’s EP II” is superb and got a bunch of tasty remixes including one from Machine Drum, my guest on episode 40. Only a few days ago a new jam hit the webs, an instrumental mellow burn called “High” Please welcome to the show Baynk! _____________ Music for today’s show comes from. Chris Nickolls who makes music under the name 'Kmodo' 'Cold Fusion' is his first release and features Berlin based singer Clara Hill And you can find his music on/in? The cloud! Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/komodo/sets/cold-fusion-ep/s-pfkY8 _____________ Nitty 60 sees me having a good ole sing into the rather superb DUBLER from UK company Vochlea Here’s the link to their box of tricks: https://www.vochlea.co.uk

Nov 25, 2019 • 1h 36min
HOWA EP 59- Rodaidh McDonald
Welcome Rodaidh McDonald We met through our mutual pal Bobby Krlic (my guest on EP33) and got a brief chat in. I realized quickly that he’d working on the Sampha record that I really love called Process and I had so many questions. We get into that and oodles more in this face to face hang at Rodaidh’s brand new house in LA. He had literally just got his gear in the place and there were a bunch of boxes and dreams lying around so I was very grateful to be welcomed into that rather vulnerable scene. He’s a creative force and has a stack of potent collabs under his belt. To name drop a few: Adele Bobby Womack The xx Damon Albarn King Krule Savages David Byrne Brian Eno… Yeah I mean he’s heavy. It’s clear his calm manner and focused ways clearly help him to see things through to the end. The hallmark of a true producer. It’s a pleasure to ramble though the timeline with him! ___________ nitty 59 explores the transformation of the PA mic feedback “issue” into a layer cake of pitchy joy. Tall order! No more “uh uh” just whip it through some cascades. Watch it spin into space. Something like that ___________ Music for this show comes from Mason Cos who are an electronic duo based in Denver, Colorado. Originally formed as a Krautrock-leaning live band in Chicago around 2016, Mason Cos then discovered the joys of experimenting with analog synthesizers. Listen! https://masoncos.bandcamp.com

Nov 11, 2019 • 1h 23min
EP 58 - MATT BLACK
The noise annoys Where would we be without John Peel ? In a time of noise we need selectors! Yeah man. We can all agree on something right? I chat with DJ VJ Label boss Zen Cyber punker Future surfer Matt Black He’s seen a lot. A LOT From making hit records in the UK (One that sat at the number 1 spot for weeks), to remixing Legends like Eric B and Rakim, INXS, Steve Reich, The Fall and James Brown (I mean what a list!)... from mulitmedia pioneering with everything from video art to software video performance instruments to the unknown sky. Matt has had his fingers in many a tasty pie. I was very lucky to catch up with him on the blower for a minute :) we chat about the zen delay which is a great collaboration between ninja tune and Ericasynths. Check this link! ZEN DELAY LAY LAY LAY LAY _____________ Nitty today is all about the mysterious and musical world of the morph. Exploring the space in BETWEEN. I use a few methods to explore this. the obxa's portamento, the emblematic systems "catalyst" which is a eurorack module for crossfading between stored states (in this notes) and lastly I use Ableton with midi faders to achieve similar results. I needed to make a max patch for this which is here: enjoy ! it has a help button :) ABLETON NITTY FADER! _______________ Music for today's show comes from 2 fine artists ! 1) 2 songs from Envelope music. These come from an album called "The Rift" which is a debut collaborative work by West Australian composers Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan. find the album here: https://envelopemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-rift 2) 2 track by Adam Jay, a experienced techno chap! he's done a lot of banging shit! https://soundcloud.com/adamjay

Oct 28, 2019 • 1h 40min
HOWA EP 57 - RICHARD DEVINE
Richard and I go waaaay back. Yep, we were touring America together back in 2002 and that was the first time I met him. tWas a warp records tour with Mark Bell (RIP), Nightmares on wax, Prefuse 73, Luke Vibert and other nutters! He was the guy fixing everyone’s laptops on the bus I recall. We were all busy getting wasted and he was onto something else. That pretty much explains the man. Super generous with his time and pioneering in his goals and accomplishments. Not a follower. Indeed, not content with just making LPs, touring and all of that trad life, Richard’s made his own path and now his work represents the high bar for sound design across the board. Whether working for Google, Yamaha or Jaguar Richard is the guy to figure out converting the unknown into the possible. A no to yes convertor. We talk about his toughest sonic challenge, the cutting edge of sound tech in 2019 and where he is heading in terms of his AI aspirations. We chat about the world of sound that lives above 20kHz. Why analog ??? and a lot more. He’s a deep mind and this chat gets pretty specific in terms of tools used and so forth. You’re welcome! Richard talks about a purely algorithmically generated set of music Here’s a link: https://williamfields.bandcamp.com/album/fieldsos Really something unexpected. Also That Sanken 100khz mic ! https://bit.ly/32T0j54 ____________________ In the nitty today I dive into controlled chaos. Dipping an ankle into the portal! It’s a lot of eurorack talk. Tricky to explain but I give it a go :) CHAOS CONTROL CHAOS ?? bit of both like … ____________________ Music for today’s show comes from Fake Baby. Check it here! http://www.andyrivas.com ____________________ Here’s the link to the competition giveaway thanks to Sonarworks! What you stand to win!! Speaker measurement software – find out where your monitors need help DAW plugin – reference sound combined with zero latency for any musical endeavor Systemwide – apply calibration to all outgoing audio Measurement microphone for Recording Studios – sniffs out any faults your setup might have Custom-tailored calibration file for your Sennheiser HD 650 studio headphones Sennheiser HD 650 studio headphones Enter now! https://gleam.io/lroFH/howa-podcast-x-sonarworks-giveaway

Oct 14, 2019 • 1h 6min
HOWA EP 56 - ANDREW HUANG
My guest today has been watched by so many people it’s hard to imagine all the eyeballs! Quite a harrowing image actually. 440 million eye balls!! Yes, that’s the amount that have viewed his now uber famous and ace youtube channel. An quick and undeniable word to describe Andrew might be prolific. I mean it FEELS apt since he’s made over 50 albums of original music. It’s bonkers! The man must never sleep and yet he always looks so well rested! Many mysteries.. so many. Many questions too. I mean how to navigate the internet and win? How are choices are amplified by the web? How to forge your own path? He’s a great teacher, formidable visual artist and musician and super positive hang :) It’s the wild west out there and Andrew has been riding his digital horse into unexplored towns for years now. He’s been around and seen a lot on his travels Let’s get into it Please welcome to hanging out with audiophiles Andrew Huang Check his amazing youtube channel : https://bit.ly/28SFrz8 His 30 day class is underway.. Looks like you can Join a waiting list for next time https://bit.ly/316oxqM _____________________ In the nitty I get into the rubby universe of the microtone! We just dip a toe in but it’s a trippy toe _____________________ Music for today’s show comes from a man that lives just down the road from me over in Knoxville TN It’s from Nikki Nair. Keep that electro alive! Links: https://soundcloud.com/nikki-nair https://www.instagram.com/nikki__nair/ ALSO: I’m selling a bunch of heavy studio gear at an amazing store here in nashville. Check it out! https://retrogearshop.com/products What am I selling? Vac rac TSL 3 2x Neumann pres (with meter) (220v) 2x Neumann comp (220v) 2x V74 line amp Kurzweil k250 RMX Ensoniq mirage (with loads of disks) Moog theramin etherwave (UK power) 2xUA2100 channel strips DSI tempest

Sep 30, 2019 • 1h 29min
EP 55 - JOHN CONGLETON
A man who I’ve heard of many times and yet never had a chance to meet. Gotta love the pod for this coz after my chat with Mr Vaderslice on Episode 51 I was introduced. Mr Congleton is so fast. He’s quick witted and on point. He knows what he thinks and has clearly taken a long time to come to his opinions. You know where you stand with that kind of attitude. You can see the strength of his character quickly from his twitter feed where he is not afraid to tell it like he sees it. The fact there’s a quick way in with the man perhaps that explains how he’s been able to work with such a huge range of talent from a multitude of genres. Time for a quick name drop. Although he’s worked with hundreds and hundreds of great acts (many of whom are wonderfully unknown) a selection of his high profile gigs include working with: Lana Del Rey Angel Olsen St Vincent David Byrne My guest on episode 17 - Kimbra Modest mouse Swans Erykah Badu And my guest from episode 16 - unknown mortal orchestra There are so many more. It’s quite staggering to read a longer list of names from his wiki. Needless to say “have you ever been experienced” is rather fitting So in that mental cloud of psych dust lingering in the doorway lets jump into this coffee morning speed ramble with the powerhouse that is John Congleton ______ The Nitty sees me getting old school with my original looper. The same one I used to open for James Brown, Bjork and Beck! so simple by 2109 standards but it was 19 years ago :) _______ Music for the show is from second violin : https://secondviolin.bandcamp.com/ or soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/second-violin Thanks to ASC for the show sponsorship Get some tubetraps ASAP !! They rule http://www.tubetrap.com

Sep 16, 2019 • 1h 23min
HOWA EP54 - JUSTIN STANLEY
Ello This is the commonwealth edition. Like the Ashes of Audio it’s UK vs Australia. Justin Stanley FINALLY finds his way to the pod. First and foremost Mr Stanley is my friend. We’ve been on some serious adventures in our times. We were on the road together in 2006, where we met touring with Beck. I was opening and J.S. was in the Beck band and KILLING. Also he happens to be a prince of man. A TRUE legend. A humble badass and a VERY experienced audio king. He’s worked with everyone from Leonard Cohen to Prince and even a little Lidell along the way. Husband of the wonderful Nikka Costa and Dad to two incredible young humans, Justin is just a joy. So happy to have him on. He surprised me by driving us both over to Barefoot in LA. It’s owned by Eric Valentine. WHAT a place. We sat and played on the piano Stevie used on Songs in the Key of Life, Talking Book and so on. I mean COME ON! It was all too much. Such a sweet surprise that’ll stay with me for ages. Here’s to you Justin! You’re a class act. _____________________________________ Music for the show is from Sydney Australia.. so apt. It was clearly meant to be. The band is called Colourfields. And the tracks that appear in the show are from an album called “Body Objects” Superb stuff! Link here: https://colourfields1.bandcamp.com/album/body-objects ____________________________________ In the 54th Nitty I get into the mysterious world of reversing reversed effects. Forwarding the backward. A little time travel. Also apt for this show with Justin. Here we go!

Sep 2, 2019 • 1h 29min
HOWA EP53 - BRAD COOK
HOWA EP 53 - BRAD COOK I was listening to Larry Klein on a recent mix with the masters explain this idea that a producer is someone that sees the spark of uniqueness in an artist and tries to amplify that. That is a noble process and so nuanced that it takes years to know when to speak, when to encourage, when to call it a night, when to listen and so on. Brad knows aaaallll about aaaallll of this ! He’s an excellent energy in the room and so many musicians can benefit from his touch. I’ve only been privy to his vibe in a session on two occasions but his presence is both large and also magically effortless. I think it’s the fact that you know he gets it. He knows a real moment and he’s in it for the depth, not the racking up of medals and the shallow status games. The first time I met him, he was rather high and laughing at a bass. It was a gathering with Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) and a large crew of players in Nashville where I ended up shouting into a mic with the other members of the collective they call “Gangs” . That first meeting was a great hang but there was no time to chat and so I was super happy to bump into him again on my mystical trip to the sonic ranch in Texas. Turns out that’s where a lot of the latest Bon Iver record was made and Brad was there the whole time as producer so it only seemed right to jump into that story and to see what that was all about and to feel out the ways Brad has learned to listen and cultivate the fledgling music growing in the room. He’s a formidable musician and a very easy going chap. I loved chatting with him! Please welcome to the show BRAD COOK! _______________________________ In the nitty I gently roll the dice on music asking what probability can offer the sequencer? Take a chance! _______________________________ Music for Ep 53 comes from Jeremy Hunter aka Doxa Check his music here: https://doxadoxa.bandcamp.com Welcome!