Working Class Audio

Working Class Audio

Peel back the glamour of the professional recording world. Guests from the world of audio for music, film, games, restoration, and more share their insights on how they made their journey, how they survive, their advice on the real things including wins, losses, working with other people, money, and career advice.  Hosted by audio engineer Matt Boudreau. The Working Class Audio Podcast - Navigating the World of Recording with a working class perspective.

  1. WCA #599 with Alex Newport – Three Decades of Production, a Studio in the Desert, Engineering at Tiny Telephone, and Why Unique Always Beats Good

    1 дн. тому

    WCA #599 with Alex Newport – Three Decades of Production, a Studio in the Desert, Engineering at Tiny Telephone, and Why Unique Always Beats Good

    Matt welcomes producer, engineer, and mixer Alex Newport for his first appearance on Working Class Audio. Alex grew up in the UK Midlands with few music resources, and found his way into production after his band got signed to a UK label with an upstream deal to Columbia, and ended up recording at Sawmills, a legendary residential studio on a tidal island at the tip of Cornwall. Working there with producer Colin Richardson changed everything. From there Alex spent decades moving between LA, San Francisco, and New York — engineering at Tiny Telephone, producing records for At the Drive-In, City and Colour, and many more — before eventually building his own residential studio in Joshua Tree, designed from the ground up to let bands show up and make records without distraction. The conversation covers production philosophy, surviving as a freelancer across three decades, why he intentionally avoids getting pigeonholed, and what really matters when designing a studio space. In This Episode, We Discuss: Growing Up in the UK Midlands With Few Music ResourcesThe Band That Got Signed: Upstream Deal to Columbia RecordsRecording at Sawmills — The Tidal Island Studio in CornwallColin Richardson as a Life-Changing ProducerThe Difference Between a Producer Who Listens and One Who Doesn'tWhy Alex Was Initially Resistant to Having a ProducerWhat Colin Taught Him That He Still Uses Today — and What He HatedThe Shift From Being a Musician to Wanting to Be in the StudioMoving to the US: From Arizona to LA to San Francisco to New YorkFirst Impressions of LA — Where's the City Centre?The Culture Shock of Going From the UK to CaliforniaWhy Alex Prefers San Francisco Over LATiny Telephone and John Vanderslice — Engineering as EducationLearning to Mic Instruments He'd Never Encountered BeforeThe Moment Budgets Started Collapsing Around 2004Building a Studio in LA, Then New York, Then Realising It Was MadnessNew York vs LA: Brutally Honest vs Relaxed and OpenSurviving as a Freelance Producer: The Feast or Famine RealityWhy He Intentionally Avoids Getting Pigeonholed as a ProducerMoving to Joshua Tree and Building a Residential Studio From ScratchDesigning the Studio From a Musician's Perspective, Not an Engineer'sThe Vintage Trailer as Accommodation: Glamping, Not a Holiday InnHigh Ceilings That Cost an Extra $35,000Good Coffee Is More Important Than the Gear in the RackThe Sawmills Influence on the Joshua Tree Studio ConceptPhilip Broussard, Daniel Lanois, and the Kingsway/Teatro PhilosophyWhat Alex Brings to the Table as a Producer: Objectivity and People SkillsThe Sliding Scale Rate Philosophy: Money Follows Good WorkOn Relationships, Touring, and Finding a Partner Who Gets ItDual UK/US Citizenship and Thoughts on Moving Back to England Matt's RANT!: AI and Its Uses Links and Show Notes: Alex Newport Tiny Creatures StudioWCA with John Greenham WCA with Philip Broussard Credits: Guest: Alex NewportHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

    1 год 31 хв
  2. WCA #598 with Dante Fumo – Harmonic Content, Independent Film Sound, DIY Publishing, and Making a Living on Your Own Terms

    2 черв.

    WCA #598 with Dante Fumo – Harmonic Content, Independent Film Sound, DIY Publishing, and Making a Living on Your Own Terms

    In this return visit to Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes back Dante Fumo — freelance sound designer, writer, and the creator behind Harmonic Content, a screen-printed audio zine now in its seventh issue. Dante talks about building a sustainable freelance life that spans independent film post-production, writing for Vintage King and Pro Sound Effects, and self-publishing a physical zine inspired by the Tape Op compilations he read as a college writing tutor. The conversation covers the realities of DIY publishing — screen printing, saddle-stitching zines at home, and the economics of Patreon — alongside the craft of mixing short films in Dolby Atmos, delivery specs for the festival circuit, building a sound library, and why low cost of living might be the most underrated career decision a freelancer can make. In This Episode, We Discuss: The Origin of Harmonic Content ZineHow Tape Op Inspired the Whole ThingThe Economics of Self-Publishing a Physical ZineScreen Printing and DIY Production WorkflowWhy Ink Cartridges Are a Scam (and What Dante Uses Instead)Building a Sustainable Patreon as a Small Independent CreatorBalancing Freelance Writing, Sound Design, and PublishingWriting for Vintage King and Pro Sound EffectsHow Dante Gets Independent Film Clients — All Word of MouthThe Life Cycle of an Indie Short Film: Festivals to YouTubeMixing Everything in Atmos Even for Non-Atmos DeliverablesNetflix Home Entertainment Spec as a Loudness BaselineLoudness for Short Films vs. Feature Films vs. MusicCalibrating Your Monitors With Pink NoiseOverhead Fold-Down Settings When Bouncing Atmos to StereoSound Design vs. Mixing: What Dante Loves MostField Recording for Ambiences vs. Buying LibrariesSoundCue — A Free Sound Effects Organizing Tool from Pro Sound EffectsGDC Free Sound Library and Other Ways to Build a Collection for FreeGeorge Vlad and Watson Wu — Field Recording HeroesTonebenders Podcast as the WCA of Post-Production SoundWhy Dante Stepped Back From Recording Everything HimselfThe Case for Not Having All Your Eggs in One BasketADHD and Freelancing: Finding Work You Can Actually Stay Engaged WithLow Cost of Living as a Freelance StrategyAES Nashville and the Press Pass QuestionWhat the Next Five Years Look Like Matt's RANT!: School Discount Codes: WCA25OFF — 25% off a zine at harmoniccontentzine.com Links and Show Notes: Harmonic Content ZineDante Fumo — Supernatural Sound DesignHarmonic Content on PatreonWCA #346 with Dante FumoWCA #596 with Will KennedyTape Op MagazineTonebenders PodcastPro Sound Effects / SoundCue Credits: Guest: Dante FumoHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

    1 год 6 хв
  3. WCA #597 with Tchad Blake, Dr. Will Sedley, Jack Rubinacci & Hazel Goedhart – Tinnitus Quest: Breaking the Silence on the Music Industry's Most Common Occupational Condition

    25 трав.

    WCA #597 with Tchad Blake, Dr. Will Sedley, Jack Rubinacci & Hazel Goedhart – Tinnitus Quest: Breaking the Silence on the Music Industry's Most Common Occupational Condition

    In this episode of Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes a panel of four guests united by a common cause: Tinnitus Quest, a patient-driven nonprofit pushing to fund and accelerate tinnitus research. Tchad Blake — 7-time Grammy Award-winning producer, mixer, and engineer with credits including Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, and Pearl Jam — opens up about living with tinnitus since age eight or nine, the result of childhood exposure to rifle fire, and how he has mixed some of the most acclaimed records of the past four decades with significant hearing loss in one ear. Neuroscientist and consultant neurologist Dr. Will Sedley of Newcastle University breaks down what the brain is actually doing when tinnitus occurs, from central gain theory to predictive coding, gating mechanisms, and why the brain's compensation strategies can misfire. Hazel Goedhart, co-founder and Executive Board Member at Tinnitus Quest, shares her own tinnitus journey and how it led her to leave a career in financial services and fundraise her own salary to work for the cause full-time. And Jack Rubinacci, musician, songwriter, and Head of PR at Tinnitus Quest, explains how the organization is working to change the narrative around tinnitus the same way the mental health conversation shifted over the past generation — because that narrative shift is what unlocks funding, and funding is what drives research. In This Episode, We Discuss: What Tinnitus Quest Is and Why It Was FoundedThe Scale of the Problem: 750 Million People, Almost No Research FundingTchad's Tinnitus Since Age Eight or Nine: Childhood Rifle FireMixing Iconic Records With Significant Hearing LossTinnitus as a Potential Creative SuperpowerHow the Brain Compensates for Hearing Loss and Generates Phantom SoundCentral Gain Theory and Neural Noise AmplificationSynchrony: How Neurons Fire Together and Make Tinnitus LouderGating Mechanisms and Why Some People's Brains Filter Tinnitus OutThe Predictive Coding Model: Why Tinnitus Embeds Itself in the BrainHair Cell Damage vs. Synaptopathy: Two Different Types of Noise TraumaRecruitment: A Frequency-Specific Amplification PhenomenonWhy Tinnitus and Hearing Loss Don't Always CorrelateWhy Some People With Hearing Loss Never Get TinnitusSudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Medical EmergencyTinnitus Spikes: What Causes Them and What the Evidence Says About SteroidsTinnitus as a Canary in the Coal Mine for Stress and OverexposureFleeting Tinnitus: The Brief Episodes Most People ExperienceLow-Frequency Tinnitus and "The Hum"Musical Tinnitus and Musical HallucinationsWho to See: ENT vs. Audiologist vs. NeurologistCBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness for TinnitusTchad's Personal Coping Strategies, Including Exposure Therapy and Harmonizing With the RingingThe Role of Psilocybin and Psychedelics in Potential Tinnitus TreatmentNeural Plasticity, Synaptogenesis, and Why Psychedelics May HelpStem Cell and Cochlear Regeneration ResearchIs Tinnitus a Modern Problem? Pre- vs. Post-Industrial Noise ExposureThe Stigma Around Tinnitus in the Music IndustryHow Bella Bathurst Connected Jack and TchadTQ's First Oxford Research Grant: Transcranial Ultrasound StimulationWhy Patient-Driven Funding Moves Faster Than Institutional FundingThe Catch-22 of "Learn to Live With It" and How It Suppresses Research Matt's RANT!: Hearing ProtectionLinks and Show Notes:Tinnitus QuestWCA #334 with Jack RubinacciWCA #200 with Tchad BlakeBella Bathurst – Sound: Stories of Hearing Lost and Found Newcastle University – Translational and Clinical Research Institute Credits:Guests: Tchad Blake, Dr. Will Sedley, Jack Rubinacci, Hazel GoedhartHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

    1 год 48 хв
  4. WCA #596 with Will Kennedy – Dolby Atmos Focus, Selling Recording Gear, Hidden Coffee Shops, and Mixing Rock in Surround

    18 трав.

    WCA #596 with Will Kennedy – Dolby Atmos Focus, Selling Recording Gear, Hidden Coffee Shops, and Mixing Rock in Surround

    In this episode of Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes back producer, mixer, and engineer Will Kennedy. Will shares an update on his journey since his last appearance, focusing on his partnership with Matt Wallace and their deep dive into immersive and Dolby Atmos mixing from their Los Angeles studio. They discuss the strategic decision to sell off their traditional recording gear, the evolution of the immersive audio market, and the amusing discovery of a hidden Starbucks inside a Jaguar dealership. The conversation also explores the unique, ongoing challenges of adapting rock and roll production techniques for the Atmos format. In This Episode, We Discuss:Biking With Brad WoodHuman Powered VehiclesPartnership With Matt WallaceDolby Atmos Mixing FocusLos Angeles Studio LocationHorseless Carriage DinerJaguar Dealership StarbucksSelling Traditional Recording GearKeeping Essential Overdub SetupOffloading Full Band TrackingEarly Adopter Atmos StrategyBecoming Premium Immersive MixersDolby Atmos Market CorrectionNavigating Cheap Atmos MixesAtmos In Modern CarsMixing Rock In SurroundStereo Versus Immersive TechniquesDeveloping New Tracking Methods Matt's RANT!: Think BiggerLinks and Show Notes:WCA #388 with Will KennedyMatt Wallace on WCABrad Wood on WCA Credits:Guest: Will KennedyHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith Video Interview

    1 год 14 хв

Опис

Peel back the glamour of the professional recording world. Guests from the world of audio for music, film, games, restoration, and more share their insights on how they made their journey, how they survive, their advice on the real things including wins, losses, working with other people, money, and career advice.  Hosted by audio engineer Matt Boudreau. The Working Class Audio Podcast - Navigating the World of Recording with a working class perspective.

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