Explore every episode of the podcast Production Talk Podcast

Composer Elliott Wheeler and music editor Jamieson Shaw have worked on the Netflix series The Get Down, as well as world-renowned Baz Luhrmann movies such as The Great Gatsby and the Elvis Movie.

show notes: www.mixartist.com.au/post/__080

Check out the show notes: www.mixartist.com.au/post/__079

In this episode:

• How Cass started her music career singing open mic nights in Sydney
• Cass' studio and live projects
• How Cass overcame writers-block
• Going international - how Cass made contacts in the US, and got her music into a McDonalds ad
• Finding her production groove: producing with Billy Lefler in LA
• Upcoming releases and plans for the future

Show-notes: www.mixartist.com.au/post/__078

"As a musician, you are a business. Business is what you are doing. You are not on a salary." - Jan 'Yarn' Muths

In this episode:

• What I learned from my business coach, and how you can benefit from it, too

• The business case of being a professional in the music industry

• The time/value ratio

• There's no way to success without it: The crucial transfer of energy

• How to work out which production tasks you should do yourself, and when it's worth outsourcing

The Hardest Part Of Music Production, 4 stories of EP/Album productions Why some never get anywhere Why excitement fades over time How producing fast may be the solution

SHINEY LEFAI: Performing EDM with her live-band LOONALOOP Loonaloop’s SHINEY LEFAI - 45 years in the music industry Writing EDM for a live band ...read more

#075 - Dr. FRED COLE: All About Pianos, Piano specialist Dr. Fred Cole shares unbelievable knowledge. He plays some of the most amazing pianos and explains the differences.

#073 - DR. BARRY HILL: Bass & Low Frequencies Barry’s academic career How Barry got interested in humans imitating machines Artificial Intelligence (AI) in music Barry’s past projects (The Bird, CyberBass) and current projects Getting your instrument set up for comfortable playing Pedal boards - blessing or curse? Kick and bass - friends or foes? The mindset of successful musicians

In this episode:   Tom Garnett's career in music production How Tom records world renowned artists at Studios301 Preparing your instruments for a recording session Tips and tricks for recording at home The problem with cheap condenser microphones ...read more

#072 - SANDY SANTAS: Its Gonna Be A Happy Christmas The making of the song ”It’s Gonna Be A Happy Christmas” ... read more

#071 - MICK McHUGH: From Humble Beginnings in Ireland to a Professional Music Career in Australia, Mick’s Irish heritage, and how the Irish music culture influenced him as a young person How Mick left a safe career at Hewlett Packard to become a career as a professional musician Mistakes Mick did as a young musician and how he learned from these mistakes How Mick dealt with setbacks and discouragement Micks tips and tricks on getting through to event managers and booking gigs Mick’s songwriting workflows How Mick worked with different producers to record his albums The making of the songs ’Good Good Day’ and ’Not in Kansas Anymore’ Mick’s home-recording workflows, tips and tricks How Mick produced music from his home studio for the ABC network

#070 - LEESA GENTZ [Hussy Hicks] - How we survived the Lismore Flood, Huzzy Hicks singer Leesa Gents shares how she was tapped on her roof while her bandmate Julz only barely kept her head above water while rescuing an elderly neighbour

#069 - IAN SHEPHERD: Mastering, and the Loudness Sweet Spot, How Ian learned the craft of mastering The loudness wars, and the downsides of loud masters How to compare masters of different loudness Mastering for CD, streaming, radio and vinyl

How To Get Your Band Ready for A Studio Recording Session

#067 - Yarn’s Production Secrets: The 2 Recording Triangles The first triangle: Instrument, Player and Room The second triangle: Microphone choice, Microphone placement and Preamp choice / gain

#066 - FLOOD SONGS PROJECT - pt II: Introducing the artists Brett, Cheyenne, Shannon and producers Saphia and Nathan Announcing the remaining 3 of the seven artists who made it onto the Flood Songs compilation: Brett Kelly Cheyenne Murphy Shannon Loch as well as our amazing production team Saphia Stone and Nathan Stanborough

#065 - FLOOD SONGS PROJECT: Introducing the artists Koko Kopytko, Emma Hamilton, Shelly Brown and Jason Zahlu Announcing the first 4 of the seven artists who made it onto the Flood Songs compilation: Koko Kopytko Emma Hamilton Shelly Brown Jason Zahlu

FELICITY LAWLESS and ELENA MARCIGOT (aka MsEleneous): Recording tricks for guitar and sax, How Felicity made use of the lockdown during COVID Felicities band and members Elena’s preparation for studio sessions Microphone choices for acoustic guitar The effect of the room on recording guitar and sax Elena’s preferences for live microphone techniques How Felicity and Elena use in-ear monitoring on stage Felicity and Elena’s advice for young musicians

read more

#063 - BEN GILLIES of Silverchair: From teenage beginnings in Newcastle to the top of the world, The beginnings of Silverchair Ben’s take on small vs. high-end studios Recording to analogue tape Editing music on analogue tape Ben’s choice of drums, heads and cymbals Songwriting at Silverchair Ben’s drum heros Ben’s advice for young musicians today

CHRIS HARMS (Lord Of The Lost) - From Humble Beginnings to Touring Europe with Iron Maiden, Chris’ humble beginnings as musician in Hamburg / Germany Lord Of The Lost: the band members and the team Chris has built Songwriting, and Chris ’keep-going’ mindset

#061 - GRANT GERATHY (John Butler Trio): Drum Groove Secrets: How Grant learned to drum in a week 7 gigs a week: no time (and no need) for practising Grant’s experience touring the world with the John Butler Trio Recording with the John Butler Trio: keeping the right mindset in the studio Grant’s secrets for groove and getting deep into the pocket: the concept of note-length in drumming Grant’s home studio and remote drum recordings Drum tuning to the musical key and intervals

NEIL WILSON of Suitcase Records: Making Vinyl Records, The long path from the idea to a fully functional vinyl pressing plant About mothers and stampers: The many steps of the vinyl production process Neil’s take on why vinyl records sound better Neil’s tips for bands and musicians who’d like to release vinyl records Neil’s tips on marketing and selling vinyl records to your fans

#059 - PETER HUNT of KOOII: Producing Records in Basements and Pro Studios, How Peter started as a musician Producing KOOII records in basements and pro studios How Peter recorded his solo album with basic gear The mindset of getting recording takes right

MIKE WATSON of the WHARVES: Making Records in Pro Studios, at Home and Online How the WHARVES formed How the WHARVES produces records in pro studios, at home and online How Mike achieved totally unique sounds Touring the UK The WHARVES online infrastructure & IT backend

SPECIAL: Vocal Recording What’s most important in music: vocals! What to eat/drink before singing What NOT to eat/drink before singing Preparing yourself mentally and physically for the singing session How to get the best vocal sound: When large diaphragm condensers are best Why there’s still a need for hi-end and vintage mics When dyn mics are best When ribbon mics are best Pre-amps: Your interface’s transistor preamps, vs. tube preamps and preamps with transformers Compressors, if in doubt: don’t! Adding comfort reverb (stereo!) to the headphones The headphone mix: clean, minimalistic, stereo Setting the mood in the live room. Warming up your voice Performance tips Microphone technique: lay with distance Recording tips and tricks The most important tip of all (and this may be hard to hear - sorry!)

Pro Drummer ADAM GARDINER: Monetising Music with Sync Licensing, How Adam started as a young drummer Adam’s method of practising How Adam uses Sync Licensing to generate income Micro Sync, non-exclusive vs. exclusive sync licensing

#055 - ROD COE: EMI Producer & Bass Player, In this episode: Starting as a young musician Rod’s early days as a musician Rod’s take on practising the instrument Pros and Cons of being in a band Rod Coe produced the legendary punk band The Saints How Rod produced Slim Dusty, and later became his bass player Rod’s time as producer at EMI Sydney Managing the double-bass on stage

Mix-Down special Mixing Rock / Metal The rough mix The instrument groups The processing stage Adding the icing on the cake

JOSH LEE HAMILTON: The Production of his new Album ”Days Like Yesterday” Josh’s early days and how he got discovered by Tripple-J Unearthed How Josh won an award and a recording session Which signals Josh recorded at home, and which he recorded with the help of professionals, such as Garrett Kato and Jan ’Yarn’ Muths Josh’s home studio setup The pros and cons of recording in a studio vs at home Josh’s editing tricks: NOT to the grid

ADAM BIGGS (Biggsounds Productions): Live Sound, part II, What counts (and what doesn’t) for a good live show The interaction between concert volume and the audience How technically complex should a show be? The blessing and the curse of advanced music technology in live shows What you need to know about using a laptop on stage The mental state of dealing with the inevitable technical failures on stage Vocal effects processors on stage - how to get the most out of your gear Stage plans and input lists 8pc a cappella vocals into a single vocal condenser mic - magic, but risky

#051 - ADAM BIGGS (Biggsounds Productions): What Musicians Need to know about Live Sound, pt. I How Adam started his Live Sound business How Adam ended up mixing a show on the top of a Himalayan mountain in Nepal

ANDY HAGERMAN, AVID’s Audio Sensei, explains Digital Audio and DAW Workflows Andy Hagerman’s career in music and education Recording myths: Do recordings sound different in different DAWs? The digital summing engine Analogue and digital recording levels: saturation and clipping The importance of clocking for audio interfaces Recording levels and bit-depth: 16bit or 24bit? The magic of 32bit floating point. Where it’s beneficial and where it’s pointless Things you won’t find in the manual: The inner workings of Pro Tools. Latency - how to overcome the pesky echo in your headphones How to get an authentic-sounding MIDI performance Andy’s tips on delivering great performances

#049 - PAULIE B. The essence of music production: how to get the best performances out of musicians Paulie B.’s musical beginnings as punk musician, studying in Brisbane Analogue workflows, translated to the digital age

#048 - HEATHER BONNEFOND: The story of her impressive career in Pro Audio Pro-Audio power couple: Heather and Jim Bonnefond The start of Heather’s career in the audio industry The music scene in the seventies What it was like to be a woman in pro audio in 1976

EIKE FREEZE: One of Europe’s most influential rock/metal producers shares his tips and tricks in this interview EIKE FREEZE started his career as the bandleader, rhythm guitar-player and main-vocalist of the metal legends DARK AGE. He’s also a music professional, specialised on rock and metal, with a humongous list of production credits. His portfolio reads like the who-is-who of rock and metal. He played the headliner show at the world’s biggest metal festival. And in this interview, Eike shares his recording and mixing tips and tricks, as well as his inspiring production philosophies. read more...

#046 - ERIC COELHO: recording the Havana Meets Kingston sessions Eric’s live sound tips and tricks Mixing foldbacks for ＞18 musicians on stage pros / cons of in-ear monitoring How to wean musicians off the foldback speakers How Eric Coelho and producer Jake Savona met at Studios301 Recording the Havana Meets Kingston sessions at EGRAM studio, Cuba Soundcheck and microphone choices Gain staging and preamps used Microphone placement Eric (almost) getting lost in translation Soundcheck with Sly and Robbie Touring with the Havana Meets Kingston crew Eric’s studio build.

#045 - MISTA SAVONA talks about producing ”Havana Meets Kingston”, pt. I and pt. II Jake’s early days as a music student in Australia and the UK Jake’s first releases, and working on international collaborations (before it was hip) The story of how ”Melbourne Meets Kingston” was produced in Jamaica and Australia

Interview with Marcos Micozzi: Creative use of VR technology for music Marcos’s musical background and his current projects Recording your own takes The mindset of mind-blowing performances How to switch between being a musician and a producer Marcos’s phenomenal ’Simulated Environments’ project No-input mixing

#043 - NCEIA president Gary Pinkerton on the state of the post-flood Lismore music scene Gary’s early days as a keyboard player, playing venues in and around Lismore The latest gigs Gary’s been playing The Lismore floods, and the impact on Gary’s life. The state of the music scene in Lismore

BOBBY ALU: tips and tricks on songwriting, music production and live sound How Bobby Alu became a musician All the instruments Bobby Alu plays The making of Bobby Alu’s debut album, and Bobby’s secret goal for this album (which he’s almost achieved)

Yarn talks the listeners through the production of Saphia Stone & The Matchmakers’ song ’Breakaway’ This podcast contains sound examples from the recording and mixing stage...

#040 - Interview with James Lyall (pt2): Mixing secrets, mindset, creativity The production mindset The open and closed mindset Creativity in music production, and the creative head-state James’ 5-minute-rule Mixing tips and tricks EDM gain staging

#039 - Interview with James Lyall (pt1): EDM & MIDI, from the origins to MIDI2.0 James’ background and where he started Production of different genres, from Metal to acoustic guitar to EDM The pros and cons of working in collaboration vs working alone Online collaboration, and how to do it practically Perfectionism in music production - where to draw the line MIDI, and how the ’hardware origins’ still apply today Interesting and useful MIDI features (besides Note-On and velocity) MIDI 2.0 - a glimpse of the future

In this Interview: Dubarray's Brett Gadenne talks about song writing, electronic music on stage, music production and ...read more

In this episode: COG drummer Lucius Borich talks about drum sound, music production and ...read more

#036 - Interview with Grammy Award nominated Music Producer Kamal Engels (ArtOfAudio) Kamal’s career as a music professional Kamal’s secrets for a great bass sound Miking the cab vs DI-ing the bass Kamal’s thoughts on what makes a great sounding master Kamal’s surprisingly simple key element for a good sounding mix Kamal’s take on what makes a good song

click here for more information

In this episode: About Nikki's career in the music industry Music and copyright How APRA collects royalties for musicians ...read more

Music Marketing & Promotion with byta.com founder and CEO Mark Brown

In this special episode: The recent flood disaster in south/east QLD and northern NSW The situation in local communities, such as Mullumbimby and Lismore A call-out to local MPs and politicians: The local music industry needs your support! Reaching out to all musicians affected by the floods: contact me when you’re ready. I’d like to help you record, mix, master and promote your music - free of charge. email: yarn@mixartist.com.au

#031 Interview with Business Coach and Mindset Specialist Jessica Schembri