

Music Production Podcast
Brian Funk
An exploration of music production through informal discussions about technique, philosophy, gear, and creativity. Hosted by Brian Funk, a musician, songwriter, teacher, and Ableton Certified Trainer.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 6, 2017 • 1h 10min
#23: Bedroom Producers Blog - Tomislav Zlatic, Editor in Chief
Tomislav Zlatic is the creator and editor in chief of Bedroom Producers Blog, a website dedicated to sharing music making tips, software, and gear for music making enthusiasts and professionals alike. Over the years, BPB has been extremely supportive of my work, and we have even collaborated on a few projects. I had a chance to chat with Tomislav about writing, staying consistent, and our mutual love of old school video game chip music. Bonus Free Ableton Live Pack: Yamaha DD-8 Drums and Synths - These Free Ableton Live Instruments were made from some of the free samples over at Bedroom Producers Blog. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Bedroom Producers Blog Mssiah MIDI SID Cartridge TherapSid - Hardware synth that uses the SID chip Fact TV Against the Clock - Producers make beats in 10 Minutes Gameboy Drums Ableton Live Pack - a collaboration with BPB and AfroDJMac Commodore 64 Drums Ableton Live Pack - a collaboration with BPB and AfroDJMac Gameboy Glitches and Synths Ableton Live Pack - a collaboration with BPB and AfroDJMac

May 31, 2017 • 57min
#22: Michael Harren - Composer and Performer
Michael Harren is a composer and performer from Brooklyn, New York. He combines classical and electronic components, plays piano for Sandra Bernhard, and produced a one-man theater piece called "The Animal Show." Michael recently returned from Moogfest and sat down with me for a conversation about making music. Bonus: Get a free Ableton Live Pack created from a Skype glitch during our conversation! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Michael Harren's Website Mikeypod - Michael's Podcast Christopher Willits on the Mikeypod Podcast OurHenHouse.org Tamerlaine Farm Sandra Bernhard Ariel Publicity 365 Ableton Live Tips - Jon Margulies Eban Crawford - Who Michael collaborated with at Moogfest Live Performance with Ableton Live

May 20, 2017 • 1h 19min
#21: Cars and Trains -Tom Filepp
Tom Filepp makes music as Cars and Trains. He describes his sound as "electronic-folk toy-instrument live-looping craziness." I was originally drawn to Tom's music because of its combination of electronic and acoustic parts. In this episode, we discuss the creative process, some gear, and finding music in unlikely objects like cardboard boxes. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Cars and Trains - electronic-folk toy-instrument live-looping craziness by Tom Filepp Subscribe to Cars and Trains - Bandcamp subscription that keeps you in the loop of Tom's work True Deceiver - Tom's other, heavier music project Bastl Micro Granny - Exciting little granular synthesizer Ableton is the Engine - Ableton's feature on Cars and Trains AudioMulch - Tom's dessert island software Soulsby Atmegatron - Arduino based digital 8-bit synthesizer

May 6, 2017 • 23min
#20: Why I Have a Money Back Guarantee (and You Should Too!)
This is a little case study about how doing things that may seem counterintuitive can actually be productive. Sometimes we can win even if we lose or are cheated. Having a money-back guarantee on digital products leaves me open to the possibility that people could be buying my products and asking for their money back even if there is no problem. It's an easy scam. But in truth, I think the potential for this is much smaller than the benefits. In this episode I discuss how we can think outside the box a bit with our music. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon

May 3, 2017 • 48min
#19: Jesse Brede Founder of Gravitas Recordings
It's all about community. People connecting, sharing ideas, collaborating and supporting each other. This is something Jesse Brede, founder of Gravitas Recordings, understands. I think we can all picture that stereotypical record label, with the stack of demos on a desk that just get shoveled into the trash without ever being heard. Gravitas Recordings is different. They want to hear new music and are looking for new artists all the time. They've found a unique way to reach the community of producers through their new site, Gravitas Create. In this episode, I got to speak with Jesse about being a part of the music community, finding and encouraging new artists, and educating young people and involving them in the music making process. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Gravitas Recordings Free Music From Gravitas Gravitas Create Gravitas Create Facebook Group Lion's Share Digital - Jesse's web agency Jesse's Music on Soundcloud Jesse on Facebook Music from Gravitas Artist CloZee Team Supreme "Strength in Numbers" Women's Audio Mission Erin Barra High School Sounds- Free Ableton Live Pack 144 Noverture Percussion - Free Ableton Live Pack 142

Apr 28, 2017 • 2h 5min
#18: Eban Crawford aka Senator Jaiz
I spoke with Eban Crawford, who makes music as Senator Jaiz. Eban is bringing his workshop, "No Permission Needed," to Moogfest for the second year in a row. He has an awesome "grown up" music job at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. In this episode, we discuss a plethora of topics like his sound design work for the museum, which involved creating music to the flight data of an egret; his popular workshop for Moogfest; and creating imperfections in digital music. It was inspiring and fascinating; just look at those show notes! Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Reaching for Lucidity Productions Senator Jaiz Bandcamp Senator Jaiz Soundcloud Eban's Instagram Eban's very active YouTube page Moogfest Profile for No Permission Needed North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Roland Kays Michael Harren Cinematic - iOS Video App Takete - iOS Audio Visual App James Taylor - Guitar Tuning Multi-Scaled Guitar - "Fanned Frets" Gnash - Homegrown mini-documentary Family Guy - Peter becomes a DJ CDM's Response to DeadMau5's "We All Press Play." Henry Rollins and Pharrell

Apr 24, 2017 • 1h 16min
#17: Nuno Santos Imaginando Founder, Co-Creator of DRC Virtual Analog Synth
Nuno Santos is the creative force behind Imaginando, a company that makes applications for creating and controlling music. The latest project is DRC, a virtual analog synthesizer for mobile and desktop platforms. It allows you to create and edit sounds on any platform and access them from all other platforms. Imaginando also released a powerful Ableton Live controller called LK. In this episode, Nuno and I have a great conversation about building an app, how to create something featured packed yet intuitive to use, and all kinds of topics related to making music. SPECIAL OFFER: Nuno is offering 50% off the desktop version of DRC. Head over to Imaginando and use the code: AFRODJMAC to get this fantastic virtual analog synthesizer for half price . The sale is good April 24- May 1, 2017. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Imaginando - Nuno's company that creates iOS apps. DRC - Polyphonic Synthesizer for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android TKFX - Traktor Effects Controller LK - Ableton Live and MIDI Controller OP-1 Control Surface - Control Ableton Live with an OP-1 Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield DRC is powerful virtual analog polyphonic synthesizer that recreates the characteristic sound of an analog synthesizer. DRC aims to reproduce the special characteristic of the most cherished analog synthesizers by proving a minimal but powerful set of parameters, for limited but incredible sonic capabilities.

Apr 21, 2017 • 1h 55min
#16: pATCHES - Dan and Pierce - Ableton Live Tutorials with Style
Dan Hilse and Pierce Porterfield are the creative forces behind pATCHES.zone, a website full of useful tutorials, sample packs, and Ableton Live Packs. What sets their site apart is the practicality of the information and the beautiful presentation. Every page has characteristic GIF images to help explain the concepts and ideas within the post. I had a chance to talk with Dan and Pierce about their work, making music, and how they approach delivering complex material in a world of ever-shrinking attention spans. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Tutorials on pATCHES Ableton Live Devices Max for Live Devices Utilities - Including those Radiohead Groove files! Manifestos - Philosophical pieces on making music (including my own!) Ludicrous CGI Abs Jai Paul stolen album Figure iOS app Roger Linn on Art + Music + Technology 99% Invisible - Nick Drake Searching for Sugarman

Apr 18, 2017 • 15min
#15: It's Not a Competition
Are you looking at fellow musicians, bands, dj, and producers as your competition? Stop! You'll get much further fighting the war with an army than as just one soldier. Think more about building community. In this episode, I talk about building community and adding value to others in order to grow. This episode was a bit of an experiment; it was recorded in my car during a commute. The audio quality is a little lower than I'd like, but I hope it doesn't distract from the important message! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Team Supreme: Strength in Numbers

Apr 15, 2017 • 1h 19min
#14: Jason Timothy of MusicSoftwareTraining.com
Jason Timothy in that awesome The Jesus and Mary Chain t-shirt! Open up your minds, because Jason Timothy is about to fill it with gold. Jason is a professional music producer, DJ, Ableton Live coach, and author. He also runs the site MusicSoftwareTraining.com. What I like about Jason's work is that it's more than just tutorials on compressing kick drums, it is rooted in a philosophical stance on creativity and productivity. You could easily read his blog about music production and apply it to any artistic or creativity endeavor. This conversation proves that Jason is the real deal. It was a lot of fun for me and gave me lots to think about! There's so much in here and we barely scratched the surface of some of Jason's work. Be sure to check the show notes below for some incredibly helpful resources. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: 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.


