Headliner Radio

Songwriter, producer, engineer and programmer Ed Buller reflects on meeting The Psychedelic Furs (and a young Hans Zimmer) when working in a music shop in London, working with Pulp as the Britpop movement kicked off in the ‘90s, and clears up what really happened with Suede during those fraught recording sessions. Buller worked with Zimmer later in life on the soundtracks for Chappie, Little Prince, Boss Baby, Dunkirk, and the new Lion King film; he gets candid about those experiences, and reveals why he thinks it won’t be long before all composers are using Steinberg’s Dorico Pro 4 music notation and composition application.

One of the UK’s most in-demand producers, Mark Ralph has struck up long-term working relationships with the likes of Clean Bandit, Years & Years, and Georgia. We talk about getting his start as a sessions guitarist, doing remixes for Lady Gaga and Bloc Party, and how he once ended up at Ronnie Wood’s house for a jam session. He also discusses his work with Waves plugins: tools that he considers his go-to in a crunch session and which make his life so much easier.

Multiple Grammy award winning and nominated mix and recording engineer, Adam Hawkins reflects on working on projects as varied as 2000’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit, P.I.M.P by 50 Cent, Thought Contagion by Muse and Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface. Most recently, he has been working on the stereo and Atmos mix of Avril Lavigne’s new song, Bite Me. He explains how he approached the Atmos mix of the track, and why his immersive Genelec home studio setup is with him every step of the way.

Recording and mix engineer (and AIR’s in-house engineer), John Prestage reflects on his time in the studio with Christopher Nolan and Hans Zimmer – working as the score recordist on 2014’s Interstellar, and more recently his work on Wes Anderson’s Isle Of Dogs and Disney's 2021 film, Cruella. Prestage explains why he uses Neve’s AIR Montserrat and 88R desks for all of his score recordist work.

Shure VP of global sales, pro audio, Peter James, speaks exclusively to Headliner about how the company is spearheading a "creative renaissance" in pro audio and the trends that will be shaping the industry in 2022.

Simon Ward, member of The Strumbellas, discusses how the song Spirits put the band on the map, and explains why in his new self-titled album he purposefully chose to present songs in their raw, undressed state – no longer disguising them behind upbeat, singalong melodies.

The senior executive team at US production company Soundworks of Virginia tell Headliner about the industry's insatiable appetite for live events, putting on shows through Covid, and the company's unique relationship with UK pro audio outfit Martin Audio.

Kathy Sledge, the youngest and founding member of iconic girl group, Sister Sledge, reflects on the group’s early days, clears up rumours about her relationship with her sisters and the suggestive lyrics in He's the Greatest Dancer, and explains why Nile Rodgers had her record the vocals for We Are Family in one take, fed to her line by line. Kathy also reveals what fans can expect from her Sister Sledge show at Indigo at The O2 on May 14 2022.

We speak to London-based singer-songwriter Cassa Jackson, who has just been out on the road supporting JLS on their comeback tour, to see how she’s enjoying finally being back playing live, and to find out how this rising talent’s recent EP came together.

UK-based producer and mixer Al Groves, who has over a decade's worth of studio experience, reveals his top music production tips and tricks, the ways in which he uses oeksound plugins, and reflects on how he took ownership of one of Liverpool’s most iconic recording studios and mix rooms, The Motor Museum.