Music Production Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#114: Identity Crisis and The End of AfroDJMac Jun 08, 2019

Show notes

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;" -Shakespeare

I've decided to drop the name AfroDJMac and move forward using my actual name, Brian Funk. I've wrestled with artist names for a while and decided to just drop it. The result has been surprisingly liberating.

In this episode, we talk about artist names, why we have, and if we even need them. I'll go over why I adopted one in the first place and why I've now let it go. I have some ideas about what makes a good artist name (none of which I have actually followed myself) and question the whole concept of even having artist names.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

BrianFunk.com - My newly revised website, that makes finding my work much easier.

Mark Cawley - Author of Song Journey on the Music Production Podcast. He talks about the potential confines of being an artist over being a song writer.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST

Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don't forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs.

Brian Funk

#113: Matty Harris - Mixing and Mastering Engineer May 31, 2019

Show notes

Matty Harris is a mixing and mastering engineer who has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Sammy Adams, Lil Yachty, A$AP Rocky, Cousin Stizz, Cam Meekins, and many more. He runs the online mixing and mastering site MixandMasterMySong.com.

Matty and I had a great conversation about some best practices in mixing and mastering. Matty shared some of his favorite tools and offered some practical advice that can help producers of all levels. I enjoyed how open Matty was with sharing his knowledge and walked away with quite a few tips and techniques I'm excited to try in my next mix.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Mix and Master My Song - Matty's website offering professional mixing and mastering services.
YouTube - Matty's YouTube channel is loaded with high quality tutorials.
Instagram - Keep up with Matty's work and check out some quick production tips.
Kendrick Lamar Vocal Effect - A very helpful video about attaining this signature sound.
SonarWorks - Tool for calibrating your studio.
The Difference Between Mixing and Mastering - A great, straight-forward tutorial from Matty.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the My Store with the code: PODCAST

Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don't forget to visit my site AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs.

Brian Funk

#112: Artist as Observer vs. Creator May 24, 2019

Show notes

Musicians and artists are often thought of as creatives. We build, construct, and create out of thin air. In this episode, I explore the benefits of changing our thinking as that of a creator to that of an observer. By becoming an observer, we are noticing and curating the art and music. It can take the pressure out of the creative process and teach us to be more openminded.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Jason Timothy on the Music Production Podcast - Jason speaks about capturing the exploration phase to find unexpected ideas.
Mark Cawley on the Music Production Podcast - Mark talks about being an active observer for new song ideas.
10 Things To Do When You Are Uninspired - Podcast about some techniques to get yourself out of a musical slump.
Echo Noise Machine - Free Ableton Live Pack for making fun noise with Ableton's Echo device.
Great Sale on Behringer Neutron - I got mine here, and though it said it was used, it appears to be brand new out of the box.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

Brian Funk

#111: 10 Things To Do When You Are Uninspired May 16, 2019

Show notes

It's impossible to live in a constant state of inspiration. Truth is, inspiration is quite rare. And when it comes, it is hard to hold on to. So what can we do when we don't feel like getting to work or we don't have any ideas? This is a struggle I am currently feeling, so I made a list of things I can do to regain some inspiration and find new ideas. This episode of the podcast is really a pep talk to myself. I hope it can help you next time you are struggling to find ideas and inspiration.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Music Production Club- Get new Ableton Live downloads in your inbox every month!

Fact TV Against The Clock - Watch producers make a track in 10 minutes.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

Brian Funk

AfroDJMac

#110: David Frangioni - Technologist, Engineer, Producer, Drummer, and Author of Crash! May 02, 2019

Show notes

David Frangioni is a drummer, music technologist, studio designer, and author of the book Crash, which is an illustrative chronicle of rock and roll's legendary drum kits. He has worked with a who's who of rock legends like Aerosmith, Sting, Ozzy Osbourne, Ringo Starr, and KISS. His company, Audio One, builds and installs the most high-end luxury studios. David just released the book Crash! The World's Greatest Drum Kits.

In this episode of the podcast, David Frangioni shares his experience working with some of rock and roll's greatest. He details his unpredictable path in the music industry and emphasizes the importance of hard work, consistency, and commitment.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Official Web Site - The hub of all of David' work.

Crash! - David's beautiful, illustrated new book on the most legendary drum kits in rock history.

Audio One - David's industry leading company for luxury A/V installations.

Frangioni Foundation - non-profit charitable organization that enriches lives through the power of music, technology, faith and charity.

Books and Resources - David's books and music production resources.

Instagram - Follow David on Instagram.

Steve Jobs - Incredibly inspiring 2005 commencement speech for Stanford University.

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VHS DRUMS Ableton Live Pack - 600 drum samples recorded to VCR tapes and built into 30 Ableton Live Drum Racks.

Micro Cassette Ableton Live Pack - 30 Ableton Live Instrument Racks built from samples of classic synthesizers and instruments recorded with a micro cassette recorder.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

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Intro Music provided by Nick Lovell aka Trash Picnic and creator of MyBackroomBeats.

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Brian Funk

AfroDJMac

#109: Mark Cawley - Songwriter and Author of Song Journey Apr 26, 2019

Show notes

Mark Cawley is a hit songwriter, with credits to his name for artists like Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Joe Cocker, and many more. His new book, Song Journey: A Hit Songwriter's Guide Through the Process, the Perils, and the Payoff of Writing Songs for a Living, offers practical steps and advice for songwriters. It's currently the #1 new release in the Music Composition category on Amazon. Mark also offers one on one coaching to songwriters at his website IDoCoach.com.

It was great to talk with Mark. His perspective on songwriting goes deep on the craft and the workmanship, but still hangs on to a sense of childlike wonderment. He shares plenty of tools and techniques to build a disciplined craft of songwriting, while emphasizing the importance of having fun, staying openminded, and maintaining enthusiasm. Just as his book is easy to read, Mark was easy to talk to and extremely generous with his knowledge and experiences.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Song Journey - Mark's new book on how to become successful songwriter.

IDoCoach - Mark's website where he offers coaching for songwriters.

IDoCoach Blog - Mark's blog with helpful articles about songwriting.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

Brian Funk

AfroDJMac

#108: Music Production Problems Apr 23, 2019

Show notes

If one thing is for sure, you will run into problems while producing music. Maybe it's a technical issue, a creative issue, or a personal issue, either way, you are sure to have them. So what do you do?

In this episode, I offer some ways of rethinking problems from something bad to something good and productive.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

REEL SYNTHS V2: MOOG MG-1 Ableton Live Pack - the intro music was composed using this new Ableton Live Pack

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

Brian Funk

AfroDJMac

#107: GARDNSOUND - Synthesizers, Pets, Ethics, and Making Music Apr 11, 2019

Show notes

GARDNSOUND is the work of Gardner Beson, a musician, producer, and YouTuber known for his helpful tutorials. Gardner generously shares his production techniques and skills with his audience. He runs Gardnsound Studios, which caters to artists that excel at breaking through the barriers that contain conventional EDM.

I had an interesting and wide-ranging conversation with Gardner. The first five minutes center around his pet parrot Lyla, who was present for the conversation. Then we move on to studio production techniques and some synthesizer talk. We even get to topics of ethics and personal online legacy. This is a great example of a conversation that covers all kinds of seemingly unrelated topics, which all come together under the spirit of making music. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Website - Gardner's music on Bandcamp.
YouTube - Gardner's impressive collection of helpful and inspiring videos.
Twitter - Gardi B on Twitter (only the most recent posts exist!)
BIP - Bounce in Place - Max for Live device that simplifies the resampling process.
Casey Neistat - Famous YouTuber who comes up in conversation.
Color Jumper - Video game by Ben Burnes.
Ben Burnes - on the Music Production Podcast.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

Brian Funk

#106: Stay Productive with Lists Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

As I've been working on my live performance set, I've found two simple things helping quite a lot: to-do lists and done lists. In this episode, I share how I am using simple lists to help with my productivity and motivation.

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play or Spotify; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

REEL SYNTHS V1: PROPHET 6 - Ableton Live Pack made with sounds of the Prophet 6 analog synthesizer, sampled to reel to reel tapes.

Workflowy - Great tool for making to-do lists.

Eshan Khadaroo - Push4Life on the Music Production Podcast.

Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at the AfroDJMac Store with the code: PODCAST

Brian Funk

AfroDJMac

#105: Jason Timothy Ward 2 - The Mental Game of Music Production Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Jason Timothy Ward runs the site MusicSoftwareTraining.com, where he teaches you how to produce music by not just showing you the tools, but also addressing the mental side. What I love about Jason's work is his ability to deal with the philosophical side of his art. Jason has tremendous insight on how our mind often gets in the way of our work, and offers practical solutions we can all use.

In our second conversation, Jason and I pick up where we left off, talking workflow, best practices, and the philosophy of making music. I found it extremely valuable and inspiring. I hope you do too!

Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play; watch on YouTube

Show Notes:

Jason Timothy Ward - My first conversation with Jason on the podcast episode #14.
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.
WASHED Ableton Live Pack- A collection of analog synth sounds bathed in dense effects and built into Ableton Live Instruments.
Minor Thoughts by Divorce Court - Track by Divorce Court that uses WASHED Ableton Live Pack
Lynden Williams on the Music Production Podcast - Divorce Court appears on the podcast.

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