WhereIWork Archives | Audiomovers

“It’s all about creating an environment where you feel happy, safe and creative.” – Alina Smith

#WhereIWork is where we visit the sacred spaces of producers, songwriters, engineers and artists to uncover how the world’s biggest records come together.

In this week’s episode, number-one-selling songwriter, record producer, and co-founder of LYRE Music, Alina Smith (ITZY, Red Velvet, Fall Out Boy), invited us into her LA home studio, a space adorned with treasured items, music memorabilia and unique furnishings that breathe positive energy and creativity and into her workflow.

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TRANSCRIPT

I would definitely say this space is a reflection of me and my husband because he built a lot of the things here like this desk.

I do everything here. I am very much like a homebody producer. A lot of the times they get invited to really nice studios and I’m like, can I not just do this at home?

Because I have all my gear that I like. I have the mics that I like. Everything is kind of set up for me and personalized, so that works really well for me.

I have a few fun things here in the studio. I have some signed records by groups like ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, who’s one of my favorite songwriters and Aretha, who is one of my favorite singers.

You know, it’s just nice to have things here that I enjoy. I have this big, giant crystal on my desk, amethyst.

It’s all about creating the environment where you feel happy, safe and creative.
#WhereIWork is where we visit the sacred spaces of producers, songwriters, engineers and artists to uncover how the world’s biggest records come together.

When we recently caught up with Bainz, go-to mixer and engineer for artists such as Young Thug, Gunna and YSL, in his room at Crosby Recording Studios, we knew what we had to ask:If a fire broke out in your studio and you could only save three pieces of gear, what would you save?

Bainz’s response: the Fearn VT-5 EQ Tube equalizer which he uses on “all his mixes”, the Burl Bomber analog-to-digital converter and his Bricasti digital reverb unit, one of things that he feels sets his mixes apart.

What would be the three pieces of gear you would save?

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TRANSCRIPT

“Buildings and fire running out the door with three pieces of gear.

Right off the bat, the Fearn VT-5 EQ, it’s a tube equaliser. It’s got eight tubes in there, and it’s just an amazing sounding piece of gear. I use it on all my mixes so I’m not leaving without it.

I also really liked the Burl Bomber. It’s just something about the way it clips in the way I can push my mixes a little more. I just I’ve gotten used to working with it. And that’s one thing I feel like I’m really lacking when I’m in the box.

And third thing, maybe the Bricasti. The Bricasti is just t. It’s one of those things that sets me apart. I really like it.”
Grammy-Award-Winning mixer Jesse Ray Ernster (Burna Boy, Doja Cat, UMI) tells the story of how utilising remote collaboration technology allowed him to honour his commitments to his family and his clients simultaneously.

Striking the right balance between work life and family life is a challenge many people working in the music industry face.

When tight deadlines and childcare responsibilities came to a head, Jesse turned to remote collaboration software to tap into his studio set up from home.

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TRANSCRIPT

“This album could not have happened the way that it did without Audiomovers, it just wouldn’t have worked. We had a couple of rush delivery albums come in. One was the Burna Boy album, but a few days before that, this ‘Forest In The City’ album from UMI, we had 10 songs to mix for that.

We don’t have childcare and I was watching my kids. I love that, I didn’t want anything to get in the way of that. But my studio is also very dangerous. It’s not the best place for me to be locked in on the screen, while a toddler and a baby are running around getting into things and strangling on my cables.

So the quick solution was instead of bringing in the computer, the chassis for the UAD, hard drives, the server rig, monitors and amps, i just brought my laptop. It’s 10 years old, it works. It can connect to the computer with remote desktop. We used Audiomovers to stream the audio to it. So the studio stayed outside, I brought the laptop in, hung out with my kids and made some mix moves.

We did it together, headed in the kitchen, we’re cooking, we’re playing catch and reading books and just the process of going back and forth with the client that way. It really empowered me to be there and not sacrifice the family life while fulfilling this job for the artists and the team.“
Matt Genovese takes us through some of the amazing gear he’s cultivated through the years, picking out the choicest pieces in his collection and taking us through the kit he would save in a worst-case scenario.

If a fire broke out in your studio space and you could only save five pieces of gear what would you save?

We knew the question we had to ask, when we visited producer and songwriter Matthew Genovese at his drool-worth analog studio in LA.

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TRANSCRIPT

“I’m responsible engineer and I have backups that stay in my computer. And then I have another backup that I do every day.

Then I take it out of my studio and put it in my house, in case my studio burned down. so I wouldn’t have to grab a hard drive or a computer.

I would grab my Stevie Ray Vaughan Strat that I’ve done all my hours on, and my Martin OM-28 V. That’s two.

I would probably wheel out my tape machine, my Scully 280 And then maybe my Oberheim OB-8 and the DMX drum machine.

Those are replaceable, but it would be hard to replace. Everything else I think insurance would cover and I could find.”

Grammy-Award-Winning mixer Jesse Ray Ernster (Burna Boy, Doja Cat, UMI) tells the story of how utilising remote collaboration technology allowed him to honour his commitments to his family and his clients simultaneously.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

Matt Genovese takes us through some of the amazing gear he’s cultivated through the years, picking out the choicest pieces in his collection and taking us through the kit he would save in a worst-case scenario.