Women In Audio 2021
Get on our wavelength
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, we are re-introducing our Women In Audio series. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing stories from some amazing women working across the industry. These features form part of our wider, ongoing work trying to bring a greater gender balance to our representation of industry professionals.
Alexandra Fehrman is a Re-Recording Mixer and Supervising Sound Editor based in Los Angeles. Our Product Specialist, Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe, sat down recently for a chat with Alexandra about how she got started in the industry, and how NUGEN fits into her workflow.
"As a teenager I was learning guitar, but I was not a natural guitarist. I ended up in the control room of a recording studio, and the engineer thought it was kind of funny that I was interested. He asked me to rewire a patchbay he was switching from ¼ inch to TT, and I loved it! So I kept going back there every day, and he taught me about mixing and tracking."
Cicely Balston is a London-based Mastering Engineer. Cicely spoke about her career to date with NUGEN Audio's Olivia Little, including her work on David Bowie's back catalogue.
"Try to work out what you enjoy, in life as well as work. For me, I like the process of mastering, but what I really enjoy is being able to use my experience and skills to help people do something creative."
Allison Casey, Owner and Senior Mixer at Gramercy Post, talks post production and inclusivity, and gives us an insight into her fast turnarounds for long-form unscripted TV.
"I do feel I’ve been lucky relative to a lot of other women in the field, especially through my early years. A huge contributor is that I worked at a small company for somebody who was very egalitarian: only the quality of the work mattered."
Jett Galindo is a Los Angeles-based Mastering Engineer and Vinyl Cutter, who has worked on albums by the likes of Pink Floyd, Weezer, and Barbra Streisand. In this video, she talks about her late mentor Doug Sax of the Mastering Lab, and also shares her thoughts on Monofilter.
"If I could master an album by any artist... no question, I'd love to work with Joan Jett. Not just because that's my name as well, but I just grew up listening to Joan Jett, my family, my parents love Joan Jett, and I was just brought up listening to her music. So to be able to work with her and master her music would be the dream."
Aubrey Whitfield is a Record Producer, Songwriter and Musician. Headliner Radio featured Aubrey on their International Women's Day podcast, where she discussed the important role of women in music, and revealed how NUGEN Audio's MasterCheck plug-in has changed the way she works.
"I would always say to any aspiring producer, make sure that you develop your mixing skills, because they are gonna be absolutely fundamental to your success."
Other resources
- SoundGirls exists to provide a support network for women and non-binary people working in the professional audio industry. They provide opportunities to meet and network with other industry professionals, creating a strong support network.
- Women In Sound is a print and online zine dedicated to women and non-binary people in all areas of live and recorded sound.
- The EQL directory seeks to bring the industry towards gender parity by uplifting and promoting the work of women and gender nonconforming people. This is a great resource if you are currently recruiting.
- Saffron is a social enterprise based in Bristol UK that offers training in music production, sound engineering and DJing to women and non-binary people. Check out their digital members club and upcoming online workshops.
- Femme House offer training in a range of music production skills. Their courses are offered on a sliding scale basis and are free for womxn of colour.
- WAM are based in San Francisco and Oakland. They offer classes and opportunities for women, girls and gender non-conforming people. They have an award-winning curriculum that weaves art and music with science, technology and computer programming.
- String and Tins have opened applications for their free workshop series 'No Fixed Mix', where participants receive training and tools to help women on their audio journey.
We started this series last year, featuring stories from Emma Butt, Kate Davis, Lucy Mitchell, Sara Carter and Audrey Matinovich. Read last year's features here.
We have also published other user stories featuring women working in audio.
Check out our interviews with...
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