My guest today is Patrick Rene aka Killah Trakz a Miami native rapper and hip hop music producer who has worked with artists like Iconz, Rick Ross, 2 Live Crew, and Uncle Luke to name a few.
An analog junkie at heart adapting in the world of digital, Trakz has been at the forefront of the digital revolution of music distribution by having one of the most downloaded albums in the MySpace / Napster era titled “ Hoodz Prodigy “.
Getting his start in '07 at a time when the "Internet" was at its peak of popularity for all advocates of music, sites like AcidPlanet, UGHH, MP3.com, and hundreds more were gaining more notoriety by the day. Within the first week, Trakz saw his debut album surpass 50,000 downloads with ease. Overnight Success was an "understatement" for what would follow.
After landing several placements with his production on numerous indie films, Trakz got calls from everyone wanting his sound. By 2008, his sound was hitting the radio waves but getting heard by millions by "ghost producing" for the likes of many of today's favourites.
I met Trakz through our Facebook group at Recording Studio Rockstars. He kept posting so many great hip hop songs that I knew I had to learn more. So I am excited to have him join us today on the podcast to hear more about his story and see what we can learn about writing, producing, and mixing hip hop in the digital age.
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My guest today is Stephen Shirk an engineer, producer, and owner of Shirk Studio in Chicago. Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, he began playing in bands through junior high college at Miami University where he earned a degree in Business and Marketing.
In 1998 he moved to New York City to chase his dream of working in a recording studio where he worked at The Hit Factory, Pink Noise and Three Tree Productions as well as assisting on sessions at many legendary NYC facilities like Avatar (Power Station), Clinton, Right Track, and Sound on Sound. Recording in New York also exposed Stephen to a unique artistic community beyond that of music. His collaboration with Nadine Robinson would ultimately land one of his sound designs in the Museum of Modern Art’s Tempo exhibit in 2002.
In 2004, Stephen relocated to Chicago to continue producing and recording bands, creating sound for art installations, as well as providing audio services for the advertising community. This was the beginning of SHIRK studios. Through a chance meeting at SXSW in 2006, Stephen partnered with the music blog, HearYa.com, and began recording and filming the HearYa live sessions.
The video series featured powerful live in-studio recordings of artists like Alabama Shakes, Delta Spirit, Other Lives, Patterson Hood, White Denim, Strand of Oaks, Rayland Baxter and many more. In 2013 he acquired the building that now houses SHIRK studios in Chicago’s West Town neighbourhood. Firmly planted in Chicago, Stephen records, produces and hosts sessions with some of Chicago’s most celebrated artists as well as those just getting their start.
I had the pleasure of spending a day at Shirk studio in 2019 when I hosted a mixing clinic there with Anthony Gravino. We spent the day listening to the beautiful Sphere console and I knew I found a new favourite studio in Chicago. Plus Stephen is the coolest.
Thanks to our sponsors!
JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com
PreSonus Studio One: https://www.presonus.com
Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com
OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com
iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off
API Audio: http://www.apiaudio.com
Soundporter Mastering: https://www.soundporter.com
RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy
Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com
If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here
Marc Daniel Nelson is a Latin Grammy-nominated producer/mixer. He has been producing, mixing and managing creatives for over 19 years.
Since our last interview, Marc has been diving headfirst into the film and tv world for music. In 2018, Marc engineer and mixed the score for the film “Amanda” that went on to be nominated for the French Academy Award for “Best Score”. That following spring he mixed the score and music for the Ukraine film “Ya, Ty, Vin”, which was the last film Zelinsky Vladimir starred in before becoming president.
“Ya, Ty, Vin” went on to having the largest film opening in Ukraine history. In 2019 and 2020, Marc engineered and mixed the scores for a few Netflix originals movies. Outside of film score work, he has kept busy mixing numerous large action trailers and continuing work in the album world, with mixes for Francesca Battistelli, Eric Burdon / Ben Harper and more.
Thanks to our sponsors!
JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com
PreSonus Studio One: https://www.presonus.com
Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com
OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com
iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off
API Audio: http://www.apiaudio.com
Soundporter Mastering: https://www.soundporter.com
RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy
Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com
If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here
My guest today is Shawn Èverett, a Juno and Grammy-winning Canadian producer, engineer, previously a guest on episode RSR137. In that interview, we talked with Shawn about his background schooling and his production and mixing philosophies.
He has worked with many great artists including Grammy-winning Alabama Shakes, Weezer, Margaret Glaspy, Pete Yorn, Warpaint, John Legend, The Killers, Julian Casablancas, and The Voidz, Kesha, Har Mar Superstar, Local Natives, and many many others.
In 2019 he won his fifth Grammy for mixing Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour which included songwriting and production from Daniel Tashian and engineering from Craig Alvin both previous guests on the show as well. You can hear their episodes at RSR176 and RSR232. I’ll have these links in the show notes.
I have also become a huge fan of Sound & Color by the Alabama Shakes which Shawn engineered and mixed winning a Grammy in 2015. I feel like this record has set the bar pretty high for my own mixes.
Thanks to our sponsors!
JZ Microphones: https://usashop.jzmic.com
PreSonus Studio One: https://www.presonus.com
Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com
OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com
iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off
API Audio: http://www.apiaudio.com
Soundporter Mastering: https://www.soundporter.com
RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy
Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com
If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here