Sound Business with Akash Thakkar

#85: My guest today is Radhika Vekaria, a musician and recording artist born in the UK and based out of Los Angeles. Radhika is known for creating the album WARRIORS OF LIGHT, which was recently nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age Ambient and Chant category.

 

In this episode, we dive deep into Radhika’s Indian music upbringing, how she became a mantra-based artist in the first place, the challenges she faced as she transitioned from writing music under pseudonyms to finally writing under her own name, and so much more.

 

Find Radhika here:

Website: https://www.radhikavekaria.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radhikavekaria_

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/radhikavekaria

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6IuevEa6Y34J29zrVYD9Ie?si=54-42qwPSayDLahrQWjWGA

 

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

 

#84: My guest today is Devendra Cleary, a production sound mixer based in Los Angeles. He got his start working as a boom mic operator in college and eventually got his first big break working on the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Since then, he’s worked on projects such as Firefly, Anchorman, Sex and the City, and, recently, Twisters and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

 

In this episode, we talk about a production sound mixer even does, how Devendra got started in film sound, how he grew his career after landing a big break project, his work on Twisters recording actors in huge windstorms, and so much more.

 

Find Devendra here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devendracleary

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0165837/

 

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

 

#83: My guest today is Alda Agustiano, also known as Chong The Nomad, who is a music producer and DJ based in Seattle, Washington. Alda has been producing music for well over a decade now, recently releasing her debut album titled “Do We Make Of This?” and also working on projects such as Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings, and getting music sync spots with companies like Singapore Airlines, Apple, Universal Audio, and Nike. She has also opened for artists like Odesza and Death Cab for Cutie.

 

In this episode, we talk Alda’s musical upbringing—transitioning from piano lessons to music production in high school, her choice to go to music school and how she made the most of it, her struggles and realizations with the business side of her music career. and so much more.

 

Find Alda here:

Website: https://www.chongthenomad.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chongthenomad/?hl=en

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1TCIxnDm8SASkB6dTMrFCy?utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chongsongs

 

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#82: My guest today is Mikey J, a composer, producer, and dancer based in the United Kingdom. He has worked on a huge variety of projects from Danny Boyle’s Free Your Mind Matrix Adaptation, scoring and music directing the 2024 revival of Romeo & Juliet starring Tom Holland, founding the award winning dance company Boy Blue, and is even a member of the Order of the British Empire for his work in hip-hop and dance music.

 

In this episode, we talk Mikey’s musical upbringing as a child of African immigrants in the United Kingdom, how he started as a mixing engineer and producer working for the tiny sum of five pounds an hour for his work, his recent work on the movie Kneecap which celebrates Irish hiphop and cultural preservation, and so much more.

 

Find Mikey here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeyjdotnet/?hl=en

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/michael-mikey-j-asante

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4647621/

 

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#81: My guest today is Dror Mohar, a sound designer and engineer based out of Los Angeles. He has worked on an insane number of projects, including Inglorious Basterds, DJ Hero, Fable III, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and more recently, Lady in the Lake on Apple TV.

 

In this episode, we talk about how Dror grew up in Africa, ended up in the UK, and then moved to the US to truly start his career. We also talk about he started playing in bands as a guitarist and vocalist and then trained transitioned to becoming a mixing engineer and roadie, how he then transitioned from mixing into sound design in Hollywood, and so much more.

 

Find Dror here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drormohar/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3346677/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drormohar/

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#80: My guest today is Andy Martin, a sound designer and nature recordist based out of Seattle, Washington. Andy’s had an incredibly long and varied career in the world of sound design, working on projects such as Grim Fandango, all of the games in the inFAMOUS series, Medal of Honor, and has even worked with Skywalker Sound as a virtual reality sound designer on projects like Vader Immortal. He also has extensive experience in nature field recording as a part of the project NorthWest Soundscapes.

 

In this episode, we talk about how the winding path Andy took into the world of professional audio, why it’s okay to change your career goals and pivot, building a career while having ADHD, Andy’s love of nature recording and how’s he’s turned it into a business, and so much more.

 

Find Andy here:

Website: https://soundeziner.com/andy-martin/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northwestsoundscapes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andymartinnaturesound

 

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#79: My guest today is Rob Pearsall, a composer and sound designer based out of Seattle, Washington. He has had a career in game audio spanning over 20 years and dove into game audio for the first time at 46 years old. Since beginning his career he has worked on Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Destiny, République, BattleTech, Falcon Age, The Lamplighters League, and many others.

 

In this episode, we talk about how Rob broke into the game audio world before it was “cool”, the extreme importance of networking, how he dealt with the industry in his 40s, and much more.

 

Find Rob here:

Website: https://www.robpearsall.com/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7111207/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7MKfJOI5YFJfr8K4Ur1nVJ

 

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#78: My guest today is Raison Varner, a voice actor, sound designer, composer, videographer, and writer. He’s had a very broad and varied career, starting in 2006 as an intern on the original Prey game, then working as a composer, sound designer, voice actor, and writer for the Borderlands games for 12 years. He has also  worked as an art director for Obsidian Entertainment.

 

In this episode, we talk about Raison’s wide array of interests and skills, how to stand out as someone who’s interested in working across multiple disciplines, the deep psychology of working as a team in gave development, and so much more.

 

Find Raison here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raison-varner/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1770713/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/raisonvarner?lang=en

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rvarner

 

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#77: My guest today is James Thatcher, a sound designer and nature recordist based out of Seattle, Washington. He has had an incredibly diverse set of experiences before getting into the world of pro audio, most notably working in Michelin Star restaurants in France before making his way into the world of game audio years later. He has released approximately 17 sound packs, with the most recent titled, “Firearm Mechanics and Handling”.

 

In this episode, we talk about James navigated the past starting off as a cook and then transitioning into audio much later, how he transitioned from working on Halo Infinite to going out into nature and recording, how he releases, edits, and sells as many sound libraries, and so much more.

 

Find James Thatcher here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyriversound/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-thatcher-6871469a/

Sound Library: https://www.asoundeffect.com/sounddesigner/sky-river-sound/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAab3LSvQIIpzQ0N-WH-_6lBny6T3EQQEGjRV4F-d9bsfJYrlFuAffv75YMU_aem_5nMgdxQ-UOp1vXWIKTv6fw

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#76: My guests today are Steve “Major” Giammaria & Evan Benjamin, who are re-recording mixers and dialogue editors based out of the audio production house Sound Lounge in New York City.

 

In this episode, we dive into their recent work on the hit series The Bear, their process for creating and enhancing the soundscape for such a tense and dramatic show, the realities and life of working in post-production sound, and so much more.

 

Find Evan Benjamin here:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0071301/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-benjamin-a6aa304/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortytwofortypost/

 

Find Steve Giammaria here:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2652377/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearsmajor/

Twitter: https://x.com/hearsmajor?lang=en

 

 

And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod