Akash Thakkar interviews successful audio professionals from every corner of the music and sound industries. From educators, performers, pop stars, game audio professionals, voice actors, composers, sound designers, plug-in designers, audio programmers, and everything in between, we dive deep into the business and mindset skills it takes to ”make it” in the worlds of music and sound.
Episodes
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
#59: Today's guest is Henri Sorvali, a musician and composer based in Finland. He started off his career has a classical and jazz pianist who ended up starting two successful Finnish black metal bands, Moonsorrow and Finntroll. He is also a full-time game composer working in-house at Rovio Entertainment, the company most famously known for The Angry Birds games.
In this episode, we talk about how why Henri stopped his life of being a touring musician in front of thousands of screaming fans to instead focus on video game composition, how he ended up in the world of metal music, and how he made the transition from heavy metal music to making lighter-hearted video game music, and much more.
Find Henri Sorvali here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/trollhornmusic
Website: http://www.trollhorn.com/
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
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
#58: Today's guest is Nuno Fonseca, founder of the company Sound Particles. Sound Particles started off their journey by making a piece of software with the same name, which allows anyone to create immersive 3D audio. Since their founding, Sound Particles has gone on to be used in countless movies, TV shows, and video games such as Oppenheimer, Assassin's Creed Origins, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and many others.
In this episode, we talk about how Nuno got started in the world of creating audio software, what it was like promoting Sound Particles in the beginning, what he believes the future of audio is, and much more.
Find Nuno Fonseca and Sound Particles here:
Website: https://soundparticles.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundparticles/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoundParticles
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sound.particles
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
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
#57: Today's guest is Katherine Tole, a voice actor and dialogue editor based in Seattle. She's a dialogue editor at Jackbox Games and is working on the soon-to-be released Jackbox Party Pack 10. She's also teaching courses on how to get jobs as a voice actor, especially through the voiceover marketplace Voice123. She's currently working on some exciting top-secret projects as well.
In this episode, we talk about how Katherine transitioned from being a full-time engineer in Silicon Valley to becoming a voice actor, how she got her first gigs in the world of voiceover, how to stand out in a sea of thousands of other voice actors, and much more.
Find Katherine Tole here:
Website: https://katherinetole.com/
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
Wednesday Aug 30, 2023
Wednesday Aug 30, 2023
#56: Today's guest is Dawn M. Bennett, a voice actor based in Los Angeles. Dawn has been a professional voice actor for almost ten years, and has voiced hundreds of characters across games, movies, and anime. She's worked on iconic franchises such as Dragon Ball Super, World of Warcraft, Street Fighter VI, Monster Hunter, Diablo IV, Pokemon, and Attack on Titan, among many others.
In this episode, we talk about Dawn's rise to voice acting success considering she didn't go to theater or acting school, her advice for up and coming voice actors, how she made the move to Los Angeles and thrived there, and many more.
Find Dawn M. Bennett here:
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/DawnMBennettVA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawnmbennettva/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DawnMBennettVA
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
Wednesday Aug 16, 2023
Wednesday Aug 16, 2023
#55: Today's guest is Amit May Cohen, a composer based in Los Angeles. Amit has worked on projects such as Zombies 2 and 3, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone, and many others.
In this episode, we talk about her journey into becoming a film composer in L.A., her growth as a musician over the years, how she recommends new composers break into the industry and Hollywood scene, and so much more.
Find Amit May Cohen here:
Website: http://www.amitmaycohen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amitmaycohen_composer/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0XmtL3Aq8d8KtOoqb77MKV?si=htVO1smWRw6n4uK2OeS8Hw
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
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
#54: Today's guest is Chris Parker, a freelance sound designer based in Seattle. He has worked on games such as Shadows Over Loathing, Wizard with a Gun, Beast Breaker, and is also the wonderful editor of this podcast.
In this episode, we talk about how I met Chris years ago at a PAX Conference in Seattle. Since moving from Seattle, Chris has gone from being a budding sound designer to a being a full-time pro. We also talk about his journey on becoming a full-time sound designer knowing especially that he did not go to college for it.
Find Chris Parker here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CpSqueaks
Website: https://www.chrisparker.audio/
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
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
#53: Today's guests are Adam Lukas and James Everingham, composers based out of Los Angeles and working in Hans Zimmer's collective known as Bleeding Fingers Music. Adam and James have worked on tons of film and TV projects over their careers and have recently written music for the document Frozen Planet II, alongside Hans Zimmer.
In this episode we talk about how there's quite a lot of opportunity for film composers and how you have to be willing to look for it and why these composers decided to work within a composers' collective. We also talk about working on insanely short timelines in Hollywood, what to do if you're not working in Los Angeles, and so much more.
Find Adam and James here:
Frozen Planet II on Spotify and Apple Music: https://open.spotify.com/album/6sUYeUEUvgvnMIff7pTNnJ
https://music.apple.com/id/album/frozen-planet-ii-original-television-soundtrack/1641264317
Adam's Website: https://www.adam-lukas.com/
Adam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamlukasmusic/?hl=en
--
James' Website: https://www.jameseveringham.com/
James' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameseveringham/
James' Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2gn4jnqcC9yMXt6433gleQ
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
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
#52: Today's guest is Nathan Ruyle. He is a sound designer and founder of the company This Is Sound Design.
In this episode, we talk about Nathan's climb in the industry, why he decided to start a sound design company that focuses on more creative and independent projects over the big Hollywood blockbusters, the identity crisis that sound for film is currently going through, and much more.
Find Nathan Ruyle here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tisdstudios/
Facebook: https://tisd.tv/
Website: https://tisd.tv/
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
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
#51: Today's guest is Philip White, a composer who has worked on video game, TV, and film projects such as Agent Carter, The Sims 3, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. He has composed for over 142 episodes of Supernatural and is also currently composing for Supernatural's pre-sequel, The Winchesters.
In this episode, we talk about how what it's like to compose for hundreds of episodes of the same TV show, how he stays fresh creatively between projects, and how he started as a drama major before transitioning into the music world, and so much more.
Find Philip White here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philipwhitemusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@philipwhite9905
Email: philiptwhite@me.com
Personal Website: http://www.philipwhitemusic.com
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
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
#50: Today's guest is Tony Manfredonia, who is a composer and singer-songwriter based in rural Michigan. He's worked on projects such as Kharon's Crypt and Call of Saregnar. He is also a concert composer who teaches composition students online.
In this episode, we talk about how Tony manages to make a living in music online while living in a rural town, how he handled low points in his career, and how balancing work and life is one of the best decisions he has ever made, among many other things.
Find Tony Manfredonia here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony_manfredonia/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyManfredonia
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tonymanfredonia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonymanfredoniamusic
Personal Website: https://www.manfredoniamusic.com/
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