How would you define your main role on most of the projects you work on at the moment?
I’m an artist, producer, and mix engineer. I’d say my main role is offering an open mind and fresh ears to bring my client’s projects to life in a way that empowers their artistic vision, understanding what it’s like to be on both sides of the controls. Alongside my artist project, Austel, I’m producing and mixing several exciting new artists, and embarking on some new co-write/composition projects, too.
Please tell us a bit about your musical background. How did you get started in the music industry? What was your pathway to your current role?
I started playing piano around the age of four, and I am classically trained in piano and singing. I was in school jazz bands, orchestras, and musical theatre groups, and started writing my own songs in my early teens. I moved to London aged 19 with the hope of pursuing a career as an artist and fell in with a group of musicians with whom I performed at Glastonbury Festival and toured the UK. After playing in multiple bands for a few years, I adopted the alias Austel for my solo artist project. I self-released my first two EPs – recorded with my friend Adam Stark (Mi.MU Gloves, Endlesss, Rumour Cubes) – and started working towards my debut album.
During 2020, I focused my attention on producing and joined the 2% Rising community, set up by my friends Jen Bulcraig (Rookes) and Katie Tavini. This community and space completely changed the game for me. I was excited to develop my skill set further so I applied for Omnii Collective’s 2021 Engineering Equality course, which was really empowering. Once I realised how much I’d been struggling without mentorship and guidance, I decided to enrol at ICMP to do an MA in Creative Music Production, graduating with first-class honours in 2023. The MA was totally transformative and I left feeling ready to start producing other artists alongside myself.
Throughout this time, I’d been working as a piano teacher, music writer, and live sound engineer. Shortly after graduating, I started working at Roundhouse as a Studios Technician, and this year I set up a studio space in North London to work with freelance production clients. I released my self-produced debut album Dead Sea in February 2024 – featuring work collaborations with Guy Massey, Wyldest, Jess Camilleri, Ruby Smith and Katie Tavini – the culmination of seven years of work.
That’s the short version! The long one has a lot more twists and turns, but maybe that’s for another time.
What or who inspired you to follow this path?
I think my dad was a big influence on me – he’s a musician and I grew up listening to stories of him playing gigs in London. My mum is also musical, so our home and car journeys were always soundtracked by everything from Eva Cassidy to Van Morrison to The Clash, and I was encouraged to play and write music from a young age. I had the best piano teacher, Liz, and some amazing music teachers at school across different departments, who were really supportive and opened up some amazing opportunities to write and perform.
Production-wise, Adam (Stark) was brilliant at encouraging me to start working on my own sessions and mixes, and I’m also really inspired by Rookes’ work and attitude – she’s such a badass. Also icons like Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush – artists who are rarely credited for self-producing their own work – and then my fave, Bon Iver, all demonstrating the power of being an artist-producer. And then of course, Patti Smith. Reading Just Kids changed my life.
Are there any highlights from your work that you are particularly proud of?
I’m really proud of my album, Dead Sea. It took around seven years to make, some of those years being the hardest of my life while I dealt with PTSD and other issues. There were so many times I didn’t think I’d ever finish it, so it really means the world to me that it’s finally released and sonically exactly how I wanted it. The record has also opened up a lot of new avenues of work for me, which I’m really excited about.
What’s one tip you can share with other MPG members that could help their workflow?
Organise. Your. Sessions. Spend time ensuring everything is correctly labelled, grouped, naming aux channels, colour coding etc. It’s like tidying your room or workspace, and makes life so much easier. Same goes for saving files – make sure you have a system. I find that once everything’s organised, I can fully focus on being creative.
What’s one tip you would like an MPG member to share with you?
I think a lot of folks in this industry are constantly spinning many plates and struggle to find balance, myself included, so I’d welcome any tips about improving that situation! I’m at the point now where I feel like a manager or agent would be really beneficial in terms of organising sessions and transitioning into a full-time production role. So any advice on that would be great.
Do you have any words of wisdom for people wanting to get into a similar music production role to yours?
I think the biggest barrier facing a lot of people who would like to produce – particularly women, non-binary and trans folk – is lack of self-belief. Joining a grassroots organisation like 2% Rising was a vital stepping stone for me, so I’d recommend seeking out your community to start building that confidence. Also – while I’m not really an advocate for working for free – I did find that offering to produce friend’s music for free/cheap was a great way to test the waters and start creating a portfolio.
When I started my MA, I didn’t feel that confident about my ‘technical’ knowledge and ability. But that’s something that you can learn – on a course, with a mentor, learning online. What’s harder to finesse is your ear. I’d listened to music from a producer’s perspective for years, while working on my artist project, and knew what I felt sounded good and what didn’t. I learned to trust that instinct, and I truly think it’s what should lead this practice. That and being a good human, because producing music is all about working with people – artists who are often sharing very vulnerable work with you. Prioritise cultivating a safe, inclusive space where people feel empowered, and you’ll be off and away.
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