Women in Sound (2024)

15/11/2022

Happy 83rd birthday to the queen of queens Wendy Carlos 〰🎛 〰

07/11/2022

Happy 79th birthday to the inimitable Joni Mitchell 🎈

24/10/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 9: Jade Payne

Which mics does use to mix on tour? Tune in to find out!

“Every artist is so unique. I’d never say one mic works for everybody. Our drummer likes to mic the be**er side of the kick drum. In the beginning, we had a [Shure] Beta 52. It was always so difficult to get that thing to fit back there! I was really fortunate to be invited into the DPA masters club. From having the chance to take different mics out on tour, I found that condenser mics are a lot better for us in the end. We landed on a capsule called the 4018. It can screw onto a little lectern, gooseneck mic stand. It’s got a low foot print. There’s a really good snap that I can’t describe other than…you just feel it.”

In Season 2 episode 9, she sits down with host to discuss her journey from mixing in DIY venues to arenas, her current mic choices for Khruangbin, and what she would tell her younger self about working in the music industry.  
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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21/10/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 9: Jade Payne

Jade Payne () is an accomplished live sound engineer and musician from Brooklyn, New York. Over the last decade, she's toured the world mixing front of house sound and monitors for artists like , , , and . She’s currently on the road with the psychedelic soul trio , with whom she’s worked in several live sound capacities since 2018.

Jade is also a musician and has played guitar in punk outfits Fleabite and Aye Nako, who have released two LPs on the beloved indie record label .

In Season 2 episode 9, she sits down with host to discuss her journey from mixing in DIY venues to arenas, her current mic choices for Khruangbin, and what she would tell her younger self about working in the music industry.  
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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photo credit: Steve Jennings

23/09/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 8: SUNNY KIL

“As a sound designer for theater, you are controlling other people’s emotions. You help the drama in a very practical, first hand way. It’s just so fun to do the job. Every first sound design class I ask my students…Have you ever cried over sad props? Have you been really happy by lighting? No way. Only sound can manipulate emotions! Sound design is the best. We’re still at the bottom of the food chain, but it’s very important.”

In Season 2 Episode 8, acclaimed sound designer sits down with host to discuss the role of the sound designer within theater production, being part of the Tony-award winning sound design team for Choir Boy, and how South Korea became the third largest theater market in the world.  
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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19/09/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 8: SUNNY KIL

Sound designers, this episode is for YOU!

Sunny Kil is an award-winning sound designer born in Busan, South Korea and currently based in New York City. Her work spans renowned Broadway shows including Choir Boy and Bernhardt/Hamlet, the Public Theater’s 60-year-running summer series Shakespeare in the Park, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics 🥇This year, her sound design for the play The Brother Size was selected as one of six finalists of sound design exhibition at World Stage Design 2022. In addition, she is an Associate Professor of Sound Design at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

In Season 2 Episode 8, Sunny sits down with host to discuss the role of the sound designer within theater production, being part of the Tony-award winning sound design team for Choir Boy, and how South Korea became the third largest theater market in the world.  
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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17/09/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 7: JAPANESE BREAKFAST

Want to know how Michelle Zauner maxxed out the allowable number of tracks in Pro Tools in the process of recording Paprika, the opening track to her critically-acclaimed 2021 album Jubilee? Before we drop our new episode next week, be sure to catch up on S2 EP 7 with .  
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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19/08/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 7: JAPANESE BREAKFAST

“I really wanted to use the Yamaha CS80 and the CMI Fairlight because I was really into Kate Bush. I was never going to be able to afford those, but Arturia has some very realistic sample libraries…I wrote so much with that.”

To bring Jubilee to life, Michelle Zauner of utilized ’s sample libraries to capture sounds and textures of decades past. Tune into WinS season 2 episode 7 to hear how she maxed out the number of available tracks in Pro Tools while recording the first track “Paprika.”

Pictured here is the Fairlight CMI: The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979. It was one of the earliest music workstations with an embedded sampler, and is credited for coining the term “sampling” in music. This magical instrument can be heard on albums from Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Art of Noise, and more.  
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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18/08/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 7: JAPANESE BREAKFAST

“I didn’t want to make a pop record with Jubilee. I wanted to make a big record.”

Michelle Zauner is a songwriter and musician who performs under the name Japanese Breakfast.
 Last year, within the span of just a few weeks, she released her double Grammy-nominated third full-length album Jubilee, hailed as her most ambitious musical work to date, as well as her debut memoir Crying in H Mart, which chronicles life following the death of her mother and how she navigated the grieving process through reconnecting with the beloved Korean dishes she grew up with. To date, her book has spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.
 In Season 2 Episode 7, sits down with WinS host to discuss the evolution of her studio production work from her early days in the DIY punk band Little Big League to her most recent album. She also takes us on a musical journey through some of the tracks that inspired Jubilee, featuring artists like Kate Bush, Susumu Hirasawa, and Joe Hisaishi.

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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11/08/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 6: Maryam Qudus //

🌀 It’s been a few weeks since Maryam’s album No Past No Future dropped and we’re still totally obsessed. Listen to WinS episode 6 to learn about the foundation of her magical track Round in Loops. ++ Don’t miss the music video! 🌀

“Round in Loops is a song about the cycles of life, the patterns in our mind that we tend to get stuck in throughout our lives. When I wrote this song I also wanted to connect that with the loops in songs that I use. I love to use tape loops. I love to use looping pedals. I love using looping in the production of my songs. The idea was to connect the loops we go through in life and the loops in music.”

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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22/07/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 6: Maryam Qudus //

TODAY’S THE DAY! Huge congratulations to Maryam on the release of her absolutely magical debut album No Past, No Future via ’s .nine record label. For us, this album has been on repeat all summer. Purchase it now: ssspacemoth.bandcamp.com

Tune into our brand new episode to learn how Maryam transformed her demos into lush, textural sonic landscapes and hear about the tools that helped her get there. Pictured here is the seminal CS50 synth, illustrated by .

Originally introduced in 1977, the Yamaha CS-50 is the 4-voice partner to the 8-voice Yamaha CS-60 and Yamaha CS-80 synthesizers. It features 13 presets, a single oscillator, high-pass and lowpass filters, sine wave, VCA and envelopes, ring modulation, white noise generator, LFO with multiple waveshapes, sustain & portamento and a 49-key keyboard with aftertouch.

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.

21/07/2022

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WinS SEASON 2 EP 6: Maryam Qudus //

Maryam Qudus is a recording engineer, producer, and mixer based in the Bay Area of California. During her time on staff at ’s beloved Tiny Telephone Studios, as well as her tenure with , she’s worked with a variety of great artists like , , , and .

Maryam also creates original music under the name Spacemoth. This month, she releases her stunning debut album No Past, No Future on ’s Wax Nine Records. These thirteen tracks are full of rich textural synths, lush vocal layers with undulating effects, and mesmerizing loops, all of which breathe new life into experimental sounds from decades past. Do not sleep on this album!

Tune in to learn how how she balances working in top-tier studios while continuing to reach artists of all budgets, how her Afghan culture inspires her to keep pursuing her career in music, and to hear an enchanting playlist of original works + some of Maryam’s most beloved songs, including tracks from , , and .

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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27/06/2022

Women in Sound fervently supports abortion rights for all. Without question. Forever. No matter why. No matter when.

Capitalism is a racist, deadly system designed to control our bodies in both blatant and pernicious ways. For that reason and others, we know that abortion is life-saving, necessary healthcare. Blessed are the abortion providers.

This morning we want to share the beautiful words of :
“It is precisely because birth is sacred and life is sacred that no one should be forced to give birth who is not ready willing and able. A society thrives, and even violence diminishes when babies are wanted and cared for with the full commitment of caregivers who made a choice whether or not to have them. I want a society where we can easily realize our dreams and embrace our full potential because we have the power to decide when and when not to have children, one where we live safely within the empowerment of our own childbearing wisdom, and feel the positive effects on all the other parts of our lives and culture which flourish when we lean into that wisdom. We won’t turn back.”

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22/06/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 5:

“I care about music. I care about community. I don’t care about putting people through the same hoops I went through. That’s why I mentor. I really think there is enough work to go around! I like growing with people I’m working with.”

For episode 5, Jaclyn Sanchez guides listeners through a 10-track playlist of songs from her discography featuring incredible artists like ,
, , , and more. Trust us, you will dance. 
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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18/06/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 5:

Curious about some of Jackie’s favorite mics? Pictured here, the STC 4033A ribbon mic, as well as the Lomo 19A19 and 19A13

on more of her go-to equipment: “There are two specific pieces of gear. The Altec - we call it ‘the Bomb.’ It’s this very old vintage compressor...That and then the Tube Tape Echo. Those are two staples that I think are very inherited from learning under these great mixing engineers. [Another] one of my personal favorites is the Quad8 preamp. Oh my goodness. That on guitars, pianos, or running a vocal through the EQs. Quad8s are something I’ve been researching to try to find.” 
For episode 5, Jaclyn sat down with host to discuss her studio journey and guide us through a playlist of her work with songs from incredible artists like , , and . 
Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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#4033

17/06/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 5:

Jaclyn Sanchez is a studio engineer, producer, and self-described “sound catcher” who’s been making records in New York and Los Angeles for almost a decade. She’s worked with such legendary artists as , , , , and ._paak

Most recently, Jaclyn won her first Grammy award for her engineering contributions to the 2022 Album of the Year - ’s We Are. 
For episode 5, Jaclyn sat down with host Madeleine Campbell to discuss the song that piqued her curiosity for making records, working on this year’s Album of the Year, and some of her go-to studio equipment.

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio. 🔗 
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30/05/2022

Happy 90th birthday to the inimitable composer, musician, and founder of Deep Listening 〰️ Pauline Oliveros 〰️

“Her career spanned fifty years of boundary dissolving music making...Oliveros was Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and Darius Milhaud Artist-in-Residence at Mills College. She founded "Deep Listening®," which came from her childhood fascination with sounds and from her works in concert music with composition, improvisation and electro-acoustics. She described Deep Listening as a way of listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing. Such intense listening includes the sounds of daily life, of nature, of one's own thoughts as well as musical sounds.

‘Deep Listening is my life practice,’ Oliveros explained, simply. Oliveros founded Deep Listening Institute, formerly Pauline Oliveros Foundation, now the Center For Deep Listening at Rensselaer, Troy, NY.”

03/05/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 4: Sarah Register  
“I have seen more clearly than ever in recent years that my own voice matters. And that, for me, is really necessary and affirming. For whatever the end result will be in things that I’m creating, in ways that I’m being, I understand better than ever that it’s important and valuable to honor that.”

In season 2 episode 4, and host discuss the first twenty years of her mastering career, as well as her hopes for the future. Then she leads us through a playlist of tracks ranging from avant garde composer Henry Cowell to the Raincoats to her own projects Talk Normal and Better Corners.

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio.  
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27/04/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 4: Sarah Register  
has been mastering records in New York City for over twenty years.
 Her credits span thousands of albums of diverse genres including releases from , Andrew W.K., and , as well as legacy artists like Lee Scratch Perry and Laurie Anderson.

As an active musician and composer, she’s co-written albums with her collaborative projects Talk Normal, War Bubble and Better Corners, and most recently returned from tour playing guitar with .

In season 2 episode 4, Sarah and host sit down to discuss empathy in the mastering process, balancing touring and studio pursuits, and hopes for her next next twenty years of work. Stay tuned for a searing playlist of tracks ranging from avant garde composer Henry Cowell to her own groups Talk Normal and Better Corners.

Listen now on and on Break The Ceiling in the app. Link in our bio. 🔗 
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photo by Shervin Lainez
 

05/04/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 3:  
“Sound is power. Voice is power. My interest is in the female and gender non-confirming body, as well, being front and center and claiming its space and moving through space freely. This is what these works are a lot about – moving through unknown spaces freely with your body as a woman, as a gender non-confirning person. Claiming those spaces. Spaces that usually, historically, we don’t necessarily feel comfortable moving through.

For episode 3, Naama sat down with host Madeleine Campbell to discuss Perimeters, her solo show currently on display at in Miami, Florida. She also takes us on a musical journey discussing excerpts of her own work, as well as tracks from some of her favorite artists.

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 3 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

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29/03/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 3:  
on Melody of Certain Damage, her work created by smashing guitars in her studio, mapping exactly where the pieces fall, and creating new string configurations for those fragmented parts:

“It’s a work that starts kind of where the history of the object, the guitar, through rock’n’roll history, has stopped. The object is destroyed and then the most it gets after that is maybe framed in some Hard Rock Cafe. But for me, that’s the starting point…It’s why I break them in my studio alone. That act is not, for me, the point, not the focus, but rather everything proceeds it. Everything that proceeds it is a place of rethinking and restructuring through the break. That is a place of healing. Inevitably the sound made from it is the sound of healing, the sound of recreating, and rethinking where we can go after a rapture.”

For episode 3, Naama sat down with host Madeleine Campbell to discuss Perimeters, her solo show currently on display at in Miami, Florida. She also takes us on a musical journey discussing excerpts of her own work, as well as tracks from some of her favorite artists including , .mela, Diamanda Galas and PJ Harvey.

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 3 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

illustration by based on the photo by Zaire Kaczmarski

28/03/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 3:  
“This is what these works are a lot about – moving through unknown spaces freely with your body as a woman, as a gender non-confirning person. Claiming those spaces.”

Naama Tsabar is an Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based artist whose sculptures, performances, and installations examine the behavioral codes and power structures embedded in the culture of popular music.  Her solo work and performances have been presented internationally at the Guggenheim Museum and The High Line Art in New York City, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Kunsthaus Baselland in Basel, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, among many others.

For episode 3, Naama sat down with host to discuss her gateway to experimental sound as a young person in Israel, sound as a means of destruction and healing, and her forthcoming first ever vinyl release capturing a performance of Perimeters, her stunning solo show currently on display at in Miami, Florida. She also takes us on a musical journey discussing excerpts of her own work, as well as tracks from some of her favorite artists including , .mela, Diamanda Galas and PJ Harvey.

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 3 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

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02/03/2022

Thanks for the shoutout, ! 🏆

If you’re new to this page, Women in Sound is a print zine and radio show brought to you by host/editor , engineer , artist and of course our amazing team at ! We share stories and explore the creative processes of women and non-binary people in all areas of live and recorded sound - studio engineers, live sound engineers, producers, artists, DJs, technicians, luthiers, curators and more. Check out all of our recent episodes at the link in our bio.

02/03/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 2:

On his new album Heterosexuality:
“There are so many reasons why this had to wait until the 8th album, you know what I mean? When I first came out on my debut, that record was just about youth. It was not tied to my sexuality or gender at all. I just happened to have been very open about it and I’ve been out my entire career. There was never a time that I was in the closet. But during that time in 2014, the concept of a non-binary popstar was so foreign. Now it’s like whatever, who cares?”

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 2 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

28/02/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 2:

On writing his new song Cisgender:
“I knew that I would not have been able to write this song in any previous years for any previous albums. I think 26-year-old me, at the time, had to have the world experience to write it and get it right. And write it in a way that’s not preachy. It reads like a ‘Hello, my name is _____’ tag. That’s really all it is.”

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 2 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

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24/02/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 2:

“We live in a post-Lil Nas X world. I felt more comfortable making this record now because I knew that even though it touches on my queerness, it wouldn’t be the only thing that people are talking about.”

Shamir is a non-binary musician, songwriter and producer who was first thrust into the music industry fresh out of high school with the release of his debut dance pop LP Ratchet. He’s since taken reins of his career, continually reinventing his sound with seven more genre-bending full-length albums, all showcasing his signature countertenor falsetto and unbeatable vocal range.
 In season 2 episode 2, Shamir discusses his new LP Hetereosexuality, which dives deeply into his relationship with gender, sexuality, and trauma — themes that “had to wait” until album number eight — as well as his goals for his own record label, Accidental Popstar, and the release of his first book But I’m A Painter.

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 2 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

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22/02/2022

reposting this from Living Sound] - I love this. In 1990, the great RCA record producer Ethel Gabriel wrote a letter to Billboard Magazine pushing back against the glaring exclusion of women’s achievements in recording industry in Fredric Dannen’s book Hit Men. (He wrote “the industry has no such term as ‘record woman’...To earn this tribute, you must have ears, which is not quite the same as good taste.”)

Ethel was such a phenomenal woman and profoundly prolific producer. Her letter resonates with me because I’m still frustrated by the seemingly persistent narrative of scarcity in our field - that there are so few woman/gender fluid people in audio. It’s simply untrue. And to be honest, I’m uninterested in studies that only look at Top 40/charting hits and pump out a single figure percentage to reflect of who is recording, mixing, mastering and producing music. There is SUCH an abundance of talented women/NB people in all areas of live and recorded sound - it’s why we started publishing zines about it!

Let’s do more to tell their stories.

Please follow and donate to Living Sound]. This is an amazing crew who have been working hard on a documentary chronicling the life of Ethel Gabriel. They are close to reaching their goal and no amount is too small! Link is in their bio. Check it out —

09/02/2022

No words do justice to your supreme legacy. Rest In Peace, Betty Davis. You blazed so many trails. 🌹

Link in our bio to revisit WinS issue 3 piece on Betty’s genius, written by music scholar

25/01/2022

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WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 1:

As a founding co-organizer and active member of and , Sadie Dupuis has worked to bring instruments and recording equipment to incarcerated musicians, called on Spotify to pay a penny per stream to all artists on the platform, and helped venues create safer environments for performers, venue workers, and audience members.

Union of Musicians and Allied Workers is an incredible organization that “aims to organize music workers to fight for a more just music industry, and to join with other workers in the struggle for a better society.”

“There are so many things that need to be better. In terms of touring…support bands make the same amount of money they made 20 years ago. That guarantee has not increased, despite the drastic increase in cost of living, gasoline costs, all of the equipment both musical and otherwise that’s required to tour. Buzz bands that you think are blowing up are getting paid $250.00 a night to split between six people…We’re compensated pretty poorly on tour and it’s a big catch 22 because the venues don’t have the funding. It comes from alcohol sales and there are problems there…”

We are so grateful for the work of every UMAW member. Please follow and support their work through social media and at unionofmusicians.org

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 1 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

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21/01/2022

Available now on Sonos Radio] ~
WOMEN IN SOUND, SEASON 2 EPISODE 1:

What effects pedals does a shredder like Sadie use? One of her current favorites is the Dwarfcraft Ghost Fax pedal, illustrated here by . Check out the tour of her pedal closet over at Sonos Radio].

“I’ll do a lot of stuff in MIDI. Whether I’m automating effects with plugins or running it through my…I’ve got a closet back there that’s full of effects pedals. That’s kind of where I think a lot of my production and arrangement comfort zone comes from – playing with pedals, lining up a different arsenal of them to get the sound I want. I do a lot of work in the box and then reamping to give it a different feel.”

Listen to Women in Sound Season 2, Episode 1 on Break The Ceiling in the app and via the Sonos Sound System archive on (mixcloud.com/sonos) ➡️ Link in our bio.

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