Production Expert Podcast

In this special "Watercooler Podcast" edition, host Ashea is joined by producers and mixers Dom Morley, Matt Lawrence, and Adrian Hall—for a candid conversation about the isolation of solo audio professionals and the critical importance of peer support and collaboration.
Dom, Matt, and Adrian have maintained a monthly "water cooler chat" since working together at Metropolis Studios. This episode explores how this simple monthly ritual became essential to their careers and mental health, discussing rates, client management, creative practice, and why building trusted peer groups creates space for radical honesty impossible in larger organizations.
In This Episode:
The Isolation Paradox — How modern technology enables solo work while creating profound isolation and mental health challenges
The Water Cooler Concept — Forced community structure for distributed solo entrepreneurs; monthly peer gatherings inspired by business literature
30 Years Experience: Age & Creativity — How experience builds confidence while youth brings innovation; the myth that creativity declines with age
Trust & Peer Equality — Why working with peers at similar levels enables radical honesty impossible in hierarchies
Knowing Each Other Deeply — How decades of shared history allow direct feedback without offense or ego
Business Conversations — Discussing rates, pricing strategies, client negotiations, margin protection in trusted circles
Artist Management Challenges — Navigating changing expectations, revision limits, sign-off procedures, scope creep
Protecting Industry Standards — Responsibility to maintain rates and distinguish between discounts and day rates
Abundance Mindset vs. Competition — Approaching work from 'enough for everyone' perspective; collaborative vs. protective attitudes
Sharing Knowledge Across Specializations — Cross-disciplinary learning: live broadcast, Atmos, mastering, specialized tools
Social Media & Curated Reality — Everyone posts only best work; false impressions of constant high-profile projects
Big Names Doing Smaller Work — Industry secret: established professionals work on smaller projects but don't publicize it
Rates as Fluid Not Fixed — Why publishing single rates creates problems; complexity of varying work types and discounts
Teaching as Professional Practice — How education bookends isolation with human connection and community
Professional Jealousy — Acknowledging competitive feelings while managing them constructively
Transition from In-House to Freelance — How Metropolis experience shaped expectations differently than freelance work
Client Respect & Communication — File delivery, respecting artist bandwidth, maintaining boundaries without being difficult
About Our Guests:
Dom Morley:
Grammy-winning producer and engineer (Amy Winehouse "Rehab"). Founder of Mix Consultancy and multiband.io session organization tool. Previously taught at Leeds Conservatoire. Initiated the monthly peer collaboration concept discussed in this episode.
Matt Lawrence:
Grammy-winning producer, mixer, and engineer (Mumford & Sons "Babel"). Specializes in live sound, mixing major festivals for BBC broadcasts. Extensive experience with 5.1 and Atmos formats. Combines high-pressure broadcast environments with meticulous studio production.
Adrian Hall:
Accomplished mixer, engineer, and producer. Grammy-nominated. Brings extensive mixing expertise and band production experience. Contributes perspective on professional growth, confidence building, and collaborative practice.
About Our Host:
Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations to the Production Expert Podcast, discussing both creative and business sides of audio production.

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Todd Urban, General Manager at Softube, educator at Passaic County Community College, and creator of the Urban Sound Studio YouTube channel. With over 30 years of experience in audio production, Todd discusses Softube's philosophy of being "rock and roll scientists," the evolution from Console One to the groundbreaking Flow Studio hardware, and how creative workflow and intentional pre-production can transform recording and mixing practices.
Todd shares insights into Flow Studio's design philosophy of facilitating "flow state" rather than perfectionism, the importance of committing to decisions in tracking, the balance between hardware and software in hybrid workflows, and how understanding mixing principles makes tracking engineers more effective.
In This Episode:
Pre-Production Planning and Intention — Establishing emotional objectives and sonic goals before tracking
Tracking Conservative, Mixing Creative — Capturing intentional raw material for successful mixing
Teaching Audio Production: Learning from Students — Educators staying current with trends while maintaining principles
The Role of Recording Engineers in Modern Production — Why understanding mixing makes tracking engineers more effective
About Our Guest:
Todd Urban:
Todd Urban is the General Manager at Softube with 10+ years at the company across product education, development, management, and marketing. With over 30 years of professional audio experience, Todd holds degrees in orchestral arranging, music education, jazz performance, music management, and a production master's from UC Berkeley. He is the creator of the Urban Sound Studio YouTube channel and teaches at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey.

Stream Todd Urban's Music Here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3JWFSrFxOdt4KdVKfd3AXp?si=ZvcmY6u2QiS_hzC_S-PSlA
About Our Host:
Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations between industry professionals to the Production Expert Podcast.

In this Production Expert Podcast Special Edition, Mike Thornton, co-founder of Production Expert invites Orfeas Boteas, founder and CEO of Krotos, and Matthew Collins, head of product, to address significant community concerns following the release of Video to Sound integration for Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.
This candid conversation tackles difficult questions about the company's strategic direction, the role of AI in sound design, misleading social media practices, and Krotos' commitment to the professional audio community. Orfeas and Matthew respond directly to concerns from industry professionals and clarify misconceptions about generative AI, product positioning, and future roadmap.
In This Episode:
Why Video to Sound Released for Adobe Premiere Before DAWs — Technical constraints preventing DAW video track access, with integrations coming later in 2024
Addressing 'Abandonment' Concerns from Audio Professionals — Krotos is expanding markets, not abandoning professionals
The Core Mission: Making Sound Important Earlier — Bringing sound into creative workflows as an equal partner rather than afterthought
AI is Not Generative: The Truth About Krotos Technology — All sounds are professionally recorded; AI is assistive, not generative
AI as Automation, Not Replacement — Automating tedious tasks like auditioning thousands of sounds, not replacing human creativity
Evolution from Specialised Tools to Krotos Studio Platform — Journey from Dehumanizer, Reformer, Weaponizer to unified Krotos Studio
Misconceptions About Social Media Posts and Credits — Addressing posts implying Krotos involvement in Jurassic World, House of the Dragon, and Nolan films
Sound Redesign vs. Official Production Credits — Distinguishing creative sound redesign exercises from official product involvement claims
Social Media Clarity and Labelling Issues — Acknowledging unclear messaging in fast-scrolling social feeds, committing to better labelling
Industry-Wide Social Media Challenges — Platforms encouraging content reuse without explicit permission creates attribution confusion
Marketplace and Collaboration Possibilities — Vision for professionals to contribute assets and create ecosystem marketplace
Industry Change with New Technology — Technological disruption requires community to work as united front, not adversarially
Communication Missteps on Product Roadmap — Acknowledgement of moving too quickly without explaining technical constraints and timeline to community
About Our Guests:
Orfeas Boteas:
Founder and CEO of Krotos, leading sound design software company. Founded Krotos with a passion for sound, guiding the company through evolution from specialised tools to the broader Krotos Studio platform. Deeply committed to understanding and supporting the audio production community.
Matthew Collins:
Head of product at Krotos, responsible for product development and strategy. Works with both the professional audio community and content creators to develop streamlined sound design tools. Actively communicates technical roadmap and product philosophy to industry stakeholders.
About Our Host:
Mike Thornton has been involved in the broadcast audio industry for all his working life, some 45 years. Mike has worked with Pro Tools since the mid-1990s, recording, editing, and mixing documentaries, comedy, and drama for both radio and TV, as well as doing the occasional music project. He was the co-founder of Pro Tools Expert and has now retired, taking up the role of Chairman of Production Expert Ltd., bridging innovative companies and the professional audio industry.

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Todd Urban, General Manager at Softube, educator at Passaic County Community College, and creator of the Urban Sound Studio YouTube channel. With over 30 years of experience in audio production, Todd discusses Softube's philosophy of being "rock and roll scientists," the evolution from Console One to the groundbreaking Flow Studio hardware, and how creative workflow and intentional pre-production can transform recording and mixing practices.
Todd shares insights into Flow Studio's design philosophy of facilitating "flow state" rather than perfectionism, the importance of committing to decisions in tracking, the balance between hardware and software in hybrid workflows, and how understanding mixing principles makes tracking engineers more effective.
In This Episode:
30+ Years in Audio: From DIY to Industry Leadership — Journey from musician with minimal resources through education to industry leadership
The 'Rock and Roll Scientists' Philosophy — Combining musical edge with scientific rigor for innovation and challenge
Console One: Redefining Mixing in the Box — 2014 breakthrough introducing hardware control for digital channel strips
Flow Studio: From Zero to 80% Mixes — Facilitating flow state and creative momentum through intelligent design
Flows and Presets as Creative Tools — Pre-configured signal chains enabling quick professional-sounding starting points
The Omni Knob: Macro Control Design — Five knobs with main macro control addressing real workflow needs
Hybrid Workflow Philosophy — Balancing hardware summing and analogue gear with in-the-box mixing
Decision Fatigue vs. Creative Exploration — When to commit during tracking versus maintaining flexibility during mixing
Pre-Production Planning and Intention — Establishing emotional objectives and sonic goals before tracking
Tracking Conservative, Mixing Creative — Capturing intentional raw material for successful mixing
Teaching Audio Production: Learning from Students — Educators staying current with trends while maintaining principles
The Role of Recording Engineers in Modern Production — Why understanding mixing makes tracking engineers more effective
About Our Guest:
Todd Urban:
Todd Urban is the General Manager at Softube with 10+ years at the company across product education, development, management, and marketing. With over 30 years of professional audio experience, Todd holds degrees in orchestral arranging, music education, jazz performance, music management, and a production master's from UC Berkeley. He is the creator of the Urban Sound Studio YouTube channel and teaches at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey.
About Our Host:
Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations between industry professionals to the Production Expert Podcast.

In this podcast episode Ashea is joined by Mark Gittins, immersive audio engineer and owner of SenSound studios, currently working on broadcast for a major international football tournament, and Pieter Doms, co-founder of AREAL Technologies from Belgium. Together they discuss the invention and development of immersive audio monitoring technology, the AREAL SR1 headphones, and how spatial audio is transforming professional audio production.
Pieter shares the fascinating origin story of how AREAL Technologies was born during the pandemic, starting as a Tomorrowland festival request to convert stereo music to immersive audio in real time. Mark discusses his experience using the headphones for remote mixing during high-pressure broadcast work, and both explore the challenges and opportunities in immersive audio adoption.
In This Episode:
The Origin of AREAL Technologies — How Pieter Doms and his team created an upmix algorithm during the pandemic
The SR1 Headphones Development — The creative journey from a joke about building a studio in a headphone to a functioning solution
Non-Binaural Immersive Monitoring — How the SR1 achieves 3D soundscape representation without relying purely on HRTFs
Remote Mixing for Broadcast — Mark's experience using the headphones while working on tournament broadcasts
Challenges in Getting Started with Immersive Audio — Infrastructure requirements, learning curve, and barriers for engineers
Binaural Monitoring Limitations — Why traditional binaural platforms struggle with height representation
Room Simulation & Personalization — Head width parameter optimization, EQ customization, and virtual room simulation
The Chicken-and-Egg Problem of Adoption — Why immersive audio adoption is slow and the role of content availability
Immersive Audio in Mainstream Media — Dolby Atmos prevalence in streaming, TV, and film
The Future of Spatial Audio — Wearable and augmented reality applications
About Our Guests:
Mark Gittins:
Immersive audio engineer and owner of Sensound, a professional mixing studio specialising in immersive projects. Originally from Birmingham, England.
Pieter Doms:
Co-founder of AREAL Technologies from Belgium, with over 20 years of professional sound engineering experience. As a live sound engineer for major events including Tomorrowland, his technical expertise in algorithm design led to the creation of AREAL Technologies during the pandemic.
About Our Host:
Ashea is a platinum-selling songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer from the UK. With credits spanning notable artists, major labels, and prestigious broadcasters, Ashea brings authentic conversations between industry professionals to the Production Expert Podcast. Instagram: @iamashea
Resources & Links
AREAL Technologies — https://areal.world/
SenSound Studios — https://www.sensoundaudio.com/
Megatone Studios — Birmingham-based tracking and control room
Tomorrowland — Festival featuring immersive audio experiences
Dolby Atmos — Immersive audio format for streaming and broadcast
Virtuoso — Binaural monitoring software
Genelec UNIO — genelec.com/unio
Sponsorship
This episode is brought to you by Genelec. If you've ever been disappointed with the way your mixes sound on other playback systems, check out Genelec's UNIO monitoring ecosystem. Visit genelec.com/unio to learn more.