Working Class Audio

For episode 601, Matt sits down with Belgian musician, mastering engineer, and sociologist of music Gert Keunen — recommended to the show by past guest John Greenham. Gert has spent 35 years saying yes to nearly everything music: seven albums of his own, the nu-jazz project Briskey, a PhD in the sociology of music, four books on pop history, stints as a record-label staffer and newspaper critic, teaching at conservatories in Ghent, and most recently a deep dive into immersive audio that produced his book STEREO – Was a Nice Try. He joins from the Flemish countryside — where he also runs a 200-liter brewery and grows his own hops — to talk about how he manages time across all of it, why he learns best by teaching, how ADHD and dyslexia shaped an offline, notebook-driven discipline, and why he believes the future of immersive music is composing in 3D from the very first note rather than up mixing stereo.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Living a Passion-Driven Life Across Music, Academia, and Beer
Managing Time When You Do a Dozen Things (and Cycling to Clear the Mind)
Growing Up in Flanders: Flute, Pink Floyd, and a Cracked Cubase on an Atari
Why He'd Rather Create Music Than Perform It
A PhD in the Sociology of Music and Four Books on Pop History
Teaching Music History, Sociology, and Production in Ghent
Going All-In on Mastering for a Year with Friedemann Tischmeyer and Ian Shepherd
How ADHD and Dyslexia Shaped His Offline, Notebook-Driven Learning
Why Teaching Is How He Actually Learns
Discovering Immersive Audio Through Apple Spatial Audio on Earbuds
Why a Good Immersive Mix Makes the Headphone Experience Better
Writing STEREO – Was a Nice Try Because No Good Handbook Existed
"13 Reasons Why Dolby Atmos Sucks" — and His Rebuttals
Creating Immersive From the Ground Up vs. Upmixing Stereo
A Format-Agnostic Workflow: Object, Channel, and Scene-Based, Then Choose Atmos or Auro-3D Later
Teaching Immersive at a Conservatory With a Dolby Atmos Room
Translating Student Tracks to a Live Immersive System at Ghent's Winter Circus
Pricing Mastering, Student Discounts, and Treating Gear as the Real Payment
Gear Acquisition, Buy-and-Return, and "a Hobby That Pays for Itself"
Finding Community Online Through Chris Salim's MCC
Running a 200-Liter Brewery, Growing His Own Hops, and Why Beer Is Like Making Music

Matt's RANT!: Time
Links and Show Notes:
Gert Keunen
STEREO – Was a Nice Try (book)
Briskey
Ian Shepherd on WCA
Friedemann Tischmeyer / Mastering Academy
Nuendo (Steinberg)
Chris Selim on WCA

Credits:
Guest: Gert Keunen
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

Matt celebrates episode 600 of Working Class Audio with a guest who's been there since the beginning — mixer and producer Andrew Scheps, who first appeared back on episodes 009 300 & 477. Andrew joins from his home in rural England to talk about winning MPG Atmos Mixer of the Year for his work on Low Roar, how he approaches Dolby Atmos delivery and client approval, why he switched from Sony headphones to the Audeze LCD-MX4, and what he's learned about training your brain to externalize binaural audio. The conversation also covers writing his own plugins with Claude and the JUCE framework, why he quit drinking four years ago and found rock climbing instead, breaking his foot, the realities of working with a manager, what "retirement" even means when no one tells you you're done, and why — 600 episodes in — Working Class Audio still matters in a way that's different from everything else.

In This Episode, We Discuss:
600 Episodes In — Andrew's Long History with the Show
Winning MPG Atmos Mixer of the Year for the Low Roar Catalog
The MPG vs. a US Equivalent: Advocacy, VAT, and Saving Studios
Being an American Honored Inside a UK Organization
Why the Low Roar "House in the Woods" Atmos Mix May Be His Best Work
The Pressure of Paid Work vs. Unpaid Passion Projects
Still Battling Imposter Syndrome After Decades at the Top
Why He Hates Sending Mixes Out
Atmos Delivery Workflow: Binaural, MP4, ADM, and the Two-Page PDF
Training Your Brain to Externalize Binaural Audio
Why He Starts Atmos Mixes in Headphones, Not Speakers
Switching from Sony Headphones to the Audeze LCD-MX4
Steven Wilson and Staying True to the Music in Atmos
Discovering Rock Climbing as Moving Meditation
Breaking His Foot — and Five Weeks on the Sidelines
Alex Honnold, Free Solo, and the Idea of Minimizing Risk
Quitting Drinking Four Years Ago and Stepping Away from Pub Culture
Is There a Calculation Behind a Career? Building Extra Income Streams
The Retirement Question: "They'll Just Stop Hiring Us"
Writing Plugins with Claude and the JUCE Framework
Why You Need an Idea — Not Just AI — to Build a Plugin
AI as a "Knowledgeable but Completely Blinkered Friend"
AAX, PACE Code Signing, and the Nightmare of Plugin UI
Board Games, Astronomy, and Life in Rural England
Why He Can't Imagine Living in LA Anymore
Working with Manager Frank McDonough — and What a Manager Actually Does
The Reality of Getting Paid by Major Labels (180-Day Cycles)

Matt's RANT!: 600 Episodes!
Links and Show Notes:
Andrew Scheps
Low Roar
WCA interview with manager Frank McDonough
JUCE framework
Audio Developer Conference
Audeze LCD-MX4
Free Solo (Alex Honnold)
Bounce Factory

Credits:
Guest: Andrew Scheps
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

Matt welcomes producer, engineer, and mixer Alex Newport for his first appearance on Working Class Audio. Alex grew up in the UK Midlands with few music resources, and found his way into production after his band got signed to a UK label with an upstream deal to Columbia, and ended up recording at Sawmills, a legendary residential studio on a tidal island at the tip of Cornwall. Working there with producer Colin Richardson changed everything. From there Alex spent decades moving between LA, San Francisco, and New York — engineering at Tiny Telephone, producing records for At the Drive-In, City and Colour, and many more — before eventually building his own residential studio in Joshua Tree, designed from the ground up to let bands show up and make records without distraction. The conversation covers production philosophy, surviving as a freelancer across three decades, why he intentionally avoids getting pigeonholed, and what really matters when designing a studio space.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Growing Up in the UK Midlands With Few Music Resources
The Band That Got Signed: Upstream Deal to Columbia Records
Recording at Sawmills — The Tidal Island Studio in Cornwall
Colin Richardson as a Life-Changing Producer
The Difference Between a Producer Who Listens and One Who Doesn't
Why Alex Was Initially Resistant to Having a Producer
What Colin Taught Him That He Still Uses Today — and What He Hated
The Shift From Being a Musician to Wanting to Be in the Studio
Moving to the US: From Arizona to LA to San Francisco to New York
First Impressions of LA — Where's the City Centre?
The Culture Shock of Going From the UK to California
Why Alex Prefers San Francisco Over LA
Tiny Telephone and John Vanderslice — Engineering as Education
Learning to Mic Instruments He'd Never Encountered Before
The Moment Budgets Started Collapsing Around 2004
Building a Studio in LA, Then New York, Then Realising It Was Madness
New York vs LA: Brutally Honest vs Relaxed and Open
Surviving as a Freelance Producer: The Feast or Famine Reality
Why He Intentionally Avoids Getting Pigeonholed as a Producer
Moving to Joshua Tree and Building a Residential Studio From Scratch
Designing the Studio From a Musician's Perspective, Not an Engineer's
The Vintage Trailer as Accommodation: Glamping, Not a Holiday Inn
High Ceilings That Cost an Extra $35,000
Good Coffee Is More Important Than the Gear in the Rack
The Sawmills Influence on the Joshua Tree Studio Concept
Philip Broussard, Daniel Lanois, and the Kingsway/Teatro Philosophy
What Alex Brings to the Table as a Producer: Objectivity and People Skills
The Sliding Scale Rate Philosophy: Money Follows Good Work
On Relationships, Touring, and Finding a Partner Who Gets It
Dual UK/US Citizenship and Thoughts on Moving Back to England

Matt's RANT!: AI and Its Uses
Links and Show Notes:
Alex Newport
Tiny Creatures Studio
WCA with John Greenham
WCA with Philip Broussard

Credits:
Guest: Alex Newport
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

In this return visit to Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes back Dante Fumo — freelance sound designer, writer, and the creator behind Harmonic Content, a screen-printed audio zine now in its seventh issue. Dante talks about building a sustainable freelance life that spans independent film post-production, writing for Vintage King and Pro Sound Effects, and self-publishing a physical zine inspired by the Tape Op compilations he read as a college writing tutor. The conversation covers the realities of DIY publishing — screen printing, saddle-stitching zines at home, and the economics of Patreon — alongside the craft of mixing short films in Dolby Atmos, delivery specs for the festival circuit, building a sound library, and why low cost of living might be the most underrated career decision a freelancer can make.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
The Origin of Harmonic Content Zine
How Tape Op Inspired the Whole Thing
The Economics of Self-Publishing a Physical Zine
Screen Printing and DIY Production Workflow
Why Ink Cartridges Are a Scam (and What Dante Uses Instead)
Building a Sustainable Patreon as a Small Independent Creator
Balancing Freelance Writing, Sound Design, and Publishing
Writing for Vintage King and Pro Sound Effects
How Dante Gets Independent Film Clients — All Word of Mouth
The Life Cycle of an Indie Short Film: Festivals to YouTube
Mixing Everything in Atmos Even for Non-Atmos Deliverables
Netflix Home Entertainment Spec as a Loudness Baseline
Loudness for Short Films vs. Feature Films vs. Music
Calibrating Your Monitors With Pink Noise
Overhead Fold-Down Settings When Bouncing Atmos to Stereo
Sound Design vs. Mixing: What Dante Loves Most
Field Recording for Ambiences vs. Buying Libraries
SoundCue — A Free Sound Effects Organizing Tool from Pro Sound Effects
GDC Free Sound Library and Other Ways to Build a Collection for Free
George Vlad and Watson Wu — Field Recording Heroes
Tonebenders Podcast as the WCA of Post-Production Sound
Why Dante Stepped Back From Recording Everything Himself
The Case for Not Having All Your Eggs in One Basket
ADHD and Freelancing: Finding Work You Can Actually Stay Engaged With
Low Cost of Living as a Freelance Strategy
AES Nashville and the Press Pass Question
What the Next Five Years Look Like

Matt's RANT!: School
Discount Codes:
WCA25OFF — 25% off a zine at harmoniccontentzine.com

Links and Show Notes:
Harmonic Content Zine
Dante Fumo — Supernatural Sound Design
Harmonic Content on Patreon
WCA #346 with Dante Fumo
WCA #596 with Will Kennedy
Tape Op Magazine
Tonebenders Podcast
Pro Sound Effects / SoundCue

Credits:
Guest: Dante Fumo
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

In this episode of Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes a panel of four guests united by a common cause: Tinnitus Quest, a patient-driven nonprofit pushing to fund and accelerate tinnitus research. Tchad Blake — 7-time Grammy Award-winning producer, mixer, and engineer with credits including Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, and Pearl Jam — opens up about living with tinnitus since age eight or nine, the result of childhood exposure to rifle fire, and how he has mixed some of the most acclaimed records of the past four decades with significant hearing loss in one ear. Neuroscientist and consultant neurologist Dr. Will Sedley of Newcastle University breaks down what the brain is actually doing when tinnitus occurs, from central gain theory to predictive coding, gating mechanisms, and why the brain's compensation strategies can misfire. Hazel Goedhart, co-founder and Executive Board Member at Tinnitus Quest, shares her own tinnitus journey and how it led her to leave a career in financial services and fundraise her own salary to work for the cause full-time. And Jack Rubinacci, musician, songwriter, and Head of PR at Tinnitus Quest, explains how the organization is working to change the narrative around tinnitus the same way the mental health conversation shifted over the past generation — because that narrative shift is what unlocks funding, and funding is what drives research.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
What Tinnitus Quest Is and Why It Was Founded
The Scale of the Problem: 750 Million People, Almost No Research Funding
Tchad's Tinnitus Since Age Eight or Nine: Childhood Rifle Fire
Mixing Iconic Records With Significant Hearing Loss
Tinnitus as a Potential Creative Superpower
How the Brain Compensates for Hearing Loss and Generates Phantom Sound
Central Gain Theory and Neural Noise Amplification
Synchrony: How Neurons Fire Together and Make Tinnitus Louder
Gating Mechanisms and Why Some People's Brains Filter Tinnitus Out
The Predictive Coding Model: Why Tinnitus Embeds Itself in the Brain
Hair Cell Damage vs. Synaptopathy: Two Different Types of Noise Trauma
Recruitment: A Frequency-Specific Amplification Phenomenon
Why Tinnitus and Hearing Loss Don't Always Correlate
Why Some People With Hearing Loss Never Get Tinnitus
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Medical Emergency
Tinnitus Spikes: What Causes Them and What the Evidence Says About Steroids
Tinnitus as a Canary in the Coal Mine for Stress and Overexposure
Fleeting Tinnitus: The Brief Episodes Most People Experience
Low-Frequency Tinnitus and "The Hum"
Musical Tinnitus and Musical Hallucinations
Who to See: ENT vs. Audiologist vs. Neurologist
CBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness for Tinnitus
Tchad's Personal Coping Strategies, Including Exposure Therapy and Harmonizing With the Ringing
The Role of Psilocybin and Psychedelics in Potential Tinnitus Treatment
Neural Plasticity, Synaptogenesis, and Why Psychedelics May Help
Stem Cell and Cochlear Regeneration Research
Is Tinnitus a Modern Problem? Pre- vs. Post-Industrial Noise Exposure
The Stigma Around Tinnitus in the Music Industry
How Bella Bathurst Connected Jack and Tchad
TQ's First Oxford Research Grant: Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation
Why Patient-Driven Funding Moves Faster Than Institutional Funding
The Catch-22 of "Learn to Live With It" and How It Suppresses Research

Matt's RANT!: Hearing Protection
Links and Show Notes:
Tinnitus Quest
WCA #334 with Jack Rubinacci
WCA #200 with Tchad Blake
Bella Bathurst – Sound: Stories of Hearing Lost and Found
Newcastle University – Translational and Clinical Research Institute

Credits:
Guests: Tchad Blake, Dr. Will Sedley, Jack Rubinacci, Hazel Goedhart
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith