Interviews

WE TALK AT LENGTH WITH RECORD-MAKERS ABOUT HOW THEY MAKE RECORDS.

Trina Shoemaker

Interviews | No. 173

Trina Shoemaker: How to Lean on a Console

By Larry Crane and Matthew Coughlin

There are a few engineer/producers I've met along the way where I've meant to get an interview with them for ages, but for some reason it takes so much longer for us to find the time to do it. Trina Shoemaker has been one of these elusive folks ever since we first met in New...

Drew Vandenberg
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 154 Interview

Drew Vandenberg: Make it Sound Awesome

Drew Vandenberg talked his way into interning at the iconic Athens, Georgia, 40 Watt Club and the legendary Chase Park Transduction studio [Tape Op#14] by the time he was 16 years old. Today, he's a sought-after producer and engineer, working with such artists as Faye Webster, Of...

Julie Last
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 154 Interview

Julie Last: The Technical With The Emotional

With a start at New York City's Record Plant in the mid-'70s, Julie Last continued with her career at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles. Now living in Woodstock, NY, she runs her own Cold Brook Productions. Along the way she worked on sessions for Talking Heads, Cheap Trick...

Eric “ET” Thorngren
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 153 Interview

Eric “ET” Thorngren: Throwing Out Reality

Recording and mixing much of the Talking Heads catalog would be one achievement, but then throw in tracking some of the earliest hip-hop at Sugar Hill Records, mixing Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love," and re-mixing songs for Bob Marley's Legend album, and you have...

Isabelle Banos
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 153 Interview

Isabelle Banos: Opening the Door

A producer, songwriter, and a founding member of the alternative pop band Caveboy, Isabelle Banos is based in Montreal, Canada. Her passion for empowerment through education has led her to become a contributor for LANDR's YouTube, as well as a regular volunteer for the Montreal...

Is That a Track or a Stem?
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 153 Interview

Is That a Track or a Stem?: Sorting Out Audio Terms

When people hire me to mix their songs, I frequently come across situations where we are not using the same terminology for the sources clients are giving me to work from. Yes, sometimes one word can mean several different things, but generally the consensus among audio professionals is...

Don Lewis 1941-2022
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 153 Interview

Don Lewis 1941-2022

As an electronic instrument pioneer, and one of the designers of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, Don Lewis had an irreversible impact on the trajectory and sound of popular music. On November 6th, 2022, Mr. Lewis peacefully passed away at the age of 81. It is an honor to help remember...

Herb Deutsch, 1932-2022
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 153 Interview

Herb Deutsch, 1932-2022

I'm sure a lot of you are asking "who was Herb Deutsch and what does he have to do with rock 'n' roll?" The short answer is sometimes it's the people behind the scenes that change the course of history.

Marta Salogni
Apr 11, 2026 NO. 153 Interview

Marta Salogni: Having that Knowledge

A pure obsession with sound drove a young woman from her rural Italian home to the UK and into London's recording studios. A relentless drive to learn how everything in audio works then set her on the path to sessions with Depeche Mode, Björk, Animal Collective, Circuit des Yeux...