Women In Audio

Maria Elisa Ayerbe is a Miami-based recording, mixing and post-production audio engineer who has worked with GRAMMY and Latin Grammy-nominated artists such as Mary J Blige, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, JLo and more. Maria was also recognized by the Latin Recording Academy with the Leading Ladies of Entertainment honor in 2019, for her outstanding performance as a professional and socially conscious woman within the arts and entertainment fields. We recently sat down with Maria for our Five Sounds With... series. Read on to learn about her approach to working with up-and-coming songwriters, her favorite technique for recording acoustic guitar, and how she recorded 120 drum tracks in one recording session. . Continue reading →

Driving through Nashville on the way to visit Jordan Brooke Hamlin, a few things quickly become apparent. Nashville is a city going through changes. There are more and more by the day. Cranes dot the skyline with further signs of progress, as new high-rise condos go up to house the masses flocking to Music City. It's no wonder that Jordan, the ever-evolving musician, producer, and tinkerer, has put her workplace outside the hubbub of the honky-tonks on Broadway. Situated on 20 acres of serene land, MOXE is an incredible recording studio that allows space for Jordan's creativity to flourish. A handbuilt cloud diffuser here, a custom-designed microphone selector tool there... Anything the studio needs, she builds. Continue reading →

Producer/engineer Lenise Bent has been working in the entertainment industry since she was just eight years old. She began her career as a member of the Screen Children’s Guild, which lead to studying film and TV production in college. That is until she stepped foot into a recording studio for the first time. After dropping out of college to join the Sound Masters Recording Institute (one of the only audio schools in Los Angeles at the time), she was hired as an assistant engineer at The Village Studios in Los Angeles. There where she would build an incredible resume working on iconic records like Aja by Steely Dan, Breakfast in America by Supertramp, and Tusk by Fleetwood Mac. Lenise quickly graduated from assistant to chief engineer for producer Mike Chapman, with whom she recorded the platinum-selling record Autoamerican for Blondie, as well as songs for The Knack, Suzi Quatro, and many more. Continue reading →

Jennifer Decilveo is a Grammy Award-nominated and Brit-nominated songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles. Best known for her work with Anne-Marie, Melanie Martinez, and Andra Day, Decilveo brings soulful sounds and vintage textures to every production. We recently sat down for an interview with Jennifer for our ongoing 20 Questions series. Read on to learn more about her approach to songwriting and producing, her love for the LA-2A, and how her favorite plug-in is based on a garden hose in a box. Continue reading →

Piper Payne is the Owner and Chief Mastering Engineer of Neato Mastering, and a Co-Founder and the Chief Product Officer for Second Line Vinyl. An avid enthusiast of audio education, Piper has worked with the SF Chapter of the Recording Academy, the P&E Wing Advisory Council, AES SF Chapter and Women's Audio Mission. On top of all that, Piper has found time to master music for nationally renowned artists like Third Eye Blind, Madame Gandhi and Geographer. Recently, Piper was able to take some time out of her busy schedule to chat with us for our ongoing 20 Questions series. Read on to learn more about how she got started mastering, her innovative incogNEATO: Remix service and her penchant for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Continue reading →

Manley Laboratories has been producing world-class tube gear for professional engineers since the late 1980s. Known for creating legendary studio equipment like the Variable Mu Limiter-Compressor, Massive Passive EQ and Reference Cardioid Microphone, Manley has become one of the music industry’s most revered manufacturers. We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with EveAnna Manley, the company's President, and chatting about the past, present and future of Manley Laboratories. Read on to learn about EveAnna’s journey from inventory manager to president, some sage management advice, and what sets Manley Labs apart from other pro audio companies. Continue reading →

Catherine Vericolli is the owner, engineer and manager of Fivethirteen Recording Studios in Tempe, Arizona. She is a lover of all things analog who has personally headed all console installations and outboard wiring at Fivethirteen since the studio's first console and 2" machine in 2006. She also co-edits Pink Noise Magazine and teaches classes at The Conservatory Of Recording Arts and Sciences. During a rare moment of downtime while on a business trip in Hawaii, Catherine was nice enough to chat with us for our ongoing 20 Questions series. Read on to learn more about her obsession with ribbon mics, what it’s like starting your own studio and the time she met Rupert Neve. Continue reading →

The goal to bring more female-identifying individuals into the audio industry has been the driving force behind the Women's Audio Mission since it was founded over 15 years ago. Formed by Executive Director Terri Winston at City College of San Francisco, the organization began as a small club with around 15 participants. In the time since their initial meetings, Winston has created something incredible. She has worked to create the only professional recording studio in the world completely built and run by women. With an impressive home base featuring state-of-the-art gear from Avid, Barefoot Sound and Audient, WAM has been able to provide audio training and work experience to over 16,000 women and girls from the Bay Area and beyond. Continue reading →

If you haven't heard of Heba Kadry, then you clearly have been sleeping on some of the hottest independent records to come out in the past few years. Since moving into the mastering world in 2007, the Egypt-born engineer has been amassing quality credits from the likes of the Black Lips, Lightning Bolt, Wooden Shjips, Ty Segal, Slowdive and Palehound, while working in her New York studio. Recently, Heba was kind enough to take a break from work to be interviewed for our new blog series, 20 Questions. Read on to learn more about her obsession with synthesizers and Brian Eno, the gear she uses in her studio and the advice she would offer those looking to get into mastering. Continue reading →

Asking yourself the question, "What am I doing with my life?" is one of the toughest moments for anyone, let alone a musician struggling to do what they love for a living. For Third Wave Music owner Jen David, it served as a moment of inspiration. "I thought, 'Am I going to work in restaurants and play in bands forever or am I going to try to do my own thing?'" David says. "I decided I was going to do my own thing. If it was going to be anything, it was going to be a music store." Continue reading →