Dana Wachs
ARtist, Vorhees
Live Sound Engineer
New York, New York

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #5?
I’m currently about to score my first feature film.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Eventide H9000, Moog Grandmother, Roland 404-A, ADAM Audio T5V monitors

www.vorheesmusic.com
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Sara Landeau
Recording engineer
Guitarist, The Julie Ruin
Educator, Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #2?
Since our interview, I went back to school for a master’s in Sonic Arts, which I finished while touring with The Julie Ruin and teaching guitar in NYC. My solo performances and compositions include prepared electric guitar techniques and a series of custom pedals and loops. I also use and build electronic instruments I make from canvas, fabric, and wires utilizing electro-conductive materials such as paint and threads with sounds created in Max MSP. I'm currently working on interactive sculptural installation pieces that examines what determines the perception of a gendered sound and the study of opposites. I still record musicians at my studio, the most recent being women comedians and their bands, which has been fun.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
A slew of new guitar pedals, Ableton, Max MSP, Supercollider, Arduino for the electronic instruments, new mics, Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII, and Pro Tools. [I became] certified in 2018.

Any personal milestones?
2019 Max Matthews Sound Artist Artist award, the 2019 Cycling 74 Max Expo Grant, and Women in Computer Music Scholarship Stanford 2019. MFA in Sonic Arts.

My band The Julie Ruin released an acclaimed second album with a series of tours, television performances, and more. I've collaborated with some exciting musicians in the past couple of years. More to come on that.

[I’m] teaching courses at Brooklyn College including Global Music in America and Sonic Arts Composition, as well as advanced guitar instruction.

www.saralandeau.com
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Carolyn Slothour
Live Sound Engineer
Pittsburgh, PA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #4?
Since writing my article on breaking into the live audio industry, I am now a touring FOH engineer & tour manager for a variety of artists. I have also found a niche playing flute from FOH for some of my artists. I've gotten very involved with Ableton live playback engineering as well.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
I use Ableton regularly these days for a variety of uses, and I've had the luxury of mixing on most consoles out there while traveling.

Any personal milestones?
Some of my personal accomplishments within the past few years include mixing in cities I've wanted to visit for a long time, mixing at large festivals, playing flute with incredible touring musicians, and learning the ropes as a tour manager. I have a lot of goals that I'm working towards and I look forward to growing much more!
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Leslie Mona-Mathus
mixer + sound designer, ABC News
Union City, New Jersey

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #4?
[I’m a] sound mixer/editor [at] ABC News Creative & Marketing entering my 17th year with the company. I’m continuing to engage and mentor audio students.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Avid S6 console

Any personal milestones?
[I am a] 2x Grammy finalist, 2x Emmy winner with 5 Emmy nominations, BAFTA award winner, [recipient of] multiple Promax, Clio and Edward R. Murrow awards. [I am a ] member of AES and NARAS, a former board member of SPARS, and an active guest speaker at AES, universities and high schools.
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alex is
Pittsburgh, PA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #3?
I released a few more experimental EPs as "uncommodity" and recently discovered that Kunaki's print on demand vinyl service is the real deal.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Rediscovering my love for the Proteus 1 rack I found amidst the used VCRs at the Goodwill once.

Any personal milestones?
I got a band together that lasted over a year. It broke up but that’s a new record!

www.alexisicon.bandcamp.com
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Karrie Keyes
Live Sound Engineer
Co-founder/ceo, soundgirls.org
Los Angeles, CA

What new gear or software are you using currently?
DiGiCo SD5

Any personal milestones?
I was awarded the Parnelli Innovator in Sound Award at NAMM 2020.

www.soundgirls.org
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Jade Payne
Live sound Engineer
Brooklyn, NY

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #3?
Since my interview, I've gravitated away from venue work and am now almost exclusively touring for a living, mainly with the bands Khruangbin and Bikini Kill. While I'm off the road, I enjoy occasionally mixing touring acts who come through NYC like that dog., Protomartyr, Jamila Woods, and Kojey Radical.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Smaart Di v2

Any personal milestones?
I've stopped using 1/3 octave graphic RTAs and started relying more on my ears. I've gotten comfortable shouting nonsense into a mic onstage to ring out wedges, no matter how big the venue or how many people are around.

www.jadepayneaudio.com
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Alissa Derubeis
Co-Founder, S1 Synth Library
Portland, OR

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #4?
Since the interview my day job has changed to working for Teenage Engineering instead of 4ms Company.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
I got super into VCV Rack last year for its accessibility and also the ability to save patches and send them back and forth with friends.

Any personal milestones?
I confounded the Synth Library Prague with Mary C! I have also been able to teach workshops in many more places around the U.S. and the world, which I am so happy about.

www.alisssa.com
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Felisha Ledesma
co-Founder, S1 Synth Library
Los Angeles, CA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #4?
I am currently in LA, working on a new floating project called Resource Residency. RR provides artists and projects with modular synthesizers and other electronic instruments to experiment, explore, and create new work. I am thrilled about finding new ways to support artists and not be tied to a space for a bit while I travel around. I am headed back to S1 as an artist-in-residence this spring to make a new body of work in the Synth Library and to focus some energy on ways to support the new staff as they head into the sixth year of programs. [I’m] very, very proud.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
I have been using Automatonism quite a bit and I love sharing it with people who are interested in getting into modular synthesis and it's free!

Any personal milestones?
I just finished my application for school in Berlin. I am really looking forward to spending time researching and studying sound practices.

@felishaledesma
@resourceresidency
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Amy Dragon
Mastering Engineer - Telegraph Mastering
Portland, OR

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #6?
I fully mastered Rocketship’s Thanks To You and Rose City Band’s Summerlong as well as engineered vinyl masters (cut lacquers) for Silversun Pickups, Holly Herndon, Moon Duo, John Cameron Mitchell/Eyelids and Come Holy Spirit.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Telegraph settled into its new location in North Portland in July 2019. The Northward Acoustics FTB room is incredible and I'm doing some of the best work of my career.

Any personal milestones?
Currently working with my esteemed mastering peers Adam Gonsalves, Heba Kadry, Josh Bonati and Margaret Luthar to put on an independent mastering conference in Portland, Oregon in August 2020.

www.telegraphmastering.com
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Jennifer Baron/The Garment District
REcording artist
Pittsburgh, PA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #1?
As The Garment District, I have released music in multiple formats, including vinyl, cassette and CD via Night-People Records, La Station Radar and Kendra Steiner Editions. All of my recordings made thus far as The Garment District also exist in all of the places where you can find music digitally.

With The Garment District, I have performed at the VIA Music and New Media Festival, The Andy Warhol Museum’s Sound Series, Ladyfest, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Music SPACE series, Deutschtown Music Festival, THRIVAL Festival, The Strip District Music Fest, and more. We also recorded a live session for the Andy Warhol Museum’s Silver Studio Sessions.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
I am currently focusing my creative practice on finishing a new full-length album (between 10 and 12 songs) and am recording at David Klug Studio in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood. It has been particularly exciting to use some fantastic 1970s-era vintage synthesizes, including a Roland Paraphonic 505 and a Farfisa Syntorchestra, as well as vintage fuzz pedals such as a 1960s UMI Buzztone and Volume Expander and a Fuzz Face. My husband and I recently had our vintage Vox Super Continental organ repaired, so that is also showcased in the new recordings. I recently got an Epiphone Dot (aquamarine!) which I look forward to playing more often. I have several vintage synthesizers and keyboards in my collection, and have been using my Roland JX-3P, Casio SK-1 and Wurlitzer electronic piano in the studio.

Any personal milestones?
While currently recording my new album, I am thrilled to be able to work with members of the live band on some of the new recordings, and also arrange strings for my music and create more expansive instrumentation for the entire album. Personally and professionally, I loved working more closely with my cousin Lucy Blehar, an actor and comedy writer based in Los Angeles, who provides lead vocals on a number of my recordings. One personal favorite includes a cover of an obscure 1967 garage rock song that I have always wanted to cover and cannot wait to share.

A huge 2019 milestone was having The Albemarle Sound, the album by my longtime Brooklyn band, The Ladybug Transistor, reissued via the Norwegian label, Cara Records. Pressed at Norway’s Coastal Town Records, the 20th- anniversary edition features a gatefold packaging with a scrapbook insert of archival photos. In Summer 2019, we were invited to perform the album at Norway’s Egersund Festival and at a pop-up record shop. We followed that up with a concert in Brooklyn in September, where we performed with Mates of State, and we expect to add more shows in 2020. In Pittsburgh, you can find The Albemarle Sound reissue at The Government Center.

As The Garment District, it was a tremendous honor to work with one of my musical heroes when English musician and producer Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum, E.A.R.) remixed my song, Nature-Nurture, for a 7-inch recored released by the French label, La Station Radar.

Additional milestones include being invited to contribute an exclusive track and photograph to ESOPUS Magazine (NYC), participate in a video performance and interview for artist Doug Aitken’s Station-to-Station project, collaborating with multimedia artist Thaddeus Kellstadt who has created videos for three of my songs, and compose original soundtracks for the SYNC’D film and music series. Our band lineup also includes Dan Koshute (guitar and vocals); Alex Korshin (vocals); Greg Langel (synthesizer); Corry Drake (bass); and Shivika Asthana and Sean Finn (drums).

Beyond music, it was a massive honor to be invited to contribute artwork (sound art and photography) for two recent group exhibitions curated by Brett Yasko at SPACE Gallery in Downtown Pittsburgh. I also work as Marketing Director for Handmade Arcade, Pittsburgh’s first and largest indecent craft fair, which celebrates the cutting edge of craft by connecting creators and consumers through making, sharing and learning.

linktr.ee/TheGarmentDistrict
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Holly Hansen
Owner - Salon, The Studio.
St. PAul, MN

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #5?
I opened Salon, the studio. in St. Paul, Minnesota. I began releasing electronic compositions under the name Body Dork. I released a Zoo Animal EP called Naive Enough.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Always Protools and Logic. I’ve been very into my Moog Sub 37 lately.

Any personal milestones?
I’m currently producing and engineering four albums for artists I admire.

www.zooanimalmusic.com
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Rebecca Bruton
Alexandra Spence
co-founders - Tidal~Signal Festival
Sydney + Calgary

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #3?
Since Alex moved back to Sydney, and Rebecca to Calgary, Tidal ~ Signal is laying dormant for the time being.

Alex: I've been exploring the boundaries between installation and performance within my sound arts practice, creating large-scale sounding sculptures, working with amplified objects, physical movement and lighting design.

Rebecca: My current favorite professional project is my band called Swanherds. It's a bent-country band with an instrumentation of electric guitar, double saw, two female vocalists, bass, synth. Everybody sings and whistles. I set my songs of yearning to strange bending whistling sounds. I also continue to compose chamber music. My most exciting commission currently is an expanded piano quintet. I'm working collaboratively with my friend Jason Doell to write the music. Our process so far involves excerpting pure sine wave data from pieces by experimental guitarists. The results so far are magical.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Alex: After obsessions with cassette loops and preparations and forays into no-input mixing, I am now excitedly delving into the deep, dark world of analog synthesisers.

Rebecca: I finally invested in Logic, after many years of writing solely using my Zoom multitrack function, and uploading into Audacity. Though the limitations of this taught me a certain degree of discipline in my musical imaginings, my process now feels a little more fluid and efficient. I bought a beautiful, sexy, Epiphone semi-hollow off a friend recently. I'm so excited to finally be fulfilling my dream of playing the electric guitar.

Any personal milestones?
Alex: In 2019 I released my debut album Waking, She Heard The Fluttering on Lawrence English's Room40 label. It received critical acclaim in The Wire Magazine and The Quietus, and my new EP, 'Immaterial', released on Longform Editions, was recently featured in a BBC4 radio series by Timothy Morton. I am excited to be undertaking a residency later this year at the renowned Electronmusik Studion (EMS) in Stockholm.

Rebecca: I recently became Co-Artistic Director (with composer Lesley Hinger) of New Works Calgary, a 40-yr-old experimental music presenting organization in Calgary, Alberta. I’m looking forward to curating some badass women- and trans-centric concerts with conservative government funding.

www.alexandraspence.net
www.rebeccabruton.com
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Lauren Goshinski
Cultural Curator + Event Producer
DJ (BOO LEAN)
Pittsburgh, PA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #3?
VIA 2016 was a huge year. I co-curated both VIA Festival & Weird Reality, a VR conference in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University. That was a pivotal & intergenerational time with artists from around the world that felt super cohesive in spirit. One of the showcases was with Women in Sound! Legends like ESG, Junglepussy, Empress Of, Juliana Huxtable, FlucT, to VR pioneers like Brenda Laurel, Sundance-level filmmakers, and visual artists like Rachel Rossin. From 2017-2019 VIA supported a residency between NYC collective Iyapo Repository and Pgh groups (Boom, Afronaut(a), Black Unicorn Library, Roots Pride & others) as part of the August Wilson Center. gFx collective started our DJ residency at Hot Mass & monthly workshops. In 2018-2019 I was co-director/curator for the 2019 New Forms Festival in Vancouver, CA. I got to blend brains with 2 amazing co-curators, CCL & JS Aurelius, a talented team, and new community partners. I'm quite proud of that program. Check it out at www.newformsfestival.com.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
I'm still firing up CDJs, a Pioneer 900, and good friend rekordbox for DJ sets. I've been learning about new gear and production techniques through our gFx workshops that we do with the Carnegie Library [of Pittsburgh]’s music lending collecting. Maybe this will be the year I psych myself up to make music, too.

Any personal milestones?
Even though I've been at it for years, I put myself out there more as a DJ. It's a practice that fulfills me at a deep creative level and allows me to communicate and connect with people in ways I can't through curating. Plus, I love getting to know scenes from that perspective. I've traveled to play some great venues, festivals, and parties - Griessmuhele and CTM Festival in Berlin, GASH in Galway, Gays Hate Techno in San Francisco, On Earth in Toronto, Dalston Superstore in London, Honcho Campout, and NYC spots like Nowadays, Elsewhere, Bossa Nova Civic Club. I've shared bills with some amazing folks at our Hot Mass residency: DEBONAIR, rRoxymore, DJ Haram, Sophia Saze, Isabella, Liquid Asset, Beige, and Darwin. I'm a ravenous digger, so I channel that extra energy into mixes for platforms like NTS Radio, Lobster Theremin, naive, and hopefully many more to come.

www.laurengoshinski.com
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BECKY GRAJEDA
Sound artist
Los Angeles, CA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #2?
I'm researching for a performance project that focus on physical gestures and facial expressions.

What new gear or software are you using currently?
Still at it with Logic and performances using tape decks.

Any personal milestones?
I moved from Chicago to LA in 2017 to work on my mental health and work-life balance. I've learned how to set personal and professional boundaries and I'm in a much better headspace.

www.beckygrajeda.com
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Marta Salogni
Recording And mixing Engineer + ProduceR
London, England

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #6?
I've been working on lots and lots of projects I'm very excited about. I'm producing a record with NYX Electronic Drone Choir and produced a new record with Dream Wife. I've mixed Meara O’Reilly’s Hockets for Two Voices EP, No Bra’s Love & Power, Anna Meredith’s new record Fibs, a single with Emel Mathlouthi, the new Daniel Avery and Alessadro Cortini's album and many more. I've been playing tape machines more and more on records, too. I've made a record with Suzanne Ciani, Katia Isakoff and Anil Aykan as part of InKolab series, and started a band in which I manipulate other instruments, live tape looping and tape delays. It's called Melos Kalpa. I still do solo tape performances and I’m looking to keep expanding that concept with new ideas I have been thinking about lately. I want to keep it political, current and relevant.

What new gear or software are you currently using?
Since we last spoke, I also set up my new studio, Studio Zona, in which I have my beloved 22 channel 1976 Studer desk, all my tape machines and a few instruments I have acquired recently. The last one is a wonderful old vibraphone. I like to keep the set up quite tidy and minimal, only getting instruments and gear I really want and need and that I use every day. That desk is something I've been dreaming of since I started working in sound, so 16-year-old me would be so happy to know I finally found it. Same with my tapes. I have set up a big tape loop by mounting a hook to the ceiling and now it's the perfect tension and length for me.

www.solarmanagement.co.uk/marta-salogni
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Danielle Maggio
Ethnomusicologist + Educator
DJ Sauce queen
Pittsburgh, PA

What projects have you been working on since Women in Sound #3?
I became music curator and in-house ethnomusicologist for Sourceress, a new podcast that interviews individuals and companies who are approaching sourcing in innovative ways. Along with every episode there is a music segment and a curated playlist (available on Spotify and iTunes), tied specifically to the themes, ingredients and regions of the episode.

What new gear or software are you currently using?
My new mixer for vinyl DJ sets: Numark DMX6. Her name is Numa!

Any personal milestones?
I sang lead vocals on the first new song written, recorded and produced by Betty Davis in forty years. "A Little Bit Hot Tonight" is available on Bandcamp and all proceeds go to the Betty Davis Scholarship, an annual award for a graduating senior who is pursuing music at Steel Valley High School (Ms. Davis’s alma mater).

www.daniellemaggio.com
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