My Journey

I probably have a more unusual route into audio work so here’s a bit more about my background.

Life Before Sound

Born-and-raised in Cardiff, I came to Manchester for university in 2014. I studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics, graduating in 2017. I enjoyed my degree and had a few jobs in the following four years mostly relating to my passion for social justice.

During my student years, I began putting on small gigs at Fuel in south Manchester. I continued to do this in my spare time after graduating, at the venues Partisan Collective and The Peer Hat. This experience as a tiny gig promoter planted a seed for my interest in audio.

Booking bands, liaising about gear, sitting through soundchecks, talking to sound engineers – all of these things began my understanding of audio and made it seem much less intimidating. I then moved to the other side of this and started playing in a band. In my band’s rehearsal room, I noticed I was usually the person setting up the mics, mixer and amps in the practice room and trying to make it sound as good as possible despite my limited knowledge.

Then in March 2020, we all know what happened. The Covid-19 lockdown hit and the world came to a halt. Unable to play with my band, I invested in some home recording gear and used a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) – Ableton – for the first time. As much as I enjoyed the writing and producing side of making music, I found the recording and mixing side of things were just as exciting.

I realised how much hands-on working suited me. Office life had never made much sense to me and it occurred to me that having a 9-to-5 desk job for the next few decades is something I did not want. So I looked into pursuing audio engineering professionally. I was working two part-time admin jobs at the time. I didn’t want to do another degree so I shopped around for short courses. In early 2021, I started a six-month Audio Engineering course two evenings a week at the School of Electronic Music (SEM) in Salford.

It was an intense few months juggling work and studies. But I was enthralled by what I was learning, fascinated by all the technical aspects of sound and making the most of the facilities at SEM. I got to record musicians using an SSL-XL desk and hone my mixing skills.

Most of the course was centered around music but there was a section on sound for visual media. I really enjoyed discovering this area I hadn’t before considered. I completed an assignment where I added sound effects, music and dialogue to an animated clip. I found the process incredibly satisfying – from first watching the clip with no sound whatsoever to getting my creative juices flowing, building the sonic world from scratch and seeing it all come together. I knew then and there that working in post-production sound was something I wanted to do.

Career Change

After completing my course, I was scratching my head over how to get started working in the world of sound. A friend suggested looking at jobs in MediaCityUK and – lo and behold – Dock10 had a job listing for an Entry Level Sound Assistant. I applied on a whim, not expecting much to come from it. But following an interview, I got the job! I was concerned my lack of experience and industry-related degree would put me at a disadvantage. But in fact, they liked that I had experience of another working world.

The role lasted 18 months and equipped me with the skills and navigation of freelance life. I got stuck into learning about the world of TV studios and the unique audio gear used in these spaces.

The role was designed to get set up for freelancing which I started doing in August 2023. It was a scary new world but the support system I had built through my traineeship was invaluable.

Around the same time, I secured a place on the BBC Open Music Scheme. I was one of 30 successful candidates out of 900 applicants. The scheme involved 18 days of work spread out over the course of a year. It ended with working on a BBC Proms weekend at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead. I was also assigned a mentor through the scheme, Jennifer Redmond, a producer at the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. This has led to me working with the Philharmonic providing technical support.

I have also worked occasionally as a technician at Factory International (Aviva Studios) and Contact Theatre in Manchester.

More recently, I have been looking for ways to move more into Post-Production and build a portfolio. In November 2024, I began a six-month course in Audio Post Essentials at 344 Audio, a post-production sound facility in Tameside, Greater Manchester. The majority of the course costs were funded through a bursary from ScreenSkills.

It was a thorough grounding in post-production audio and hugely improved my skills in all areas including dialogue editing, sound effects editing, creative sound design, stereo mixing, Pro Tools session structure and workflow. I also had the invaluable experience of sitting in on and contributing to client sessions.

Going forward, I am keen to build my portfolio in post-production sound and am open to working on all sorts of projects. I would also love to mix more music and do more field recordings.