Recording Connection’s Best of 2021 Issue is Here!
IN 2021…
[break class=”double”][break class=”double no-mobile”]Recording Connection grad & mentor Dawsøn Recorded Kanye West & Broke Livestream Records.
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On August 5th, 2021, when Kanye West live-streamed the release of his new album Donda, at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Recording Connection graduate and mentor Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawson aka Dawsøn was the engineer there to catch it all for a reported 5.4 million viewers.
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When Dawsøn got “the call” from Kanye’s people he jumped into action immediately.
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“I got a call to bring myself, two other engineers, and three studio setups for each engineer…. We came through immediately. We dropped everything we were doing and got there as quick as possible.”
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In a recent video interview we talked with Dawsøn about how he keeps it cool when working with really big artists, learned about the unconventional way he built relationships in hip hop fast, talked about how he got connected with Kanye, and more!
Recording Connection graduate Kelsey Anderson Expanded Her Knowledge of the Music Industry and Got Hired at Universal Music Group!
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[break side=”right”] “I knew I wasn’t happy. And I knew that I needed a change for my career just for my own sanity. I had started looking into other programs and other schools that would have been… three, four-year degrees online. And, you know, that just didn’t make sense for me.”
[break side=”right”] Considering she already had her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, Kelsey had done the conventional school thing. What she needed was actual insight into how the business side of music industry operated. She got that in our Recording Connection for Music Business Program.
[break side=”right”] “Until you really dig into how the industry works and what the actual business aspects are, it’s hard to almost imagine yourself finding a position…. G.W. [Childs]… introduced me to the owner of a small label that I got to… work with. So, not only was I learning from G.W. …
I was also getting to work directly with a label owner and see how his label works and what that process looks like.”
[break side=”right”] See how Kelsey Anderson got the knowhow she needed and got hired at Universal Music Group (UMG) months after graduation! [break side=”right”] [break class=”double”][break class=”double no-mobile”] [break class=”double”][break class=”double no-mobile”]
Recording Connection grad Ian Izquierdo Went from Ho Hum to Hired & Inspired.
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When Ian Izquierdo found Recording Connection he’d gotten to know firsthand just how ho-hum a life of working 50-hour weeks doing uninspiring work could be. When the pandemic hit, Ian found himself laid off. More time equalled more time spent soul searching. Ian just couldn’t doubt it. Music was what he loved.
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“It just got me into thinking like, ‘This is like something I want to do.’ It’s always been like the one thing in my life that I felt like I couldn’t leave. [When] I got laid off from my job because of COVID… I said, you know what, I’m going to see if I can find some type of school.”
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Ian had looked at other schools, even signed up with one, but the going in and meeting Steve Catizone (T-Pain, Black Eyed Peas, Charli XCX) at his multiroom studio told him he was in the right place.
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“I knew the moment I walked in and did the interview with Steve, I knew this is where I need to be and this is where I’m going to learn the most.”
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Learn more about how Ian went from stuck in a rut to hired and inspired with Recording Connection.
Recording Connection grad K Campbell Got Hired & On-Path in Beat Making, Audio Engineering & More.
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By the time K Campbell enrolled in Recording Connection for Audio Engineering & Music Production, he’d spent time studying nursing, then switched to mechanical engineering but neither of those career paths felt right. Once he set his sights on making music, the constant frustration of trying to “fill in the blanks” set in.
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“I was just in a spot where I felt like I was trying so, so hard to grow my skills and become better. And I was just falling short, and I didn’t understand why. I didn’t understand what was missing. So, I was hoping that through Recording Connection, I would find that. It seemed, like being able to work in an establishment with people who are making money doing this, and this is their life, that I would get the best shot at that, and I did.”
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Find out how K got the knowhow he’d been missing in just 6-9 months, took steps that led to getting hired at the studio where he trained, and got on his right path.
Recording Connection grad Kolby Benton Went from Small-Town Boy to EDM Producer, Fast.
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Recording Connection graduate Kolby Benton aka Kayp grew up in a small town, so small that his graduating class had a whopping thirty people. Nevertheless, knowing his goal was to become an EDM artist, he didn’t waste his time. When he found Recording Connection he took action and got the training and insight he needed to get his music out to the world.
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Now Kolby’s collaborated on the track “Brutality” with Borgore, released songs on Buygore Records and frshblood (a Buygore Records’ sub-label), and just dropped his EP, Isekai. He’s also got collaborations in the works with Riot Ten and Typhon. He says getting into Recording Connection and getting his production workflow in order made all the difference in his ability to produce intriguing tracks without getting lost in the brambles.
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“Before the program, I would get caught up so bad… on the smallest, little things… I’d be starting on just the intro and… get caught up on little details. And working with [mentor] Josh [Denhardt]… he taught me, ‘Hey, it’s okay. Just get the song done. Get the overall idea, and [don’t] worry about the little things… because when you’re doing that, you’re actually not writing the song, you’re just nitpicking.’… Just get the overall idea out.”
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See how Kolby Benton was able to accelerate his producing skills fast with Recording Connection, got signed with Buygore Records, and more!
Recording Connection grad Caleb Ostermann Got Hired to Take His Mentor’s Place.
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When Caleb Ostermann finally made the crucial decision to follow his bliss and build a career in music, he’d already taken a couple of different educational paths and found he just couldn’t commit do doing something he didn’t love.
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Once Caleb aligned his love of music with his fierce work ethic, a whole new future emerged, along with one singularly golden opportunity which would reveal itself in time.
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“So, I started out just… being, like, ‘Well, I got to do something in college. And so, I decided to go into physical therapy, did that for a year. And then decided to go into PE teaching, for some reason. And about a week and a half into that is when I got the call, just with some information about… [the] audio engineering program. And I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ School has never been my favorite thing and learning inside of that kind of context has never been… something that I’ve done well with. It’s more of the hands-on stuff that I do better with anyway. And so, within a week and a half ‘I dropped in,’ is what I like to say, ‘to something better.’”
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Read on (and watch the video) to see how Caleb impressed his mentor and got hired—unexpectedly—to take his place at the studio where he trained!
Recording Connection grad Zach Eaton Got Audio Skills & Hired at Premier Recording Studio with Help from Career Services.
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When Zach Eaton made the decision to drop out of conventional college and enroll in Recording Connection, his mom was behind him 110%.
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“She knew how much I liked making music and just being around the music…. She actually pushed me towards dropping out in the first place and going and doing something that I really wanted to do. So, that’s what she did. She did a lot of research into different schools… to see what they did, [and] what was different about each one. And we found Recording Connection and thought, like, ‘Wow, it gets them hands on, it puts them in the studio.’ And, you know, that’s the kind of learning that I am best with, when I can actually sit down, and see things, and, you know, play around with them.”
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Zach jumped into the deep end and learned all he could during his time in our 6-9 month Audio Engineering & Music Production Program. Landing the job at Enviyon Entertainment Recording Studios started with a lead from Recording Connection Career Services Lead Advisor, Gervais Maillard.
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“He sent me an email, basically just saying that Enviyon had reached out to the school, and they were looking for some engineers, just to come onto the team…. And, I mean, within 15 minutes of me getting that email, I had already finished the application, because I figured, like, this opportunity just got handed to me on a silver platter. How can I not take that? That was just my whole thought process, that you gotta beat everybody to it, and I did.”
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Learn how Zach went from bored student to working audio pro in one year.
Recording Connection grad Miley Knox Said Yes to Challenges, Learned Ableton & Placed 2 Beats with Wu-Tang Affiliate!
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On the way to finding us, Miley Knox encountered challenges ranging from unilateral vocal cord paralysis (a condition she was born with), to surviving an abusive relationship, to dealing with social anxiety. But she didn’t let any of it hold her back.
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Through and through, Miley persisted in investing in her growth and becoming the pro she’d been wanting to become for years. When COVID-19 hit she could’ve put her plans on ice. Instead she persevered and stayed committed to her path neverminding the fact that she’d never worked on a DAW before. Now, thanks to the connections she made while externing with mentor Mark Scobra (Wu-Tang Killa Bees, Sly and Robbie, Moscow String Quartet), and her own innate talent, Miley’s placed two beats with Wu-Tang affiliate, Christ Bearer!
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Get the full scoop (and watch the video) on how Miley overcame the obstacles and placed two of her beats with Christ Bearer within months of starting to learn Ableton.
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