JAMES NJAU, HARTSDALE, NY

As an active student for the Recording Connection I am pleased to report that I have now actually been brought on as an employee for my mentors’ studio, and I haven’t even graduated the Recording Connection yet!   I must say, I am having so much fun in the studio.  I now can work in the studio whenever I want, even when no one else is in the studio, as I have earned that trust with my mentor and his staff.   I am also now currently working on my own personal project, coming into the studio daily to sound engineer as a DJ and music producer.  So, in my specific success in the industry thus far, sound engineering has really been a great way to get my foot into the door.  With this opportunity in the Recording Connection I can now come into the studio and use the equipment for my own personal projects, as well as all the project my mentor assigns me.

To add onto my successes I am having with my own personal endeavors, I am now working a on a project for film scores, where I now have the opportunity to work in my mentors’ studio A,B, and C , using their equipment at any time I please.  You see, I work long hours at the studio, and drive an entire hour to get there.  So I am frequently there all night, using their equipment as I want, entrusted to lock up and secure the premises when I leave for the night.   And believe it or not, since I drive a long way to get to the studio, I am allowed to spend the night there at anytime. The office manager has really become like a second mother to me, and my mentor, the head engineer, is understanding and sensitive to my schedule.   I remember, looking back when I didn’t understand a lesson I had already completed, my mentor going back over everything without any extra charge to me or the Recording Connection program.

Aside from the welcome challenges that the Recording Connection course has provided, my mentor has also taken special interest in insuring that the little details that come into all aspects of music (such as sonic), that span from production and engineering, are recognized and mastered.  The studio and Recording Connection have also always been very patient with my schedule, considering I am an international student, which can be a bit tricky.  Overall this experience has let me experience working in a Home and very basic studio, to a world class “three-room studio” in a matter of months, seeing the nuances of not only the musical aspect of running a studio, but the organization and focus needed to make it happen.

James Njau, Hartsdale, New York