Interviews
By Meredith Hobbs Coons
Kito, whose given name is Maaike Kito Lebbing, has a music production career spanning three continents, from Australia, to Europe (London), and to the United States by way of Los Angeles. In that time, she has produced music for many iconic artists, such as Mabel, Jorja Smith, and Empress Of, but...
Interviews
Interviews
Interviews
I recently had a chance to chat with Paul McCabe, Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation at Roland Future Design Lab, to talk about their new moonshot, Project LYDIA, as well as his views on AI in music that underpins its development. We first met at the 2026 NAMM Show where I got a chance to demo the product and later caught up over the phone so I could learn more. Paul is a bit of a Renaissance man, with interests ranging from music tech to science fiction to philosophy, thoughtfully combining them into the products produced by the Roland Future Design Lab team. This was a fascinating conversation that could have continued on for another few hours.
In 2026, Fela Kuti became the first African artist ever awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, something that I formally proposed in 2020 but took over five years to be realized. Fela took his rightful place alongside such giants as Frank Sinatra, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Beatles, Cher, Bob Marley, Chaka Khan, Jimi Hendrix, Emmylou Harris, and John Coltrane, after never having been nominated for a Grammy during his lifetime. In his long career, Fela released a staggering 47 albums over 22 years. Here are reminisces of some of the people that worked with, and/or knew, him during that time.
For over two and a half decades, Marc Daniel Nelson has built a career rooted in musicality, technical rigor, and a deep respect for the lineage of recorded sound. A Grammy-winning producer, mix engineer, and creative director, Marc’s work spans an unusually wide spectrum – moving fluidly between records, film, television, software design, and large-scale creative direction while simultaneously maintaining a consistent fingerprint. His music credits include artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, Eric Burdon, Needtobreathe, Ozomatli, and Reik, among many others. His film and television work includes Blade Runner 2049, Mulan, The Vietnam War, The Expanse, Point Break (2015), Solo, No Manches Frida, Fractured, and Father Figures. A protégé to two legendary engineer/producers, Bill Schnee [Tape Op #147] and Ken Caillat [#96], he carries forward a lineage rooted in critical listening, intentional choices, and sonic integrity. Those values extend beyond the mix chair into his work as a creative director and executive producer for Alcon Sleeping Giant, Warner Chappell, Produce Like A Pro, PBS, Guitar Center, and Inside Blackbird. That same sensibility forges Marc’s work in software design. In collaboration with Pulsar Modular, he's created two highly successful and standout plug-ins: the P821 MDN Tape and the P455 MDN Sidecar. Additionally, he recently partnered with Steven Slate Drums to build a "Classic 70s" sample library with Ken Caillat. His tools and work reflect a practical goal: translating the feel, movement, and decision-making of analog into modern production contexts. - Marlene Passaro
Rachel White is an engineer, guitarist, and producer who has lent her talents in the studio to Weezer and Panic! At the Disco, among others (she has even contributed backing vocals to the latter on tour). Now mostly keeping busy as a producer in her own studio space in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, she has worked alongside studio legends such as John Congleton [Tape Op #81], Jake Sinclair, Eva Reistad, Ethan Gruska [#141], and Suzy Shinn [#151]. We chatted about what it’s like to grow up in L.A., seeking out women-led organizations that create opportunities in audio, and, of course, her process and gear.
For a certain breed of bored and angry teenagers at the dawn of the ‘90s, nothing made us feel more alive than Florida death metal. Pumped out of Morrisound Recording in Tampa at an alarming rate, albums by Obituary, Death, and Cannibal Corpse raised the bar on sonic extremity, opening up a brutal new world of neck-snapping riffs and inhumanly fast drumming. At the center of the whirlwind sat producer Scott Burns, bringing a new level of definition and impact through drum triggering and tight, close mic’d guitars. Hard-working, meticulous, and just plain cool, Scott developed a tight rapport with bands and created a standard for extreme metal production that still resonates today, as chronicled in the book, The Scott Burns Sessions: A Life in Death Metal 1987-1997 by David E. Gehlke. Having witnessed the explosion of the genre as one of the aforementioned teens, I was eager to hear more about the recording tech of Morrisound, as well as Scott’s decision to retire from recording after his historic run there.
There are a few engineer/producers I've met along the way where I've meant to get an interview with them for ages, but for some reason it takes so much longer for us to find the time to do it. Trina Shoemaker has been one of these elusive folks ever since we first met in New Orleans. In that city, she'd worked her way up to chief engineer at Daniel Lanois' [Tape Op #127, #37] fabled Kingsway studio, recording Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop, Throwing Muses, Giant Sand, and many others. She also tracked and mixed much of Queens of the Stone Age's Rated R and additionally has produced/engineered records for The Mountain Goats, Blue Rodeo, Victoria Williams, Brandi Carlile, and Josh Ritter. Lately, she helms an extensive amount of mixing work for folks such as Tanya Tucker, Turnpike Troubadours, Shooter Jennings [#139], The Wood Brothers, American Aquarium, Charley Crockett, and many others. On top of all that, she was the first woman to win a Grammy for Best Engineered Album Non-Classical with her work on Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions in 1998, and she received an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. It was such a treat to talk with Trina after so many years, and to learn about her novel writing as well!
