On Friday 17th March, we were very excited to welcome Mystery Jets producer, Matt Twaites, to ACM London for a Music Production Masterclass!
Hosted by our Head of Creative Industry Development, Ace, the session covered Matt’s career, his top tips for production, and a practical demonstration of a Mystery Jets multi-track recording.
Kicking off the masterclass, Matt introduced himself by sharing his career highlights, including working with Lily Allen and The Saturdays. He then went on to show students the multi-track Logic file for a recent Mystery Jets record that he produced with them. Matt explained how the track was originally demo’d in an old button factory, and then explained how they made the decision to record the whole album in that unique and interesting space. Showing the students the multi-track file, Matthew took the students on a journey of how the guitar part evolved through the recording process, showing them the processing chain he used to achieve the finished sound. Questions were encouraged throughout the class, with one student asking Matt what vocal mics were used on the record. Matt replied that he chose 70s C414’s to record the vocals for their warm sound, and went on to tell students about the importance of matching the correct microphone to the job: “If something sounds bright, choose a warm mic to soften it”.
During the class Matt revealed lots of insider tips to the students: “It’s a producer’s job to know when you should and shouldn’t speak” (when recording bands in the studio). He also explained his view that guitar amps aren’t always needed for records now, “just a good DI and pre”.
Throughout the class, students were clearly engaged and fascinated by Matt’s account of life as a producer. Having enjoyed delivering the class, he shared his thoughts on ACM:
“My first impressions of ACM are that there’s some really nice studios, they seem to have a lot of great guests – I’m particularly jealous of a lot of people that got to meet George Clinton!”
Matt Twaites
We’d like to thank Matt Twaites for taking the time out of his busy schedule to speak to our students.
If you’d like to study at ACM and learn from the best, call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
