Tutor campus: Guildford

Slava Shishkin

Slava Shishkin is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Game Arts & Animation, teaching at ACM campuses in London and Guildford, where he inspires and educates future talent in digital art and animation. With a strong scientific and research background and over two decades of experience as a versatile 3D Artist in the games industry, he has made significant contributions to well-known titles such as World of Tanks and World of Warplanes at Wargaming, as well as City Life and Cities XL at Monte Cristo Games. He has also produced creative work for VR simulators and realistic visualisations, gaining a deep understanding of both game development and industrial production workflows.

His teaching approach draws on both theoretical and practical knowledge of digital art, incorporating modern industry-standard software and workflows. He adopts a personalised teaching style, addressing the individual needs of each student. This fosters not only an understanding of contemporary digital art practices but also the practical skills required for students to succeed in their projects and thrive creatively within their chosen pathways.

Ashwin Seegobin

Ashwin Seegobin, known as “Smash,” hails from London with Trinidadian roots, blending Caribbean rhythms with mainstream genres like RnB, Hip Hop, and EDM. After honing their skills in Trinidad & Tobago, Ash has collaborated with industry heavyweights like Busy Signal, Konshens, and Charly Black. Their prowess extends beyond music production and engineering; they hold a Bachelor’s Degree in animation, enabling them to delve into visual arts, including motion graphics and animated music videos. With a commitment to keeping their sound fresh, Ash frequently shuttles between the Caribbean and the UK. Predominantly focused on production, audio engineering, illustration, motion graphics, and animation, Ash brings a unique blend of Caribbean flavour and global influences to their diverse projects.

Marwan Elbergamy

Marwan ‘King Tut’ Elbergamy is a multi-platinum- producer. His expertise spans across various genres including Hip Hop, Indie, Rock, Country, and Pop.

Marwan boasts an impressive discography featuring renowned artists such as Jessie J, Ella Henderson, Professor Green, Maino, Joel Ortiz, Chip, Nekfeu, Wretch 32, and Dappy, among others.

His exceptional work has garnered numerous accolades, including Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond plaques from the UK, Europe, and the US. Marwan continues to make significant contributions to the music industry.

Marwan now heads up Artist Development at Metropolis Blue Rooms.

Dr. Gary Bromham

Dr. Gary Bromham is a composer, artist, music producer and mix engineer. Also, a researcher
and published author who completed a PhD in Computer Science in 2021, specifically in
music and timbre perception, at Queen Mary’s University, London.

He began his career as a Fairlight programmer and a tape op at Trident Studios in London.
He subsequently began his songwriting and music production career in Iceland. During this
time, he co-produced the 1988 Icelandic Eurovision entry, made an album with jazz-funk
band Mezzoforte, and worked with progressive artist, Björk. Whilst collaborating with
Andrew Ridgeley, of Wham, on his solo album, was also fortunate enough to work with
George Michael on some of his albums, Listen Without Prejudice. As a result of his
collaboration with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, he was offered his first publishing
contract with Warner Chappell Music in 1990. This proved to be a great success. He has
written with many varied and successful artists and songwriters, including Sheryl Crow, Bow
Wow Wow, The Tubes, Robbie Neville, Eddie Money and The Fixx to name but a few,
spending a large period of his time working in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles. Later
collaborations include Editors, Graham Coxon from Blur, The Maccabees, Lulu, and Delta
Goodrem and again Sheryl Crow on her single, ‘Soak Up the Sun’. He was also signed to EMI
Records in 1996 as a recording artist in the band The Big Blue. They released two singles and
achieved moderate success.

He completed his PhD at Queen Mary University of London, where he was researching the role
of retro aesthetics in music production and how some of these features are used in
intelligent music production systems. He has several publications in this ever-expanding
field. He recently released his first book, the Routledge publication, Distortion in Music
Production: The Soul of Sonics. He also records as an artist and is about to release his first
solo album titled ‘It’s All Noise’.

Richard Connell

Joining Metropolis in 2017 as CEO, Connell has taken charge of Europe’s largest independent recording complex. Immediately, he set about returning the studio to what it does best by concentrating on its core business of recording, mixing, and mastering. This has reaped huge rewards and reminded the music business what Metropolis does best: putting the artist first. Always.

Prior to joining Metropolis, Connell spent nearly 30 years working in record labels, both independent and major, from a Parts Assistant at Mushroom Records all the way to Chief Marketing Officer of Sony Music and MD of Epic Records and Associated Labels. Working with artists as diverse as Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Kasabian, Kings of Leon, One Direction, and the Foo Fighters, his career has been hallmarked by a simple, determined focus on bringing the commercial and the creative together.

Nicolas Meier

Nicolas Meier, renowned for their eclectic blend of Turkish, Eastern, and Middle Eastern music infused with jazz, Nicolas Meier stands as one of the most original and versatile guitarists worldwide. Born in 1973 in Switzerland, Nicolas’s artistic upbringing laid the foundation for their boundless ambition. In 2009, they founded their own record label, MGP Records, releasing twelve albums spanning solo works, collaborations, and projects with their heavy metal band, Seven7. Notably, their partnership with guitarist Pete Oxley yielded the acclaimed “Chasing Tales” in 2015. A pivotal moment arrived in 2017 with the release of “Infinity” on Steve Vai’s Favoured Nations Records, featuring jazz legends Jimmy Haslip and Vinnie Colaiuta. Recent years have seen a flurry of activity, including the 2019 release of “Peaceful” and the 2020 albums “Flying Spirits” and “Escapades.” In 2022, “Magnificent” marked another milestone, accompanied by an extensive European tour supporting Steve Vai. With endorsements from luminaries like Jeff Beck and Steve Vai, Nicolas’s star continues to ascend, leaving an indelible mark on the global music landscape.

Patrick Hughes

Pat is an accomplished bassist and educator with a career spanning decades of live performances, studio collaborations, and teaching. A graduate of Basstech in London, where he earned the title of “Best Overall Student,” Pat has since built an impressive portfolio of musical accomplishments.

As a performer, Pat has toured extensively across the UK, Europe, South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, playing alongside acclaimed acts such as Hugh Cornwell, former frontman of The Stranglers, and punk-poet John Cooper Clarke. His live experience also includes collaborations with 80s icon Toyah Willcox and critically acclaimed bands such as Headnoise, The Disorientee, and Wanton & Blithe. Pat continues to work with a variety of function bands and contributes to studio projects, including regular session work for Guitar Techniques magazine and collaborations with drum and bass producer Ray Keith.

In addition to his performance career, Pat has been teaching at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford since 2001. Known for his versatility, Pat is skilled in teaching students of all levels, from beginners to degree-level professionals. His expertise encompasses bass performance, stylistic versatility, advanced techniques, transcribing, music theory, and ear training. Pat has also delivered guest lectures at prestigious events and institutions, including the UK Bass Day, Seoul Jazz Academy in South Korea, and leading contemporary music colleges in Tokyo and Niigata, Japan.

Colin Bentham

Colin brings a vast array of diversity and knowledge to his teaching from over 20 years experience, after initially studying at ACM. He saw success with his tech metal band No Consequence, sharing stages with Sleep Token, Meshuggah, Tesseract, Animals As Leaders and touring as a session drummer for Heart Of A Coward.

Colin has been a leading player for the Anderton’s Drum YouTube channel, included in their infamous “sound like” videos, to critical acclaim. These videos have accumulated millions of views and have seen recognition from artists such as Mike Portnoy.

He has also seen success in the tribute scene, covering such bands as Linkin Park, Korn and with his own band Stiff Bizkit (Limp Bizkit). These musical endeavours have allowed him to tour the USA, UAE, Europe, Scandinavia and more.

Andy Wardle

Andy has been involved as an audio engineer in the live sound industry for over 30 years, working in various capacities, including monitors, front of house, systems tech, acoustics, festival noise management, and R&D. He has been active in audio education for more than 20 years, developing and delivering courses from STEM to BSc levels, encouraging and inspiring new generations of engineers to embrace technological advances and build their careers in live sound and acoustics.

Academically, he is an avid lifelong learner, accruing various qualifications and certifications including an MSc in applied Acoustics, is an Associate member of the Institute of Acoustics and has contributed as a Member to to AES technical Standards, conferences and papers.

Sarah Martin

Active vocalist in International Jazz vocal group “”The Satin Dollz””, working across London, LA, Paris, New York, Italy. With The Satin Dollz, I have toured nationally and internationally alongside artists including Imedla May, The Jive Aces, Cassidy Janson and headlined vintage and jazz festivals across the UK, with a recent residency at The London Cabaret Club. I worked as a touring backing vocalist with The Drifters between 2016 and 2018. As a recording artist, I have had sync opportunities on Love Island and collated over half a million streams.