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From London to Los Angeles and New Orleans, an extraordinary mix of people, places and musical influences goes into making the Audio Network catalogue. And that’s only half the story
Somewhere in an Audio Network recording session, there’s probably a conversation happening about something most people would never notice. The precise sound of a snare drum. Whether a bassline needs a little more space. Whether the violins should play with or without vibrato. The particular character of a vintage synthesiser or why the guitarist should play slightly behind the beat.
We can get quite particular about these things. Our community of more than 1,000 composers and artists brings together musicians with vastly different backgrounds, infl uences and ideas. Across more than 150 recording sessions every year, we get to hear what happens when they bring those ideas to life. One session might involve a full brass section.
Another, a producer experimenting with electronic textures and unusual samples. Elsewhere, musicians are working through a particular rhythm, a vocal arrangement is being refined, or an orchestral texture is being layered to evoke the sound of an unlikely hero stepping into the spotlight. The music varies enormously, as do the people making it.
Much of the work happens before anyone presses record. Composers and artists develop their ideas, arrangements are refined and musicians are chosen for the particular sound, virtuosity and experience they bring. The choice of studio matters too. We’ve recorded at Abbey Road Studios, AIR Studios and School Farm Studios in the UK, Village Studios in LA and Esplanade Studios in New Orleans, among others.
Everyone arrives knowing what they’re there to make, but there’s always room for the interpretation and personality musicians bring to a performance. A different groove might give a track the energy it needs. A subtle change in articulation can completely alter the character of a string passage. Sometimes, after exploring every alternative, everyone agrees the first take was the one.
Twenty-five years of making music this way have given us a catalogue of more than 300,000 tracks, along with some remarkably enduring creative relationships.
Composer Terry Devine-King has worked with Audio Network since its founding, contributing some 1,500 tracks. Chief creative officer Ali Johnson calls him “a giant of a composer”, someone who instinctively understands what makes great production music.
In recent years, there’s been an expansion of catalogue commissioning in key regions globally, alongside an increased US focus. Our A&R team are actively discovering new voices, with one highlight being the upcoming Audio Network debut from Bristol musician and songwriter Hazel Mills. Andrea De Leon, senior manager of A&R, saw “the lyrical and layered brilliance” of her electronic music as something that would bring a unique fl avour to the Audio Network catalogue.
Getting to know the people behind the music is part of the pleasure of making it. And that knowledge becomes invaluable when it’s time to fi nd the right track for somebody else’s project. Our creative teams draw on years of listening, conversations with artists and an encyclopaedic familiarity with the catalogue. They know the recordings, the stories behind them and the tracks that deserve another listen. Give them an interesting brief and they’ll happily disappear down a musical rabbit hole.
A recording made in New Orleans might fi nd its way into a documentary produced in Manchester. A trip-hop track written years earlier might suddenly become exactly what an editor needs. Music created by people who have never met the production team becomes part of something entirely new.
There’s a particular pleasure in seeing where the music ends up. We might spend weeks considering the smallest details of a recording without knowing where it will eventually be heard. Then an editor, music supervisor or director comes along, hears something in it and gives it a purpose none of us had anticipated.
A piece of music can have a remarkable life beyond the recording studio. It can find its way into stories that haven’t been written yet, accompany moments nobody has filmed and reach audiences we’ll never meet. After 25 years, that’s what still excites us. Making music with extraordinary people, sharing it with people who have extraordinary ideas and seeing where they take it next.
