Doing Music is a podcast that explores the techniques and strategies behind musical ideas. In each episode, Craig Schuftan looks into the myth of spontaneous creation and talks to artists about their hands-on approaches for sparking something new. Doing Music is for anyone interested in the act of making music – because often the most exciting results happen when we stop musing and start doing.
This podcast is brought to you by Ableton and hosted by Craig Schuftan. Craig is a music producer and the author of three books on music and popular culture.
Producer and engineer Ebonie Smith discusses her creative process and unique insights into major label production with host Craig Schuftan in this interview.
27 Nov 2024
Technical Tools for Creative Results with Chuck Sutton
Producer and educator Chuck Sutton interviews Craig Schuftan about using technical tools for creative musical results and bridging information gaps for all Live users.
14 Nov 2024
Escaping The Concert Hall With Emily Hopkins
Host Craig Schuftan interviews harpist Emily Hopkins about her experimental electro-acoustic methods and journey to redefine the instrument's potential beyond the concert hall.
31 Oct 2024
Reveling in absurdity with MGMT
Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT discuss their enduring instinct for absurdity and creative process with Craig Schuftan and Christa Belle, revealing how embracing the weirdest sounds fuels their psychedelic pop-rock.
17 Oct 2024
Making sonic collages with L'Rain
Taja Cheek shares with host Craig Schuftan and co-host Christa Belle how she navigates creative self-doubt in her sonic collage process.
2 Oct 2024
Crossover sweet spots with Malibu Babie
Producer Malibu Babie shares with host Craig Schuftan how she crafts hit songs by creatively sampling iconic sounds for major artists.
19 Sept 2024
Re-sample yourself with Lukid
Host Craig Shuftan interviews musician Luke Blair, also known as Lukid, about his unique sampling process and creative journey to finishing music.
5 Sept 2024
Teaching Blacktronika with King Britt
Host King Britt shares insights into his Blacktronika course, highlighting Black innovators in electronic music and the impact of education on his own creative process.
22 Aug 2024
Realizing Fantasy with Zora Jones
Host Craig Schuftan interviews artist Zora Jones about her world-building projects, blending virtual technology with community, and her evolution as a singer and songwriter.
8 Aug 2024
Learning Music with Dennis DeSantis
Craig Schuftan interviews Dennis DeSantis, Head of Ableton's Learning Team, about designing engaging music education through play and simplifying complex concepts.
25 Jul 2024
Flipping influences with Erika de Casier
Erika de Casier’s distinct slant on R&B celebrates her eclectic influences even as it updates them. In this episode of Doing Music, Erika tells Craig Schuftan about the many threads of inspiration which shape the warm, intimate music she makes. Along the way we learn about the nuances of remote versus in-the-room collaboration, the importance of trusted feedback and managing self-doubt. From vocal recording to testing her tracks in hire cars, it’s an illuminating insight into the heartfelt practice of a truly unique talent in modernist pop music.
Explore further:
Craig David - Born to Do It (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFBgfSAIU1-solpXcYBpfOq7oyHY199ET)
Meet the Secret R&B Weapon Behind NewJeans’ Catchiest Hits (https://www.gq.com/story/newjeans-get-up-songwriter-erika-de-casier-interview)
Keep up with Erika de Casier on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/erikadecasier/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@ECTVchannel) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/erikadecasier) — and check out her latest album Still. (https://erikadecasier.bandcamp.com/album/still)
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com (mailto:doingmusic@ableton.com)
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/).
11 Jul 2024
Listen deep and head far out with Helado Negro
Is it necessary to bare your soul to make good music? Roberto Lange has swapped the beautiful introspection of his earlier songwriting as Helado Negro to draw inspiration from outside sources. In this episode of Doing Music, host Craig Schuftan speaks to Lange about the people, places, and processes which influence his work, from the North Carolina landscape he calls home to field recording, experimental sampling and imaginary meetings with Pauline Oliveros and Lupe Lopez.
Explore further:
Pierre Schaefer - ‘Acousmatics’ (https://soundenvironments.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/02_acousmatics_schaeffer.pdf)
Pauline Oliveros - ‘Some Sound Observations’ (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d4dcd89a70bc90001638861/t/5d501797e6bf0300010e9286/1565530012139/Pauline_Oliveros-Some_Sound_Observations.pdf)
Freddy Mamani - Neo-Andean Architecture (https://www.sensesatlas.com/freddy-mamani-neo-andean-architecture/)
Keep up with Helado Negro on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/heladonegro/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/heladonegro) and via his website (https://www.heladonegro.com/) — and check out his latest album Phasor (https://heladonegro.bandcamp.com/album/phasor).
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/). Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com (mailto:doingmusic@ableton.com)
27 Jun 2024
Rewarding repetition with Bendik Giske
Bendik Giske’s adventurous music demonstrates how much potential a stripped back approach can have if you push hard enough against the limitations. In this episode of Doing Music, the celebrated Norwegian saxophonist talks to Craig Schuftan about his extended technique and the power of a minimalist method for music-making. As his performances and studio recordings prove, Bendik’s focus is on repetition as a route to deeper truths, but the conversation reveals that his exacting style also draws on mistakes as an essential creative tool, and the revelation that if you play a synth riff by The Prodigy a million times, it becomes your own.
Explore further:
Helen Thorington — The Noise of the Needle (https://sympoietic.net/helen/writing/noiseofneedle.html)
Beatrice Dillon (http://dillonwork.com/)
Kodwo Eshun — More Brilliant Than The Sun: Adventures In Sonic Fiction (https://monoskop.org/images/b/b2/Eshun_Kodwo_More_Brilliant_Than_the_Sun_Adventures_in_Sonic_Fiction.pdf)
Jean Cocteau (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jean-cocteau)
Gertrude Stein — Portraits and Repetition (https://doubleoperative.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/portraits-and-repetition.pdf)
Jack Halberstam — The Queer Art of Failure (https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-queer-art-of-failure)
Keep up with Bendik Giske on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bendikgiske/?hl=en) and via his website (https://bendikgiske.no/) — and check out his self-titled album Bendik Giske (https://bendikgiske.bandcamp.com/album/bendik-giske).Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com (mailto:doingmusic@ableton.com)
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/).
13 Jun 2024
Studio stories with Gavsborg
For Gavsborg, cultivating a space for ideas to flourish is essential. In conversation with Craig Schuftan, the co-founder of maverick production crew Equiknoxx talks about his formative years in Kingston and the various places and people that have shaped him. Beyond the day-to-day of home studio life, Gavsborg shares his thoughts on what it takes for collaboration to bloom, and when high-pressure situations can unlock untapped potential.
Keep up with Gavsborg on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gavsborg/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrwRcocjzfK0wgqT20p5ag) and SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/EQUIKNOXXMUSIC) — and (https://cave.town/products/copy-of-little-vice-vinyl)check out his latest album An Honest Meal (https://unkleg.bandcamp.com/album/an-honest-meal).
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com (mailto:doingmusic@ableton.com)
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/).
13 Jun 2024
Making movies out of music with Sofia Kourtesis
Sofia Kourtesis’ sparkling dance music is brought to life by her diaristic phone recordings, depicting vivid scenes that play out like the movies she’s inspired by. In this episode of Doing Music, Sofia tells Craig Schuftan about the importance of imperfection in her sound, finding ways to protest in her choice of samples and embracing her Latin American heritage in her music. As a Peruvian artist relocated to Berlin, her story takes in her engagement with club music in the German capital, discovering her own sound and the desire to make music beyond the confines of the dancefloor.
Explore further:
The Warriors (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/)
Los Hermanos Ballumbrosio (https://worldmusiccentral.org/2022/07/03/artist-profiles-los-hermanos-ballumbrosio/)
Keep up with Sofia Kourtesis on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sofiakourtesis/) and via her website (https://sofiakourtesis.com/) - and check out her latest album Madres (https://sofiakourtesis.bandcamp.com/album/madres-2).
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com (mailto:doingmusic@ableton.com)
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/).
13 Jun 2024
Songwriting as therapy with Cavetown
Robin Skinner’s open-hearted songwriting as Cavetown matches lyrical vulnerability with an emotive approach to production. In the first episode of Doing Music, Robin tells host Craig Schuftan about his rise to fame as a teenage YouTube sensation and what that means for him and his music. It’s a sensitive insight into a DIY artist who has shared his most intimate issues through song, touching on the search for a sense of home, navigating fame and collaborative songwriting as the next step in self-therapy. Along the way, prepare to bask in the nostalgic warmth of the Moomins and contemplate the idea of an 18th century emo kid.
Explore further:
Comet in Moominland by Trove Jansson (https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/comet-in-moominland-book/#038c7ffe)
‘Homesick’ by Cavetown, from Moominvalley Official Soundtrack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdW42wu-koM)
The Sorrows of Young Werther by J.W. von Goethe (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2527/2527-h/2527-h.htm)
Keep up with Cavetown on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lemon.socks/?hl=en), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpLqtJdfhVv58cPFhRzWJlg) and via his website (https://cave.town/) — and (https://cave.town/products/copy-of-little-vice-vinyl)check out his latest EP Little Vice (https://cave.town/products/copy-of-little-vice-vinyl).
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com (mailto:doingmusic@ableton.com)
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/).
7 May 2024
Welcome to Doing Music
Doing Music is a new podcast series hosted by musician and author Craig Schuftan, where he talks to a varied cast of inquisitive contemporary artists about the ways they make music and where they get ideas from. These are candid conversations about the endlessly fascinating, sometimes challenging journey every artist goes on from one lightbulb moment to the next, with space to touch on production approaches along the way. Whether you’re an avid creator, a curious listener or a devoted fan, these wide-ranging episodes have something for everyone who ever wondered what’s behind a great piece of music.
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton (http://www.ableton.com). Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ableton) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ableton/).
Who has been a guest on Doing Music
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Ebonie Smith
Chuck Sutton
Emily Hopkins
Russ
Andrew VanWyngarden
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
25 ratings
Spotify
4.7 / 5
44 ratings
Host of Doing Music?
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