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Tristan Ludowyk
Record Producer/Engineer
Tristan’s firm understanding of soul, funk and African styles of music, his love for strong horn sections and his immaculate attention to detail make him an honor to work with.
Tristan’s ear and mind for sound production has always astonished me. He always manages to capture the exact sound you’re gunning for.
A selection of projects Tristan has worked on. For more details see the full DISCOGRAPHY
As the final track of Jane’s Song Per Month project, I produced Come What May with Simon Burke from The Meltdown on drums, bass, keys and BVs. It’s a
Some funky disco from this Melbourne band that recorded at Head Gap with Neil Thomason. Mixed in my production room.
Earlier in 2015 we took advantage of a bit of a gap in Simon’s touring schedule with Hiatus Kaiyote to get The PutBacks into Sound Park for a couple of days
Chris Morris is an electronic producer who came to me to help tighten his mixes. We worked from individual audio tracks that he exported from his session, and used
This was a very special record with all proceeds being donated to SOS Blak Australia. Bob Knob produced these two tracks, one from iconic Australian rock group the
Recorded just before Chet Faker departed Australia’s shores for New York, The Cactus Channel’s collaboration has predictably been a smash hit. I
How can I help you with your next project?
Tracking is the most critical time in the production of a record. My strength lies in creating a recording environment that makes the artist comfortable and while optimising the sound captured via multiple mic sources. I never rely on formulaic approaches to recording as each space, instrument, microphone and pre-amp is different.
I love mixing. It’s that perfect balance of left-brain right brain. On the one hand it presents a myriad of technical problems to solve with no such thing as a single correct solution (but still subjectively better and worse solutions). On the other, it’s music and ultimately the technical side of things is there to support a creative vision. It’s about how it makes you feel or move.
The best recordings are those that have a strong vision from start to finish and this is where a producer’s role is paramount. The production begins when the song is written and the arrangement is made. This is why pre-production is so valuable – it provides an opportunity to be more objective about how a song is held together. Having a firm idea about how the recording should sound helps inform every step of the production. If the arrangement of parts isn’t well composed prior to recording, these issues end up being dealt with at mix time.
Thoughts on recording, the music industry plus details of some of my studio sessions. Click an article below or browse all the posts
A selection of (most of) the tracks I worked on in 2015. Not all of them are released yet and some
Earlier this year, thanks to Music Victoria, I became aware of an initiative designed to help
A little while back I had the pleasure of working with Papa Chango in the studio – we
Last year I had the pleasure of working with Amadou and Aliou as part of the Visible 8 project by
After the release of The Brass Knuckle Brass Band‘s debut EP in 2013, an edit of one of their
It’s been a big year for me. After making the leap of faith to make music production my
Hi, I'm Tristan, an artist/producer with a passion for creating honest recordings. With 16 years of professional performance experience on trumpet, keyboard, bass, guitar and tres cubano combined with a degree in electronics and signal processing I am uniquely poised to focus on the musical aspects of a performance whilst cutting through the voodoo that is often associated with the recording studio. I co-founded the HopeStreet Recordings label as a platform for my productions, steeped in the analogue sounds of funk, soul and more eclectic music.
I believe that great recordings are those that capture and enhance the human elements of a performance. The production has to focus on this every step of the way, particularly during tracking. The performance environment, acoustic space and microphone placement will ultimately play a huge part in the sound of the finished recording.
I always go into a recording session with a firm idea of the finished sound in my head and make sure we nail it, which sometimes means making creative decisions while tracking rather than going for a “good clean recording” without any direction in mind. I would rather commit to an idea early and get a sound that I love than leave my options open but end up with an uninspired tone/performance. Too often the luxury of delaying a decision (with digital recording) turns into a failure to commit to an idea.
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I began learning violin at age 4, and trumpet soon after that. As an adult I have performed live and in the studio with many bands on trumpet, keyboard, guitar, bass, percussion and tres cubano.
I have a thorough knowledge of music theory and extensive experience in arranging and scoring for many styles of music.
I have a particular love of Cuban music, and traditional and contemporary West African music especially Fela Kuti‘s afro-beat. This has led me to establish my own bands The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra and The Afrobiotics.
Room, mic placement and mic choice – these are the biggest factors in determining the character of a recording. In all my work I make sure I have a thorough understanding of the acoustics and the recording equipment used and then rely on critical listening every step of the way.
My technical knowledge is backed up by a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from RMIT University – a five year course covering digital logic, analogue circuit theory and communications systems. I have a strong knowledge of the physics of sound as well as how we can manipulate it and have built and repaired my own studio equipment.
I am equally comfortable with a computer and a tape machine, and utilise both on my projects depending on the requirements. It’s my belief that an important part of the “analogue sound” is what it makes you focus on (ie. listening more and making decisions).
Rates and overtime are negotiable for larger projects, please call to discuss.
Drop me a line anytime to talk about your music, my production approach or the music industry in general, either on the contact form on the left or using the details below.
For more information on my label and bands I manage see the links below also.
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