In the Room with Musik Hack

Grammy-winning, multi-platinum mixer, engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Rian Lewis joins Musik Hack to talk about his work with Doja Cat, engineering DRAM's "Broccoli," and mixing on Rawayana's Grammy-winning album ¿Quién trae las cornetas?.

Rian shares what it is like to run sessions at the highest level, the creative and technical judgment the work demands, and how engineers can build the kind of trust that makes artists want to work with them again.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkeJiFRs1WM

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

Songwriter Bailey Flores joins Musik Hack to talk about her path from New Orleans gospel and street performance to Los Angeles writing rooms and K-pop cuts for BABYMONSTER, STAYC, ITZY, NMIXX, J.Y. Park, CHUU, and others.

Bailey shares how she found her way into K-pop, what the genre asks of songwriters, how she builds memorable melodies and emotionally driven lyrics, and why protecting her health, voice, and work-life balance matters. The conversation also explores AI and the future of songwriting.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTFd1nhJvAY

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

Seven-time Grammy-winning producer, mixer, and songwriter Neal Pogue joins Musik Hack to reflect on a 35-year career spanning more than 200 gold and platinum certifications and work with Outkast, Tyler, the Creator, Kaytranada, Steve Lacy, TLC, AWOLNATION, Victoria Monét, and many more.

Neal talks about mixing landmark records including Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, TLC's "Waterfalls," AWOLNATION's "Sail," and Steve Lacy's "Bad Habit," along with the craft, relationships, and judgment behind a long life in music.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFt7PmsA2nw

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

The buzz and anxiety around generative artificial intelligence is big right now, so Musik Hack sat down with Sam Fischmann, Eyal Amir, Aaron McLeran, Spencer Salazar, and Zoe Wrenn for a roundtable on AI, art, and the future of music. The central question: AI is not going back inside the bottle, so how do artists, technologists, and listeners understand what feels unsettling, define useful ethics, and take conscious control of how these tools are used?

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDB3yyQnWOQ

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

Bradley Denniston is a Los Angeles-based producer, engineer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans major films, television, commercials, and records by artists including The Lonely Island, Gotye, Tegan and Sara, and G-Eazy. In this episode, he talks about growing up in Portland, learning through bands and DIY shows, spending years with Mark Mothersbaugh at Mutato Muzika, and building his own company, Radium Media.

The conversation moves from wild early-career stories and life in Costa Rica to value exchange, networking, and asking for help, before widening into a candid discussion about AI music, the Suno lawsuit, dopamine, creativity, and what actually makes songs connect.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZfefMi5xX8

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

In a break from the usual guest format, the Musik Hack team sits down with themselves for a deep dive into filter design, phase, DSP, and the product decisions behind tools like SweetEQ. Sam, Stan, and Alex talk through null tests, minimum versus linear phase EQ, pre-ringing, dry/wet behavior, mastering moves, and how they tune plugins to solve real mixing problems without overwhelming users.

It is a candid look at how the team thinks about building audio software: why some design choices can fail simplistic tests while still sounding better, when linear phase is useful, what makes vocals translate on phones, and how much iteration goes into features that feel simple on the surface.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6fKKdhvasY

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

Michael Sebastian Romero is an engineer, producer, and entrepreneur whose credits include Michael Bolton, T-Pain, Ashanti, Trey Songz, and Khalid. In this episode, he talks about building his chops in church production, learning the studio business at Record Plant and Aftermath, earning a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year for Khalid's "Talk," and what it takes to lead high-pressure sessions while growing into a long-term creative career.

His path runs from camera operator and church production work to engineering at Record Plant for artists including Michael Bolton, T-Pain, Parkwood, Ashanti, and Trey Songz, then on to a Grammy nomination in 2019 for his work on Khalid's "Talk." He also shares lessons on discipline, leadership, entrepreneurship, and building with purpose.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAuhwlIKgb8

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

Valerie Broussard is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum singer-songwriter whose work has earned more than a billion streams. In this episode, she talks about writing for artists including Kygo, Illenium, Sofia Carson, Galantis, and Sam Feldt, building a career with placements across TV, film, trailers, and major brand campaigns, and what comes next as her EP Some Dreams You Never Wake Up From arrives on March 13, 2026.

Her catalog has appeared in projects including Grey's Anatomy, Lucifer, Riverdale, You, and Ransom Canyon, as well as campaigns for Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Cadillac, Ralph Lauren, Marvel, and Riot Games. Her single "A Little Wicked" was also featured on January 1, 2026 as the theme song for Netflix's Run Away, which reached No. 1 on the platform in 44 countries.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7UjNrIp_SM

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

What does it take to get music placed in major film and TV projects? In this episode, Virgil Thomas, a music crossover agent at UTA, explains how deals come together, how artists make money today, and why relationships and trust are critical in the business.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JM8vTZwDys

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/

What happens when you drop everything and move to Los Angeles to pursue music? In this episode, Mark Parfitt shares how he built his path as an engineer, navigated high-pressure sessions, and developed long-term relationships while working with top-level artists and collaborators.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymgaYV_YluU

Learn more: https://www.musikhack.com/podcast/