The Finish More Music Podcast

Mha Iri's drive and appetite for success has launched her career to spectacular heights in a short space of time. In under 3 short years not only has she been topping the Beatport Techno charts, but regularly DJ's alongside some of the best Techno artists in the world. So what is her secret to such rapid success?

In this second half of our special two-part podcast, we deep dive into Mha's workflow, production techniques, her experience in the industry, and how's she's built a thriving DJ & Music production career.If you haven't listened to the first part of this podcast, you can do it here!In this episode, Mha shares with us her entire production process! Everything from gear setup, to her workflow, to where she gets her initial inspiration and how she prepares her tracks to send to labels. If you are a budding DJ & producer, get your note pad out as this podcast is dropping tonnes of knowledge bombs!

Key Takeaways

• The importance of finishing a track no matter what.
• Create music that makes you happy
• Write music to battle your demons
• Outsource tasks that aren't your strengths
• "You can't have sounds that are all competing for the same space"

From a singer-songwriter in Scotland to becoming a full-time producer and DJ in the land of Oz, this Techno DJ & Producer has climbed the charts and clubs at a phenomenal rate!Let's give it up for none other than…MHA IRIIn this two-part podcast, we dive into Mha's workflow, production techniques, her experience in the industry, and how's she's built a thriving DJ career while constantly churning out top selling releases.In this episode, Mha reveals tonnes of knowledge bombs! Everything from keeping it professional in the studio, how to proactively seek DJ gigs, to the importance of networking and collaborating with other producers and mentors.

This drive for success has been crucial in launching her career and receiving bookings alongside some of the best Techno artists in the world. For all you budding DJ's and Producers, this is part 1 of how you get incredible results in under 3 yearsKey Takeaways

• The importance of surrounding yourself with the right people
• Persevere with your networking to get the results you want
• Emulating Pro habits are the best way to become a Pro
• The Importance of showing up and always giving it 100%
• "If you want to hang with eagles, don't fly with the crows"

Picture this. You're in your studio. You're finishing your mixdown. You look at your spectrum analyzer and it looks all good, but something inside you is saying otherwise.It doesn't sound right but it looks right. So what's going on?Your eyes are deceiving you…. In this episode, I talk about a very common mistake that we all fall into regularly: Mixing with our eyes and not with our ears.

I also share a mind-blowingly simple tip that can help you overcome this and can enable you to mix faster and achieve better quality results with minimal time and effort

Key Takeaways:

• Your eyes are lying to you
• "Take your eyes out of the equation and all that's left is the truth"
• How to avoid being fooled by your eyes when you're mixing
• My number 1 mixdown technique that you can put into practice straight away

Resources Mentioned

• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

What's more important quality or quantity?What if I tell you that you don't have to choose! That this is one of those cases where you can have your cake and eat it too.

In this episode, we tackle the age-old debate of quality versus quantity. But rather than pitting them against each other, I tell you how constantly churning out tracks, leads to better quality music and better progress for you as a music producer

Key Takeaways:

• Quality is a by-product of quantity
• A quantity focus leads to the best results
• Overcoming perfection paralysis
• "You're never gonna write a great track with little or no experience of finishing tracks."

In this episode, we look into a seriously contentious topic: Ghostwriting.

There's a lot of social media outrage and backlash when a DJ or Producer are found out to be working with someone else that's doing most or all of their production work.

Having been a ghost writer, a DJ, and having years of experience in the industry, I've seen both sides of the coin and I have a slightly different take on this topic.

Key Takeaways:

• The varying degrees of Ghostwriting
• What are the returns when using a ghostwriter?
• Understanding the process
• If you can't beat them, join them.

Resources Mentioned

• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

Getting sucked into the cycle of buying newest tools and gear is easier than you might think.

But the question is...... Is it worth it?

In this episode, I look at how our creativity and productivity can suffer when we stock up on unneeded plugins and production tools. Plus, I discuss some of the things you can do to avoid the urge to spend your limited resources on the latest and greatest gear when it catches your eye

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding; Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS)
• Constantly buying new gear can do more harm than good
• Cycle of Failure
• Assess the true cost of buying by double checking what you already have

Resources Mentioned

• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

Anxiety, Perfectionism, Frustration.We all have experienced this in one form or another, but what can we do when these feelings start creeping in?What if I told you there's a tool you can use every time to help you overcome these feelings?In this episode I discuss a technique that has helped me personally in overcoming negative emotional states and has enabled me to push myself creatively and finish more music. This technique is called: RAIN.

Key Takeaways:

• RAIN: Recognize, Acknowledge, Inspect, Non-Permanence
• Importance of practicing mindfulness
• "What we resist, persists"
• These feelings are not permanent. They will pass.

Resources Mentioned

• FMM007 - Do the Thing, Have the Power

• 10% HAPPIER - Dan Harris
• FMM006 - The Best of the Best VS Fear
• Creative Strategies for Finishing More Music Ebook

Trying to control every part of the music production journey can not only make the process boring and uninteresting, but it can also hinder creativity.

Being an Electronic music producer, you tend to wear a lot of different hats and this can often be overwhelming. So we try to find ways of making the process easier and more manageable.

One of these ways is by creating a Masterplan….

but…..IT NEVER WORKS!

In this episode, we'll discuss some of the pitfalls of creating and having a masterplan and how this affects your creativity in the studio.

• Creating a masterplan is futile.
• Outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens
• Creativity thrives when being challenged
• "The creative process is a process of surrender and not control" – Julia Cameron
• Creativity requires facing your fear and jumping off the cliff.

I get a lot of heat when I say that mixdown isn't high priority in music production.

Learning and focusing on mixdown is fun and easy and it offers certainty, but is it really where our focus should be?

Is focusing on the technical aspects of music production giving us the most progress, or is it actually shielding us from fully realising our creative potential?

In this episode, we'll discuss the importance of building and focusing on the core foundations of music production, such as creativity and composition, and why we should develop these skills before we dive over to mixdown.

• Find out where you are in your production journey
• Focusing on the technical aspects can sometimes do more harm than good
• "A shit track with a great mixdown is still a shit track."
• Importance of focusing on composition and creativity first
• Focusing on your 80/20

There is no need to be a lone wolf and struggle on your own...

When you spend most of your time alone, writing and creating inside the four walls of your studio, having a community that supports you and bolsters you into achieving your musical goals is more important than ever.

After running my community for 4 years, I learned that being surrounded by like minded people and having an inspirational, trustworthy community around you is essential to grow and succeed as a music producer

In this episode, we'll talk about the importance and power of community and why struggling alone is utter madness. If you feel that music production can sometimes be a lonely place, then this show is for you

• Motivation from the community
• Sharing Knowledge
• Gaining confidence in your music