Combining All Your Loves Together . . . with Laura Escudé

Combining All Your Loves Together . . . with Laura Escudé

Laura Escude Photo


In this episode, Laura Escudé takes us on her journey from violinist to adventures in Los Angeles as a seat filler for TV shows from Craig’s list to market research to other one-off jobs. . . until she becomes a tech support staffer at M-Audio because of problems she had with her own keyboard.  For listeners who are inspired by linear journeys, this is not one.  Instead, Laura was launched from being laid off as the first Ableton Certified Trainer.  An email got her working for Cirque du Soleil in playback.  A phone call from all of her Ableton visibility brought her to Kanye West’s audio engineer and then years of touring.  Until it wasn’t -- and she shares the story of how in 2017 she rebuilt her career about teaching and inspiration in audio engineering around “transmuting” creators - “to move from one form of energy into another.”  Enjoy her story of building a global community of artists and creating new online programs ahead of the current virtual learning world.  And enjoy her stories of what she now has built with the Transmute Accelerator and Transmute Academy.

Guest: Laura Escudé (Fka ALLUXE), Future Classical Artist Blending Music, Tech, And Consciousness

Laura Escudé is the creator of The Transmute™ Accelerator, Founder of Electronic Creatives, and an Ableton Certified Trainer since 2008. To sum up, Laura Escudé is a Future Classical artist blending music, tech, and consciousness. Synthesizing her skills as a classically trained violinist and technical prowess as an avant-garde electronic producer, Escudé infuses neo-classical & sleek futuristic style with raw emotion elicited with her musical machines.

Based in Los Angeles, Escudé is an artist, innovator, entrepreneur, and live show designer with a deep understanding of complex technology, a profound passion for music and art, and a unique talent for fusing the two. Career highlights include performing in the GRAMMY Premiere band, programming and designing shows for Kanye West from 2009-2017, opening for Miguel on his 2015 Wildheart tour, and building a thriving international business populated by top-tier professionals.

But while Escudé’s life and work are dynamic, her ultimate goal is simply to inspire.

As an artist, Escudé executes this mission through music. She’s released myriad albums, singles, and EPs under the name ALLUXE, synthesizing her skills as a classically trained violinist and her prowess as an avant-garde electronic producer. Now making music under her own name, Escudé released the Transmute EP, her most intimate work to date, capturing the sound and feel of a woman who’s examined the darkest parts of herself and come out the other end transformed. Escudé’s live performances are known for their sleek futuristic style and the raw emotion she elicits from her musical machines. She’s done official remixes for artists, including M83 and Poliça, with her violin playing featured on albums by Big Grams, Kanye West, Jay Z, and many more.

Technology is a second language for Escudé, who became the world’s first Ableton Certified Trainer in 2008. In 2012, she founded Electronic Creatives, using her skills to hire and train programmers and playback engineers for artists including Logic, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Big Sean, Charli XCX, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Electronic Creatives has hosted several playback engineering training programs over the years, with the latest being MASTERTRACK Worldwide.

These creative applications of technology have made Escudé one of the world’s most in-demand live show designers. She’s brought massive productions to life for artists including Kanye West, Jay Z, Bon Iver, Missy Elliot, Herbie Hancock, and television megabrand American Idol. Escudé toured extensively with these shows, collaborating with artists to create fresh, thrilling experiences for audiences worldwide.

It was while on tour that Escudé learned the challenges of staying healthy on the road. In 2016, tour burnout landed her in the hospital. She was exhausted, stressed, and not sure how to get better. It was a low point that forced Escudé to take a break from work and focus on her health. This physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual process involved letting go of unproductive habits and thought patterns, facing her fears, and giving up aspects of her life that didn’t serve her. Escudé was soon not just better, but for the first time in her life truly thriving.

The experience inspired Escudé to help others, particularly live performers, optimize their own health and well-being. In 2017, she launched The Transmute™ Retreat, a week-long workshop incorporating yoga, meditation, nature, live performance workshops, and community performances. In 2019, she launched The Transmute™ Accelerator online course to help artists accelerate their live performances using technology, in addition to The Transmute™ Society designed for graduates of The Transmute™ Accelerator to continue their growth in artistry and business. The Transmute™ Accelerator course happens quarterly throughout the year, with launch events featuring top industry experts, such as Suzanne Ciani, The Album Leaf, and Sudan Archives.

With all Escudé has achieved in the realms of music and technology, it’s clear why she’s been called “the best in the world at this job.” Escudé continues to propel forward this three-tiered platform of Future Classical music artistry, tech, and consciousness and it just keeps getting better.

Mentioned Links

 

Transmute Academy: https://www.thetransmuteacademy.com

Seeing Solutions – A Blessing and a Curse . . . with Dae Bogan

Seeing Solutions – A Blessing and a Curse . . . with Dae Bogan

Dae Bogan | Podcast Episode



Dae Bogan shares how he sees solutions and “warps” them into business ideas -- which is both a blessing and a curse. He began with selling cakes in middle school and organizing bus tours in high school from Cleveland, OH to New York. From his early history in acting, singing, and creating and producing events, he moved into a long series of start-ups (including putting gogo dancers in store windows) before moving into various endeavors in music tech. Dae has started and sold a variety of cloud-based ventures as well as mentored founders of other startups. Dae shares how he now is bringing those diverse skills to bear as head of Third-Party Partnerships with The Music Licensing Collective. The MLC works with music publishers and artists to collect and distribute their streaming royalties.

 

Guest: Dae Bogan, Head Of Third-Party Partnerships, The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC)

 

Dae Bogan serves as Head of Third-Party Partnerships for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), where he leads The MLC’s strategy for engaging third-party entities to support initiatives in rights administration, data management, operations, and membership services.

A passionate music creators' rights advocate who enjoys exploring the global music rights landscape through the lens of business and technology, Bogan is also an adjunct lecturer at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In this role, Bogan develops and teaches the music industry entrepreneurship course for which he was recognized in Billboard's "The 15 Best Music Business Schools In 2017."

Prior to joining The MLC and teaching at UCLA, Bogan’s passion for innovation at the intersection of music and technology led him to found three companies: music rights administration technology company TuneRegistry, unclaimed music royalties, and licenses search engine RoyaltyClaim, and in-store music video network Maven Promo. Each of these companies has since been acquired.

 Early in his career, Bogan worked directly and more creatively with recording artists, songwriters, music producers, and DJs as the owner-operator of an independent record label, a music publishing company, and a boutique artist management firm before pivoting into technology in 2012.

 Dae holds an MA in Music Industry Administration with a focus on music publishing and copyright administration from California State University, Northridge, and a BA in sociology from the University of California. He resides in Los Angeles, California where he organizes SoCal Music Industry Professionals, an informal networking community of music industry professionals who live in Southern California.

 

Mentioned Links:

 

I Never Knew I was Supposed to Only Do One Thing. . . with Arabian Prince

I Never Knew I was Supposed to Only Do One Thing. . . with Arabian Prince

Arabian Prince

In this episode, Arabian Prince shares the rest of the story -- both before and after working with NWA.  He shares how he got started with tech, entrepreneurship, and music creation at a young age.  He talks with Gigi about how he taught himself new gaming and creative technologies, and how he brings that energy to his many current adventures. 

Guest: Arabian Prince, Founder of iNov8 Next Open Labs and GGGOAT; Partner at Covitech; President, Next Careers

A songwriter, rapper, producer, DJ, technologist Pro Gamer and futurist, Arabian Prince is best known for being a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted rap group N.W.A., West Coast electro music pioneer, and producer of the Grammy-nominated #1 hit song Supersonic. Founder of iNov8 Next Open Labs, GGGOAT, and Partner at Covitech. He also is the President of Next Careers, a non-profit working with 1,500 FIRST Tech Challenge roboticists, grades 7-12, across Southern California.

His passion for technology led to him create a 3D animation and special effects studio in the ’90s working with companies like Saban Entertainment and Fox, including 100+ videogame, film, and TV  titles for Fox interactive and Vivendi Universal. As a consultant, Arabian has advised many companies on bridging the gap between technology and the youth, while bringing new product innovations to market. He is currently working with his tech partners to bring Open Labs to communities across the country in support of youth, women, diversity, veterans, and anyone else who wants to explore the future of technology.

Mentioned Links:

  • @OGArabianPrince

Social Proof and Pushing Forward . . . with Ty Frankel

Social Proof and Pushing Forward . . . with Ty Frankel

Ty Frankel

In this episode, Ty Frankel shares how as a young music creator and entrepreneur he pushed to create relationships to build Shut Down Media. His multi-country company creates hip hop music for integration into film and television. He talks about how he overcame obstacles, how he got distracted, and how he returned to his core business.  He talked about being inspired by Rich Dad, Poor Dad and other books on how to build his career.  Ty shares how his company has pivoted with film and television during this crisis, and how it has spurred him to launch even more adventures.  

Guest: Ty Frankel, Founder and CEO, Shut Down Media

Ty Frankel started making rap beats from his home in Israel at just 14 years old. Since inception in 2017, Shut Down Media has grown with divisions like Shut Down Production Music, Shut Down Art, and Shut Down Sync. In only three years, Shut Down Media has worked with clients such as UMPG, Warner, NBA 2K, Fortnite, The Ellen Show, Mercedes-Benz, and many more. 

Ty is a writer for UPMG and Warner and has secured placements on shows like Saturday Night Live. Not only has he built multiple companies at the age of 22, but he's also created new in-house record labels with the likes of FirstCom and No Sheet Music.

Mentioned Links:

 

That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon

That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon

Zack Zalon has shifted and grown along with a transforming music industry.  He began as (and still is) a musician, then blossomed at the Troubadour before launching into websites, marketing, Farm Club, Virgin, and through that Moment of Mojo into taking his background and the now-possible world of artificial intelligence into Super Hi-Fi.  We wrap up with advice to his younger self after this intriguing journey across music and digital transformation.

Guest: Zack Zalon, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Super Hi-Fi

Zack Zalon is co-founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi, a Los Angeles-based music technology company that is creating transformative listening experiences for the world’s largest music experience providers. Current partners include Peloton, iHeart, The Associated Press, Universal Music Group, Napster, and Target Spot.  Zack also is a musician, with a recent release in 2018 of “Into the Great Divide.”

Prior to Super Hi-Fi, Zalon served as co-founder and managing partner for We See Dragons, a “S.W.A.T.-style” digital agency that developed consumer platforms for brands including National Geographic, Johnson & Johnson, Ticketmaster, Comcast, Citibank, Experian, and Madison Square Garden.  Earlier, Zalon was Managing Partner at Wilshire Media Group; President of Virgin Digital, the global digital platform for the Virgin Group; President of The Factory Network;  and general manager of Doug Weston’s Troubadour.

Links: