WCA #608 with Julian Kindred – Canada, America, England, and Thirty-Five Years of Making Records

For episode 608, Matt talks with Julian Kindred — Canadian producer, engineer, and songwriter based in London, where he runs Nonsuch Park Studio in Epsom, Surrey. Julian grew up in St. John, New Brunswick — a working-class port city he describes as a place where people punched in all week and played blues in bars on the weekend — and found his way into recording through a part-time job at a music shop and access to synthesizers. Too broke for Berklee, he took a corporate function band gig that got him to Nashville, where he cold-called Music Row for a year and a half before landing a spot at Studio Nineteen. Ten years on Music Row followed, and then a move to London in 2003. They talk about what Nashville taught him about song craft and on-the-floor tracking, learning persistence in two different cultures, surviving a lull before the Ellie Goulding record turned things around, managing money as a freelancer, and why longevity attracts a different kind of client than talent alone ever did.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

- Growing Up in St. John, New Brunswick

- "Sultans of Swing" as a Portrait of His Hometown

- A Musical Family and a Father Who Taught Guitar

- Keyboards at Eleven and a Part-Time Job at a Music Shop

- Access to Synthesizers and the Recording Bug

- Too Broke for Berklee — and the Corporate Function Band That Got Him to Nashville

- Cold-Calling Music Row for a Year and a Half

- Studio Nineteen: A Five-Week Course, a Trident Desk, and Patsy Cline's Living Room

- Learning the Craft in Nashville's Legendary Rooms

- What Ten Years on Music Row Taught Him About Song Craft

- On-the-Floor Tracking: Finishing a Record in One Session

- Nashville vs. London: Tracking Rooms, Production Rooms, and Culture

- Moving to London in 2003 for a Woman — and Building a Career From Scratch

- Learning Persistence in Two Different Cultures

- The Lull, the Ellie Goulding Record, and the Comeback

- Universal, Polydor, and Building a Repeat Client Base in the UK

- Nonsuch Park Studio: A Purpose-Built Room in the Back of the Garden

- Managing Money as a Freelancer: Living Below Your Means

- Why Longevity Attracts a Different Kind of Client

- The Conversations About You That You'll Never Hear

Matt's RANT!: Random Items

Links and Show Notes:

- Julian Kindred

- Nonsuch Park Studio

- DriveDX

- ExifTool

- NeoFinder

Credits:

- Guest: Julian Kindred

- Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau

- WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell

- The Voice: Chuck Smith