Making a Scene Presents

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Robin Batteau

Robin Batteau is a Grammy-winning, Emmy-winning, Clio-winning, Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter, soloist, and producer whose career blends fearless creativity with world-class musicianship. Remarkably, his first record deal came just six months after graduating from Harvard with a degree in biochemistry—when he signed with Columbia Records and launched a musical life that has since spanned decades and styles.

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Making a Scene Presents - The Rise of Micro-Fanbases and Why 1,000 True Fans Is What Really Matters

The Old Music Business Wanted Everybody. The New Music Business Needs Somebody.

For decades, the music industry sold artists the same shiny dream: reach the masses, get famous, get signed, get played everywhere, and somehow money will fall from the sky like confetti. It was a beautiful story if you were the label, the radio chain, the distributor, the playlist gatekeeper, the ticketing monopoly, or the platform sitting between the artist and the fan. For the artist, it was usually a lottery ticket dressed up as a career plan.

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Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey's Interview with Marty and Jenni Powell of Riff Raiders

Riff Raiders have been cooking up their own loud, hook-heavy flavor of rock ’n’ roll since 2017—built on crunchy guitars, tangy riffs, and choruses that hit fast and stick hard. Their music lives in that sweet spot where modern hard ’n’ heavy meets classic swagger, and they’ve earned a reputation for face-melting live shows that turn first-timers into repeat offenders.

In 2024, the band recorded their third album and dropped the single “Nothing To Lose,” a two-and-a-half-minute, no-filler banger paired with an epic video featuring some of the original stage lights once used to “cook” audiences on ABC TV (Australia)’s legendary Countdown. It was a perfect snapshot of what Riff Raiders do best: big energy, big attitude, and rock ’n’ roll delivered with a wink and a punch.

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Making a Scene Present an Interview with Chris Murphy of Seven Crows!

Seven Crows is the visionary project of Los Angeles–based violinist, composer, and producer Chris Murphy. Built around shimmering sustain lines, fluid legato phrasing, and live looping, Seven Crows creates music that feels both cinematic and deeply personal—like a wide landscape that still speaks in a whisper. His 2025 album Powers of Observation (Teahouse Records) captures that signature approach in full, inviting listeners into a post-rock–tinted journey that’s expansive, intimate, and constantly evolving.

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Making a Scene Presents - Phase Issues Explained: Why Your Mix Sounds Thin

The Invisible Problem Hiding Inside Your Mix

There is a special kind of frustration that happens in a home studio. You record the part. You play it back. The performance is good. The tone sounds fine by itself. The mic was not cheap. The interface is working. The meters are healthy. Nothing is clipping. Nothing looks broken. Then you push the tracks together and the whole thing suddenly sounds smaller than it should.

The drums lose punch. The guitar sounds hollow. The vocal gets cloudy. The bass feels weak even though the waveform looks huge. You add EQ. You add compression. You turn things up. You widen the stereo image. You blame the room, the monitors, the plugin, the preamp, the guitar, the singer, and maybe the moon.

But sometimes the real problem is phase.

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