Duncan Mills
Course Studied:Studio Sound Diploma
Current Employment:
Duncan Mills: Music Producer / Engineer
Music Tech Interview with recent star Alchemea Graduate / Music Producer Duncan “Pixie” Mills.
Duncan is currently working at Strongroom studios
Q: How did you find out about the course you are currently on?
A: Word of mouth. I knew I had gaps in my knowledge that needed filling if I was to progress to the next level, so I started asking around for advice from people I was working with and other friends in the industry. Alchemea came out trumps pretty much every time, from studios to engineers to post pro houses.
Q: Why this course? What were you doing before and what do you want to be doing after and is this course going to help you achieve this?
A: Before the course I was mainly working as a freelance producer… working with some cool bands, developing a few personal projects and label projects, plus doing remixes, etc. I have a broad overview of experience, although my weakness has always been mix-phobia and limited understanding of the electronics / physics behind everything we do. Also, the industry is shrinking fast (and budgets along with it), so I realized I had to do some accelerated learning as it was increasingly not financially viable to use an engineer / mix engineer on each session.
There used to be a stigma attached to studying audio engineering at college with some of the old school fraternity, but this is rapidly changing with the emergence of people like Nigel Godrich, who came through the college route. I think people see this as a really serious, credible move now.
I did a lot of research and narrowed it down to two possible courses, then visited them both. I knew Alchemea was the place for me as soon as I arrived. It has a kind of buzz around it when you walk in the door. I was shown round one on one, and had a good hour long chat with Mike Sinnott about my personal situation and which course might be the one for me.
It took a lot of planning and a huge leap of faith to essentially stop working and commit to the nine months diploma, but I really feel that I’m getting exactly what I wanted out of the course and I’m getting some fantastic results too… Only 3 months in and i’ve cracked the phobia and had my first commercial release as mix engineer! It helps having a clear vision of what I want to do, plus having a certain amount of prior experience really does help too, although it isnt essential at all.
After the course I would love to work for one of the top studios (if there are any left by then!) or work for and learn even more from an inspirational a-lister, whilst continuing with my freelance work and personal projects. I’m definitely a grafter so fitting it all in wont be a problem.
Q: Did you do another course before this? School qualification (A/S, BTEC etc) private course at a studio etc etc? Did they help you come onto this course?
A: I went to school (most of the time) and then, after a year out at a local studio in Essex, studied the Commercial Music degree at Westminster University. Music has always been the thing I’m best at and I knew from the age of 5 that I wanted to do music ‘when i grow up’. I started playing drums and piano very young and then got into programming aged 15 with the help of my Atari ST and recording with a Fostex 4 track cassette machine. I loved playing in bands and got a real taste for production too, but it wasn’t really until i left Westminster that i fell in to full time production work. Everything i’ve done so far has shaped who I am, but in terms of actual qualifications, there are no entry requirements for this course and i really believe that in the real world, no one cares that I’ve got A-levels and a degree… its just about experience and whether I can get along well with people and get the job done well.
Q: What is the best thing about the course you are on? Access to great contacts (for future work), access to amazing equipment, superb teaching, or something else?
A: There are three reasons why Alchemea wins hands down for me…
1. First class facilities. The studios are well kitted out and are open 24/7 throughout the year.
2. Truly fantastic lecturers who are always on hand to help with any problems, questions, etc. They always make time for you and help you to develop ideas further and work on stuff you need to improve on.
3. Practical time! When I looked round some of the other courses, I was shocked to see them offering a ‘whopping’ 3 hours of practical time per week… great if you happen to have an SSL at home to practice on! Alchemea offer a minimum of 8 hours per week for each studio you’re working in / projects you’re working on, plus a load of time on the the workstations and programming rooms too. Plus, because class sizes are nice and small, there’s nearly always extra time to extend your sessions so you can really get stuck into a project. I’ve just spent five consecutive days and nights at college, working in the ICON cinema room, the SSL studio and the Soundcraft room. This is a regular week. I’m currently recording singles for 3 bands, mixing a couple of projects, plus writing tracks for one of my own projects, on top of my college workload.
Q: any other comments regarding the experience of the course you are on which these questions have not covered.
A: With all of these things, you really do get out what you put in. A course is ultimately only as good as you make it. Alchemea feels like my second home and has proved to be a fantastic learning environment. It just seems to me, Alchemea is the most well rounded course… Very technical but without doing an electronics degree, and very, very practically minded. After all, the only way to get really good is by doing it.
