Live with Matt Rad #117
Nov 12, 2026
w/ Cian Riordan - Week 7
Show notes by Bradley Will
Show Notes
Matt:
There's something nice about getting out of my established studio setup because it breaks me out of my usual habits.
Cian:
It's liberating to rely on other people to help you carry other roles in a session, rather than trying to do everything by yourself. A great assistant makes all of the difference.
New studio and new speakers
Cian:
I've been trying new speakers for a few years now. From ATC 25's, to PMC 6-2's, before I landed on Neumann 350s and I'm very happy with them.
Shout out to Joshua Estock at Neumann. They've been a great company to work with.
The only caveat is that they don't have DSP EQ that I can adjust independent of Neumann's room correction software, which I don't use.
I've recently moved into a new house and had to set up a new mix room.
Kyle Mann of Studio Design Partners of Los Angeles helped me spec out custom membrane absorbers in my room to control the bass in my new mix room.
These allow me to control the time-domain-response of the room and keep certain bass notes from ringing out.
Evening out the time-domain of a room (not just an even frequency response) is the difference between a good and a great room.
It's really impressive when the bass in a room is that controlled.
Moving to Los Angeles as a musician
Cian:
Los Angeles still feels like the center of the record-making universe. I've really seen the benefit of having boots on the ground here. A lot of my opportunities have sprung from this proximity.
Moving to the right part of town does matter. It helps to be in a neighborhood with some sort of music-making nucleus to engage with. Otherwise you're living in an expensive city without the benefits.
I don't think it's necessary if you're an artist and just interested in making great shit. It may be beneficial to stay put and maximize your money by living in an affordable place. But if you're trying to be a songwriter and producer, LA is the place to be.
Matt:
LA isn't necessary to start your career, but it is a great place to accelerate it. It's an epicenter for musical acceleration.
People still want to make stuff in person with their friends, and there's a large concentration of talent in Los Angeles.
It's not that everyone is in LA, but everyone passes through LA.
Cian:
The caliber of professional talent here is high. There are very high standards and I work with people who are operating at a very high level.
What trends have you been seeing from incoming projects?
Cian:
I'm working on 2-3 songs a day as a mixer. That's a lot of records.
People are getting better. I'm "fighting for my life" to maintain relevancy as a mixer. By the time project hit my desk they're much more finished than they were 10-15 years ago. They're finished and they're good.
I'm hearing a lot more "real" instruments and live instrumentation. Real drum sets, etc. I'm seeing a lot of new perspectives on how people craft sounds.
The producers and artists have so many new tools, and the mix engineer themselves have even more tools to field all of that stuff. You can really move mountains these days.
Matt:
The artists I'm working with have a very different reference point for the sound of live instruments than I might.
Artists don't want things to sound like they're not in the computer.
