Austin Asvanonda on SoundBetter

GRAMMY award winner for his work with The War On Drugs, Austin Asvanonda, is a Recording Engineer, Mixing and Mastering Engineer, Producer and Multi Instrumentalist. Experienced working in professional grade studios in the Greater Los Angeles Area with bands and engineers like: Lo Moon, Chris Walla, Shawn Everett, Francois Tetaz, Sitting On Stacy, Western Waters, and many more!

Hey there!

I specialize and offer advanced audio editing/timing, mixing, and mastering. I have prepared large sessions for mixing/mastering and am used to high stress situations with tight deadlines. I always try to keep everything sounding as natural as I can without sacrificing sonic textures and time based effects, like reverbs and delays, to create a texture underneath the song so the listener can discover something new every time. My work is most described as being "punchy, a sonic landscape, tight, and the occasional fat". The song not only has to sound good but most importantly feel good. I achieve this by making very musical adjustments when needed instead of surgical and "dry" movements.

I worked with the band "The War On Drugs" for their most recent, GRAMMY award winning, record "A Deeper Understanding". I then moved on to work freelance in my area as a recording engineer and formed a couple bands through the process. So I know what its like to be on both sides of the glass.

I am huge on communication during any recording/mixing /mastering process. I want to hear what your vision is on the project and where you imagine the end result to be

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Austin Asvanonda

The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs

8 Reviews - 1 Repeat Client

Endorse Austin Asvanonda

by Stefan M.
Verified
Excellent, speedy, professional. Could not be happier.
by Glenn S.
Verified
Austin did a great job mastering my song. The communication was excellent. He worked quickly, and the quality of the master was outstanding; a very professional job all around. It was a very satisfying experience working with him.
by Mardog213
This guy has an unbelievable work ethic. I’ve never seen an engineer giving it 10/10 effort for over 18 hours. He also did an incredible job, made our song sound DOPE!
by David K.
I have worked with many engineers and Austin has proven to be the most professional and overal best engineer I have worked with. I highly recommend Austin for all genres of recording.
by Greco
In the times I’ve had Austin’s help, not only have I been more than pleased, but have learned something new with each project. Truly does care for the art of making music in every way( recording/mixing/writing etc.)
by Jeff
Austin has not only the technical knowledge to help with any project, but also the creative knowledge. He is definitely someone you want on your team in any musical endeavor.
by Carter Jahn
Austin Asvanonda? Not in my house. This guy shoulda been named Austin AsvaTONEda. I mean, he does it all. You want insane drum tones? You want guitars with reverb on it’s delayed delays? You want that Blake Mills bass knuckle? You want vocals that make you weap for years? Stop shopping engineers. Get everything done right here. Austin is the man. I’ve worked with him on pretty much every record I’ve ever put my hands on. Do yourself a favor, and use this guy.
by Ian
Austin has been an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. I have had the opportunity to recruit him for his services on multiple projects over the last few months and every single time he delivers top notch work in a timely and professional manner. He's helped me record both instruments and vocals as well as aided in mixing and mastering on a few different songs. I recently needed an album mastered and he finished it on a rushed time scale which I couldn't be more thankful for. I highly recommend Austin for all your audio needs from demoes to full length albums!

Interview with Austin Asvanonda

Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: A EP for Mrs Gill and a feaure film Come Into Your Own
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will do my best work and not half ass your project
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can you fix that in the mix? and Usually I respond with yes because with todays technology you can fix most things in post production. But I always try and re track if we have the option because if we can nail the sound right going in it can only get better
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I can fix everything in the mix. It all starts with the right vibe and performance. You can only polish a turd into a shiny turd.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What are some sample tracks that inspired this song? Where do you intend on this project ending up (Film, Tv, Spotify, CD) ? When do you want the track finished?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Make sure the vibe is right for your track. Every mixer brings something different to the table
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Easy. 1073, 1176 blackface, Coles 4038, Gibosn Hummingbird, UA Apollo 8
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I went to school for audio in 2015 and graduated 2016 with my diploma in audio technology. My first job was working as an intern at a studio called Sonora Recorders. I slowly worked my way up to assistant engineer and on days where the main engineer couldn't come in I would fill in his spot. I then worked with the band The War On Drugs for most of my career. After Sonora I worked freelance in Ventura county focusing on building my name out in my area. I did projects like live sound, editing, session work, live performer, mixing, mastering, and anything I could get my hands on. In January of 2018 I was awarded a Grammy for my work in the most recent War On Drugs album. I've been engineering since 2016 but playing music since 2012.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I love using time based effects (reverbs and delays) that sit behind instruments which gives the listener a unexplainable third dimension. I also love punchy sounding drums that hit you right in the face.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: John Mayer. A lot of my guitar style originates from him and I think he is a great songwriter/producer.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Parallel compression with a small high pass filter around 120-200 hertz can add a lot of energy and excitement to a section of a song. Ride the volume on the chorus to give it just a little more bite than anything else.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I love to work with singer songwriters, folk, country, americana, blues, anything in that ares. I really enjoy working with live instruments and pulling the best out of take.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: What I bring to a song is another creative POV that the artist was never hearing.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: At my home studio I am currently using the Apollo 8 for editing and rough mixes. I also have access to a couple other studios, one in Santa Rosa Valley (Orion 32, Royer 121, Oceanus Latenus, UA 710, 1176, Adam A7, 421) and studios in LA (SSL Duality, LA2A, Great River, Great microphones, Toft ATB 24, AWS 900, Avid S6).
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: To just mention a few: John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Christopher Walla
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I am mostly involved with the recording/mixing/mastering in projects
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I worked as an assistant engineer/engineer for "A Deeper Understanding" by The War On Drugs. Im proud of my role because not only did it win a GRAMMY but I also was able to get work at some amazing studios and work with some amazing engineers
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. Because they both have their benefits and disadvantages! But combined its powerful as hell
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Making something meaningful
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: It is different every time but the first step for me no matter what situation is to always talk with the artist before starting anything. I always want to hear what they vision for the song and what the song means to them. It is my job to create that vision and help them get 1 step closer.