We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah DiMuzio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

During the first lockdown of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic my life slowed down enough for me to turn my attention to learning new skills that I’d often wished I’d had more time to invest in. My interest in audio/music tech blossomed after just a few weeks of teaching myself the basics of home-recording, and pretty soon I got my first job working in music tech software. I learned so much from that job for a year and a half, and it inevitably led me to learn more about music tech hardware. I felt empowered by everything I was learning and found it contributed positively to my career as a professional songwriter. I learned to solder at a company that built custom Neve mixing desks, and I fell in love with the art of assembly and wiring. I then had the skills to make my own effects pedals (which I had tried to do as a teenager without much success), and I quickly fell in love with the art form. I found myself having visions of music gear I wanted to see in the world, and I had the ability to bring these visions to life. Every project is a chance to learn new things. I started out with kits, then clone circuits, and now I’m learning to design my own circuits. I teach myself everything as I go – the Internet and my experience and intuition as my guides. I don’t think there’s anything I could have done or could do differently to speed up my learning process. I am a kinesthetic learner and I find the best way to learn is to simply dive in. I’ve thought about going to college to study electronics, but I don’t thrive in a classroom environment, and I’ve learned in my 28 years of life that I need an emotional connection to a subject in order to find it interesting. But once I find something interesting I tend to dive fully in!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an effects pedal designer and builder who is striving to bring colorful, artistic, innovative designs to the often visually stagnant world of music technology. My goal is to collaborate, connect, and make space for everyone who’s ever felt excluded from the tech world. I’m finding there’s a niche of other musicians who are equally as inspired by the aesthetic of their gear as I am, and finding this community of colorful, joyful gear enthusiasts inspires me to keep going.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

One thing that seems to be constant in my journey into the music tech world is my desire to fuse femininity and technology. Early on in my career I felt the need to hide my femininity, or dull it down in order to be taken seriously in the tech world, but the more I built my skillset and confidence, the more I began embracing my femininity in everything I do – from the way I dress, to the designs I bring to life. I love drama, color, flair, and beautiful details and I try to incorporate those things into my work instead of shying away from them.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I would say I’m currently experiencing a big life/career pivot. My background is in professional songwriting, but out of necessity to make ends meet in LA during the pandemic I had to hone new skills and expand my revenue streams. Luckily I have a technical mind that was hungry to learn about new systems, and I was surprised by how much I loved working in music tech. After months of trying to do both professional songwriting and day jobs involved with different areas of music tech, I decided to switch gears and focus on starting my own audio company to take the pressure off making money from my songwriting. Being a professional creative can be so hard, especially in economic crises like the one we’re currently experiencing, and I find that if I have more creative outlets that can provide different revenue streams, I am less likely to burn out on the things I love doing most in the world (creating).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://whim-music.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinkinaudio/?hl=en