Today we’d like to introduce you to Kallie Marie
Hi Kallie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Sure! I got my start initially by attending a performing arts high school, in my native Southern California. From there I started taking night classes at a local community college in audio engineering, recording, songwriting, and music business. I eventually moved to Leeds, England to pursue both a BA (Hons), and an MA in Music Production- with an emphasis on studio production and film scoring. After that I landed in NYC, and have been here ever since. I started out at Skyline Studios, as an intern (which is now Reservoir Studios), while assisting various other sessions around the city and working on Jeff Derringer’s first record. I was also active at that time pitching music for film and TV projects with firms like Nylon Studios, Big Foote Music + Sound, and Wondrous Music. So that was my start. I also spent some time teaching audio and recording at a few institutions around NYC, like NYU SCPS and The Art Institute of NYC, as well as some private audio instruction at Russell Street Recording. It really has been a long and winding path! In more recent times I have joined Mpath as a library composer, Accidental Entertainment as a recording artist and Vanacore Music for a short term residency. I also freelance as a recording engineer and record producer, as well! Somewhere in there I wrote a book, and became active as a music tech and recording industry journalist. There are a lot of plates to spin, but it has kept me going.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth ride, but I dont think I know anyone in this field that has had one. You have to have really good shock absorbers to travel this road. Anyone who’s ever lived in NYC can attest to how wild it is to find and keep housing here, never mind when you have a lot of music equipment that you need to have space for. Its a tough city, and a tough industry. I’ve had a few personal struggles that were hard to get through, and in many ways I am still dealing with them today- In 2010 I was drugged and assaulted, and diagnosed with PTSD the following year. After that it felt like I had to relearn how to be human. I didn’t know what support to look for back then, and was lucky to find a few pockets of help along the way. Around that time I took a step back from the recording studio world to focus on healing, teaching, and my band Explosives For Her Majesty’s second EP, Some Kind of Familiar. I’ve had some health struggles along the way. Around 2014 I was diagnosed with autoimmune disease, and that really forced me to make a lot of life changes and realize that I couldn’t push myself as hard as I had been. Of course the period of 2020-2022 was hard for a lot of people, myself included. I was temporarily un-housed, with all my gear in storage, while writing and releasing my book, ‘Conversations With Women in Music Production’. Its was a perfect storm of being self employed during a global disaster, and being of meager means. It still feels like a miracle that I got through that time period, and that’s a testament to the people around me, and the organizations that have helped me. Over the years I’ve really had to learn to ask for help, and lean into support networks, and to build community where I can. Its been a very humbling journey. I hope that in time I am in a place to give back to others who need the same support I’ve received, and to give something back to those who have helped me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a record producer, recording engineer, composer, and author. I specialize in working with bands/artists from the early stages of pre-production and into the recording studio. I often hand hold the post production process with them, both ensuring that they have the right mix and mastering engineers for their project and overseeing this stage; guiding and liaising the process. As a composer I specialize in music for film, TV, games, and have even written for choreographers and ballet companies. My style is known for bridging the gap between modern classical and dark electronic music, with hints of industrial rock sprinkled in. I am most known for my production value, my music sound design, and the style and aesthetic that I bring to both my own music and those that I produce. Recently, I have become known my work as an author and journalist, after my book won an award from the ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections). I am not really sure what I am most proud of at this point- I think I am proud of my staying power, my resilience, and my resourcefulness. That is part of what sets me apart from others. A lot of people might tell you that what sets them apart is their unique approach or something like that. I think my uncompromising and unwavering dedication to my craft, my values, and to the standards I aspire to, not only in my own music, but in that of the work of others that I am collaborating with- is also something that defines my work. You have to have standards, and you have to stand for something- that ‘stick to it-ness’ is perhaps what sets me apart.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risk taking is an important part of the creative process. Not everyone is suited to be a entrepreneur or a creative, and to do this- you have to be both. There’s a fine line of walking daily with the companion of uncertainty. You have to push yourself constantly in a disciplined way, while leaving room for the joy of play. Playfulness is the life’s breath of creativity- and to be truly creative you have to be willing to fail. I would say that most of my major risks fall in to the category of having chosen to devote my life to something that is, especially right now, on quite shaky grounds, and not that profitable. Somedays it doesn’t feel like a risk at all, because I cant imagine living life any other way. It wouldn’t be living to be trapped in an office. I am just not built that way. It is still terrifying to move forward in that way, and some days it is really hard to keep pushing. I take a risk every time I create something, or write something, or share something. I take a risk when I trust others in a collaborative process, and they in turn with me. I can’t remember who said it, but “Fortune favors the bold”, has always been one of my favorite quotes. We are always faced with choices in life- in fact all of life is a series of choices. We have to make them daily and we do so by basing our choices and actions off of evaluations based on the information we have at the present. Risks should be calculated- and so most of my risks are very carefully calculated. I analyze everything down to as many possible outcomes as I can imagine before landing on which calculated risk to take. I try not to make choices based on fear, because fear often lies to us. I try to make choices based on what I can solve the equation for- what I concretely know, and what I would hope for in an outcome. Sometimes it really is hard to operate that way, and that’s when I think its really good to keep people around you who both understand this kind of risk taking, your goals, your skills, and who are in some way ahead of you- or are in a place you want to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kalliemarie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doomgolly/
- Twitter: https://x.com/DoomGolly
- Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/kallie
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/kalliemarie
Image Credits
Joel Hamilton