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

Emma, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I started in audio by recording my own songs, and then went to Columbia College Chicago to learn everything I could. My first year at Columbia was during the pandemic, and I felt I needed to get into a studio and put my hands on a board to learn more, so I got an internship at Rax Trax Recording. I started as an intern in 2021, learning from the accomplished and talented engineers there and eventually working my way up to running sessions. I have had the privilege to work with incredible musicians in almost every genre; however, working with Kacie Brown and The Vision has been one of my favorite projects to date.

I met Kacie through mutual friends in the Columbia music program and had the opportunity to record a few ensembles she was in while we were in school, but I have always loved the music she writes with her band. I was incredibly honored when she asked me to be the engineer for her upcoming record. Before working with Kacie, I usually worked with artists on singles or as a recording engineer, but this was one of the first big projects I have worked on with a band. Despite the nerves I had during our first session, everything has gone exactly as it should have. It has been amazing to watch these songs and Kacie’s writing style develop in the process. Working on this project has made me love working in audio even more than I did before. The process of taking the idea of a song and making it into something tangible to be shared with others is a process that I feel incredibly lucky to help facilitate for artists.

Emma, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Emma Butterworth, I’m an audio engineer and Folk-Rock musician based out of Chicago. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, watching my dad navigate the music industry and play with his band, The Nadas. I started performing with them from a young age, so it seemed inevitable that I would begin writing my own music. When I had amassed enough songs that were good enough to release, I started to record my first EP, “Wild Life,” in my basement with my dad. We recorded nearly everything ourselves, and during this project, I began to fall in love with audio. After graduating from high school in 2020, I moved to Chicago to learn as much as I could about audio in college. My first year was almost entirely online because of the pandemic, and I knew I had to get experience in an actual studio to be the engineer I wanted to be, so I began interning at Rax Trax Recording. During my time in college, I wrote, produced, and recorded my first full-length record, called “Fool’s Gold,” and began touring the Midwest. I started out playing solo shows, mostly in bars and restaurants in Iowa, but then grew into bigger venues. All the while, I worked my way up the ranks at Rax Trax and began running sessions, from stripped-back French love songs to full-band, robust R&B to hard rock bands.
I’m incredibly lucky that both of my passions have become my job, and extremely proud of how well they complement each other. I feel that my background as a musician makes me a stronger engineer, and my knowledge as an engineer makes me a better songwriter.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have a few core beliefs when it comes to working with artists. Everyone should always be as comfortable as possible, the entire time. When an artist comes into a session with me, all they should have to focus on is the project they’ve created. Part of capturing that performance is creating an environment that makes an artist feel relaxed. Whether it is their first session in a studio or their seventy-fifth, I want artists to walk out feeling happy, confident, and at home. In addition, I want to cultivate a positive relationship with all of my clients. I think this plays into the comfort factor. As a musician myself, I know how it feels to record with people you don’t know or connect with, so I strive to make myself a little less of a stranger.. Being a musician makes me a better audio engineer, and vice versa.

As an artist, I try to make people feel less alone. I usually write about my life experiences, and often at shows, I tell the stories behind my songs. My hope is that through sharing my experiences, listeners can feel seen.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is making people feel less alone. At every show, I tell personal stories about my songs with the hope that people can relate. My favorite part about being an audio engineer is taking songs that have been only played live or recorded with their phones and making them into something beautiful and tangible that can be shared with listeners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emmabutterworth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmabutterworthmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmabutterworthmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmabutterworthmusic
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3D1IJnvrUiPBF1uu1JdAlu?si=m8LnkotGSM-rfYb8nNUcPA

Image Credits

Mollie Menuck
Sarah Swenson
Reide Pearson