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

Tali, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

As it relates to engineering and recording music, I think it was combination of learning from a few immensely talented individuals who were willing to share their knowledge and experience mixed with an immense amount of self-taught trial and error. When I was first starting out in the late 90s, we had the internet, but there wasn’t nearly the amount of “how-to” information out there. If we didn’t know someone with the hardware or software, we pretty much had to figure it out ourselves. Also, unless you were paying for studio time or had a lot of money to spare, the options for home studios were extremely limited. Because of this, we had to make the best out of some really pathetic circumstances. I think a lot of us who started around that time have similar stories, but unique sounds. We didn’t all learn from the same Youtube tutorials. There was a ton of trial and error. Whatever it took to get to the sound we wanted, that’s what we did.

Those were the obstacles. The skills that have always served me best is a having conviction in the decisions I make, but enough humility to know that nothing I think matters if the musicians and I aren’t on the same page. As much as it is nice to have a “good ear,” it is just as important to have the tact and conviction necessary to nurture people’s art. Additionally, what good are the rules if we can’t achieve what we are trying to achieve within them? What works in one situation doesn’t necessarily work in another, so be guided by the rules, but never afraid to break them.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Initially, I got into the music, largely Hip Hop/R&B through making it myself. It definitely started as a hobby. I was always a pretty good writer and it turns out I had some natural rhythm, but I never deluded myself into thinking that the music I was making was in any way conducive to widespread success. Growing up in Atlanta at the time, I knew a lot of people with local labels, semi-regional connections, and even some pretty mainstream connections. I never saw most of those people as being especially happy with what they were doing, whether it was rapping, singing, producing, or running a label. In fact, the main people I saw having a miserable yet perverse sort of fun was the producers/engineers at the studios we went to. Once I had a few studio experiences, I knew for sure that I was better suited do the making and molding of music more so than being the mouthpiece for it, so that’s what I started focusing on.

At this point, I mostly produce, compose, and mix/engineer artists music. I’m not entirely sure what sets me apart from others who do the same things that I do, but one thing I am confident about is my judgement as it relates to what sounds good and what doesn’t. I have the ability to make the works that people send me sound like I had something to do with it. It is hard for me to put it into words, but clients are always asking things like, how did you know that this is how I wanted this to sound? I never have a good answer other than I just try to make things sound the way I would want them to sound if it were my project. I trust myself and it has served me well. know it is vague, but it really is the best way I can think to put it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have two answers to this question. My goal as a producer/engineer is for people to realize their potentials and fulfill their visions musically. For better and worse, I have always been a people-pleaser. If I can help someone with something, I generally do. If someone needs something I can provide, I tend to provide it. When someone comes to me with a song or a project, it becomes part of me and I become a part of it. Even if it isn’t my flavor, I still respect the process and the work that goes into getting it into my hands in the first place. Whether anything I work on blows up or not really isn’t what drives me. I just think it is really cool to be a part of creating legacies. People can pass these works down to their children (maybe not all of them ;)

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

A really easy place to start is by supporting their creative friends. I think most of us have been guilty at various points of life of showing an immense amount of emotional and financial support to our favorite mainstream artists while perhaps not showing the same amount of zeal toward their own family and friends who are doing many of the same things, often times better. We are at a time where creative people have more options than ever AND more responsibilities than ever. We can record our own music. We can mix it. We can get it pressed. We can distribute it. We are as independent as ever AND as reliant on grassroots support as ever, and I’m not sure that we always get it. Support your friends. Buy their shirts. Buy their paintings. Buy their engineering services. Or, if money is an issue, just tell the artist whenever you enjoy something they do. All that costs is a minuscule amount of time and the motivation and drive it provides far outweighs the cost of time spent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://talirod79.com (in the works)
• Instagram: @talirod79
• Other: A lot of what I do is word of mouth. I don’t really advertise what I do because I like the balance I have with work and music, but I will get some of these other things going soon.

Image Credits
Just me. I can have my wife (photographer/videographer) take some much nicer photos. I just didn’t know how much time we had, so if we still have a few days, I’m happy to get some better visuals for yall.