Darwin DAWS

There’s more to making good music than having a banging tune. 

By Tamara Howie

Musician and producer Steven Lees is hosting workshops to help Territory musicians improve their production values and think about the overall sound in their work.

“It’s about thinking about sound rather than songwriting,” he says.

“Songwriting is super important, but if it sounds terrible no one is going to listen to it.”

Lees has called Melbourne home for the last three years and is returning to the Top End to share some of the skills he’s picked up down south at the workshop titled Darwin DAWS (digital audio workstations).

Lees will run the first workshop as an introduction to sound editing software, including Ableton, and local producer James Mangohig will hold a master class in production.

“This is for everyone of all ages and I’d encourage people who don’t use any recording software to come down because it’s an introduction,” Lees says.

“It doesn’t matter what stage of a musician or producer you are, you will learn something about audio that you may not have known.”

The workshops are designed to help musicians see the value that using a computer and technology can add to their craft.

“There’s a few musicians in Darwin just doing the bedroom thing,” Lees says.

“We want to bring out the computer and talk about production and sampling and create an environment where people can share their own experiences about editing and build on that creativity.

“I want to see the quality of music coming out of the NT improve because the NT is not off the radar in other states, but everyone has to be their own business and push what they do.”

There will also be a listening party so local musicians can showcase their work and get feedback from working producers.

Sun 16 Sep | 4pm | Darwin Railway Club | $15 | See the event listing