Since getting a start with community radio at CKUT, I’ve been podcasting on and off for nearly a decade, handling everything from recording interviews to managing RSS feeds. I am currently producing a podcast on Music Science research, The So Strangely podcast. Additionally, I’m a regular producer and editor for the Three Patch Podcast (NSFW). Besides coordinating and producing audio for podcasts, I’ve also recorded and produced audiobooks (podfics).

The So Strangely Podcast
The So Strangely Podcast is a new project to share the how and why of research work in the interdisciplinary field of Music Science. Each episode I have a fellow academic share a recommendation for a recently published project and together we interview the main author on how the research came about, what the challenges were, and what they see as the implications of the results. The goal is to have the nitty-gritty discussion we get into after conference presentations and share them with an audience outside of our disciplinary boundaries, bridging the knowledge gap that can interfere with our appreciation related research outside of our own fields of study. Find the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, via RSS, directly on the website, or listen to episode 1 below, on Music Anhedonia with Amy Belfi and guest Psyche Loui.

The Three Patch Podcast
The Three Patch Podcast is a collective run fandom podcast out of the BBC Sherlock fandom that engages in critical analysis of the source media, squeeful discussion of transformative works, and exploration of our fandom culture. Our production style is edited conversation, rather than spontaneous talk, and we strive for the best possible audio quality as well as carefully produced content. With this group I’ve had the chance to produce many kinds of segments. We usually record interviews and roundtable discussions over Skype (a process which involves teaching new participants how the record audio themselves). When attending fandom conventions with this group, I record panel discussion and events for later broadcast. On the more creative side, I also enjoy sampling and mixing source media with music, for bumpers or comic segments. The podcast is sex positive (and often NSFW) and it is with this group that I ran the Fandom and Sexuality survey in 2016.  Here is an example of our discussions: the reaction roundtable to The Lying Detective, episode 2 of Sherlock series 4.

Audiobook recording
Podficcing, the activity of producing readings of fanfiction, may be less formal than professional audiobook production but the skills and work are much the same. I’ve produced recordings of stories ranging from 300 to 170 000 words, resulting in more than 30 hours of audio. Direct feedback from hundreds of listeners suggest that the results are sufficiently enjoyable, despite the absence of geographically appropriate accents. Below is my reading of a short festive kidlock short story: Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Father Christmas.

The Montreal Dancing Diaries
In 2009, I started contributing a radio program on dancing, Movement Museum, at the community-college radio station CKUT. To bring more of the sensations of dance to air, I started a series call the Dancing Diaries, in which I documented different kinds of dancing activities people could enjoy around town. The result would be a mixture of interviews with instructors, recordings from the dance floor, and voice over describing my experience and understanding of what was going on. The series covered Argentinian Tango, a mash of Indian classical dances, a collection of Urban Dance styles, Irish Ceilidh dancing, Belly dancing, and Swing. This is one of the less embarrassing examples of this early radio work, on Swing dancing.

Audio recording and production tech
In terms of software, I work with ProTools, Amadeus Pro, Audacity, and Audio Hijack. I use a Blue Yeti for recording online conversations and voice work at home, basic lavs and a field recorder for walking interviews, and (preferably) whatever PA I can tap into at live events. I have set up a small mixer (physical and digital) and amplification for small events, but it’s not my area of expertise.