'Ask Me Anything': Isobel answers ALL your questions live on the podcast

n this Ask Me Anything episode of the Girls Twiddling Knobs podcast, Isobel Anderson answers listener questions spanning music careers, collaboration, production, business sustainability, sound art, and gender equity in the music industry.

Recorded as one of the final episodes before Girls Twiddling Knobs comes to a close, this conversation is candid, thoughtful, and deeply reflective. Isobel shares hard-won insights from five years of running a feminist music tech platform, alongside practical advice for artists, producers, educators and organisers working at the grassroots.

Topics covered include:

• How to run a creative business without burning out
• Setting boundaries around time, money and energy
• When collaborations are no longer serving you and how to walk away professionally
• Finding a co-producer when you are not part of established music circles
• Making a living as a producer or mixer today
• Creating safer, more intentional spaces for women in songwriting and music
• Reducing noise in field recording, contact mic and hydrophone work
• The thinking behind Isobel’s recent ceramics and voice installation
• What cis men can do to actively support gender equity in music
• How the Girls Twiddling Knobs podcast will be archived for future listeners

Whether you are an emerging artist, an experienced practitioner, or someone thinking about building community in music and sound, this episode offers reassurance, honesty and practical guidance for navigating creative work on your own terms.

Ready to level up your music making with the powerful art of field recording? Download my new FREE Essential Gear Checklist to Start Field Recording With Your Smartphone >>

Love Girls Twiddling Knobs? Leave a review wherever you're listening and let me know!

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Girls Twiddling Knobs is hosted by Isobel Anderson and produced by Isobel Anderson and Jade Bailey.

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Transcript

00:01.08
Isobel Anderson
Hello and welcome back to Girls Twiddling Knobs. Now, this is our third to last episode of the podcast because Girls Twiddling Knobs at the end of this year is coming to an end. And that means that these last few episodes are all about wrapping up this incredible project.

00:19.00
Isobel Anderson
And so don't go anywhere because we have some fantastic episodes that you will want not want to miss. and Not least next week, I'm going to be sat down with the incredible Rosie Bands, who is an amazing musician, a business owner, and has known Girls Twiddling Nobs intimately for the last, I don't know how long, about when we were talking, we worked it was a very, very, very long time, right from the very, very beginning so to couple of years, 2018, 2019. So we have known each other for a while now, and she has known Girls Twiddling Nobs as a student, as a team member, and then

00:54.59
Isobel Anderson
most most recently as one of my peers. And I asked her to come on the podcast because I wanted to be able to talk through why I've decided to close Girls Twiddling Knobs, but I just knew that if I tried to do it on my own, I'd just be waffling and ranting and it wouldn't be a particularly, you know, great episode to listen to maybe. And so she came on and we chatted and it's a wonderful, like honest, open, heartfelt conversation about all the things that have led to me making this decision to close Girls Twiddling Knobs. when you know in lots of ways is a huge success and very much still in its peak but there's some very good reasons why i'm closing this chapter so do stick around for that next week and then also after that i will be sharing the absolute final episode of the podcast which will be a love letter to women and gender diverse people in music

01:52.68
Isobel Anderson
It's what I would love for you to take moving forward into 2026 and beyond after the podcast and the whole Girls Twiddling Knops ecosystem ends. So definitely take keep a lookout for that as well. But today, the episode that you're listening to today is and also a real treat because it's an Ask Me Anything episode. And i got in touch with all of our listeners and said,

02:17.28
Isobel Anderson
You can ask me anything. It can be about your music career. It could be about music tech. It could be about starting a business as obviously that's what I've done here with Girls Filling Nobs and been running it for the last five years. It could be about the future of women in music tech. It could be around... my own decisions to close Girls Twiddling Knobs. It could be about what I'm going to do next.

02:38.55
Isobel Anderson
It could be about everything and anything that we've covered on the podcast or haven't touched on yet. I'm an open book. And so I put that call out to everyone and you responded and you asked me some amazing questions.

02:51.70
Isobel Anderson
And so that's what this episode is. I've got my coffee by my side, which I'm going to take a sip of.

02:56.53
Isobel Anderson
I've got a rainy December afternoon outside my window and I'm going to get into your questions. So i can't wait. I think you're going to love this. I actually haven't read through them. I intentionally decided I'm going to just take these. and react on the podcast as they come.

03:15.68
Isobel Anderson
But if you've got any other questions, if this episode inspires you, then feel free to ask them on our social media. Go to, on Instagram, go to at girlstwiddlingnobs and we can carry on the conversation there.

03:28.70
Isobel Anderson
But let's get into it. And by the way, some people have asked to keep their names anonymous. So we will just say that this question is from anonymous. Other people are up for us sharing who it is. So I will say if there's a name I can say, I'll say so that you can find your question easily.

03:44.78
Isobel Anderson
And our first question is from Rachel Playfair, who asks... So I'm starting an online business to help non-native English speakers write lyrics in English, combining their multicultural strengths and their goals to reach a bigger audience. Love that, Rachel. What a great idea. Rachel continues to say, from your Girls Twiddling Knobs experience, what advice do you have to maintain an online business like that and still leave time for other projects like one's own music or whatever so that it doesn't get overwhelming?

04:20.36
Isobel Anderson
Such a good question and something that I don't think is that easy to answer because it does depend on so many factors. but it's something that I've definitely struggled with for sure I struggled with it in those first few years of starting girls twiddling knobs in particular so particularly the first sort of three years of when i was able to go full-time with it and make it my full-time gig and because it was my first time ever running a business which is very different to freelancing you know when you're running a business where you're serving multiple customers like

05:41.24
Isobel Anderson
I think that there's a lot, it it really depends on what phase you're in in your life. And for some people, they'll just want to throw everything at something and go hell to leather. And I completely respect that because I think sometimes that's that's where we're at and that's fine. And sometimes that's what is required and that's also fine, just not forever.

06:00.96
Isobel Anderson
But I think that I would be really clear what What what is your what what are your boundaries basically for this business?

06:11.29
Isobel Anderson
So and give yourself more time than you think you should have or can have. a lot of the time we tell ourselves a lot of stories about how much time something can take or has to take.

06:23.95
Isobel Anderson
So for example, if you really, really want to keep time aside for your music, decide right now upfront, well, how much time is that? Like how much time a week are we talking?

06:35.46
Isobel Anderson
Is it that you want to have an afternoon a week on your music or is it that you want three days a week on your music? Those are two very different situations that will require different boundary setting for you as a business owner.

06:49.18
Isobel Anderson
So if it's that you're like, no, I need like three whole days on my music and I need two days to do all the lifing stuff with like my family and cleaning the house and doing the food shop and resting and God, it's not enough time, is it?

07:04.60
Isobel Anderson
Then that means you've got two days a week to run your business. So then you've got to be really clear on, right, two days a week is not a lot. And so therefore, you know, how am I going to pack the most I can into those two days? And or how am I going to give myself a plan that allows a bit more time?

07:22.24
Isobel Anderson
it might take you longer, but you're really clear on why you're taking longer to establish this business because you're keeping that time aside for your music. So I guess the bottom line is like, decide upfront, where are my boundaries? How, what's the maximum I'm going to work on this business each week?

08:02.98
Isobel Anderson
you'll go through phases where you're just pulling all the hours just to do the thing you know so I would say like you've got to do that up front you've got to do it before you think you're even entitled to do it drawing those boundaries because you can't work yourself to that point you can't work hard enough that you earn enough of an income that you can then go down to two days a week for example it just doesn't work like that what will happen is You'll work really hard.

08:31.90
Isobel Anderson
You'll maybe find some successes like you'll make some profit or you'll you know be able to hire people or you'll be able to do X, Y, z And all that will happen is then more work will come from that.

08:44.07
Isobel Anderson
So what you've got to do is upfront decide what? where are my boundaries with this? And as much as possible, stick to them. And when you're veering off them, have strategies for coming back and grounding and re-centering yourself and reminding yourself of those priorities and reminding yourself that slow is not always bad. You know, if it means that you're holding true to the the values and the principles that you have around your music, your health, your family etc etc you know there's so many other things it could be as well so Rachel I hope that helps but I love that kind of question because it's something that's been a you know a big conversation in my mind over the last five years running girls twiddling knobs and and like I said not something that I've found easy to get right in inverted commas

09:32.34
Isobel Anderson
another sip of coffee. So our next question is from an anno an anonymous listener who says, realise this is not the kind of question you're looking for, okay, but I thought I'd throw it in the hat anyway, just in case. I would like to set up a local women's songwriting study group for developing skills and challenging ourselves in the craft of songwriting. Oh, I love that. That's great. And so and to support local networks for women songwriters on what can sometimes be a lonely road.

10:06.71
Isobel Anderson
Have you ever been involved in something like that? I'm wondering if you have any advice experience you can share about what is essential for it to work well. How many people is optimum? How to make the space feel safe and positive and productive? What are the pros and cons? I'm guessing you'll get lots more relevant questions. So if this doesn't make sense, no worries.

10:39.98
Isobel Anderson
When we're thinking about having a space that is in person, we have to be really intentional about how we approach that space. We do when it's online and a lot of the stuff, like almost everything I've done in girls' twigging ops has been online. But most of the stuff I did before that and actually some of the stuff I'm doing now is in person.

10:59.79
Isobel Anderson
when you're in person it obviously adds a new dimension where you are literally in the fresh and you're literally in a room so and I think when you're thinking about it being a space for women there are are some considerations that I would make the first consideration I would make is having a think and a chat about when you say women what do you mean by that umm I'm not going to get into the politics of, you know, what is the right definition of that. That's not my job right now today. But that is something that i did with Girls Twilling Nobs. If it's a kind of local, not-for-profit, just a grassroots like community thing, you're not necessarily have the money to like consult with someone on this. But I would have a think about what you mean by women and why. And if you're drawing any boundaries around that, why?

11:51.25
Isobel Anderson
Because it is probable that at some point this is going to be a question you're going to have to answer or there might be people in the room that that kind of pose that question. And I think it's really important that you've thought about that first and you're clear on if you're drawing boundaries on who can enter that space, why are you drawing them? And how do you articulate articulate that to people? And also know that you won't ever please everyone. Whichever you know definition you have, there will always be someone that is unhappy about that. But I do think it's important that you think about that. You asked how many people is optimum.

12:29.89
Isobel Anderson
It does kind of depend on how many people are holding the space. If it's just you, it also depends on how experienced you are. If it's just you and you're not that experienced with holding in-person workshop or sharings or, you know, those kinds of sessions, then I would start small. You know, I would start with no more than five people attending because you might have a lot to hold there. And I think going a little bit easier on yourself at the beginning is the best thing to do because songwriting obviously can be incredibly personal. And,

13:07.17
Isobel Anderson
just vulnerable for not just the people sharing the songs, but the people hearing them and the conversations that they can bring up. So i would definitely, if you're not that experienced at that, start small and go with, you know, maximum five people in the room, think not including you.

13:26.70
Isobel Anderson
Apart from, terms of considerations, apart from really being clear on what do you mean by women and who is welcome in that space, I would also be thinking about how you set that space up when people enter the room.

13:41.81
Isobel Anderson
How do you help people feel or even before people enter the room? How do you help people feel safe? And a lot of the time people say this is a safe space. I don't I'm not sure I really like that term because I think that safe means different things for different people. But one of the ways that we can help people feel safe and encourage safety is by really good communication.

14:04.54
Isobel Anderson
So before people enter the room, make sure that they've had an email a couple of days before that really goes through. This is how this is going to work. When you come to the to the building, i will welcome you at the door. When you come into the space, you can sit wherever you want, you know, however, whatever it is. Walk someone through what's going to happen and that will really help them to feel safe. It will also help you to have a sense of what's going to happen during that time.

14:31.33
Isobel Anderson
I think that's especially helpful if you're starting something yourself in your community because you might not have the infrastructure around you to support you doing it. also communicate right up front this is who this space is for hopefully you've done that you know when you've invited people to register but also to kind of say look here's some ground rules this is to keep all of us safe we won't tolerate so it could be hate speech it could be any kind of physical unwanted physical contact including aggression, I know it can sound a bit like, oh, that's overkill.

15:05.71
Isobel Anderson
But if you communicate these things up front, then A, people are far more likely to feel safe. B, people are more likely to understand how to behave in those spaces and C, if somebody does cross a boundary, then you already know you've communicated it and they already know you have. And you can say, look, this was this was in the email I sent.

15:27.05
Isobel Anderson
By showing up, you've agreed to this and you've now violated that. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, for example. Whereas if you just took it that everyone knows that you don't share hate speech and then somebody says something hate speechy,

15:40.93
Isobel Anderson
and and and then gets all kind of upset that you're asking them to leave, that's really messy. Whereas if you've communicated these things up front, it's just a lot cleaner and it covers your back. So you feel safe. And I think that's really important as someone facilitating. It's really important you feel safe.

15:56.67
Isobel Anderson
And then the other thing I would say is just to be really clear about how is it, what what is going to be able to be held in that space and what's not.

16:06.34
Isobel Anderson
So it could be that there's certain, you know, traumatic experiences that you can say, look, if you are sharing a song that deals with these kinds of experiences, please let us know before you play it so that anyone who might be triggered can leave the room or prepare themselves, whatever it might be. Because like I said, with songwriting, it can bring up stuff that is quite deep. And that's really important to protect people in the room and yourself. And also to say like this, I think to state really clearly and to say this right up front before people even get to the room, like in this email that you're going to send, hopefully,

16:45.70
Isobel Anderson
to say this is not a therapy group. So we cannot, we are not qualified, we don't have capacity to offer you therapy. So therefore, if you are bringing songs that are dealing with quite personal experiences, please know that we will not be able to, you know, unpack those or help you process them or work through them. We will just be focusing on The lyricism, the melody, the chords, the form, the structure, the delivery, which I know can feel a bit like, oh, how can you separate those things? But again, it's about protecting each other and yourself.

17:24.65
Isobel Anderson
So those are the big ones, I would say. The other thing I would say about having a women and songwriting group would be thinking about where it's being held and when. So just basically safety.

17:38.24
Isobel Anderson
It's the venue that you're holding it in. Is it down a dark street? Is it a time where there's not going to be many streetlights on? you know Or are there good public transport links where people don't have to worry about walking down dark streets on their own?

18:09.65
Isobel Anderson
And as a woman, and particularly if you've had experiences in the past, that may be not a great situation at all. So I would think definitely about how you're, where you're holding it. And if there are any questions around people's safety, getting to the venue, being really upfront about that and making sure that they, they know that, you know, so that's my cat. If you can hear that scratching my chair. Yeah.

18:38.48
Isobel Anderson
make sure that they know that they may have a five, 10 minute walk to the nearest bus stop or something. That's a lot already. There's more I could say, but I'm going to leave it there. I hope that was helpful. I'm sure that was helpful for other people thinking about running workshops. Again, I have lots I can share on this. These are great questions. Next up, we have a question from Hannah.

19:00.76
Isobel Anderson
And Hannah says, do you have any advice for assessing whether a collaboration is working for you or how to walk away professionally without burning bridges? Oh, that's a good question. And we actually did a episode. actually said I did an episode so it was a solo one and it was all about collaboration.

19:19.93
Isobel Anderson
So do check that out. I can't remember exactly the episode number, but I will link to it in the show notes. So we do talk about that a lot in in that episode.

19:32.02
Isobel Anderson
But to come back to your question, Hannah, do you have any advice for assessing whether a collaboration is working for you? My number one thing My number one thing that I think is like a minimum is, do you feel good in their presence? Like, do you feel good in about yourself when you're with them?

19:52.63
Isobel Anderson
And that's not in a kind of needy way or an egotistical way. It's just like, when I'm with this person, does it feel empowering or do I feel belittled or do I feel small or do I feel a bit down, negative always check in with that first. And if working with that person does not lift you up and does not feel empowering and makes you feel a bit small or a bit down or a bit kind of negative about things, then that's that's a really good sign that it might not be the right collaboration for you.

20:22.92
Isobel Anderson
However, sometimes like we we have a collaboration where we don't have to spend a lot of time with someone and they've just got these skills are like really needed for a project or a really helpful for something. And it's totally worth like working with them because you're not with them every day and it's going to help you actually get a project over the line. You know, you're just, you've got a professional collaboration. It's fine. But if it's where you've got to spend a lot of time with someone, especially I would really be checking in with like, does this person feel,

20:52.87
Isobel Anderson
you know, good. Do I feel sparky? Do I feel positive? Do I feel like I'm kind of lifted up by this? Or does it feel a bit kind of flat or a bit heavy or a bit, yeah, like I saying, like I feel a bit small even.

21:08.23
Isobel Anderson
so that's number one. Number two is i would kind of ask, is this collaboration actually genuinely adding something to your work, like your practice? So are you working with someone just because you get on with them, but you basically have the same skill set? It's always really important when you're collaborating, I think, where someone's actually bringing something that you don't have and you can bring something that they may not have. And together you get to do something that's bigger than the sum of its parts.

21:36.13
Isobel Anderson
So, you know, a good example of this might be that maybe, like for example, actually, I've got really good real life situation where I've just finished writing and producing a new album. And it's at the stage where I've also kind of mixed a lot of it because just as I've been writing it, I'm mixing as I write.

22:08.95
Isobel Anderson
And who isn't me, who can just listen and just do that final pass where everything can hopefully just polish and shine and punch through. and I need someone to help me do that. If I try and do it myself, I'm worried I'm just going to miss things and it's not going to be as punchy and as kind of sparkly and shimmering as if I'd actually just passed over to somebody else.

22:30.97
Isobel Anderson
So this is a good example where I need someone to come in and do this final push bring this record over the line do the final mix and then master it that doesn't have to be the same person but it could be and so I'm really clear on why I would collaborate a kind of collaboration I know we're not going to necessarily do it together although you you know you could certainly do the mixing with somebody but It's an example of why I might work with someone. It's another good example of where I don't have to like love hanging out with that person.

23:04.45
Isobel Anderson
It's more important that they get the music, they like the music and they have the skills to just polish everything up and lift it up to that final kind of high quality professional standard for me.

23:17.61
Isobel Anderson
so, so there's kind of two things, like how do you feel with them? And then also dode are they actually adding to the work that you're making? And also, you know, sometimes just as importantly, are you adding something to, do you feel like you bring something to that collaboration?

23:34.74
Isobel Anderson
And then you kind of ask how do, how to walk away professionally without burning bridges I think that is a really hard one to answer because it can really depend on the relationship you've already got, how it's been set up and established, what's it been like, what's that other person, you know, what's your dynamic already?

23:54.97
Isobel Anderson
But I think the best way to kind of walk away without burning bridges is to own your your part, to communicate clearly and to not take it personally.

24:06.54
Isobel Anderson
Now you can't control how they will take things But for example, being able to say, you know, I wanted to get in touch because we've been working together the last couple of years. Imagining this is a long collaboration, been working together the last couple of years. It's been great, but I feel like I'm ready for a, just a new dynamic and a new direction.

24:30.93
Isobel Anderson
And so, you know, I'm going to have to sort of, pause working together it doesn't always have to be stop it could just be like I'm gonna step away from working together for a bit I'm just listening to what my heart's telling me I really loved you know what we've explored together or the work we've done together and I just want to let you know that you know I really value you

25:26.80
Isobel Anderson
i would steer away from from saying if you're wanting to not burn bridges, I steer away from saying I can't work with you anymore because you don't listen and you belittle me.

25:36.82
Isobel Anderson
Now, if you don't care about burning bridges, by all means, say that. Maybe they are an asshole and they need to hear it. But if you don't want to burn bridges, then I would just say, you know, i this collaboration isn't working for me anymore. The way that we both communicate doesn't feel the way that I need it to feel for me to be able to collaborate at my best and make my best work. I'm going to step away, but thank you very much for the work that we have done together. And I wish you all the best in the future.

26:04.82
Isobel Anderson
You know, and a lot of the time people can read between the lines and you don't have to kind of say up front you're an asshole. So, yeah, it's it's a tricky one, but definitely listen to that episode the episode on collaboration because there's a lot in there as well. There's a lot particularly about how to set up a collaboration well.

26:21.88
Isobel Anderson
so that this problem of how do I walk away and not burn bridges is not as sticky as it it can be if you don't set them up properly.

26:33.22
Isobel Anderson
and Right, next up, let me just have another swig of tea.

26:37.60
Isobel Anderson
We've got another Hannah. i don't know if it's the same one, but Hannah says,

26:44.80
Isobel Anderson
I've got a goal to release an EP in the next couple of years but I'd love to get a co-producer to help finish and enhance any tracks but have a few questions what's the best way to find people to collaborate with as I've never been part of music circles how do you find someone that complements your sound and what would you recommend when I currently don't have the language to explain how I'd like certain elements to sound literally just going off intuition thanks so much and PSU rock thank you Hannah Well, again, another great question.

27:15.69
Isobel Anderson
i would recommend that you look at, do a bit of research, listening to some artists who are not, you know, really famous, big dogs, successful artists, like listen to some grassroots, independent artists who have made music that in some way, you know, aligns with your work and the way that you would like your music to sound on a recording.

27:47.08
Isobel Anderson
So I'd, you know, try and find about at least about five different artists, five different albums, let's say, that are kind of...

27:57.35
Isobel Anderson
on a sort small scale, like an independent grassroots artist, but you just really like the way that their music sounds. And then make a note of who has produced those records and then reach out to those producers Sometimes it's the artists themselves, but some artists may be really open to producing other artists. So especially if it they're grassroots artists, they may produce their own work. Reach out to those artists and explain that you really love their album.

28:29.55
Isobel Anderson
Why? What is it about the album that you love? You know, what is it about the way it's been produced that you love? You don't have to use technical terminology, but you could just say the vocals sound so silky.

28:39.71
Isobel Anderson
Or I love the synthy sounds in the more, you know, upbeat tracks or whatever. Like you you have vocabulary at your think fingertips. You just got to have the confidence to use it and contact those producers and and explain that you like the albums, why you like the albums and that you are making an album and you you want to work with someone to bring your album to life.

29:04.07
Isobel Anderson
And if they are interested in discussing this would they be up for meeting for a coffee or having a zoom with you and explain that you're you know approaching a few different people but just like a select number of people it's a project that's really close to your heart so you're you're wanting to find the right person but just put it out there and see who comes back to you and if you've got songs that you've demoed or songs that you've released in the past you can send those to them as well and say you know if you want to just like take a look take a listen to this link, there's song or two on there that will just give you a sense of my my work, give you a sense of if you want to take this project on.

29:44.69
Isobel Anderson
But regardless, you know, I'd love to, if if or if you do want to, if you would consider it, let's have a coffee or let's have a Zoom and discuss a little bit further. And that means that you can ask them questions about how they work, the kind of projects they've done in the past, And you can answer questions they might have. and You can also get a sense for whether you like their vibe and whether you'd want to work with them.

30:09.29
Isobel Anderson
And then, you know, let's say if of those five, three of you get back, three of them get back to you and you have coffees or Zooms with three of them. You can then decide on the one that has the best kind of rapport with you and gets the music the most and that you love their approach.

30:26.09
Isobel Anderson
And then you can take it from there. But the most important thing is that you you do a little bit of research up front, you reach out, if people don't get back to you, it's not personal. And hopefully, you know, if you if you're not reaching out to people that are like, way in a different kind of league, because, you know,

30:45.33
Isobel Anderson
there's There's plenty of people I wouldn't reach out to because I just know that they're they're in a different orbit career-wise. But you just never know.

30:55.53
Isobel Anderson
And sometimes people are just so, like sometimes if you approach artists that are self-producing, they can be just so excited to be asked to produce another artist because like a lot of the time people presume they don't want to do it, but that's not necessarily the case as well.

31:08.69
Isobel Anderson
So i hope that that helps. And I hope that gives you some, some courage and some ideas of how to approach this Hannah. And, you know, definitely if if you feel more comfortable with a woman, then don't be scared to to be looking and asking around for women producers and a great resource of, women producers dent gender diverse producers is two percent rising their facebook community is great for just putting a little post in there and saying hey i'm looking for someone to co-produce my album it's this this and this you know the genre or the instrumentation or whatever if you're interested get in touch send me a playlist of your past work whatever it might could be a really good way to find someone who's a woman or a gender diverse producer

31:51.95
Isobel Anderson
Our next question is from Anonymous, who says, how feasible slash realistic do you think it is to make a living as a producer and mix it in this day and age? Do you think it's still possible?

32:07.02
Isobel Anderson
Yes, I think it is still possible. I think it's really fucking hard, though. I'm not going to sugarcoat it You know, I think it's really hard to do anything in the creative industries, you know, full time or even like half your income.

32:19.42
Isobel Anderson
it it's going to take a lot of hustle basically it'll take a lot of time to establish yourself as a go-to producer that people can come and hire and know that they are going to get a consistent professional you know product from or experience with But it's it is possible. It's just going to take some work. It's going to take a lot of reaching out. It's going to take some work up front of building up a portfolio, maybe for no money, like just doing stuff for artists for free to build up a portfolio.

32:54.03
Isobel Anderson
It's going to take you doing a lot of networking, and or social media stuff to establish yourself. One thing I would say is like, don't underestimate how valuable it is if you are a woman offering production and mixing skills and to not shy away from advertising that.

33:15.01
Isobel Anderson
There's a lot of women, I mean, just like I was saying to Hannah before, in response to Hannah's question, like, you may, there's lots of people who may want to work with women and gender diverse people, not just because they've had bad experiences with men, but just because it's not been...

33:32.11
Isobel Anderson
very available for a long time and so the fact that there are now more women offering production and mixing services is great and really refreshing so that could be a usp that you can lead with and could really help you find clients quicker than you know if you weren't leading with that you may not want to lead with that and that's fine as well you know there's no reason why you have to but i think the the there's long the short answer is yes It is possible, but it's hard work.

34:03.49
Isobel Anderson
And I would reach out to some other producers. So, but for example, women might be particularly receptive to giving advice to another woman. Reach out to some other producers who are already established and just ask to pick their brains because they'll be...

34:19.91
Isobel Anderson
you know, they'll be open to that. I'm pretty sure of that. Again, like it depends what's, what's placed their careers at. If they're stratospheric, that may be hard to get hold of them, but producers who are working with grassroots, in independent artists, or especially other women producers could be really open to giving you advice and just letting you pick their brains. So that could be really valuable.

34:46.65
Isobel Anderson
Next up, we have a question from Jerry Barnett.

34:52.27
Isobel Anderson
Jerry says, thank you, Isabel, for your amazing podcast that I've listened to from the start. Oh my God, Jerry, that's so cool. that's You've been a long time listener then. Is there another podcast that you can recommend which showcases a diversity of female sound artists, as well as discussing issues and focusing on skills that are useful to people on the start of their journey, such as myself?

35:12.96
Isobel Anderson
I fear not, even though it's a genuine question, I hope to see you perform someday. oh That is a really good question, Jerry. And you know what?

35:21.63
Isobel Anderson
I don't know. i don't want to say no because so part of the problem is my brain. i do not have a brain that retains these kinds of things very well.

35:34.56
Isobel Anderson
Part of it is also that my brain, i don't really give myself up too much information from outside because I just get overwhelmed and like burn out. So I'm very much like blinkers on, stay on my own track.

35:47.92
Isobel Anderson
I mean, i think I think for people who are interested in music and music production, I would definitely recommend music production for women. They have a podcast.

35:58.45
Isobel Anderson
And they do get into lots of career things and lots of... things to do with being a woman in the industry as well as the technical stuff so I would recommend that but when it comes to sound art sound that kind of thing I don't know and that where it's like women specific I don't know but like I said I'm i'm pretty bad with having these things in my head and even exposing myself to them because I just get overwhelmed.

36:30.90
Isobel Anderson
But i I do think Girls Twilling Knobs is a little bit unique in in its positioning in that it has covered and does cover sound, music tech and music production, mindset, career and gender diversity.

36:49.38
Isobel Anderson
So it probably is a bit unique, but and that doesn't mean to say that I just don't know about something. So if if you know about a podcast out there, do feel free to...

37:02.52
Isobel Anderson
DM me it or drop it in a comment on our Instagram page at girlstriddlingnobs. And I will try and kind of share it with the with our Instagram following, but not off the top of my head, I'm very sorry to say.

37:19.58
Isobel Anderson
And we have another anonymous listener who asks... I just wanted to ask if you had any advice on how to reduce or eliminate background noise when recording with a contact mic or hydrophone. So far, I've tried finding quieter times and environments to record.

37:50.72
Isobel Anderson
I think number one, i'd be I'd be questioning, is it background noise or is it actually, what's it called? Like baseline noise, you know, where the actual microphone or the cable has got noise happening.

38:07.37
Isobel Anderson
So that could be like a... and Sometimes it's a really high pitched like if that's happening, then I would try swapping out the cables and it might be that you need to invest in a you know a better version of your contact mic or your hydrophone.

38:25.09
Isobel Anderson
If it's background noise, as in it sounds like it's from the environment, then it could be about recording at different times or in different locations. Sometimes it's about using EQ to take down the volume of parts of the soundscape or the recording that you don't like so those would be the the kind of main things i would say about that and then anonymous the anonymous listener also says i also wanted to ask about the reasons behind your stunning latest work a voice leaked out through a crack in my throat and when you chose to use a ceramic vessel

39:02.71
Isobel Anderson
So, yeah yeah, for anyone that doesn't know, in November, I released my first music in eight years, which is very exciting. And this was the music that was part of a ceramics and sound and piece that was exhibited and by myself and ceramicist Carla White at County Hall Pottery in London. And it was shown from September to November. And the piece was these three beautiful ceramic vessels that were really big with these big mouths that Carla had made.

39:35.05
Isobel Anderson
And my voice was placed inside all three of them and three different speakers. And the voices all sang beautifully. an interlocking vo vocal piece about singing, about the what the voice was doing to you as you listened. If you want to find out what that means and find out more, you can go to my Bandcamp page, which is isabelanderson.bandcamp.com, and you will find it as my most recent release. and You can listen to it and you can...

40:02.43
Isobel Anderson
Download it and buy it, of course, and but you can just listen to it there and you'll understand what I'm saying. But the anonymous listener is asking, and what are the reasons behind it? So the reason was basically that Carla approached me and said, hey... Would you like to work on something with me? I've been asked to make a piece for County Hall Pottery for their group show called Collaborative. The idea is that as a ceramicist, I collaborate with someone from a different discipline. I'd like to collaborate with you. And Carla had already been doing some really cool work where she'd been putting speakers in her ceramic vessels.

40:38.82
Isobel Anderson
She had a solo show where she had recordings of working talking and the the show was all about gossip and the idea was that you had to lean into these pots to hear their conversation and it was very much about the gendering of information sharing what we deemed to be you know worthwhile information sharing as opposed to gossip and something derogatory So she approached me and said, I'd really like to kind of take that idea, but like use a singer and have a song and see what would happen if we did that. So that's why the piece came about.

41:14.88
Isobel Anderson
I was approached and it's the way that Carla was talking about the gendering of information sharing and the female voice and all of those things. It really made me think about a piece that I'd kind of was bubbling in my head, but I thought I'd probably never make, which is basically about after eight years of not singing, but having had been a singer the whole of my life up until that time and having been known very well in my kind of music circles as being a singer, having that time away from being a singer and and having to kind of let go of that identity meant that I'd really reflected on what is it that, what is the power in that voice and what is it beyond lyrics and melody?

41:54.39
Isobel Anderson
It's about so much more and these really subtle things that we can't even verbalise really. But what is it that hooks you in and kind of drags you in but by this voice? And how does somebody use their voice to elicit certain emotions? And it's just so kind of, on I'm trying to explain it right now. I can't, I can't grasp it. It's ungraspable.

42:16.87
Isobel Anderson
So I was really interested in how do I write a song that as I'm singing the song, I'm walking somebody through what I'm doing to elicit those emotions and elicit that impact of my voice.

42:29.30
Isobel Anderson
And so this project felt like a really good opportunity to do that. and So that's what these three voices do. And placing them in the vessels meant that they kind of come out of my body and they go into these three other bodies.

42:41.97
Isobel Anderson
And that gives them a whole kind of new home and a whole almost like a whole new meaning of a disembodied voice that's now living in a new body.

42:52.53
Isobel Anderson
How do we relate to that as opposed to being in an actual woman's body you know but also that there's three of them so that already kind of subverts what we would normally expect but also that you know when certain notes are hit these vessels would vibrate because certain frequencies are kind working with the the acoustics of those those vessels as well so that was interesting too And Carla had designed them so that they had these big lips, so they looked almost like speakers.

43:25.48
Isobel Anderson
and So that was interesting, kind of walking around them and seeing how the sound would change when you walked around. So it just was a really lovely, like in some ways a really simple, but a really kind of elegant razor sharp kind of really lovely project with a really lovely kind of uh clear vision or clear intent a simple sort of setup the tech behind it was a little bit kind of head scratchy it's it's still the case with sound that if you want to do more than two channels as in left and right it's a bit of an arse ache but that's for another another day so yeah

44:04.81
Isobel Anderson
that's That's the story behind A Voice Leaked Out Through a Crack of My Throat. And like I said, if you want to listen to it or download it, you can go isabelanderson.bandcamp.com.

00:00.39
Isobel Anderson
So next up, we have a question from Bertie. And Bertie says, do you have you ever worked in the library music sector?

00:12.55
Isobel Anderson
Any words of advice? The answer to that is, Bertie, no, I haven't. I have known other artists that have written library music and they seem to have had a pretty positive experience because, know,

00:27.72
Isobel Anderson
You know, you you write the music and then you, you know, hopefully get paid if it's a, you know, professional decent agreement and you don't have to do all the releasing bit. And yeah, it it can be a good thing to do for sure.

00:54.55
Isobel Anderson
you know find out more about it because like I say I i have known people that have had good experiences of that and then the last question is from or at least actually the last question I have right here because there are a couple that came in on Instagram so let me make sure that i don't overlook those we have let me just make sure I found them

01:14.56
Isobel Anderson
Yes, I've got them here. So the last question I've got that was submitted fire the form anyway is from Sophia, who says, which conversation from the podcast changed you the most and why?

01:28.64
Isobel Anderson
That is a very good question. That is a very good question. Now, What would I say? Let me see. going to have to get up the podcast because like I say, I just don't have that brain where I retain anything.

01:45.62
Isobel Anderson
you know what, though? Like thinking about it now it's not really a conversation, but the episode that I recorded with Nyx, I followed them for a weekend in Hidden Notes Festival in Stroud in 2023. And it was our season finale for that season. And I really, it was such a privilege to get to see their process of working together and particularly how they kind of manage

02:49.92
Isobel Anderson
It felt very much like a kind of traveling circus troupe or something, which I do not say in a deograpti way at all. It's like felt like a family or it felt like a troupe of people rather than people kind of going through motions as it were so I found that really inspiring for sure I'm just looking through other the

03:16.91
Isobel Anderson
other episodes hmm

03:20.50
Isobel Anderson
Let me see, let me see. would I say? and they're all, obviously, it's not because there isn't any, there aren't any where I didn't have great conversations. It's that there's so many, there's great conversations. I mean...

03:34.40
Isobel Anderson
I think I really, i got a lot from talking with Josephine Svan about decolonizing the loop and re-imagining of Ableton in in particular and like really rethinking how we, the frameworks we impose on music based on cultural preferences and particularly obviously like colonialism and white supremacy.

03:59.25
Isobel Anderson
that's very thought-provoking I think the conversation that I had with Denise Devonish on burnout gender music technology was so important and I I think that was a really really important conversation to have and definitely like lots of that stayed with me for sure I think that let me see let me see let me see i'm gonna keep going keep going through I'm like going through down on the website the girls swiddling knobs.com forward slash podcast website there's so many there's so many it's there's so many amazing conversations

04:35.76
Isobel Anderson
Yeah, like, God, I'm just looking at them. Oh, I mean, Noor Sokhan talking about Beirut, how she used sound to kind of express and document trauma, women's grief, really inspiring. So yeah, those are just some of the ones that I found really inspiring on the podcast. And there are so many others, but I can't can't pick one. But I think with Nyx, that was the one that stayed with me in terms of my own approach to music and my practice and how I might

05:10.24
Isobel Anderson
kind of stay grounded or work in care in an industry or frameworks or kind of situations where that's not that's there just isn't any space for that usually so how do how do you make space for that for yourself and each other so I found that really inspiring and then we have a couple of questions that were asked on Instagram We have a like a really practical one, which is from Anita, who says, will past episodes be archived? I use some of them for uni classes. Yay. And my students really value them. So I'm keeping everything crossed. They aren't all going to be deleted. They are going to be archived. So until so definitely 2026.

05:57.06
Isobel Anderson
I will keep the podcast available on all main podcasting apps. So I'm going to pay for the platform to keep all of the episodes live so that you can listen to them wherever you listen to podcasts.

06:10.69
Isobel Anderson
After that, I'm hoping that I will have been able to secure a online space where you can freely access them. So hopefully there'll be...

06:21.82
Isobel Anderson
a university library that has an online archive where there can be a public facing place page or it could be another kind of archive or library but I'm going to definitely try and secure an online home for the podcast so that you can freely access it online you don't need to sign in you don't need an account you don't need to pay And that everything's just there on a page and you can just stream it there.

06:45.37
Isobel Anderson
So that's the idea. They are already archived at the British Library, but the British Library's sound and vision archive is not online.

06:55.11
Isobel Anderson
and hasn't been since 2023. And I don't know when it will go back online. At the moment, you would have to physically walk into the British Library, but all of the podcast episodes are archived there.

07:06.56
Isobel Anderson
But rest assured, definitely for 2026, I am going to keep all the episodes live on podcast apps. And then after that, I will be archiving it. Hopefully by that time, at the end of an next this year coming, 2026, will have found a permanent online home for the podcast that I will not have to pay for because obviously that's not sustainable over time but a great question Anita another question comes from Camilla who says what would your best advice be for someone starting a business something you wish you had known when you were just starting to build your business your biggest takeaway would be awesome to hear

07:44.15
Isobel Anderson
There's two, i think. So the the first one is kind of what I said at the beginning of this episode, which is decide upfront, what your boundaries are around time, also what your boundaries are about money.

07:57.69
Isobel Anderson
So one of the things I wish I'd done earlier is pay myself better. I was so scared, even if I had, you know, done a course launch and made, you know, a healthy amount of income, I was so scared to pay myself a decent amount of money because it was just that's all I had I didn't have any investment I didn't have any funding so everything I made had to get reinvested into the business but it's one of the most common mistakes that business owners make I made it pretty much the whole time through girls filling roles but certainly at the beginning especially i was just so scared of spending any profit that I had made and I should have paid myself more sooner

08:41.05
Isobel Anderson
I also should have worked less and let the business grow slower. So that would be my first piece of advice is have boundaries. What's the maximum you are going to work?

08:53.36
Isobel Anderson
What's the minimum you need to earn to make it viable? Maybe give yourself a deadline for when you're going to earn that money pay. You know, if if the business isn't pulling its weight or like delivering that to you by that time, maybe it's important to do something else because obviously you you can't kind of deplete yourself over a really long period of time.

09:15.82
Isobel Anderson
So that'd be one thing. I think the other thing would be, God, I had two things. The other thing I would say is don't come up with a business idea, especially a product idea first.

09:54.52
Isobel Anderson
really understand them so that you can design something that meets their needs. And that means they would actually pay you for that thing. If you're a business, you are in the business of earning money.

10:08.02
Isobel Anderson
That's the only way you're going to survive. So you need to make sure that you're not just coming up with some elaborate idea of what it is you want to try and sell people and then no one buys it because you actually don't really know what people are struggling with or what people really want and you need to know that first so I would say always start with your customer get clear on who the customer is don't spend lots of time elaborately designing a product you have to know your customer you have to understand

10:38.90
Isobel Anderson
What is the the issue that they have, the problem that they have, the change that they're looking for? And what can you build or create or offer to meet that so that you'll be able to earn some money and you will also be able to make some meaningful impact and feel like your work has value. That's really important as well.

11:01.50
Isobel Anderson
So those would be my two biggest pieces of advice. Again, another great question. i love I love those kind of questions about business and that kind of thing. That's been one of the biggest journeys for me in Girls Twitting Nobs is learning about how to start and run a business. So I'm always here for those questions. And then last but not least,

11:18.40
Isobel Anderson
We have Darren who says, from a female perspective, what can cis men do to make music production and the music business in general a totally inclusive space for the grassroots from the grassroots up?

11:30.40
Isobel Anderson
Love that question, Darren. And I love that this is our final question that we're ending on. i think that this is so important. And so what I would say is, the first thing I would say is remember that when you reach out,

11:45.49
Isobel Anderson
and ask people what they want or what they need. That is really powerful and it can feel that vulnerable for you.

11:54.15
Isobel Anderson
a lot of the time, if you were to kind of, let let's say that you are, let's say that you run a studio and it's a really small studio. There's maybe just you and one other person that work in the studio. you You're a producer and you work with another producer and you're both guys. It's a very common setup.

12:12.21
Isobel Anderson
And let's say that you have a female artist who's coming in to work with you. Then i would, i if I was a female artist, if if a male producer said to me, look, I'm really keen on being a good male ally. I'm aware that women can have some really difficult experiences in music.

12:31.91
Isobel Anderson
Please feel free to share to share with me how I could best support you. So do you have any concerns about the studio sessions? Is there anything you want to talk about first?

12:43.59
Isobel Anderson
i You know, just really kind of be a bit vulnerable and just say, look, what what can I do to support you? what are things that can, you know, you might be struggling with or have been issues in the past that I can make sure that I'm supporting you with them? That is one of the most powerful things you could do.

13:01.67
Isobel Anderson
And, you know, obviously try and not be defensive or judgmental with what they say to you. But if you if you offer it to them in that open way, hopefully you'll get quite an open and kind of generous response to someone that will say, wow, thank you so much for bringing this up. Yeah, actually, in the past, I felt a bit kind of belittled and not really listened to in the studio.

13:24.80
Isobel Anderson
So it would be amazing if I could feel really comfortable sharing my ideas. And if it felt like you listened to them, that would be great. You know, that is such a powerful way to start working with someone and such a a really important way to be a male ally. The other thing that you can do is try and amplify the work and the voices of women in music and women in music initiatives. So it was really like, really, what's the word? Like,

13:53.34
Isobel Anderson
It was not surprising to me, but still disappointing to me that for most of the time that I have been running Girls Twiddling Knobs and making the podcast, especially that so few men were sharing it. You know, most of the time if someone shared the podcast on social media, it was a woman.

14:13.63
Isobel Anderson
And it's things like that that can make such a big difference. If a guy is sharing a podcast like Girls Twiddling Knobs and saying, loved this episode because it talks all about, like, I don't know, like, let's say, thinking of a past episode, it talks all about music mastering with Casey Savini and Izzy McPhee. And they talk all through the process. And it's so valuable actually hearing a mastering engineer talk through the process of mastering.

14:39.04
Isobel Anderson
If you can share that as a man, that is so powerful because your networks might be predominantly male or they might be fifty fifty male or whatever. And then those people see you actually amplifying and sharing that resource. And all it could be a female artist's music, but it's striking still how little men will actually share women's work and amplify women's work. So that's also another thing I think can be really powerful. It's not it's not going to take up too much of your time.

15:10.43
Isobel Anderson
could even like set yourself a goal of like once a week, I'm going to share project, a podcast episode, an album, a thing that a woman has done in music. And that is a really, really strong thing that you can do as a man. So those are my two things. Like on the one hand, if you're working with women,

15:26.62
Isobel Anderson
ask them, how can I best support you? I'm aware that, you know, there are issues to do with gender equality in music. i want to learn and I want to be a good ally. How can I support you best?

15:40.20
Isobel Anderson
And then the other thing is just, you know, every now and then consistently sharing the work that is being done around gender in music and by women and gender diverse people in music.

15:51.94
Isobel Anderson
And... That feels like a good place to end this Ask Me Anything episode. So thank you so much for joining me for this. I really enjoyed this. Wish I'd done more of these now But your questions were great. And I really hope that my answers were helpful, insightful.

16:10.63
Isobel Anderson
inspiring whatever it might be just not boring would be good right and remember not to go anywhere because we have our episode next week with rosie bands on why i am closing girls swilling mobs i'm spilling all of the tea And after that, it will be the final episode. So do, do, do, tune into those two.

16:34.82
Isobel Anderson
But thank you for your questions. Thank you for listening. Thank you for tuning into another episode of Girls Twiddling Knobs. And I will catch you next time.