SoundGym Hero: Alexey (Radiokrol)

Sound engineer, guitarist, and analog devotee based in Moscow, Alexey records and mixes at a professional studio by day and writes heavy music with his band Bipolar Station by night, bringing the same sharp ears and creative conviction to both. Alexey is this month's SoundGym Hero!

How did you first find your way into making music?

I first got into making music back in school, when a friend installed a simple program on my computer for creating tracks from ready-made samples. Later on, I picked up the guitar and started recording my own demos. Playing and recording with my band eventually took me to the studio.

To work there, I had to quit my regular job, my income dropped fourfold, but every single day in the studio taught me more than months of reading books, taking courses, or watching YouTube tutorials ever could. Over time, I started getting small vocal recording sessions, then projects from local bands, and eventually simple mixing gigs. Some of the studio’s artists even invited me to work with them as a FOH engineer. Practice turned out to be the most valuable teacher. I know that from personal experience.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

Most of my work and free time is connected to music. But I also love playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends and the board game Go. All of my hobbies are, in one way or another, tied to abstract thinking and imagination, qualities that are essential in any creative work.

They’re what set us apart from robots, computers, and AI. I believe that in the future, originality in creative ideas and decisions will matter even more.

What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese tea =D But it's a philosophical question, for a musician, everything is somehow connected to music. These interests help me slow down, stop rushing, and let go of unnecessary tension. Only by taking things slowly and allowing yourself to sink into stillness, even boredom, can you generate truly fresh and inspiring ideas.

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

This list could be endless. In my youth, I was inspired by bands like Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, and Korn, heavy music is my thing. There are a lot of amazing modern artists now. At the moment, I’d probably pick Architects, While She Sleeps, or Sleep Token. I’d love to just sit in the room with them, see how they write, and how their mix engineers work. I really like what Zakk Cervini and Carl Bown are doing. I’ve played a lot of their songs on guitar over the years and even made a few cover videos, so jamming with them for real would be wild.

alexey2r

What piece of music gear do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable in your creative process?

I love analog gear. I don't think it's better than modern plugins, but it gives a different experience. With analog, you rely more on your ears and less on visuals. We usually print analog processing to tracks, which adds responsibility when setting sounds. It teaches you to work more carefully.

One of my absolute favorites is the Lexicon 480 that’s integrated into our SSL 6000 console at the studio, and the console itself plays a huge role in my work, so it definitely counts as one of my favorite pieces of gear too. I know most people are used to mixing with plugins, but my channel strip is fully analog, and I really enjoy that. I also love using the hardware 1178 compressor we have in our rack. For recording, I’m a big fan of the AKG C24, it’s one of my all-time favorite microphones, and we also have a vintage U87 in the locker. ^^

You’re always welcome to visit, there’s plenty of gear at the studio that’s worth seeing in person!

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

I try to remember often that every action in life is an act of creation. I remind myself I'm lucky, I can create, while many people on the planet can't. Sometimes I set small challenges for myself between studio sessions, like doing a full analog mix in 30 minutes: I send the multitrack to the console, do a quick mix, and print the stereo sum back into my DAW. Some mixes I can rebuild 5-10 times, and they come out different every single time. =))) We have many artists working at our studio, and each of them brings their own energy, it really helps keep that creative fire burning inside.

alexey3r

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

For me, music is a confession, like a diary. You take what's on your soul and put it into a new song or mix. You leave a piece of yourself in the sound, in the world. Music is a much wider concept than we usually think, it’s not just guitars, speakers, and faders. It’s talking to different creative people, brainstorming ideas together, organizing events, recording concerts and music videos, and a whole bunch of other inspiring things that surround you every day.

Once, I was talking with a colleague at the studio and said: “Sometimes I think maybe I should just go work in an office. Have a stable schedule, not stay at work until late at night…” He looked at me and said: “Both you and I work at the studio because we simply can’t work in an office. It’s just not in our nature.” Those words really stuck with me. Music is just the way some people are wired, it’s their nature.

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

Definitely "Dream On" by Aerosmith. This song feels like a perfect soundtrack to my life because it’s all about a long road, learning through mistakes, and stubbornly moving forward. The line “sing for the years, sing for the laughter, sing for the tears” is a reminder to turn any experience, good or bad, into something creative.

I see it as a kind of manifesto about not giving up on a long-term dream, even when things get tough. That’s very close to my own story of leaving a “normal” job for the studio and continuing down that path. I also love how the song combines tenderness with that powerful emotional explosion at the end, a mix of lyricism and heaviness that really resonates with me. And, in many ways, it feels like a personal confession, which is how I relate to music myself: as a diary where you leave a piece of your soul in the sound

What's your favorite feature on SoundGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

I love the EQ and compression training. After regular practice, I got better at spotting resonant frequencies and understanding compressor settings. I also adore the Mixdown Training Room group on your forum, folks post weekly mixing challenges and give feedback. It's awesome! I also really like that the training sessions don’t take much time, so they’re easy to fit into my day. When you do them regularly, they slowly turn into a habit, and you notice your ears getting sharper almost without realizing it.

What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?

Right now, I'm recording new songs with my band. I hope we pull it off, and I'd be thrilled if folks from the community follow and support us. I'm really looking forward to the moment when we can listen to all the finished material we've written for the album and take it in as a whole. Not just individual parts or single songs, but as one big, cohesive piece of work. That's how I want to see our band's future album, a true unified statement. Fingers crossed it all comes together!

You can follow Alexey on Instagram and VK, and listen to his music at Spotify, and YouTube!

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