SoundGym Hero: Luke Ashur

Singer-songwriter, music producer and audio & mixing engineer, from a small town in the south of Germany. Luke Ashur is this month's SoundGym Hero!

Who are you, and where are you from?

My name is Luke Ashur, and I am a 26-year-old singer-songwriter, music producer, and audio & mixing engineer from the south of Germany.

I’m currently working as a part-time studio assistant to learn as much about audio as possible. That means knowing the ins and outs of an SSL mixing console, miking techniques of various instruments as well as signal processing and routing of analog outboard gear beside working from my own home studio where I’m mixing in the box.

How did you get into music?

Music was always very present in my family. My dad used to play gigs as the guitarist of his own band and had started to gather up a bunch of equipment like guitar pedals, live mixers, and PA systems. He was curious enough to figure out all this stuff by himself. He even taught himself how to play by listening to old cassette tapes, which is mind-boggling considering the possibilities we have nowadays.

On his gigs, he occasionally brought me up to the stage and let me have some small percussive parts with him. I guess that was my first memory of making music at only seven years old.

But I’ve always felt the hunger to create and express though and very early on in my life felt a special connection to music and sounds in general.

Listening to songs, I can never hold myself back from singing and constantly have to move my body or tap out the rhythm because music is affecting me that much.

The real catalyst to my musical journey was rather painful though.

After suffering from a skateboarding accident that forced me to have surgery on both my left (fretting) hand and my shoulder, resulting in a long and painful recovery time, I started to teach myself how to play the guitar, which was just the perfect way to get back on my feet and to regain control of my body again.

All I could do at that time was to sit at home and to give myself the time to recover, which also taught me to be patient with myself and helped me to learn something I’ve always wanted. I carry this big scar on my shoulder now that always reminds me of that.

Growing up in a small town in the south of Germany, I felt repressed, but I was lucky enough to have found myself living in Barcelona for quite some time, a city that inspired me to create and express myself.

At some point, solely singing and playing the guitar in my bedroom wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to capture my ideas and actively contribute to music. 

At the start of 2020, I bought a cheap condenser microphone and started out with just an iPad, a Focusrite interface and Cubase. I experimented with different recording techniques and plugins and soon discovered how much there really is to it. I immediately got sucked into it and wanted to learn all about it - my journey in audio engineering at this point just kicked off.

What do you like to do for fun outside of working on music?

I’m a big sports guy. I like running, swimming, cycling, and keeping myself fit because I can push myself to a level where I constantly get surprised of what can be achieved if body and mind work together.

What's your most useless skill or talent?

That’s a tough question since I believe every skill can be useful at some point, but I’d say skateboarding because you’re prone to hurting yourself, which would be quite a big deal for me now.

What inspires you to keep making music?

Music feels like home to me. It grounds me and gives me a profound sense of purpose. It gives me a platform to express myself.

Through music, I’m also meeting a bunch of interesting people. And I’m getting to know myself better each day.

Music inspires me to let go of expectations and have to keep a clear perspective.. to see where it can take me, and of course to enjoy the process.

Any habits you have before starting a session?

It depends if I’m preparing for a mix session or working on my music.

If I’m going to be working on my own music, I simply go with the flow and try out a lot of stuff to see if I like it or not and if it’s affecting me in any way. That way I know if I’m on the right path and it becomes more obvious what emotion I want to capture.

When it comes to mixing, I’ll start by prepping the session, naming tracks, color coding everything, cutting up the audio, and creating fades, if necessary do some tuning and adjust the timing if needed. So basically everything has nothing to do with the actual mixing process. I’ll do that beforehand to minimize distractions and to stay focused when I’m mixing.

If you could sit down to a session with any artist, who would it be?

Oh, definitely Eminem. He takes music to another level. I’ve heard that he would work from 9 to 5, which actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Em’s treating music like a a day job and just shows up to the studio to work with no excuses. So the sheer dedication to his craft is what fascinates me most about him. Plus he is an insane lyricist and a master at what he does with years of experience in the business.

If you could pick one, what would be the theme song of your life?

I’d have to go with ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem. I mean what better song to pick than one of Em’s songs. He says it all right there: ‘You better lose you yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, you better never let it go […]’

Every time I hear that iconic guitar riff at the beginning of the song, I get so fired up by it. I literally know every word of the song and just have to jump in everytime it comes up.

What is your favorite piece of music gear you own?

Without a doubt, my Martin acoustic guitar which was my first big investment in music. 

I mean most of the stuff I do in audio engineering is just so technical which is the nature of it but you can get trapped in overthinking stuff sometimes.

So the simplicity of just having an acoustic guitar and your own vocals to make music to try out new ideas is what I appreciate so much about it.

What is your favorite SoundGym feature?

Definitely, the community that it houses.

The ability to ask for feedback on song ideas and objectively compare your work is such a great resource. Like take for instance the mixdown training room where you can mix your own version of a selected song, compare it to the results of others by the end of the week, and work on revisions if necessary.

I mean each week you can work on a different mix to get better at your craft and receive feedback from the community. It also forces you to stick to a set deadline which is crucial when working with artists and other clients.

What does the future hold for Luke Ashur?

I’m just thankful for the present moment and my family's support.

I’m curious about how the music industry is going to develop in terms of immersive audio, mixing in the box, and audio technology in general.

Personally, I try to learn from each day to become a better human.

Stepping out of my comfort zone to work for a greater purpose motivates me.

I’m just going to enjoy the ride and see where life is going to take me.

 

Follow Luke Ashur on Instagram, Twitter/X and SoundCloud

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