Tune Tools Episode 3
with Krysta Rayford & guest Holly Hansen
Welcome to Tune Tools. Krysta ‘K.Raydio’ Rayford interviews musicians, music educators, and students, and shares her own experiences to help us learn about the tools of electronic music and recording arts. In each episode, you’ll hear real-life examples of the tools for making music in the digital age. If you have ever wondered what DAW (digital audio workstation) your favorite artist uses, or if you’re a music educator and want to use electronic music tools in your class but don’t know where to begin, or if you are a student ready to build skills— this podcast is for you.
New episodes are released biweekly and are available here for free. Transcripts are available below each episode description for those using screen readers or if you would like to refer back to the episode.
Episode Three: Krysta Rayford speaks with Holly Hansen, a musician, songwriter, producer, and engineer about their musical journey. They will talk about how Holly, a multi-talented artist, incorporates electronic music recording arts (EMRA), into their music, their production, their craft, their profession. This also includes live music, so extra awesome.
It was like this wide-open world when I realized if I don’t start calling myself an engineer, no one else is [going to]. I’m the one who has to claim that. It felt really good to finally do that. Then as I did… there was no resistance, ’cause really, the world was just waiting for me to claim it.
Holly Hansen, Tune Tools episode three
Tune Tools, episode three
Episode Four – Coming Soon
Meet Krysta ‘K. Raydio’ Rayford
Krysta “K. Raydio” Rayford is an Electronic Music Teacher in MacPhail’s EMRA program. A Teaching Artist for the past 10 years, she has taught classes/workshops for Minneapolis Public Schools, Kulture Klub Collaborative, Twin Cities Mobile Jazz and She Rock She Rock.
Krysta is currently an Ableton software instructor for Beats By Girlz MN, an organization that empowers women in sound production. Her introductory class was one of the only Ableton courses geared towards women and non-binary adults in the United States.
She recently released her collaborative album …And The World Weeps with producer Shrimpnose, in addition to a series of self-produced EPs (The Sync Series) in 2019. Krysta is also a Digital Media Producer and Program Host for iPondr, a national digital media publisher.
Krysta has years of experience as Voiceover Talent with a unique background in Audio Description narration. Her credits include Empire (FOX), Independent Lens (PBS), Barbie’s Dreamhouse Adventures (Netflix), and Around The Way (Hulu) among others.
Her music has been featured internationally on platforms such as VH1, BBC Radio and Okayplayer. Krysta was a featured performing artist at Soundset Music Festival in 2014, one of the largest hip-hop music festivals in the United States.
She holds a B.A. in Communication Arts (Radio, TV & Film) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She believes it’s never too late to learn! As a self-taught musician with a non-traditional path to music education, she knows how important it is to feel supported on your learning journey. As a teacher, it’s important for her to help students of all ages with setting goals and supporting them in achieving them. Krysta’s classes and more information…
©MacPhail Center for Music | All Rights Reserved | May be used for educational purposes without permission but with a citation to this source.
Meet special guest Holly Hansen
Holly Hansen is an acclaimed musician, producer and audio engineer as well as the artist behind the band, Zoo Animal. Zoo Animal grew from a solo songwriting project to a fully-fledged, heavy-gigging band, and put out 3 records from 2008-2012 to critical and popular acclaim. They toured extensively and performed alongside artists such as Damien Jurado, Wye Oak, Scout Niblett, Trampled by Turtles, and Low among many others.
Holly was named City Pages Artist of the Year (2011) and Best Live Artist (2012), and was the feature of a 30-min PBS documentary “Holly Hansen: My Way Back Home”. She is the recipient of a MN Emerging Composer Award from the American Composers Forum (2017), and was named one of “9 Queer Musicians to Watch in 2020” by Twin Cities Pride Magazine.
Holly is the owner of Salon, a professional recording studio in the Twin Cities, and the founder/curator of t.e.e. (Tuesday Early Evening), a weekly performance series at the 331 Club in NE Minneapolis. They have an extensive performing and recording career with over 10 years experience as a live sound and recording producer and engineer. Holly regularly teaches audio workshops for often marginalized artists such as women, non-cis, and people of color to share her knowledge and create a safe space for learning in an often intimidating industry dominated by white cis-gender men.
Holly aims to amplify voices that have been muted and bring feminine energy into the world of audio production. Holly wants to create a new norm in music making. They promote female session players, and wants to pierce the boys club with the voices we are hungry to hear but haven’t realized are being drowned out.
More Tune Tools
This podcast is made possible through a MacPhail Center for Music School Partnerships initiative, Project Amplify, a grant-funded, music education initiative focused on strengthening learning opportunities for K-12 Minnesota music students from historically marginalized backgrounds. This effort provides transformational programming that nurtures creativity, honors students’ backgrounds, and provides tools and resources to support K-12 educators.
About MacPhail Center for Music’s School Partnership Program
MacPhail School Partnerships enrich the lives of students by providing unrivaled in-person or live online instruction in tandem with Minnesota schools. Our staff works with schools to develop customized and relevant programming through individual instruction, sectionals, ELL support, residencies, masterclasses, and more.
Visit School Partnerships for more information, or contact Ben Bussey