Meet Ashley Berni | Audio Engineer & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Berni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My main thought process about getting into audio engineering/producing was that I needed a major perspective shift and a new direction overall. About half way through 2020 I left the medical field and dove headfirst into the music industry. I had been working in artist management for the better part of a decade as more of a side “job” and a passion whereas the medical field was a career I chose out of pressure to be someone my family would be proud of. When I left the medical field I was feeling extreme burnout, my mental health was not doing well and my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. My partner had begun to renovate an audio suite at the film studio he worked out of often and that slowly became a full recording studio that we now operate and work out of full time. At first I used it as an office to run artist management out of while my partner was the full-time engineer; soon as touring came back full swing, he went back on the road full time and the studio just became my office. I found it a little obscene to have a full recording studio used primarily as an office so I started teaching myself how to record and produce music myself so that we could continue to utilize the space properly. My first job was a theater tech position where I ran audio and lighting for stage productions and in Artist management I’ve always had a hand in the production side of my artist’s music. I knew if I just put hard work in, I could do it. A little less than a year later, I am now the primary studio engineer, I produce/engineer full time and run the studio myself. It’s something I have always been passionate about and wanted to do, I just didn’t have the resources. Now that I do, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an Audio Engineer/Producer first and foremost and a Creative Director/Producer when there’s time and budget for it. I also still manage 2 artists full time but my studio is my primary commitment currently. I think something that sets me apart from others is that I take time and put a lot of effort into what I do. Seems like the bare minimum but you’d be surprised. A lot of artists I work with have had poor experiences in studio settings and that’s the last thing I want people to have when they leave my studio. I come from a heavy background in artist management so I understand budgets but also understand integrity in people’s art. Art is personal and intimate, music is just another form of art. A lot of artists go into studios with these big ideas of what they want and sometimes the engineer just records their song as that initial idea and hands them a somewhat polished idea after charging a ton for it. The artists then feel like they didn’t get what they came in for and sometimes they don’t have answers as to why they feel that way because they’ve never had a good experience to compare to. I feel like a lot of artists who don’t have a lot of experience in a studio (or poor experiences) have never had someone take the time to work out their ideas with them. I don’t like doing the come in for two days and knock out an entire album for quick money approach. I’m sure I would benefit more from doing so but I want people to be really excited and proud of what we built in the studio, and I want them to come back time and time again. When I work with new artists, I’ll start with 1-2 songs. That way we can take our time to create tracks we’re both excited about and we can gauge our collaborative relationship–not everyone is a good fit for each other and I feel like that’s necessary for creative fields to work well together. Nothing good is forced. I like that I take the time to shape guitar tones and bass tones, I love experimenting with instruments and gear. I like that I take the time to do it right and I feel like taking that extra time without changing someone’s song is really important. I also love learning. The production side of music has always fascinated me, I’m constantly learning new techniques and different approaches to creating music. Music really is an art form and so is sound design. In our studio we have a lot of tools at our disposal, my favorites being effects pedals. My favorite thing I’ve learned is how to re-amp guitars and vocals through effects pedals and different amps and also mixing with effects pedals. I feel like it’s not a super common technique when it comes to creating layers and dynamics and it’s always the most fun to do, though it can be time consuming. I feel like taking that extra time and giving artists a true studio experience that’s also affordable and accessible is huge, sadly it’s widely uncommon to come by I feel. Most feedback that I get is that I’m comfortable to work with and that I’m really fun to work with in the studio, that’s really all I could hope for. So I guess overall, I’m proud that I’ve created a space that people are comfortable and excited to come into. Work never feels like work and I’ve never been so excited to “work”.

It’s been a challenge to get to where I’m at and it still is as I continue to grow. I started out just learning, I spent hours reading and watching videos on my own. I started shadowing my partner before I even spoke out loud that this is what I want to be doing. I then started inviting artists to come work with me for heavily discounted rates, I slowly raised my rates as my knowledge and experience developed. Being a woman in Audio Engineering/Music Production is so tough. I get talked down to a lot from my peers and I get questioned and challenged constantly. I feel like most men don’t deal with a lot of the things women deal with when it comes to trust and respect. Overall, every time I’m disrespected, talked down to or anything like that, it just makes me want to be better than them. Honestly, it’s the best motivation. Being new to the field also comes with it’s challenges, luckily I’ve had very few poor experiences with clients but I always try to see the positives in hardships. Positives being that the artists I didn’t particularly enjoy working with have not come back–years ago I would have been crushed that someone didn’t enjoy working with me whereas now I can appreciate that not everyone is a good fit and that I don’t have to waste my energy or time working with them. And truly I can only think of 1 so far, I think that’s pretty good. Some lessons I’ve learned is that you’re not meant to work with everyone and that’s okay, your worth is not based on other people’s opinions and that there is always opportunities to learn and grow. These are things that in my 20’s I may not have valued as lessons.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh gosh, this one is always tough as I’m such a homebody and studio nerd. Honestly, our studio is located at such a fun place that I always love showing it off to people who’ve never been here. And I’m also really proud of our studio. We put a ton of work into making our space special and it’s located within a film studio where a lot of cool music videos and film projects happen-I love showing the space to people. Usually when people visit, I take them there at some point. Then of course, community is really important to me. I love taking people to experience new things. In Sacramento, we have a great music and art scene, there’s almost always something to do and experience. I’d take someone to see a show and probably take them through an art gallery, Faith J. McKinnie is a phenomenal curator in Sacramento. She always showcases artists I’ve never heard of and she does so in the neatest ways both through her gallery and also through interactive exhibition experiences. If Faith is putting something on, I’m never missing it. For food, Bambi Vegan Tacos is the spot to hit, it’s vegan food you’d never guess was vegan and it hits every time without fail. Solomon’s Delicatessen is also a great spot, women owned and ran too! They have a rad music venue upstairs that doubles as an art gallery that Faith also curates called The Russ Room. Their food is always amazing and they also have great cocktails, truly a downtown staple that is severely underrated. There’s a lot of great community driven spaces and people in Sacramento that I feel most people just don’t know about.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First of all, major shoutout to Mateo Briscoe for recommending me! I love working with him always and I enjoy his talents so much, overall such a great human. I’d also like to shoutout my partner Jesse Mancillas, I would literally not be doing what I’m doing without his support, encouragement, guidance and hard work he’s put into this studio. His own hard work he puts into his career is my biggest inspiration and motivation to put in the hard work to get to where I want to be. And of course my community that has continued to support me and cheer me on day in and day out. Community is everything!

Website: rosamortem.com

Instagram: Personal: @as_seen_on_the_internet Studio: @rosa_mortem

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCblY4WTqpWY9VCY5H4vk5Xg

Image Credits
Danielle Judith (all but 1)