Tell us about your current job/career path. 

I’m a singer-songwriter and producer under the name Cruel Sister. I write and produce all of my own music, which has landed me gig slots in festivals such as Electric Picnic, Beyond The Pale, Other Voices and All Together Now and Sea Sessions this summer. 

My music has been played on BBC radio 1, Rte 2FM, and has made Spotify editorial Rock playlists. I have supported Pussy Riot, Wombats, Just Mustard, and will be supporting Two Door Cinema Club in April. 

Did you enjoy your time in CMP?

I really enjoyed it, the lecturers were all very helpful and very passionate about their subjects. I always felt if I was struggling in a subject I could ask for help. The studio and pod facilities were very useful for me to help learn how to be a better producer. There were some modules I personally found difficult such as programming, but there was enough balance of those with the ones I was more passionate about such as producing, sound design etc etc. 

How did it help you with your career?

For me personally, I found the music production lectures very helpful for me. I use Ableton as my chosen DAW for my own music and the skills I learned in CMP on how to more efficiently use Ableton help me so much in my creative and technical process for producing music. I also felt that some music theory techniques for harvesting creativity and ideas very helpful, such as creative constraints, different modes of music etc.

Another massive factor is that due to the smaller class sizes, there was a tight community among students, and I learned just as much from doing work, bouncing ideas, and getting advice from them on modules as I would have in a lecture. We all felt that we could rely on each other for help. Also, a great thing about CMP is meeting like-minded people who are just as passionate about the things you are! One of my best friends who I met in CMP is also the drummer in my band to this day.

March/April 2023