Audeze catches up with Redwood Studios co-owner Adria Garcia

Adria Garcia wearing Audeze MM-500 headphones in the studio

Audeze Artist Profile

Adria Garcia

Adria Garcia is one of the owners of Redwood Studios along with Frank Caro. Based in Barcelona, Redwood was founded 7 years ago by two guys who wanted to step up in the music industry. They provide audio production services for artists as well as for advertising companies, with an ever-increasing roster of credits.
 

In His Own Words

 
"Never seen this low end precision and clarity in the past with other headphones or brands, it's the most accurate reference to compare to our speakers."
- Adria Garcia
Audeze MM-500 headphones on an amp in the studio

Can you pick a few highlights from your work that you're especially proud of?

We have collaborated with artists like Kylie Minogue, Diplo, Major Lazer, Becky Hill, Lewis Thompson, James Hype, Paul Woolford, Westend, and Goodboys, to name a few. Our involvement has primarily been in the mix/master process, but we also engage in co-writing and co-production. We take pride in everything we produce in the studio, but one standout achievement is the Platinum Record we earned in Italy with Goodboys' 'Bongo Cha Cha Cha,' which achieved massive worldwide success.

Additionally, we have two artistic profiles: CYA, which is more aligned with progressive house, and HOLA!, which is focused on house music. Under these projects, we have remixed tracks from artists like Moby, Axwell & Ingrosso, Meduza, and the Pet Shop Boys, among others. We have also performed at several shows, with our appearances at Tomorrowland Belgium being a major highlight.

All of our work can be found on the Spotify playlist - Made at Redwood Studio

How would you define your main role on most of your projects these days?

We are involved in co-production and co-writing, assisting with the mid-to-final tweaks for most of our high-profile clients, particularly in the mixing and mastering processes. Additionally, we have many clients who require our expertise during the full production process. Our work also extends to advertising, including mixdowns for ads, SFX creation, music covers for licensing, etc. Whatever our clients need, we deliver!

What was some favorite music growing up and how has that evolved?

I've always been a fan of black American music. As a kid, my father was a professional volleyball player, and my mother and I often took long car rides to watch his games. Those trips were perfect for listening to music on cassette tapes in the 90's: Barry White, Whitney Houston, and Earth, Wind & Fire were some of my first obsessions.

As I grew older, I became captivated by the emerging sounds of EDM-Trance, with artists like Swedish House Mafia, Armin Van Buuren, Tiësto, and Paul Van Dyk catching my attention. It was around the 2010s that I met my partner, Frank. We both started by playing music on our CDJs at home and eventually progressed to playing shows in Barcelona clubs. After some time, we yearned to play our own music, which led us to self-learn music production through books, videos, and by trying to replicate productions we admired. As we began signing music to labels, we saved money to invest in our own studio... and here we are, 7 years later!

Can you name any factors that influenced the course of your musical life?

We owe a great deal to Carlos CID. Sometimes, you need someone to connect you with a major figure in the industry, and Carlos was that person for us. We became friends with him while he was performing in Barcelona. Around that time, he won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording for co-producing Cedric Gervais' remix of Lana Del Rey's 'Summertime Sadness.' We were just starting our studio business and decided to invite him over.

After playing him some of our tunes, he saw potential in us and began including us in conversations with major labels. From that point, we gained more trust within the industry, signed a deal with a management company in the UK, and everything started to grow. We owe him a lot! In our opinion, he is currently one of the best in the house/tech house music scene.

Can you describe a moment of frustration from your past work, and how you may have overcome it?

It can be challenging not to give up when you're investing countless hours and seemingly making no progress. For us, the most crucial aspect has been maintaining a steadfast mindset, recognizing that this journey will inevitably have its ups and downs.

Now, things are different. After years of building our client base, we've established solid relationships with all of them. Understanding their desired sound is crucial, and this knowledge has been both important and helpful for us.

What is your current favorite instrument, effect, or piece of gear?

Our most treasured equipment is the Eve Audio SC 408 speakers; we've never had a bad listening experience with them! Regarding hardware and software, we are absolutely enamored with the UAD plugins, which we extensively use for mixing and mastering. As for the production process, lately, we've been frequently using VPS Avenger, Spectrasonics, U-He Diva, Nexus, and Serum.

Do you have any words of wisdom for people who might aspire toward a similar path?

It might sound cliché, but never give up. You can't predict who you might encounter along your journey who could dramatically alter your career path. It's crucial to invest time in relationships outside the studio; often, we overlook the significance of elements beyond the music creation process itself.

Consistency is vital. For instance, our big breakthrough came unexpectedly in the middle of the pandemic. Never deem anything impossible! You might be pleasantly surprised by the outcomes.

How long have you been working with headphones, and how do you use them in your workflow?

Since our workload increased a couple of years ago, I've had to adapt accordingly. It's not always feasible to do everything from the studio, and in order to maintain my social life, we decided to invest in studio headphones and a laptop to set up a home studio. This strategy has helped optimize our time significantly.

Since we started using the Audezes, we've experienced an incredible improvement, particularly in mixing and mastering. It's as if we have brought the studio home!

How have your Audeze headphones affected your work? Can you tell us what you've been working on with them recently?

The first impressions were so good, we instantly felt that it seemed that we were using the headphones for so long. They're even more comfortable than what we expected! Never seen this low end precision and clarity in the past with other headphones or brands, it's the most accurate reference to compare to our speakers.

The headphones arrived in the perfect moment to work on a mixdown request for a Major Lazer remix for the viral song "Mwaki" by Zerb... we did the mixdown between our Eve Audio SC-408 speakers and the MM-500. We are so happy with the results!

Artists may receive discounted Audeze product in exchange for interviews and opinions. Audeze does not solicit specific outcomes as part of any artist agreement.