Audeze chats with engineer and mixer Evie Clark-Yospa

Evie Clark-Yospa is an audio engineer, mixer and assistant based in London. She has worked with a long roster of clients spanning a wide variety of genres. Recent clients include: Nia Archives, Rina Sawayama, Miraa May, Glass Animals, Rude Kid, Lola Young and many more.

"[The LCD-x's] translate really well onto speaker systems and they've given me confidence to do mix revisions, prep work and editing without having to go into the studio."  - Evie Clark-Yospa

Here's our chat with Evie:

Can you pick out any highlights from your work that you're particularly proud of?

I recently had the pleasure of working on Rina Sawayama’s Hold The Girl album. I assisted on the vocal sessions for this album and it was incredible to play a small role on such an amazing record.

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

My role varies massively from project to project, I do a lot of recording and mix assisting for Pop, Rap and Electronic artists and I also engineer and mix for smaller independent artists. I love having variation in my work and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

How did you get started in music? What kind of music did you listen to while growing up and how has that progressed?

Growing up I had a very varied taste in music, my mother plays in Ceilidh bands and my dad produces techno so I’ve always been surrounded by a wide variety of music. I used to listen to anything and everything and I’m glad to say that hasn’t changed.

Can you name any factors that influenced the course of your musical life? Heroes, role models, moments, interactions, etc?

I owe a lot of my career to the people who gave me my very first opportunity in the industry. It was hard to be taken seriously as an 18 year old woman aspiring to be an engineer and I was incredibly lucky to meet wonderful people at Premises Studios who took a chance on me. Since then I’ve had more incredible opportunities from different artists and organisations. I’m especially thankful to Miloco Studios for taking me on and believing in me.

Can you briefly describe a moment of frustration from your past work, and what you may have done to overcome the obstacles? Would you approach it differently now?

A moment of frustration that comes to mind for me would be a mix I did a while back, I found myself getting very bogged down in small details, not looking at the bigger picture and not trusting my initial instincts. I definitely have learned from that experience to go with my gut and trust my ear a lot more.

Is there any gear you find yourself turning to most when working on a project? What are some of your favorite tools/instruments recently?

I have been lucky enough to use a lot of pro audio equipment because of the rooms I have the pleasure of working in but I like to keep things relatively simple. I love the classics, my favourite vocal chain is Neumann U47, Neve 1073 and an 1176, it's timeless!

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

Keep pushing forward! It can be an intimidating industry, especially for women but don’t let anyone put you off because it’s so rewarding! Learn as much as you can, be kind, be humble and be persistent.

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

I have been working on headphones ever since I was in college, age 16. I have always used them when doing precise tasks like audio editing, I feel like headphones really help me hone in on the very subtle clicks and pop’s I’d find harder to notice on speakers. I also reference all my mixes on my airpods, I think this is a super important part of my process because the majority of consumers will be listening on airpods or something similar.

How have your Audeze headphones affected your work?

My LCD-X’s have been great for my workflow! With other headphones I’ve used before I’ve struggled to hear clarity in the bottom end of my mixes but with these I’ve really noticed a difference. They translate really well onto speaker systems and they've given me confidence to do mix revisions, prep work and editing without having to go into the studio.