Audeze interviews producer, composer and engineer Salomé Limón

Salomé Limón is a Madrid based producer, composer, sound engineer and sound designer since 2004. Winner of 5 Latin Grammy awards, and a Grammy nominee, she is the President and Founder of PIAudio (Iberoamerican Women Producers' and Engineers' Association). She's been a lecturer and professor at Berklee College of Music, IE University, CES, FEST Portugal, University of Lethbridge, Maxsine School of Pekin, etc, and is the secretary of the CPI (Circle of Producers and Engineers) of the Latin Grammy Academy. She has the privilege to work with artists such as Paco de Lucía, Tomtatito, Enrique Morente, Editors, Young Dreams, Michel Camilo, Seal, Abraham Laboriel, Buika, Crystal Fighters, Wynton Marsalis, and many others.

 "Since my Audeze headphones arrived there is not a single day I don’t use them. They give me the confidence in my sound that I need."  - Salomé Limón

Here's our chat with Salomé:

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

I am very proud to have worked with Paco de Lucía for many years, but mostly for working with him in his last album “Canción Andaluza." And also to have recorded and mixed Michel Camilo and Tomatito’s "Spain Forever" with which we won a Latin Grammy.

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

Right now I am producing for two female singers, composing my own EP featuring singers that I like, doing the sound design of a film and mixing in 5.1 a soundtrack for one of the most important film festivals in Spain.

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

Ending up in a studio was a fluke. I was between jobs and my brother needed help in his studio and asked me to work with him recording and mixing. After 10 years working with him I decided to go freelance and to grow in other areas of sound such as sound designing, mixing in 5.1, composing...

When I was younger I liked to listen Spanish pop music like El último de la fila. Right now I love to listen flamenco, world music. Music that has this earthy feeling, music that comes from our roots.

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

One moment that changed my perspective as a female sound engineer was when I went to record Toots Thielemans, a great harmonica player, in Belgium and the house engineer of the studio was a woman. That blew my mind and made me realize that more women were working in the same part of the studio as me. That led me to create PIAudio, an iberoamericana female producers' and sound engineers' organization.

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?

I have to show the musicians that come to the studio what I am capable of if they haven’t worked with me before. Even today. What do I do? I do my job and I try not to pay much attention. What I would do differently now is not to take it personally and not feel bad about it.

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

Yes, I have my favorite things I like in the song. I like Universal Audio plugins, Melodyne, Beat Detective from Pro Tools, love Pro Tools, Genelec, Tierra Audio Preamp Lava and the combination with their new mic New Twenties is amazing, iZotope RX. These are my must haves when recording, editing and mixing.

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

My most important value is quality. Quality and hard work. My advice is to be reliable and organized. But it is most important to do what you love. Say yes to the jobs that you know you are going to really enjoy. This is a fun job and we have to be happy doing it.

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

I think I have used headphones since day one. Mostly to check that what I hear in the monitors also sound great in the headphones. I use them to work in places that are not my studio and don’t have very good sound quality.

Do you have any additional comments or stories you want to share?

I really want to try the combination Audeze with Sound Particles. I think it is going to be another moment that will blow my mind and change my way of working.

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

Since my Audeze headphones arrived there is not a single day I don’t use them. They give me the confidence in my sound that I need. They help me to be more focused in everything that is going on, no distractions. Right now I am working simultaneously in the sound design and mix of the Spanish film director David Trueba's new project. Guillermo García- Ramos’ new short film and the mixes of 3 different artists. I like to have 2 really good different sources of sound and with my Audeze I know I have a very reliable source.