WCA #514 with Christal Jerez - Education, Immersive Audio, Motherhood, New York Love, and VH1 Documentaries

Working Class Audio

In this episode of Working Class Audio, recorded live at AES 2024 in New York, Christal Jerez shares her career journey from Los Angeles to the UK. She discusses her experiences in live and studio sound, her move to the UK for a PhD, and the challenges of balancing motherhood with freelance work. Christal has worked with artists such as Lil Kim, Malik Moses, Al-Doms, and Timi O.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Move to the UK: Christal relocated to earn a PhD for the Andrew Scheps Music Production Scholarship, focused on immersive audio, supported by her family.
• Immersive Audio: Passion for 3D sound and binaural audio, working with psychoacoustic experts at NYU.
• Early Inspirations: Grew up in LA, influenced by family gatherings and VH1 documentaries.
• Education Path: Studied audio production in university, learned hands-on through radio station work recording live bluegrass music.
• Career Growth: Mentored by Serge Tsai at Platinum Sound, rising from assistant to freelance engineer. Focused on client relationships and studio professionalism.
• Challenges as a Woman in Audio: Faced bias and underrepresentation in the industry. Emphasized importance of mentorship and resilience.
• Balancing Work & Motherhood: Struggled to balance freelance work with being a mother, setting boundaries to manage family and career.

Matt’s Rant: AES 2024 Debrief

Links and Show Notes:

• Christal's Sonic Lab
• AES 2025 in Long Beach

Credits:

• Guest: Christal Jerez
• Host: Matt Boudreau
• Engineer: Matt Boudreau
• Producer: Matt Boudreau
• Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau
• WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell