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OpenDAW Talks - Elevate Your Music

OpenDAW Talks - Elevate Your Music

Written by: Lex Luca
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Breaking into the music industry is tough—OpenDAW Talks is here to change that. Hosted by DJ, producer, and former Radio 1 producer Lex Luca, this podcast is your access all areas pass to the world of independent music production, songwriting, and artistry. With experience navigating the global music scene from London to Tokyo and millions of streams to his name, Lex brings candid conversations with artists and industry leaders who’ve been where you are now.


We know the journey is filled with hurdles, late nights, and uncertainty. That's why we cut through the noise to deliver real talk about what it takes to find your place in today’s music landscape. From uncovering songwriting secrets to breaking down the complexities of the music business, we go beyond surface-level advice to give you the tools, insights, and mindset shifts you need to carve out your path.


Expect unfiltered conversations packed with creative strategies, tips & tricks, inspiration and hard-earned lessons from those who’ve mastered their craft. Whether you're looking to elevate your skills, nurture a winning mindset, or simply find inspiration to keep going, OpenDAW Talks is the ultimate toolkit for your journey.


Follow us now on your favourite podcast platform, and head to OpenDAWTalks.com for more info & free resources.


OpenDAW Talks: Elevate Your Music


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If you'd like to get in touch, email us at hello@opendawtalks.com

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Episodes
  • The Bausa: 50 Songs a Year, a Viral Hit & Why 80% Done Beats Perfect

    The Bausa: 50 Songs a Year, a Viral Hit & Why 80% Done Beats Perfect
    Jun 4 2026

    This week I'm joined by The Bausa - Philip, Edward and Frederick, the Norwegian trio who went from making graduation party music in high school to a chart hit, 60,000 people the day after graduation, and now an international global hit with Magnetic.


    Before any of that happened, they spent years making 50+ songs a year for Norwegian school leavers with real clients, real deadlines, real feedback. It was the best music education you could design, and they didn't even know that's what it was.


    We get into how three people actually make music together without it becoming a mess, their three ideas a day technique that replaced grinding one track to death, and how Magnetic was made in a snowstorm at a cabin in January when the whole thing felt like a side quest with no pressure.


    KEY TAKEAWAYS

    • Deadlines are the best finishing tool you have: Making 50+ songs a year for real clients with real feedback forced them to finish tracks, try new genres, and get comfortable with fast decisions. If you can find an external deadline - a camp, a brief, a collaborator - use it.
    • Three ideas a day beats grinding one track: Instead of spending weeks on one idea until you hate it, crank out three quick ideas per session and come back to finish the best ones with fresh ears. You make better decisions and stay out of your own head.
    • 80% done is good enough: Stop chasing perfect. If it's 80% there, release it. Trust that you can make something as good or better next time. Perfection kills more music than anything else.
    • Environment changes everything - but you have to be in shape first: Magnetic was made at a cabin in a snowstorm and felt like a side quest. But it only worked because they'd spent four weeks in the studio grinding beforehand. You need both - the reps and the change of scene.
    • Build a brand early and go hard on it: Know what you look like, what you sound like, and what you stand for before anyone's watching. It's much harder to build it after the fact.


    BEST MOMENTS

    "We were making 50 songs a year - you can't wait six months. You have deadlines, you have to follow them, and if they don't like the hook you've got to find a new one."

    "We made a song the first evening we ever met, partied for five hours after, and put it on Spotify two weeks later. We just knew - there's chemistry here."

    "Don't try to make 100% perfect. If it's 80% - go. Trust that you can make something as good or better in the future."

    "If you make a hit, don't try to make it again. Every time you go back to that sound on purpose - it never works."

    "I imagine the song is made by someone else. That gives me a much clearer picture - is this actually a banger, or am I just wishing it is?"


    VALUABLE RESOURCES

    Songwritng camps


    EPISODES TO CHECK OUT NEXT

    James Hurr: Making Hits, Staying Prolific & The Business Lessons Nobody Teaches You


    ABOUT THE HOST

    Lex Luca is a London-based DJ, producer, and label owner known for his infectious energy both behind the decks and in the studio. With releases on Snatch!, Nervous, and his own label In Tune, Lex has garnered support from Pete Tong, Annie Mac, and Claude VonStroke. A former BBC Radio 1 producer, he delivers a unique blend of house, disco, and techno that has taken him from London to Ibiza and beyond. Lex founded OpenDAW Songwriting Camps, bringing together independent musicians to collaborate. As the host of OpenDAW Talks, he shares his journey and insights with the next generation of music creators.


    CONNECT & CONTACT

    http://instagram.com/opendawmusic

    http://instagram.com/lexluca


    Email: hello@opendawtalks.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr
  • Sacha Robotti: Quit Architecture in a War Zone, No Plan B & Why the Music Always Comes First

    Sacha Robotti: Quit Architecture in a War Zone, No Plan B & Why the Music Always Comes First
    May 28 2026
    This week I'm joined by Sacha Robotti. A Brussels-born, Berlin-raised, LA-based DJ, producer, and label owner who has spent twenty years in music without taking a job outside of it. Releases on Dirtybird, Desert Hearts, Third Culture with Sian on Diynamic, and his own label Sloth Acid.We start with the moment that changed everything... making beats on a Dell laptop in Kabul while Apache helicopters flew overhead and Kalashnikov fire was the soundtrack. That's when he decided to quit architecture and go all in on music with no savings and no plan B.We get into how he actually makes tracks... why working quickly is his number one rule, why being bored in the studio goes straight into the DNA of the track, and what Karl Bartos from Kraftwerk taught him about simplicity that he still uses today. We talk about his debut album I, Robotti on Dirtybird, how ADHD shapes the way he works, and why he thinks the algorithm is slowly killing the soul of music.And there's a really honest conversation about what twenty years in this industry actually looks like... the eviction notices, the identity shifts, and why the music has always been the thing.KEY TAKEAWAYSWork quickly and don't get attached: Get a loop, build something fast, let it rest. If you're bored by your own idea, it shows up in the track. Spontaneity isn't a shortcut - it's the point.Simplify everything: Karl Bartos told him reduce, reduce, reduce. Less is more in sound design, and you can hear it in every record Sacha's made since. More elements doesn't mean better music.Make music for yourself first: As soon as you're making it for your market or a label, it turns. Rick Rubin says it, Sacha lives it - your voice is in the music or someone else's is.Health is the foundation: He wishes he'd treated his body better earlier. Sleep, routine, exercise - these aren't separate from your career. They are your career.Run your label around what you'd actually play: Sloth Acid isn't chasing hits or follower counts. If he'd play it, he'll release it. That's the whole strategy - and it's produced 70 releases of music he's proud of.The music has to come first: Content, social, virality - all secondary. If the music isn't there, none of it matters.BEST MOMENTSI was on my Dell laptop making beats in Kabul, and outside you could hear Apache helicopters and Kalashnikov fire. That's when I decided ... I'm going all in on musicI decided from that point: I will not take any more money from anything unrelated to music. Not having savings, I'm not sure that was the wisest decision. But I had to make it happen.The rave was my family. The bass was my family.I don't care about your followers. Is it cool? Is it something I like? That's the metric.I wish I had paid more attention to my health earlier. That's the thing that carries you through everything, more than the career.EPISODES TO CHECK OUT NEXTLawrence HartABOUT THE HOSTLex Luca is a London-based DJ, producer, and label owner known for his infectious energy both behind the decks and in the studio. With releases on Snatch!, Nervous, and his own label In Tune, Lex has garnered support from Pete Tong, Annie Mac, and Claude VonStroke. A former BBC Radio 1 producer, he delivers a unique blend of house, disco, and techno that has taken him from London to Ibiza and beyond. Lex founded OpenDAW Songwriting Camps, bringing together independent musicians to collaborate. As the host of OpenDAW Talks, he shares his journey and insights with the next generation of music creators.VALUABLE RESOURCESThe KLF - The Manual: How to Have a Number One the Easy Way Sloth Acid RecordsCONNECT & CONTACTOpenDAW InstagramLex Luca InstagramEmail: hello@opendawtalks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • lau.ra: Reinvention, Resilience & Why Your Best Tracks Come Together in Three Hours

    lau.ra: Reinvention, Resilience & Why Your Best Tracks Come Together in Three Hours
    May 21 2026
    This week I'm joined by Lau.ra - producer, DJ, vocalist, and one of the most consistently excellent self-producing artists in UK electronic music right now. Teen idol at 16, in a band Nigel Godrich, 5 years as FEMME and onto getting a Pete Tong Essential Mix. She's been doing this a long time and she's done it her own way.We get into how she taught herself to produce entirely out of necessity, why she has almost no unfinished tracks on her computer, and the simple approach to finding your signature sound. We talk about testing tracks in DJ sets as the ultimate finishing tool, and why the best tracks she's ever made came together in about three hours.We also have a really honest conversation about the realities of releasing music today & what labels actually need to bring to the table beyond a digital release, and how sync has quietly been one of the most important income streams in her career.Oh, and she recorded this with her seven month old in the room. Respect.KEY TAKEAWAYSLearn the language: lau.ra became a producer out of frustration — sessions with other producers left her with half-finished demos on someone else's laptop. Learning to record herself gave her creative control and a technical vocabulary that made everyone take her more seriously.Don't overthink it: The best tracks she's ever made came together in around three hours. The ones she spent months on, she'd sucked the life out of somewhere along the way. Speed and instinct are underrated.Use your DJ sets as a finishing tool: Testing tracks in sets across different sound systems is her primary way of knowing when something is done — and when it isn't.Build a signature sound through constraints: Same drum sounds, same two or three bass synths, SH-101 for texture. The thing that changes track to track is the vocal or hook element. Limiting your palette forces a consistent identity.Know what you're actually signing: If a label can only offer a digital release, that's not enough anymore. Before signing away masters for ten years, ask what else they're bringing — events, press, relationships. That conversation is more important than ever.Sync is a real income stream: It's been a core part of her business since her pop days and continues to fund her artist career. Get a publishing deal if you can, write to briefs, and build that relationship early.BEST MOMENTSI've never been scared of reinventing myself. I actually find it really exciting.The best tracks I've ever made came together in about three hours. The ones you spend months grinding over the finish line - you've sucked the life out of them somewhere along the way.Making music is like 10 or 20 percent of my week if I'm lucky. The rest is emails, invoices, content, fan messages. The actual studio time is such a small percentage of my existence now.I put on a pair of shoes. It makes me feel like I'm ready to go to work.If a label is only providing a digital release, that's not good enough anymore. There has to be something else on the table.EPISODES TO CHECK OUT NEXTMikey V - Why The Music Won't WaitABOUT THE HOSTLex Luca is a London-based DJ, producer, and label owner known for his infectious energy both behind the decks and in the studio. With releases on Snatch!, Nervous, and his own label In Tune, Lex has garnered support from Pete Tong, Annie Mac, and Claude VonStroke. A former BBC Radio 1 producer, he delivers a unique blend of house, disco, and techno that has taken him from London to Ibiza and beyond. Lex founded OpenDAW Songwriting Camps, bringing together independent musicians to collaborate. As the host of OpenDAW Talks, he shares his journey and insights with the next generation of music creators.VALUABLE RESOURCESFollow lau.ra CONNECT & CONTACTOpenDAW InstagramLex Luca InstagramEmail: hello@opendawtalks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    53 mins
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