John-Joe Flynn

Practical skills, production equipment and peer support

I was studying Philosophy and English at another university before. I found it interesting, but I knew it wasn’t for me long-term.  

I decided to study Music Producing because I've been interested in music most of my life. I’ve listened to music a lot. I started gigging and ran an open mic in the past year and then I decided I wanted to learn more about how the music is made.  

I came to a USW Open Day and I just really loved the campus and all the equipment here. I also met the staff that day and they were really friendly and welcoming. 

The facilities here are excellent too. It's good for me because I don't have a MacBook yet and you can borrow MacBooks here, so I sometimes use those. And I have access to the rooms I need to make music whenever I want, so it's pretty great. I’m currently working on making some music for my band. I’m inspired by artists like Gorillaz. I make weird, alt rock stuff - it's a lot of synths and stuff like that. 

My favourite part of the course so far has been getting to learn the different audio workstations I haven't used before and collaborating with other students in my class, making music together. For example, if someone has used an audio workstation I haven't used much, then I'll take their advice on something. We listen to each other’s work and help each other out. We’ve also been working on radio jingles, and I’ll be involved the Immersed Music Festival as part of the course. 

Building a career in Music Production

I used to work as a chef in Swansea, but I’ve just moved to Cardiff. Being on a creative course, it definitely helps living in Cardiff because there's so many opportunities here. There's always a lot of open mic and music events going on. 

After I graduate, I’m not 100 percent sure what I want to do yet, but I want to at least be making my own music for fun. If it doesn't get successful, then I can help other people with their music. I like the collaboration and this course has helped me develop those skills. 

My advice for someone who's thinking about studying it? Don't worry about not having any knowledge on it beforehand, because I didn't really. I was just using Garage Band on my phone. It doesn't take long to get an understanding of it. If you're musical, you'll be fine.