Thinking in Sound: Ben Tomastik on Making Sure Everyone Is Heard
Ben Tomastik’s love for audio began in elementary school after seeing a character in a cartoon say “note to self” on a handheld tape recorder and decided he needed one.
He began recording and manipulating sound at age 11, became notorious for selling his mixtapes of remixes in high school, began DJ-ing at bars in southern and central California for about eight years, and then went into commercial post production audio at age 25 after graduating with a degree in audio production. Over the course of his nine years at Lime Studios, Ben worked his way up the ranks from assistant to mixer and absolutely loves what he does.
LBB> When you’re working on a new brief or project, what’s your typical starting point? How do you break it down and how do you like to generate your ideas or response?
Ben> I like to think I’m a pretty organised, structured person, but when I start working, I go straight to whichever part of the project sounds the most FUN. I wish I could say I methodically go through my workflow in the same order every time, but that’s not how I am at all. I’m extremely motivated by my job feeling like play, so when I’m diving into a new job, I let my excitement lead the way and introduce me to all its nuances as I’m getting to know the project.
LBB> Music and sound are in some ways the most collaborative and interactive forms of creativity - what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer to work solo or with a gang - and what are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?
Ben> My ideal way to work with others is just me and one other person. I think too often when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, the quality of the work can get sacrificed for making sure everyone feels “heard”. Everyone’s opinion is valid, but which one is “best” for THIS project?
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Ben> I’d have to say the variety! When you’re working in short form, every day is different and you never know which of your many hats you’re going to have to put on that day. It keeps things exciting.
As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it? I’m sure it won’t come as any surprise, but I’m most fascinated (& terrified) by the role AI is going to play in sound. I’m already hearing AI generated voice overs, AI generated SFX, music split into individual instrumental stems by AI. I’m not one for predictions, but I definitely think it’s important to learn to manage these new capabilities we have and see what’s possible.
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Ben> I probably don’t have any audio heroes per se, but Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys does come to mind first. He said, “I’m not a genius, I’m just a hard-working guy.” And I just love that. What good is inspiration without motivation? The people in my life that I think influenced me the most, actually impressed me with their work ethic more than any technique or trade.
LBB> And when it comes to your particular field, whether sound design or composing, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?
Ben> Oh, absolutely. I think when I’m working, it feels like every decision I make is informed by this mental conglomeration of all the mentors I’ve had. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work at Lime Studios, where we have a deep roster of experienced mixers to continue to learn from, and learn with. Each and every time I take over another mixer’s project, I always pick up at least a little something, and I love that constant influence and almost competition amongst ourselves. That’s how you get better.
LBB> When you’re working on something that isn’t directly sound design or music (lets say going through client briefs or answering emails) - are you the sort of person who needs music and noise in the background or is that completely distracting to you? What are your thoughts on ‘background’ sound and music as you work?
Ben> Music in the background is incredibly distracting to me when I’m working on something unrelated to sound. When you practice so often being an active listener when you’re listening to music, it gets kind of hard to turn it off. When I’m at an event or party trying to talk to new people, there’s a higher chance that I’ll be able to tell you the last 5 songs played at the party than to tell you what I learned from that person. It’s a tricky balance!
LBB> I guess the quality of the listening experience and the context that audiences listen to music/sound in has changed over the years. There’s the switch from analogue to digital and now we seem to be divided between bad-ass surround-sound immersive experiences and on-the-go, low quality sound (often the audio is competing with a million other distractions) - how does that factor into how you approach your work?
Ben> I love this question, because in and of itself it’s a great observation. To me, it always feels like it’s a battle between convenience & quality. When we’re busy we want convenience, when we slow down we want quality. Mixers have always understood the importance of listening to their mixes on a variety of speakers. When I was producing music it was all about listening to your mix in the car.
These days, we could be mixing in Atmos 7.1.4 for a commercial, then cross referencing how it sounds on a phone, laptop, TV, etc. Got to cover all your bases!
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Ben> My listening diet is actually pretty all over the place. I typically start the day listening to an album from 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die while I’m working out, then let my mind kind of take me to whatever I want to listen to next for my drive to work. I’m ‘adding to queue’ on Spotify all day long and it’s incredibly random.
The drive home after a long day is usually a sports podcast, so I can kind of pause the active listening part of my brain and relax a little.
The evening back at home tends to be more about vibe curation, music to help put me in a space to enjoy my downtime.
I try to lean into the brains’ ability to learn about different kinds of music even while you’re passive listening, so I keep the music playing more often than not.
LBB> Do you have a collection of music/sounds and what shape does it take (are you a vinyl nerd, do you have hard drives full of random bird sounds, are you a hyper-organised spotify-er…)?
Ben> I’m a mixture of all of the above - I probably have a little less than 100 albums on vinyl, the majority of them used to be my parents, but there’s a solid few that I purchased myself for albums that I felt were important for me to respect enough to have on vinyl, if that makes sense.
That said, I probably only use my record player about one album per month. To me, taking the time to pick out a specific album, physically get it playing, turning over the record etc. is reserved for those days where you’re really trying to absorb as much joy as you can out of life. Those times when you slow down, clock out and just be happy living in the moment.
That said, when Spotify came out, I became obsessed. I think suddenly gaining access to that much music throughout history all at once was an underrated part of our technological history. I went through all the albums on Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums during Covid lockdown, and have hundreds of playlists. All with incredibly strange names, (In the Pocket, Build Me a Fire, Trip to the Tropics, Rowdy Oldies Party,) you never know what you’re going to find there.
LBB> Outside of the music and sound world, what sort of art or topics really excite you and do you ever relate that back to music (e.g. history buffs who love music that can help you travel through time, gamers who love interactive sound design… I mean it really could be anything!!)
Ben> Nature, and animals! My career in an alternate universe would’ve most likely involved continuing on with my original major in college, marine biology. Instead of going into science and messing around with sound as a hobby, I decided to flip them and I now consider my interest in animals as a hobby.
The two of them intersect more than you might think though - there recently was a nature documentary that came out called 'The Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough' - I couldn’t believe they apparently made a doc just for me!
In this universe though, I’ve had to settle for surrounding myself with animals as much as possible while working in a very different career. I’ve had some strange pets over the years (newts, guinea pigs, frogs, ant farms) and love fostering dogs. Although the last time I did that, I ended up keeping him :)
LBB> Let’s talk travel! It’s often cited as one of the most creatively inspiring things you can do - I’d love to know what are the most exciting or inspiring experiences you’ve had when it comes to sound and music on your travels?
Ben> The biggest one that comes to mind is trying to memorise the sound of a space while traveling. As mixers, we’re constantly adding reverb to recreate spaces sonically and make it sound like the scene is actually there. You can definitely get better at this by watching lots of movies and tv, but I especially loved being in a cathedral in Florence or a canyon in Bali and hearing how exactly sounds bounce (or don’t bounce) around.
LBB> As we age, our ears change physically and our tastes evolve too, and life changes mean we don’t get to engage in our passions in the same intensity as in our youth - how has your relationship with sound and music changed over the years?
Ben> I started drumming at age 12, and DJing at age 16, so I learned pretty early on the importance of limiting your exposure to high volume sound. I love going to concerts, but attending them without earplugs these days just isn’t worth jeopardising your ear health.
Also, I’m not sure what the normal age is for when people tend to stop listening to current/popular music, but for me it happened around age 23. I was a DJ at the time, so my job obviously involved playing what was popular, but it got to a point where I just couldn’t do it anymore.
So for me it’s been, how do I still listen to and absorb newer music to keep up with what might be needed in a future project, instead of just listening to what I like. Some days I’m better at it than others!
