Hidden Gems: Meet Ash Matthews of Smart Boy Studios

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ash Matthews.

Hi Ash, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ash Matthews is a producer/engineer from Ohio. He has produced for artists like C-Money Baby, Dcasso, Corey Gossett, Mula Kkhan, D. Knight, SRT Meech, O.D.D.I.T.Y, and more. He is the owner/lead engineer for Smart Boy Studios and an engineer at Razdabar Sound & Management in Dayton, OH. A musician from birth, Ash combined his passion for computers with his love for music by studying audio technology. From there, Ash began to study and practice the art of mixing like it was his religion.

After studying Computer Science and Recording Industry Studies in college, Ash moved to Dayton, OH for a Software Development job. Shortly thereafter, Ash became an engineer at a local recording studio, Razdabar Sound and Management. For the next several years, he would strengthen his skills while building a network and reputation in the region. Today, he leads production and engineering for a team of artists and producers called Smart Boy Entertainment, while providing quality audio production for clients around the world.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Before moving away from Lima, OH (my hometown), I had played in bands, recorded, and mixed friends on the most modest of home setups. With little experience and RadioShack-level equipment, my hobby became trying to understand everything. I started trying to build a name for myself while in college in Indianapolis, IN.

Since my network only consisted of my fellow students, a lot of my time was spent learning and creating with people on campus. I landed an internship at a small local studio/production company. But with little to no network, it was very difficult to find people to come to pay me to engineer their music, despite the roughly 6 years of practice and professional studio that I had even helped rebuild.

Once I felt like I was gaining momentum in Indy with a team of artists and producers, I found a job in Dayton, OH, and entered an entirely new city where I didn’t know a single artist, a single producer, or a single studio. I spent my first year here meeting artists in the city, going to local shows, and attending any and every music-related event.

After showing face at 3 networking events at Razdabar Sound and Management, I talked to Dawn (the owner of the studio) about being an engineer at the studio. She gave me the opportunity and I ended up showing that I had the skills. Still, I had an upward struggle of building up a reputation in the scene – the new guy that nobody knows, here asking everyone to come to trust him with their art.

After establishing a name for myself, I needed a team of people on my own to grow my brand and my own business. Finding the right people to put in your circle is undoubtedly the hardest thing in the world… at least if you hold others to the standard that you hold for yourself. Luckily, over time I met some incredible producers and artists that I knew I wanted to build with. Although there will always be an obstacle to climb over, some of them are only anthills and I’m glad to have a team to help me climb the mountains.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Smart Boy Studios?
Smart Boy Studios is a music production company, as well as an artist collective. As a team of artists and producers, we aim to create high-quality, authentic, and entertaining music. Our main services are in recording, mixing, mastering, and production. However, we also handle some video production, music distribution, and merchandise. Although the majority of our work is in Rap/Hip-Hop, R&B, and Pop music, we. have proven our hands at Pop Punk, HyperPop, Metal/Hardcore, and more.

There are a lot of musicians and producers around these days, but the quality of our production – both creatively and sonically – really sets us apart. On top of having some of the cleanest mixes and superb songwriting, we operate on professionalism and respect. Everyone on the team needs to build meaningful relationships with our collaborators and clients and “wow” anyone we work with when it comes to scheduling, file delivery, and communication.

I am proud of building a brand that is based on creativity, adaptability, and intelligence – this is why our logo is an octopus, the animal that represents these attributes the most. Self-expression is important to me and it is always my goal to help other creators express themselves in the best way (whatever that is for them). Collaboration relies heavily on being adaptable and making compromises. The ability to understand how to fit in the process and match the wavelength that the artist or musician is operating on is key to producing the best art.

I’ve always found that the more you know, the more you are capable of doing. With the fast-paced evolution of technology, producers and engineers must stay in a constant state of learning to provide everything possible to clients. Our team is constantly growing and getting better every day. We’ve recently begun stretching our wings and traveling around to create and network with music industry personnel. We’re currently looking for a dedicated photographer/videographer (for shooting and editing music videos and other promotional content).

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Producing music with others, then witnessing other people enjoy it is one of the greatest feelings as a creator. Designing merch, then seeing a plethora of people rocking the clothing you made warms my heart greatly. An artist listening to the final version of their song and telling me “This is better than I could have even imagined,” is one of the most rewarding things people say to me.

Maybe it’s just confirmation or validation, but regardless, it registers as love and appreciation for the things that I contributed to the world. Above all, though, when someone that I work with succeeds I feel so accomplished. Knowing that I played a part (no matter how small or how big) in something that brings pride and growth and success to someone else confirms to me that I did my job and that I did it well.

Another thing that tends to give me goosebumps or chills, is when I get an audio message or voicemail from someone with business – giving me details on something we have planned, telling me their ideas, showing appreciation, or anything like that. A professional message about business delights me. Besides that… food, puppies, and new music from my favorite artists/bands.

Pricing:

• Recording – $60/hr plus sales tax
• Mixing – variable on details of the song
• Mastering – $50/song plus sales tax
• Production – variable/negotiable based on details

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.smartboystudios.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/smartboystudios
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/smartboystudios
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartboystudios
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SmartBoyStudios
• Other: https://shop.smartboystudios.com