Thinking In Sound: Mixing Perspectives with Oliver Duke
Oliver Duke is a seasoned music and sound professional based in Sydney, Australia, with extensive experience in music production, audio post-production, and studio management. His journey began in his late teens when he started producing electronic music after leaving formal music classes. Oliver quickly honed his skills as a DJ, performing at some of Sydney's top nightclubs.
After finishing school, Oliver pursued his passion for music by earning a Bachelor of Music with a major in audio from the Australian Institute of Music. This led him to an audio engineering role at King Sound Studios in Surry Hills, where he gained hands-on experience in voice-over recording, accounts management, and teaching VO techniques at 'Voicebooth.' During this time, he also volunteered at FBi Radio in Redfern, producing a weekly drive show and contributing articles to their blog.
In 2021, Oliver joined Squeak E. Clean Studios in Surry Hills (now located in Pyrmont) as a music production coordinator. In this role, he collaborated with executive creative producer Karla Henwood to manage the music production department, oversee composer workloads, produce projects for U.S. clients, and maintain the company's extensive music license database.
After two years, Oliver advanced to the role of producer, where he now leads music projects from initial client brief to final delivery, while also supporting the sound department as needed.
Oliver has also pioneered scoring techniques in sonic branding, leading to numerous successful projects and enhancing the business's offerings. He prides himself on bringing a holistic perspective to every project, drawing on his diverse experience in music and sound.
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?
Oliver> At Squeak E. Clean Studios, every brief we receive is unique. Sometimes, I have to follow up with clients to get more details beyond just "it needs to be Gen-Z cool." Other times the creative team has spent much time forming a detailed brief with very specific tonal and musical references.
Once I have a comprehensive brief, I begin to translate creative notes into musical themes, genres, structure, and instrumentation ideas. I rely on our talented in-house composer team for references and creative input, as they are the ones who turn the words into music. We constantly keep our ears to the ground for what's new and exciting, so we can present cutting-edge music and encourage our clients to think outside the box.
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?
Oliver> Working as a producer at a music and sound production company is all about teamwork. In music production, we love diving into a brief together and bouncing ideas off each other—it's super helpful for our creative process.
Music is subjective, so everyone brings their own unique perspective. Mixing these perspectives gives us the creative space to experiment and create fresh-sounding tracks for our clients. We have a global team of in-house composers all with incredible skills, which helps us answer music briefs quickly and creatively.
To me, every project leaves a mark in my memory—that’s just how advertising works! Some of my most memorable collaborations include:
- Working with TBWA Sydney to introduce the FIFA Women’s World Cup Unity Beat. We brought together an all-female choir from diverse backgrounds and a female composer to create a catchy anthem.
- Collaborating with an authentic Flamenco guitarist to put a unique spin on the Aussie classic ‘Waltzing Matilda’ for Balter Beer’s Cerveza through Deloitte Melbourne.
LBB> What’s the most satisfying part of your job and why?
Oliver> We love creative problem-solving and I'm passionate about our craft, so getting positive feedback from a client is super rewarding. Music and sound often play a crucial role in the final stages of the job delivery process for the agency and client and we're frequently called upon to enhance or even fix the emotional impact of the visuals through sound and music.
It’s great when we create a killer track with composers, and get it through to client with very little to no feedback; knowing everyone is thrilled. It’s great to hear when we’ve exceeded expectations and it’s just damn good music.
LBB> As the advertising industry changes, how do you think the role of music and sound is changing with it?
Oliver> With the global economy facing challenges and budgets getting tighter, companies are taking a more audio-led approach to keep their brands top of mind. In the past, clients often saw music and sound as an afterthought, tacked onto isolated campaigns. Now, I think it’s being seen as an essential part of establishing memorable brand recall across the new diverse advertising and social media landscape. At SqueakE we’ve scaled up our sonic branding department to meet the needs of our global clients.
LBB> Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Oliver> I’m a sucker for sad music. If you've known me long enough, you’ll know that my most-played playlist on Spotify is full of melancholic songs (I promise I’m okay though!). Continuing that thought, Bon Iver has long been an inspiration of mine, and I was lucky enough to see him at the ICC Theatre in February last year. His ability to weave soulful vocals, intricate textures, and experimental synthetic elements blows my mind, and his new work continues to amaze me.
Aside from that, I have a close affinity with electronic music and have been particularly inspired by artists like Fred Again… and his innovative hip hop sampling, Disclosure with their unique vocal collaborations, and Skrillex with his incredible drum programming abilities.
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?
Oliver> I often find inspiration from pioneers like Ludwig Göransson, who speaks at magnitude about using specific instruments to bring on-screen characters to life, and Hans Zimmer, who effortlessly blends orchestral and electronic elements in film. In terms of artistic creativity, Daft Punk’s sampling techniques are second to none.
I also firmly believe in the quote: "The last 5% of any project is always the hardest. Until you've been through it a few times, it's hard to appreciate how much difference it can make to the quality of the final product."
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?
Oliver> Naturally, working in a highly creative company that specialises in music & sound it’s rare that you’re not exposed to noise in some format. Personally, when going through nitty-gritty production admin work I prefer a bit of silence and often zone in with my earphones on noise cancelling mode. This helps me to be present and proactive when I am reviewing music and working collaboratively with our composers.
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?
Oliver> In today's digital world, with accessible music aggregation, distribution, and AI, consumers' attention spans are growing shorter, and they are constantly bombarded with visual and audio stimulation. In response, we focus on approaching music and sound projects cleverly to cut through the noise, leveraging memorable brand assets and timely cultural influences.
In my day-to-day work, I make a point to put myself in the client's shoes and listen on the devices they're likely to be using (e.g. laptop speakers). I then compare this with how it sounds in one of our acoustically-treated studios to get a complete picture of how a piece of music or mix is coming together.
LBB> On a typical day, what does your ‘listening diet’ look like?
Oliver> My listening habits are entirely mood-dependent. When I'm in a relaxing mode, I often turn to Aussie indie rock bands such as Royel Otis, Hockey Dad, or Spacey Jane. If I'm gearing up for the gym or football, I'll throw on a hip hop playlist or pick up the tempo with some UK Garage. And sometimes… I indulge in a guilty pleasure of 2000s pop songs.
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…)?
Oliver> Personally, I’m a hyper-organised Spotify-er. I have Spotify playlists for all types of activities. For example, I have a playlist called ‘Certified Party Starters’ - which is dedicated to bringing up the energy with some groovy house tunes with disco classics thrown in. Besides streaming platforms, I have a terabyte worth of electronic music from when I used to DJ sitting on an old hard drive…willing to sell to the highest bidder.
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!!)
Oliver> Beyond music and sound, I love tech and particularly problem-solving from a technical point of view. I find it natural to navigate software development where there are numerous ways to solve a single problem, just as in music, where there are numerous ways to evoke a single emotion in someone.
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?
Oliver> Travelling across Europe, especially the Greek Islands, and experiencing the influence of Middle Eastern sounds in electronic music was eye-opening. I loved how organic and traditional instrumentation could be seamlessly woven into dance grooves to create entrancing songs.
On another note, during my trip to New Zealand in 2018, I visited a forest in Hamurana filled with stunning redwood trees and vibrant birds. It was inspiring to hear the beautiful sounds these tiny birds could create, and I ended up sampling them in several music tracks.
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?
Oliver> When I was younger, I often saw music as a chore (blame my trumpet teacher) and something that was required rather than something I chose to do. This changed dramatically during my late teenage years when I discovered the potential of electronic music, just after I dropped out of my high school music course. I was fascinated by the ability to create any sound imaginable on a computer.
Nowadays, I've come to appreciate real instrumentation more and more, and I find that striking a balance between familiar and unfamiliar sounds creates a timeless result.
