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“Every job is a self portrait of the people who perform it. We always autograph our work with excellence.”
Success speaks volumes
From releasing records and developing one of the world’s first dedicated modern music production studios through to authoring The Dance Music Manual, delivering keynote talks at the NAMM Show and helping launch the Audio Engineering Society’s first Electronic Music Academy, Altar Studios has remained closely involved in the evolution of modern music production, education and audio technology for more than two decades.
Rick Snoman (PhD)
Dr Rick Snoman is a producer, sound designer, mastering engineer and author specialising in electronic music production. His credits include work with artists such as The Chainsmokers, David Guetta, Steve Aoki and Nicky Holloway. As an Apple Certified mastering and mix engineer, he has delivered projects for labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Polydor Records, Warner Records, WEA International, Spinnin’ Records, XL Recordings, Anjunabeats and mau5trap.
He has presented internationally on music production and audio technology, including keynote talks at the NAMM Showin Los Angeles, and serves as Co Chair of Electronic Music for the Audio Engineering Society. Through his work with the AES Education Committee, he has delivered presentations at conventions and educational events across the United States and Europe.
Rick is the author of The Dance Music Manual and After the Drop. First published by Taylor & Francis in 2003, The Dance Music Manual is widely regarded as a foundational text on electronic music production. The book has been translated into multiple languages and is used or recommended by universities and music production courses worldwide, including Harvard University and Yale University.
Alex Bartles (BSc)
Alex Bartles is an Apple Certified mastering engineer with credits including work for Nicky Holloway. She serves on the UK Executive Committee of the Audio Engineering Society and is Co Chair of Electronic and Modern Music, where she helped curate the AES’s first dedicated electronic music event.
She is the author of The EDM Mastering Manual, forthcoming via Routledge, and contributed to the fourth edition of The Dance Music Manual. Alongside her engineering work, she has written lyrics and melodies for releases signed to Blanco y Negro Music and 1980 Recordings.
Alex has also presented internationally on music production education, including at the AES Convention in Dublin in 2019, where she spoke on developing educational standards for modern music production training.
A qualified audiologist with more than 20 years of clinical experience, she additionally specialises in tinnitus retraining therapy for music professionals, advising on hearing protection, critical listening and hearing loss prevention.
Altar Studios
Altar Studios combines classic analogue hardware with modern production, mixing and mastering technology to create a studio environment focused on depth, character and precision. The studio integrates equipment from manufacturers including Manley, Solid State Logic, SPL, Tube-Tech and API alongside classic hardware samplers, synthesisers and drum machines from Akai, Roland, Korg and Casio.
Rather than treating vintage hardware as nostalgia, the studio is built around the sonic character, workflow and creative limitations that helped define electronic music production over the last three decades. As a result, Altar has become a regular working environment for producers seeking a more tactile and musically driven approach to modern production.
Award Winning Textbook
The Dance Music Manual was first published by Focal Press in 2003 and has since been translated into five languages, with the fourth edition shortlisted for Outstanding Book of the Year in 2019.
Widely regarded as one of the definitive reference texts on electronic music production, the book is used internationally by colleges, universities and professional music production courses as both a teaching resource and industry reference.
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