
As part of their Berklee Online courses, Erin Barra and Loudon Stearns create instructional videos that make life spring from topics that, in less capable hands, could crumble with dryness.
In these videos, the two are heard having long conversations about things like file management and MIDI controllers. And, believe it or not, these clips are popular, says Barra, an associate professor in the Songwriting Department.
Not sure how we made file management exciting, but people seem to like listening to the two of us chat, so we thought wed make a thing of it, she says.
That thing is Berklee's new podcast, Signal Flow, in which she and Stearns explore the technology, techniques, and ideas in digital music, and the interaction of audio with other arts. Signal Flow is Berklee's second podcast, following Sounds of Berklee, which features interviews and music from the College and Conservatory communities, and beyond.
I think out there, in the world, there's a desire for people to make . We've democratized creation. Everyone wants to make, everyone wants to create something new, and I want to share these insights, says Stearns, an associate professor in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department.
In advance of the first episode, Barra answered some questions about the podcast's genesis and what listeners can expect:
What inspired you and Stearns to develop Signal Flow? Loudon and I have been working together for years on lots of projects, both inside and outside of Berklee and the dynamic between the two of us is unique. Our skill sets and interests overlap in so many ways, but in terms of how our minds work, we couldnt be more different. We had just finished working on a multiyear project, closed our laptops, sort of looked at each other and asked, Whats next?
What topics will you two cover in upcoming episodes? We start the series by paying homage to, and dissecting tracks from, the [artist-] triumvirate that is Modeselektor, Apparat, and Moderat. Both Loudon and I love how these acts and artists work both separately and together to create electronic tracks that are dripping in musicianship and are so refined in their approach. In later episodes, we start to tackle concepts such as spatial audio and whats happening to the way people experience sound.
What kind of listener is Signal Flow geared toward? Signal Flow is for people who are interested in the intersection of music and technology. Listeners who are music tech nerds will love this podcast, but I think its accessible to anyone whos interested in either music or technology and wants to learn more about either.
Personally, I dont know much about cars but I still love listening to Car Talk on NPR. The same idea is true of Signal Flow; no prior experience or prerequisite knowledge is required.
Take a listen to the first episode:
Related categories:
News
Related Reading
PODCAST: Erin Barra Rethinks How Songwriters Use Technology In this episode of Inside Berklee, Erin Barra B.M. 06 talks about her anti-tech roots, walks us through the production of a new song, and discusses why she pushes students to use technology to help achieve their vision.
PODCAST: Student Dom Jones Tells Her Story Through Spoken-Word Album In this episode of Sounds of Berklee, we'll be listening to I Do This, a song in which student Dom Jones pays tribute to a long list of people who keep her motivated. Jones will be playing at the Haymarket Lounge in City Winery, Boston, on April 14.
Behind the Music of Ferdinand with Batu Sener, Film Scoring Alumnus Batu Sener, an alumnus of Berklees film scoring program, discusses his work, alongside his Oscar-nominated mentor John Powell, on the new film Ferdinand, based on the popular childrens book.
More from Berklee Now
Most Popular
Steven Grove Scores One of Hollywoods Top Internships The film scoring major spent the summer as an intern at Sparks and Shadows, where he now works.
Latest
Maureen McMullan Named Concert and Event Producer for External Affairs McMullan, previously assistant chair of Berklees Voice Department, will provide leadership and artistic direction for high-profile college events.
Berklee Gala Features LL Cool J and Nile Rodgers and Chic Berklee City Music, the events beneficiary, empowers youth from underserved communities to develop academically, socially, and emotionally through the study of contemporary music.
Hippo Campus.jpg
Erin's Prime Slices: Hippo Campus, Cumulus Read about and hear new releases recommended by BIRN staff member Erin Ober during the week of October 4.
The BIRN
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Berklee Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Snapchat
Soundcloud
Spotify
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
09/03/2026
Foos Gone Wild and Combate Global have teamed up to create a twist on combat sports competition, announcing the launch of a special amateur Mixed Martial Arts (...
09/03/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Harmonic will introduce significant enhancements to its video appliances and SaaS solutions, highlighted by a next-generation media server...
09/03/2026
ESPN's March 3 spring training matchup between Team USA and the San Francisc...
09/03/2026
Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announces the launch of MVPW, a new global platfo...
09/03/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
09/03/2026
From Super Bowl compounds to Final Four setups, the Hofstra graduate helps coord...
09/03/2026
Stamford plays a key role, but a small team in Cortina and Milan powers local presence and mixed-zone coverage...
09/03/2026
The event brings together SVG's previous Cloud Production and Content Management Forums into a single, comprehensive day of programming...
09/03/2026
Updated Mar 9, 2026
Live surround sound has been a part of the plan for Roman a...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
09/03/2026
Two new high-quality DI boxes announced
Boasting some impressive technical specifications and versatile routing options, Strymon's latest active DI boxe...
09/03/2026
Latest MPE-capable Soundbox library released
The follow-up release for Sonora Cinematic's Pure Nylon has arrived, and becomes the latest addition to the...
09/03/2026
Popular wireless mic head design revived
Sennheiser have revealed that the MD 9235, a cardioid mic head designed to pair up with their handheld wireless sys...
09/03/2026
Captures two sought-after Dumble combo amps
The latest TONEX release captures a pair of sought-after Dumble amplifiers from IK Multimedia's private amp ...
09/03/2026
Flexible all-analogue insert matrix joins line-up
HUM Audio Devices don't tend to do things by halves - even the quickest of glances at the likes of the...
09/03/2026
Captures three sought-after pianos
Rhodes latest software release brings together a collection of three virtual pianos: a concert grand, an acoustic upright...
09/03/2026
Flagship compressor gets an upgrade
Techivation's flagship compressor plug-in has just been treated to a ground-up rebuild that kits it out with some po...
09/03/2026
Profiler OS 14.0 enters open beta
Kemper's amp-modelling systems already have a great reputation, but the latest update to their systems' underlying...
09/03/2026
Procedural stems smasher & recomposition engine
Blinksonic have recently launched a new Reaktor-based tool which they say takes a radical departure from yo...
09/03/2026
13 - 15 March 2026 at University of Warwick Conference Centre
The Institute of Professional Sound (IPS) have announced that The IPS Training Weekend 2026 wi...
09/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and NETGEAR collaborate for next generation Wi-Fi 8 access point...
09/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/03/2026
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will showcase its latest innovations for broadcasters and streaming platforms at NAB Show 2026 (boot...
09/03/2026
UKTV has agreed a new partnership deal with Samsung that makes UKTV's free linear channels available to internet-only Samsung TV viewers in the UK for the f...
09/03/2026
Monday 9 March 2026
Sky reveals first look trailer and sets premiere date for S...
09/03/2026
Monday 9 March 2026
Sky Appoints Damian Saunders as Managing Director of Sky Business
Sky has today announced the appointment of Damian Saunders as Managing D...
09/03/2026
Back to All News
The Predator of Seville premieres on Netflix on 27 March
Entertainment
09 March 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the im...
09/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Debuts the Trailer for Love is Blind: Sweden Season 3
Entertainment
09 March 2026
GlobalSweden
Link copied to clipboard
That wait...
09/03/2026
Bill O'Reilly Announces New Weekly Podcast We'll Do It LIVE! We'll Do It LIVE!' A Bold, Fresh Presentation from Bill O'Reilly
New York...
09/03/2026
MOSOLF SE & Co. KG Relies on green.screen from Arvato Systems for Strategic Ener...
09/03/2026
A powerful new national initiative supporting people living with dementia launch...
09/03/2026
AI is everywhere and accelerating everything - becoming essential infrastructure...
09/03/2026
ABB Robotics and NVIDIA today announced a breakthrough partnership that brings i...
07/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/03/2026
TNT Sports and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have reached a mul...
06/03/2026
OffBall and TOGETHXR, two influential young media companies in sports, announce a strategic and operational partnership in a shared push to scale and create inn...
06/03/2026
InfoComm 2026, a destination for AV, IT, broadcast, and AI-driven systems, annou...
06/03/2026
LTN and MediaKind announce a strategic partnership to integrate MediaKind's ...
06/03/2026
X Games and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation (GNOSF) announce that New Orleans, Louisiana, will host the first-ever X Games Championship event - the fi...
06/03/2026
As part of a busy start of the year at Chyron, the AXIS team developed a set of improvements for AXIS Maps. The features released empower users with more flexib...
06/03/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, BeckTV, a premier systems integrator for the broadcast ind...
06/03/2026
At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight introduces Nimbra Live Intelligence, which definin...
06/03/2026
SES announces that it has added new Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite capacity ...