THE TEAM
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Tess Greenham
Founder, Mastering Engineer
Tess is a mastering engineer from San Francisco, CA, now based in Los Angeles. Tess has been working alongside her father and mentor, John Greenham at Clearlight Mastering since 2019. She has been learning his tips, tricks, and techniques, honing in on her own unique sound, with a large emphasis on analog mastering.
She has assisted him on many projects from high-profile clientele like Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Bo Burnham, Finneas, Tinashe, Billy Idol, Sigrid, Gracie Abrams, Girl In Red, Rebecca Black, Sasami, K. Flay, Nessa Barrett, Cautious Clay, Donna Missal, amongst others.
Tess has been busy mastering projects on her own since 2021, developing her sound working with up and coming artists like Trousdale, McCall, Harry Hudson, RF Shannon, Rexobn, Denny, Virg, Charlie Oriain, Tilly Valentine, Harve, Chloe George, and more. She is also now on the board of directors at Girls Rock Santa Barbara.
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Yáng Tan
Producer, Songwriter, Mix Engineer
Yàng Tan, or “Young Tan” as she is sometimes called by her co-workers at Paramount Studio in Hollywood, has a unique background as a specialist in recording orchestral arrangements (she worked with the Chinese National Orchestra back in her native China), but the now Los Angeles-based engineer has become a favorite of urban artists lately.
She is a mixer as well as a music producer. Tan says she likes to work fast, which artists often appreciate in the studio. “I love to do vocal producing and I will constantly be editing their vocals in real-time as they record,” she says. “What I usually like to do is make the demos as good as possible that night [of the recording].”
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Jill Pennington
Co-founder, Contest Runner
Jill is a Social Media Manager and writer born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She has worked in event production and marketing for Live Nation Entertainment and Sofar Sounds. Jill is passionate about playlist curation and spent over a year writing and curating for Saturday’s at Seven, a music blog and showcase based in Los Angeles. Jill has also provided social media services supporting up and coming artists in the industry.
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Janice Lazaro Nieto
Email/Newsletter Coordinator
Janice is a San Francisco Bay Area based artist and singer/songwriter. She works closely with music libraries (Sony BMG, Warner Chappell, etc) writing/creating music for TV, Film and Media. Her music has been featured on a variety of international network programming aired on Netflix, Peacock, VH1, Amazon, CBBC, Yolo, E4 Network, and TF1 Séries Films. Additionally, Janice has a professional background in Operations, PR/Journalism, where she has written for Bay Area publications covering local organizations and businesses across multiple industries. She has also been a longtime core member of the Girls Who Listen non-profit organization.
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Lucy Cantor
Social Media Coordinator
Lucy, originally from NYC, is a music industry student at the University of Southern California. She is working as an A&R intern at PULSE Music Group for the second summer in a row while also interning with TOORLY, a fan driven global touring platform, as a content intern. She is a team member at 1st Gen where she promotes USC DJ's as well as live DJ events in Los Angeles. She is also a member of the Social Media and PR Team on USC's Journal of Music Industry where she works closely to promote the journal on their Instagram. Her roots are in performing as a jazz vocalist and so she loves all things music.
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Julia Keenan
A&R Blog Coordinator
Julia is a content management professional who will be serving as our newest Blog Coordinator! Originally from NY, she moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of her Master’s in Music Industry at the University of Southern California. She aspires to work with artists on the management side, promoting content while uplifting and proving their highest potential along for the ride on their artistic journey.
Additionally, she is currently interning at STURDY. for the summer! As a Digital Marketing intern, she will be responsible for supporting the label’s emerging artist scene.
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Yiran Qiu
Graphic Designer
Yiran, based in LA and originally from China, is our new graphic designer! Recently graduated from USC Thornton School of Music with a master's degree in Music Industry, Yiran is passionate about everything in the music industry, especially fields like marketing, digital media design, A&R and music supervision. Currently, Yiran is working at East Goes Global as a project manager to help promote Western artists to the highly promising Chinese market, while also collaborating with Chicago rapper Eshu Tune on a lot of marketing/design-related tasks. Besides, Yiran has always been an active member of USC's CreSCendo Music Club, participating in various performances as a vocalist. Yiran is also a singer-songwriter that records moments of life using her music and lens!
Producer Collective
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Kate Linné Malone
Kate Malone is a Nashville-based Songwriter and Producer who has worked with many artists in the pop, country, and singer-songwriter genres including Sam Hunt, Emma White, Parker Graye, Olivia Lane. She has written and produced songs that have appeared in several TV shows and movies, including “Switched At Birth” (Freeform Network), "Greek" (ABC Family), "Ten Things I Hate About You" (ABC Family), "Make It Or Break It" (ABC Family), and "The City" (MTV) as well as the feature film The Darkest Hour (Summit Entertainment/20th Century Fox). Kate also serves as the Music Director and Composer for "She Believed She Could," a production currently in residency at the Woolworth Theatre.
Kate has over 10 years of experience in various roles within the music industry, complemented with a long-held belief in the importance of creating a safe space to hatch ideas and bring them to life. Kate's dedication to her artists and their vision has earned her many repeat clients, and she is proud to be a member of Nashville's small group of top female music producers. Kate works with both independent and major label artists in Nashville and throughout the US.
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FINGY
FINGY is a Los Angeles raised Chicago-based Producer/DJ/Engineer who pushes the sonic boundaries of House music. Influenced by Funk, Soul, and R&B, FINGY’s music encapsulates an upbeat energy with smooth, melodic undertones. Working alongside indie artists such as Ondine, Heartgaze, Nina Tech and more, FINGY is able to shape sonic aesthetics across a multitude of musically diverse catalogs.
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Jess Kallen
Jess Kallen (they/them) is a multi-instrumentalist and musical artist in Los Angeles, CA. Born in San Francisco, Jess found the guitar at only five years old and took to the instrument hungrily. They began learning classical and later gravitated towards eclectic genres, from experimental rock to 70's folk to Pre-War jazz. In 2014, they moved to LA to study Guitar and Songwriting at USC’s Thornton School of Music. A touring and recording instrumentalist, they've played with indie rock's Rosie Tucker, Alex Lahey, and other rising artists in the LA scene. Guided by community, playfulness, and a love for all-things noise, Jess is thrilled to collaborate with WIP and anyone in pursuit of joyful music-making.
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Charlotte Reed
Charlotte Reed is an LA based producer, songwriter, and artist. Charlotte’s approach to songs and concepts has paved the path to her work with creatives across all genres. A reliable source for ideas, Charlotte is a versatile collaborator in any room as she can float between writing and producing or collaborating on both. She’s recently collaborated with artists such as AJA, Ella Isaacson, Chandler Leighton, Grandson, Banoffee, PRINS, Holly Blair, Josh Rubin, and more.
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Sophie Edwards
Sophie Edwards is a self-produced artist who is inspired by the transience of everyday exchanges. Her live-show combines her high-energy band with retro production influences, inspired by artists such as Vera Blue, Lennon Stella and Jorja Smith. 2022 saw Sophie’s live show reach new heights as she toured with Jaguar Jonze and John Floreani, and was the local support for Odette and Alice Skye.
Sophie’s most recent single “A Vague Song Of Regret” premiered on Triple J and was praised for her storytelling and collaboration with local artist Koebi Faumui. Her previous single “I Guess” was self-produced, and received editorial playlisting on both Spotify and Apple Music. As a producer and a songwriter, Sophie has created hits for Australian and international artists including Jared Benjamin, Jade Alice, and Finn Burton. She is currently an assistant to producer and songwriter Jerry Barnes, bassist of Nile Rodgers and Chic.
After taking a year in New York City to prioritise new life experiences and music creation, Sophie is excited to be releasing a storm of new music over the rest of 2023.
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Celia Bolgatz
Celia Bolgatz is an Audio Engineer and Music Producer from Oakland, California now based in Los Angeles. She earned a degree in Audio Engineering and Music Production from Berklee College of Music in 2020, and has worked on many projects as both engineer and producer, including the 2023 Grammy nominated global music album Shuruaat. In addition, Celia is an accomplished guitarist and currently tours with Chloe Lilac.
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Sierra Sparrow
Sierra Sparrow is a Producer and Engineer based in Los Angeles, California. She got her start working at a local studio under a previous Spectrasonics VP where she learned about sound design, sampling, and recording.
What makes her unique in her field is her background in music education. She’s certified to teach K-12 band but pivoted her knowledge of instruments, teaching, and communication towards her passion for creating and recording music. Currently she works at Paramount Recording Studio. During her time working in recording studios Sierra has worked with artists including but not limited to The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Troye Sivan, Metro Boomin, and Kid Cudi.
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Jillian Lavin
Lifelong singer Jillian Lavin (pka Spritely) never intended to get into music production. But after multiple failed attempts to communicate her vision to the producers she was working with, she elected to figure it out herself. Years later, her songs have been honored with spots in esteemed curator playlists (“Indie Pop,” “All New Indie,” and the “Noteable” initiative) and millions of streams across platforms. She’s extended her skills across genres to write and produce with other artists, and even dabbled in ad music for film/TV.
As an artist and songwriter herself, Lavin produces from a feelings-first perspective: every instrument — be it a trap hat, mellow synth pad or distorted guitar—should be in service to the intended emotional experience behind the song, and should always align to the artist’s vision. That said, it’s also good to be aware of popular music structures and “rules” to make the best version of the song and share it with as many people as possible.
As for her own project, Lavin has released two EPs as Spritely: “This is Fiction” (programmed, bedroom indie pop) and “Life’s Not A Novel” (more live and dramatic pop-rock leaning). She is looking forward to releasing a third EP “Prequel”—a collection of recovered songs from her pre-producer days—later in 2023.