I get quite a bit of push-back about the Loudness Penalty idea – and I think some of it is a simple misunderstanding.

In a nutshell, the "penalty" isn't about the numbers, it's about how the music sounds because of those numbers.

It's easier to hear (and see) than explain in words, which is why I made the video above, using example songs from this week's UK Top 20, including "Golden" from the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack.

It's a great tune, but like most K-Pop the loudness has been pushed really hard, so I couldn't help asking - how would it sound with better dynamics ?

And in fact we don't have to wonder - I can demonstrate it to you.

Which is exactly what I do, along with two other examples.

Take a listen – can you hear the difference ?

"Headlock" by Imogen Heap went viral recently and has gone platinum, 20 years after it was first released.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, a re-mastered version of the album "Speak For Yourself" has been released. But does it REALLY sound better ? Or just louder ?

In this video I take a listen to find out, using "Headlock" as an in-depth example.

Almost 30 years ago (!) I mastered what I believe was the second ever album of 'generative music' to be released.

Around the same time, inspired by the experience, I bought the first – Brian Eno's 'Generative Music 1' – but was never able to play it properly.

...until now.

This is the (deeply nerdy) story of those two albums, of why I love them both, and how I finally managed to listen to Brian Eno's 'Generative Music 1' myself, exactly as it was originally intended.

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Have you watched one of my videos recently and thought something like "this is all very interesting, but I'm not sure I can hear what you're talking about" ?

If so, then YouTube's new Stable Volume feature could be the reason.

In this video I show how it works, and how to disable it. Because when it's on, you'll never hear my videos the way I intended them 😕

I also explain why YouTube have added Stable Volume, and why it's not a complete disaster for everything we watch - but also why I'd like to be able to disable it permanently for my channel.

Photos by Mike Banks

One of the things I love most about working in music is getting the chance to interact with some of my heroes. They say you shouldn't, but personally I've ignored that rule and the result has been almost completely positive, so far !

Monday night was no exception - I got the chance to hear the new Dolby Atmos mix of David Bowie's legendary "Ziggy Stardust" album in Trident Studios, where it was originally recorded and mixed –- but more importantly, to talk to Ken Scott and Emre Ramazanoglu in detail afterwards about the project and it's history.

[Needless to say this was a fantastic opportunity that I want to say more about, but first I can imagine you're probably thinking how lucky I am to have been there. And I was – but if you're based in the UK, so could you have been !

The event was open to all Music Producers Guild members – and full membership only costs £11 a month. To find out more, click here - and no, I don't get a commission if you do !)]

So, first things first - how did it sound ?

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