Slade Gibson has played guitar with Savage Garden, composed music for Steve Irwin and is the audio producer and composer for the award-winning and international number one investigative podcast, The Teacher's Pet.
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AUDIO THAT STRIKES A CHORD
Like any artist, audio producers and composers have a distinct style that reflects their personal influences and experiences. It’s all about making a connection.
Understanding, embracing, and reflecting people’s vastly different moods, mindsets, and motivations is key. Whether it’s a stirring narrative for a podcast or the perfect sound design for an audio story, before I set foot in my studio, I put myself in my audience’s shoes. They could belong to kids or baby boomers, or anywhere in between. Whenever possible, I look at life through other people’s eyes. Only then can you create audio that reaches their ears and touches their hearts.
To me, there’s nothing more rewarding.
My services include audio editing, mixing, mastering, bespoke music composition, voice-over recording, sound design, and audio post-production for podcasts, TV, documentaries, radio, and online.
AWARDS
2018 Walkley Award - Gold Walkley - The Teacher’s Pet podcast, with Hedley Thomas
2018 Walkley Award - Investigative Journalism - The Teacher’s Pet podcast, with Hedley Thomas
2018 Clarion Award - Radio/Audio Current Affairs, Feature Documentary or Special - The Teacher’s Pet podcast, with Hedley Thomas
2022 Walkley Award - Investigative Journalism - Shandee’s Story podcast, with Hedley Thomas, David Murray and Isaac Irons
2022 Clarion Award - Radio Documentary & Podcast - Shandee’s Story podcast, with Hedley Thomas, David Murray, Isaac Irons & Lydia Lynch
PORTFOLIO
FROM HEDLEY THOMAS’ BOOK THE TEACHER’S PET
“In a stroke of luck that changed everything, I had met a genius musician and audio engineer, Slade Gibson. Our mutual friend Trent Dalton, the remarkable journalist and author of Boy Swallows Universe, knew we would hit it off. Slade, who had been a guitarist for the pop band Savage Garden, lived a 20-minute drive from my home. When we started talking, it was to record my voice in his home studio for a brief audio trailer for the podcast series. He was immediately curious but not pushy. Slade had a gentle and tactful approach which calmed my nerves behind the microphone.
In the beginning, I thought the audio engineer would contribute only technical prowess but Slade's instincts about story angles, tone and fairness were second to none. As he listened to the voices and heard my feedback, the married father of two little boys volunteered observations which were poignant and true. Although he had met none of the people, he had worked out things about Lyn, Chris, Jenny, their families and friends that had eluded me.
The more we talked about podcasting and the story of The Teacher's Pet, the more I realised that Slade should produce the series and compose the music. Working ridiculously long hours for relatively modest remuneration, he wrangled the audio files I had recorded, with their dodgy levels, smoothed my voice in the narrations, and sensibly counselled me about numerous story points which, if I had not listened, could have had disastrous consequences.
We never had a cross word.
Slade had never worked in journalism before. Until we got together, he had never produced a podcast - we were both rookies - but he understood storytelling, life, tragedy, justice and nuance. I lobbied Paul Whittaker (then editor-in-chief of The Australian) to come up with money which wasn't budgeted to fund Slade to write the music and produce the audio for the eight episodes I expected we would need to tell the whole story. Paul knew I was in deep. He was sensible with the company's money but he was also hooked on the story.
Slade underquoted with his fee proposal because he was intrigued by the story. The chemistry between us was always positive. He had a hunch that we were going to create something very important, something which might change lives for the better and right a longtime injustice. We both felt it.”
Hedley Thomas
CONTACT
info@sladegibson.com