Steve Nicholls is someone who has found his way in the music industry. He has his own studio (part of the Laundry Rooms complex), works for Red Bull Studios, is one half of electro pop funk duo Shake Aletti and is now also A&R Man for Shabby Doll Records. As a sound engineer, Steve is an analogue man – mixing tracks out of the box rather than in it. His penchant for old gear means he goes through many consoles, and has a fine collection of pre-MIDI, CV (Control Voltage), & Roland DCB (Digital Control Bus) gear. He’s a man who much prefers the turning of knobs over the moving of blocks around on a screen. He does his mixing live and with very little automation – his motto being if its rubbish, throw it away and do it again. Interviewed by our own Jon Burton, Steve chats about making his financial life work while doing what he loves, working for Red Bull Studios, adding grittiness with an old Akai S900 sampler, using analogue outboard and being an A&R man.