MAINZ degree leads graduate to the UK
An interest in music from a very young age led Claude Vause to start recording for his own band at just 12-years-old. Raised in Wellington, he played in bands in High School and recorded in studios, both of which really sparked his interest in pursing a career in audio.
Claude enrolled in the Bachelor of Audio Engineering and Production at the MAINZ campus in Christchurch straight out of school, graduating in 2016. Not quite sure what he wanted for his future, whilst at school, Claude completed at STAR course at MAINZ in Christchurch for a week and decided it was what he wanted to do.
‘‘MAINZ lived up to all my expectations, the staff were extremely helpful and went above and beyond to make sure you were getting the most out of your time there.
‘‘I had done a days work experience at a studio when I was 14 for a school work experience assignment, but didn’t really have a clue about studios and how they worked,’’ he says.
‘‘But during my second year at MAINZ, I was lucky enough to intern at Orange Studios in Christchurch.
Claude loved his course and found the tutors were very knowledgeable.
‘‘The facilities are great and are just what you’d expect in a commercial studio, so it makes being able to work in other studios a lot easier.
Studying at MAINZ made him think more logically about studio workflow and think outside of the box when it came to making creative decisions, he says.
‘‘I think the best things about MAINZ is being able to spend as much time as you want using the studios and facilities, so you can really get the most out of your time there.’’
Whilst studying at MAINZ, Claude met Greg Haver, who came and gave guest lectures.
A producer who is heavily involved in the New Zealand Music Industry, Greg runs the New Zealand Music Producer’s Series. Claude was lucky enough to attend in 2016 and 2017, where he met and learnt from several great producers from the UK.
‘‘Without their support and guidance, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to make the jump over to the UK.’’
Claude is currently working as an Assistant Engineer at Miloco Studios, which is a Studio Management company based in London with studios worldwide.
In his role, he is lucky enough to work out of many amazing studios inside and outside of London, with various different people and working on different genres of music every day.
‘‘As an Assistant my role is to set everything up for sessions, make sure everything is working, work closely with the Engineer to make sure everything is running smoothly, get teas and coffees (a good cup of tea and coffee goes a long way) for everyone and finally make sure everyone’s happy and having a good time,’’ says Claude.
In five years, he is hoping to still be living in London and making his way up to being an Engineer, whether that be mixing, recording or a bit of both.
‘‘Without the knowledge I got at MAINZ, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today,’’ he says.