“I’m still learning whilst I’m earning” – Izzy McPhee chats to Sophia
Junior Mastering Engineer Izzy McPhee chats to Sophia about the importance of embracing growth, paying it forward and the practicalities of setting up as a freelancer in the second of our four-part series of 7th Birthday Community Conversations.
This article is part of our Community Conversations series, exploring stories of personal, professional and collective growth from across our 7 years working to redress the gender imbalance in music tech.
Each piece follows a 1:1 chat between someone who has been closely involved in Saffron’s activities over the past 7 years and a member of the Saffron team. In this piece, Junior Mastering Engineer, Saffron for Sound graduate and Springboard participant Izzy McPhee chats to Saffron’s Education Manager, Sophia.

SOPH: What was it that first enticed you about working in the music industry?
IZZY: I can remember music playing a role in all major events in my childhood. I guess for people like me, playing in a band or something like that is quite a common way into the industry, but unfortunately, I don’t play any instruments. I’ve tried! But I’m just not that way inclined. So yeah, I guess for me it was about finding other ways into it.
So I studied television at uni and whilst I was there I specialised in sound. Through that I realised I actually really like the technical side of audio. I realised this is something I can do and something that really interests me. It was around that time that I was also learning to DJ and started to see that through technology I could bring all this love of music together. I suppose DJing is almost like playing an instrument in a way, so my perspective started to change on things that I perhaps first thought weren’t possible. I was like “oh maybe I CAN make a career out of music.”
I wasn’t sure what shape or form that would be, but I just knew that if I could get to Bristol and start getting involved in stuff, I’d be able to work my way into the scene and the community.
SOPH: So tell me a bit about how you first got involved with Saffron.
IZZY: After uni, I decided I was going to move to Bristol and basically start trying things out. So I started doing a show on 1020 radio and volunteering at the station and then I discovered the Saffron Sound Engineering course.
I think despite having quite a clear vision of wanting to work in music and audio, I was still a bit wary of how that would take shape and of finding ways to learn that didn’t feel intimidating. On my Film and TV course, for example, there were only three of us who were non-male so there was still this seed of doubt in my mind about whether there’s a place in the industry for me, being the gender that I am.
Doing the sound engineering course with Saffron was a really big turning point because I was learning in a really safe space. It was nice to feel supported and see a place in the industry for me. And that kind of kicked it all off.
SOPH: That was way back in 2019. How have you and your relationship with Saffron developed since?
IZZY: Back then I was quite early in my journey, but it was quite a pivotal thing. After that, I knew that wouldn’t be the end of my relationship with Saffron, because it was very much a community and everything I’ve done with you, it’s never just a case of “you’ve done this course, that’s it, see you later.” I knew that Saffron were aware of my journey so I continued following you and what you were doing.
I was in this situation after COVID, where the music industry had taken a hit and I think I just needed a little bit of help. I was still dedicated and motivated to work in the industry, but with the industry being up in the air, I needed some reassurance. That’s when I saw that Saffron had launched the Springboard scheme for young music creators and aspiring industry professionals. I applied knowing that I wanted to establish myself as a sound engineer, but that I still needed a bit of guidance and financial support whilst I was still trying things out. And the springboard scheme basically gave me all of that.
It gave me this sense of safety whilst I was still in the experimentation phase and the opportunity to do some learning. I had my mentor Katie Tavini who’s a very successful and talented mastering engineer and I was able to solidify that mastering is what I really want to do. Out the back of it, I’m now getting consistent, paid mastering work, which is a huge thing. I have a job at Factory Studios and now, just because my Springboard scheme has finished, it doesn’t feel like that at all because I’m in the online Saffron Members community, where we can all support each other and share opportunities.

SOPH: And you’ve recently joined Katie Tavini’s collective of mastering engineers ‘Weird Jungle‘, which feels like a real full circle moment for you. Can you tell us a bit more about how that relationship developed?
IZZY: I think I actually mentioned in my application to the Springboard scheme that Katie was someone that I really looked up to, and I really loved how she did things. So I was super chuffed when she was assigned as my industry mentor through the programme, which meant I got to meet with her every month. It started off as more of a broad industry mentoring kind of setup. Katie was really open, and I could chat to her about anything – the highs and lows she always had a really great perspective. Then towards the end of the scheme, when I was focusing more on mastering and mixing, she became like a technical mentor and teacher as well. So the relationship had a really nice progression.
I remember our last session, and feeling kind of sad thinking “oh, I hope this isn’t the end of our relationship” but she was very quick to say “if you have any questions, it doesn’t just end here.” There were a few times that I went to her for advice after that, so even though we’d developed a working relationship, it was still this massive surprise when she came to me saying “I’m starting this collective and I’d love to have you on board as a Junior Mastering Engineer.” I was like “100 000% yes! Please sign me up.” As I say, I knew I wanted to pursue mastering at this point but I was still thinking “How can I do this? How can I get work?” Jobs were coming in, but the thing with the collective is that there’s a group of engineers – Katie Tavini, Stephen Kerrison and myself – and when work comes in, it’s basically divvied out based on who would be best for it, who’s got availability etc. So it works great for me because it works around my other job at Factory.
Not only this but every project that I work on is quality-checked by Katie. So basically with every single track, I have the opportunity to ask questions. I’m still learning whilst earning and it’s crazy how quickly your skills develop just by doing the work and having someone that you can lean on for support. The weird jungle team are so lovely, it really feels like no question is a stupid question and I can feel confident in voicing anything I’m not sure of. This is similar to all of my learning experiences with Saffron – a truly non-judgemental space to learn and grow!
SOPH: You’ve achieved an extraordinary amount, in a really short space of time. If you could offer other women non-binary trans people one piece of advice around making their own way in the music tech industry what would it be?
IZZY: As quite an anxious person, a person who was doubting if I could even be in this industry, one big bit of advice from me would be to find a community. Saffron and its digital members club played that role for me but there are others out there too. If you feel isolated I’d say just reach out to people like myself. We’ve all been at that starting point in the music industry and we all know that it’s hard to find ways to find out what you want to do. So just ask for help and support because everyone’s willing to give it. I find asking sometimes can be the hardest part, but once you’ve done it, you’ll massively reap the benefits.
SOPH: Thinking more about the kind of practical side of things – you’ve explained that you went to uni and studied film and TV, which incorporated sound and audio. For somebody who doesn’t have that experience, what would your advice be to them?
IZZY: The thing that’s been the most beneficial for me has just been throwing myself into any work experience and practical learning I can get access to – and again that involved a lot of reaching out and asking. When I first started, I’m not gonna lie, I sent a LOT of emails. In the end, maybe three or four of those emails actually ended up turning into work experience at live events or in the studio.
I’d actually say live sound engineering work experience is the best way to learn. Even though I do more studio-based work now, I learnt so much in such a short space of time with live sound engineering, because it’s full on. If you make a mistake, you have to rectify it because it’s on the fly.
Aside from that, I’d say go to gigs, and consume the music that you want to work in. So I go to a lot of electronic music gigs, because that’s the sort of music that I want to be involved in. When you’re at the events you start to hear things – you start to hear what sounds good, what you like, and become aware of the factors that affect the music that you’re consuming. I’ve found that’s made a big difference to my workflow.

SOPH: Transitioning from a full-time job into a freelance audio career can be a scary step. How are you finding the process? Is there anything you did to prepare?
IZZY: When you work freelance, it’s really easy to say to yourself “I’m just going to work and work and work” but it’s not sustainable. You still have to have balance, whether that’s balancing your work with a social life, or another job, or in my case, it’s both of those things. Just being realistic is important. So if you’re going to go and do a 13-hour live shift, maybe consider taking the next day off or something like that.
I’ve definitely been there – just taking on everything and actually it starts to have the wrong effect because you’re not taking things in, you’re not giving yourself time to recuperate. So yeah, just practice balance and again, find people who have done freelance for a while and just ask questions. Things like taxes can be super confusing, but there are other people who have been doing this stuff for ages – and they don’t have to work in music, they could be freelancers in any kind of profession.
SOPH: Is there any particular piece of music you’ve worked on that you feel super proud of?
IZZY: Ellie – who taught the Saffron Sound Engineering course that I took part in – has just done this five-track EP for Saffron Records called Satin Planet, which she invited me to master. So that’s like a huge full-circle moment for me. I really look up to Ellie as a DJ, producer and sound engineer, so being offered this opportunity felt really special. I love the tracks. It’s the sort of music that I want to work on and I just feel really happy with how it turned out.
SOPH: So looking to the future, what changes would you like to see/be part of in the audio engineering space?
IZZY: I just want to keep on this trajectory; working in mastering, taking on more and more work and growing as an engineer. In the wider music industry sphere and especially audio engineering – even though it’s massively better than it was 10 years ago – I think we’re still not really there yet in terms of gender imbalance and working conditions. Things like working 10-hour days.
The big one for me as a woman in the industry is just seeing more people like myself in the industry and not being tokenized. So being given work for the right reasons and being respected and paving the way for other women and non-males in the industry.
When I was taught by Ellie, just seeing someone like me do it made me think “maybe I can do this”. I think that just speaks volumes. So if my presence in the music industry can encourage other women, trans and nonbinary people to do the same thing, then it’s worth doing.
SOPH: And lastly, do you have any advice to give to other people and organisations within the industry about how they can meaningfully invest in diversity?
IZZY: The big one for me is – actions speak louder than words. So don’t just be performative. Ask yourself – what are you doing to make a change? It’s all well and good saying that you want to hire more women and gender minorities, but actually just do it. Hire people at all levels and pay them the same as their male counterparts. Treat everyone with respect to make sure you’re creating a safe working environment. Having some ground rules about language and the treatment of employees can go a really long way in that sense. It sounds so simple, but it’s still something that isn’t actually done very often, especially in like the live music industry and the club scene.