Hi my name is Paul Ashmore, I was born in London UK in 1985 and have worked in the audio industry since I was 16 years old. On October 9th 2012 I established Audio Animals after many years of working for other studios as a freelance mixing and mastering engineer. The goal was always to have my own business and studio that offered a unique service, catering for clients worldwide of all abilities. Since I started Audio Animals I have had the pleasure of working with artists both big and small. Everything from Grammy award winning A list pop stars and major Hollywood Films, to underground artists and producers releasing their first song.
Whilst working in a studio back in 2011, I watched fewer and fewer clients attending the studio and choosing to record at home. With the rise of the desktop interface and access to quality plugins, the need for a highend studio was decreasing. Things had to change in order for this company to stay relevant and move with the times. The owners were old boys and stuck in their ways, so when I brought the idea of an online service to their attention they dismissed it. Shortly after I stopped working with them and start my own business with the focus being around an online service that clients did not need to attend.
In 2012 when we established Audio Animals we were one of the only online studios that was solely offering online mixing and mastering services. I watched the industry change, I was there at the perfect time to build and grow with it. The first 6 years from 2012 to 2018 were the hardest years of my life. I had to put life on hold to get Audio Animals established in the industry as the go to studio for online services. This required a work ethic you only get from running your own business. I slept only a few hours a night and would work non stop for 6 years. I wanted to fast track my business and grow it quicker than anyone else. It is because of that work ethic I am where I am today reaping the rewards of this hard work.
I will always remember my big break, it came back in 2014 when I was asked if I’d be interested in working on the mixing and mastering for The Amazing Spiderman 2. I honestly didn’t quite believe what was happening. Off the back of working on Spiderman we landed X-Men Days Of Futures Past, Then X-men Apocalypse and the ball started rolling, and it didn’t show any signs of stopping. Fast forward to present day without fail every week we are working on audio for a major Hollywood film. I love working with artists and watching their songs do well in the charts but the film game is on a different level of statue in my opinion.
One of my proudest achievements for me at this company was seeing Beyonce open The Atlantis The Royal hotel in Dubai. It gave me goosebumps. Knowing I’d mixed and mastered the audio for the show and seeing it so well executed globally was special for me. Beyonce is a superstar of course but to work on the audio for the opening of the grandest hotel in the world was amazing. Just a shame I couldn’t attend. At £1million a ticket it was only the rich and famous who could go. And I can think of many better ways to spend 1 million pounds, such as building another Dolby Atmos studio.
Dolby Atmos has been an incredible advancement for the audio industry. We are very quick to judge the industry and watch what is going on. We saw all the telltale signs of it becoming the industry standard. So we took the leap of faith and installed a £300,000 Dolby Atmos studio. It is my pride and joy. I have built it to perfection, it is quite honestly the perfect room. There are very few studio in the world that sound as good as it. We now have 2 state of the art Dolby Atmos studios. Every day I walk into them and have to pinch myself to check I’m not dreaming.
I couldn’t have achieved all what I’ve achieved in both work and life without 2 people. The first being my business partner and cousin Nick Burchall and the second being my wife Charlotte. Nick is the yin to my yang. His expertise are every aspect I have as a weakness. My expertise are his weaknesses. Working together every day since 2012 we have grown to perfectly understand each other and how to encourage the best out of one another. My wife Charlotte is my rock, she’s my stress ball when I get in from work after a hard day. She understands my work ethic and brings me a cuppa tea when I’m growling at the laptop in frustration. Homelife and work life are very similar. You surround yourself with people that are good for you, they will help you grow.
I always say, you hang around with 5 millionaires you’ll become a millionaire. You hang around with 5 bums you’ll become a bum.
