PROFILE
Allyssa Rawes
By Maxime Brunet
G
rowing up in Guelph, ON,
Allyssa “Roz” Rawes devel-
oped a passion for music at an
early age. While some children
might spend their Sundays
at church, Rawes spent them
watching a DVD of Queen live at Wembley
Stadium with their drummer father ("they/
their" being Rawes' preferred pronouns).
Ultimately, worshiping at the altar of rock had
a strong impact on their career ambitions.
From the age of 14 onwards, Rawes
worked in retail, eventually moving up to
being head of the billing and invoicing
department of a local company. They loved
both music and computers, so decided that
they eventually wanted to get into audio
engineering. After graduating high school,
they enrolled in the Harris Institute’s audio
production and engineering program, where
they focused on live sound. Ever the go-getter,
Rawes was the student council president dur-
ing their studies.
After graduating, Rawes worked many
stagehand, stage management, and patch
tech shifts with various production companies
until they were able to support themselves
exclusively with mixing work. For the past
five years, they have been primarily working
as a monitor engineer, both locally in Toronto
and with touring acts such as Broken Social
Scene and Alvvays.
Asked about why they prefer the stage
side of the snake, Rawes states: “I love the con-
nection that’s made between empathy and
tech. I get to learn each musician’s preferences
and body language during sound check and
let that knowledge translate to their needs
mid-show. I enjoy knowing what a musician
needs before they ask for it, making a change
to their mix and watching them get right back
in the groove – especially when you’re feeding
off of the band’s energy, totally in tune with
each person on stage and you get into a bit
of a flow where your mix moves are almost
subconscious. There’s nothing like it.”
As in-ear monitoring technologies and
capabilities have evolved, Rawes has taken
a strong interest in 3D audio mixing, which
allows engineers to place instruments and
vocals in a truly three-dimensional audio field,
compared to the traditionally-used stereo
field. They particularly enjoy the Spat Revo-
lution platform from FLUX::. “It has far more
spatial parameters available [than its competi-
tors], has better infra-red tracking possibilities
with Blacktrax, doesn’t require extra hardware,
and connects well via AVB to the [Avid] S6L,”
they say, citing their preferred console.
Besides working as a freelance technician,
Rawes is also the technical director of The
Mod Club in Toronto. They also find the time
to teach at the Harris Institute, where they cre-
ated the curriculum for the digital live audio
class in 2017. Rawes was offered a teaching
position after giving a guest lecture, and felt
strongly about taking the job. “I was hesitant
to take it on due to my busy schedule, but I
was able to work out a part-time schedule on
Monday mornings with the option to teach
via Skype while on tour. I also really wanted
the opportunity to give the students some
exposure to a non-male tech.”
Rawes received the Harris Institute’s “Excel-
lence for Music & Audio Production” award this
past fall for their work thus far.
Like many women and non-binary tech-
nicians, Rawes has experienced sexual
harassment and assault. Recalling those
stories, they are grateful that they didn’t quit
the music industry, and in fact, notes that
those inexcusable experiences made them
a stronger person. They have also struggled
with imposter syndrome, or as they explain:
“The constant feeling like you’re not qualified
enough or ‘not ready’ for a gig or position. I
went the better part of my career thinking
I wasn’t ready for bigger gigs until I found a
mentor that pushed me to take gigs I would
have never thought I was qualified for. Time
after time I was proven wrong and rocked it.
I still struggle with that same fear, but it’s that
fear that drives me to keep growing my skills
and challenging myself.”
In 2020, they would like to both further
develop their monitor mixing skills as well
as focus on finding more ways to integrate
3D and immersive in-ear monitors into their
workflow. “I’ve been raving about it for the past
few years and finally I’m seeing some of this
new 3D tech being implemented with larger
touring acts. I’m very interested in using infra-
red tracking for real-time spatial mix changes.
I’ve seen how 3D and spatial mixes can posi-
tively influence a musician’s performance. I’d
love nothing more than to dive head-first
into this niche field and potentially tour with
a 3D IEM rig. I’ve done a bit of touring in the
past few years, but I’d love to do more. I have
a couple of potentials for 2020, but nothing
confirmed as of yet.”
Rawes aspires to tour for the next few years
before settling into a more permanent position
in audio, ideally something involving IEMs or
3D audio. Having already achieved so much
at this stage, their future in audio looks bright.
Maxime Brunet was introduced to audio at the age of 17 through community radio. She now works as a touring FOH engineer, splitting her time between Los
Angeles and Toronto. She developed an introduction to sound class, The DIY Audio Tech Workshop for Women+, which she has taught throughout Ontario.
18 PROFESSIONAL SOUND