Playback, Gear, & Music Direction with Martin Roberts (Shawn Mendes, M83, Beaux, and More)

Martin Roberts has had a successful career bringing artists’ records to life on stage (including Shawn Mendes, M83, and others). He’s a playback engineer, music director, system designer, and just an all-around pro.
Watch the interview to hear Martin’s thoughts on live performance, playback, gear & music tech, and what it was like working with Shawn Mendes.
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00:00 - Interview with Martin Roberts: From Producer to Playback Tech
02:10 - A Conversation with Martin Roberts: Exploring His Success in Music, Playback, and Technology
02:39 - What’s your Unfair Advantage?
04:21 - Conversation on the Importance of Relationships in a Career
06:22 - Martin Discusses His Career Path
07:30 - Martin’s Musical Background
10:16 - Music Direction and Live Performance
11:44 - Becoming a Musician
14:03 - Translating Music Production Skills to Live Performance
15:20 - Deciding What to Take from a Record to the Road
16:28 - Collaborative Music Production with Singer-Songwriter
19:51 - Bringing the Studio to the Stage
21:30 - Working with an Artist on Stage and Behind the Scenes
24:04 - The Evolving Role of Playback in Live Performance
24:57 - Keeping Up with Music Technology
25:35 - Preempting Technical Challenges in the Music Industry
27:44 - Exploring New Technologies to Improve Workflow Efficiency
31:09 - Arrangement View vs. Session View
32:17 - Martin’s Must Have Gear
33:28 - Martin on Working with Shawn Mendes and More
36:48 - The Evolution of a Live Performance Rig: A relationship with Shawn's MD
38:07 - Exploring the Technical Challenges of Touring with a Live Band
41:08 - Exploring a Modular Rig for Playback Control
44:19 - Which MIDI controller Martin chooses as to control and trigger tracks?
47:03 - A tip on taking a step into the right direction
51:30 - How to stay in touch with Martin
53:32 - Wrap Up!

[@martinlroberts]

Thanks for having me Will - great chat!

[@nicholaseckhart9680]

Hi from the current m83 guy

[@martinlroberts]

Nice one man! Hope you're having a great tour - say hi to the guys for me!

[@nicholaseckhart9680]

Will do! Headed back out in a couple weeks

[@tsho08]

The one tool everyone can't work without is Will Doggett.

[@fromstudiotostage]

haha....comment of the year

[@DrummingwithJarvis]

Always great content 🙌🏾‼️

[@mvnoxl]

Thanks for this video Will! Got started in playback through your videos

[@fromstudiotostage]

Love it! Thanks for watching.

[@JamesBermingham]

Great insight thanks 🙏

[@CalMakesNoise]

I'm currently waiting to a board a flight for my first PT gig. I've played live a bunch, MDd and run simple playback rigs quite a bit, but this is my first time with Progam switching and quite a complex show. Honestly, watching this has quelled any anxiety I had left about it 😂

[@fromstudiotostage]

Love it! Hope the show goes well!

[@himanshu_music_]

Hello sir