micro/Maker by Loose Leaf Transmissions

For Fire Ecologies, Christopher Stark spent months working with field recordings made near California wildfires, and just as much time deciding what not to include. A long recording of an actual forest fire originally closed the piece; he cut it less than a day before final production, leaving behind only indirect traces — water that sounds like fire, a Sierra Nevada power line slowed down until its buzz becomes something closer to marching boots. The same instinct shaped his choices in the field: standing in a town that had just burned, camera in hand, Stark found he couldn't bring himself to record people in front of what remained of their homes, even as a documentary-minded friend urged him to. The excerpt sits inside that tension — between bearing witness and observing from a respectful distance, and what it means for work like this to edge toward activism without losing the line between representing something and exploiting it.Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissionsmicro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

For Yue Song, confidence didn’t come first—it arrived after years of imitation, theory, and hesitation. Growing up in China, Yue learned piano alongside her sister, studying under traditional mentors who emphasized balance and restraint. But it wasn’t until she moved to Ireland, surrounded by experimental musicians and new collaborators, that she rediscovered her creative spark—and began composing every day.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissionsmicro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

Michael Frazier reflects on the importance of mentorship and advocacy as his musical identity sharpened during his time at Eastman. Encouraged by teachers who supported sincerity over conformity, he describes learning not only to follow his instincts but to articulate why certain influences—particularly hip-hop and loop-based music—held meaning for him. A pivotal realization came earlier at USF through studying with Bel Ginster, whose passion for teaching and deep belief in the value of music helped Frazier see composition not just as a practice, but as a lifelong vocation grounded in sharing curiosity, care, and creative possibility with others.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissionsmicro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

Biting into sound, Emily Koh tells Tyler Kline how meals became both inspiration and material for her music—from writing pieces based on chewing insects to dreaming up scores for specific dishes. She explains why chefs are fellow artists, why bad background music ruins cooking videos, and how a planned sandwich cart almost became her next creative stage. For Emily, every ingredient, texture, and bite carries its own rhythm—one she’s eager to share through sound.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissionsmicro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

Nicolás Lell Benavides reflects on the intersection of art, ethics, and responsibility—how writing about water, folklore, and humanity connects to a deeper sense of duty. He and Tyler talk about motivation, artistic purpose, and why composing with conviction matters even when the impact isn’t immediate. It’s a conversation about staying principled, present, and patient in a long creative life.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon. Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

C. Jacqueline Wood describes her film This Is a Movie as a kind of funeral—for unfinished projects, abandoned ideas, and the dreams she didn’t have the resources or time to complete. Drawing on footage from nine separate works, including deeply personal infertility documentation, she reshaped fragments into something cathartic: a film that gave her permission to let go and move forward. What emerged was not only a meditation on failed projects and failed technology, but also a reminder that sometimes the most powerful work comes from confronting what haunts us.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissionsmicro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

Phong Tran explores the emotional core of his creative practice, and how performance becomes a vessel for vulnerability. He and Tyler reflect on how music schools often prioritize logic and technique — and how reclaiming emotion becomes a lifelong pursuit.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions. Follow us on social media @LooseLeafTransmissions.micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

What some call “too personal,” Han Hitchen sees as essential: writing music rooted in lived experience. From family fractures to queer identity, Han’s pieces often begin with what feels intimate or unshareable—only to discover that listeners and performers recognize themselves in it. Here, Han and Tyler reflect on criticism, resilience, and the surprising ways vulnerability becomes connection.micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissionsmicro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.