Employee Spotlight: Harry Beech

July 03, 2025

We interviewed Harry, our vendor at Sonic Minds! Leeds Conservatory Jazz Perfomance Graduate, bass player and proud corgy owner.

Could you tell us a bit about who you are and what types of sound or music you specialize in or are most drawn to professionally?

I’m a musician and audio producer from the UK, currently living and working in Finland. A lot of my work involves using new technologies and processes to reinvigorate the way we craft audio. My background is in jazz, which has really shaped the way I approach and interact with sound. Creative collaboration, interaction, and capturing organic moments are something I always try to bring into my work.

How did your journey with sound begin?

I’ve been involved with music from a very young age, starting out in youth ensembles playing classical music. I later went on to study jazz performance at Leeds Conservatoire, which really opened my eyes to the wider world of music and gave me the tools to engage with it in a much deeper way.

Even though I still play in bands and ensembles today, my focus over the past five years has shifted to music and audio production. After working professionally in this space for a few years now, I’ve found that my roots as a musician continue to shape my work in meaningful ways. What’s stayed constant throughout is my love and energy for all things sound, and the inspiration I draw from the people around me who are creating it.

How would you describe your music or sound style?

I’d like to think I’m always evolving, but I hope my work consistently has a strong sense of groove, an organic feel, and a kind of energy or life to it. A big part of the job is about channeling the character and emotional tone of something, whether it’s a brand or an idea and then expressing it through our own creative lens.

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Employee Spotlight: Harry Beech

Which Sonic Minds project has been your favourite so far, and why?

A couple really stand out. One would be the DSB Orange Billet summer campaign from 2024. I was approached about a bizarre but fun project that involved combining Italian opera with a summery trance/house track. Over the course of a couple of weeks, we took this brief and turned it into something kitsch, playful, and most importantly something that really nailed the brief. It was a great feeling to see it out in the world.

Another highlight was working with ConocoPhillips. That project was quite different, it involved working within an already established audio identity. Our job was to shape and create new brand tracks and variations of the audio logo tailored to specific needs and applications. I found it super energising to work with a client who truly believes in the power of sound and understands its strategic role. The diversity of assets we got to work on was a joy, and the project ended up being recognised at the International Sound Awards (ISA) with a Better Sound Award.

What’s your favourite part of the sound creation process?

I love the very beginning, that moment where you’re staring at a blank canvas, a project brief, or a client spec. There’s a certain thrill (and a bit of anxiety!) knowing that it’s up to you to turn that into something real. Once I catch onto the core idea, then there’s this energy that drives the rest of the process. I also really enjoy the more technical side of shaping and polishing a rough draft into a finished piece. But that initial spark, that moment of “I think I’ve got something here”, is probably my favourite part of the whole job.

What inspires you outside of music?

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work with music every day, it brings me so much inspiration and energy. But I also draw inspiration from a lot of other places: books, the visual arts, and especially people. I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by creative minds who influence and inspire me in many different ways.

I strive to produce more than just melodies.

Harry Beech Audio Branding Consultant

What’s the weirdest or most remarkable sound you’ve ever recorded or used in a project — something truly unexpected or memorable?

I have a sample instrument I made called ‘Big Old Pipe’. I placed a microphone inside one end of a 20 meter long PVC pipe and hit the other side with a shoe. The result was a really pleasant bass sound that sounds like a low ‘boing’. I edited and put the audio into a sampler and it sounded great. I find myself reaching for that in a lot of projects when I’m looking for an interesting bass hit. I also made a set of recordings I call the ‘Click Clack Sound Pack’ which is the product of me recording the sound of every switch, knob, door or mechanism in my flat. This set of 30-40 sounds I find myself using in so many projects to add interest, layers and a intimate organic feel to sound design and virtual instruments.

How do you approach translating a brand’s personality into sound?

I find that audio attributes are a really powerful tools, they’re designed to be a distilled representation of a brand in sound form. I like to keep those attributes, along with the brief, visible in my DAW during the early creative stages. It helps keep me anchored and ensures the ideas I’m developing stay aligned with the brand’s identity. I also spend time looking at the visual side of the brand, you can learn a lot just from how a brand presents itself visually. Giving myself time to take all of that in before I start helps the ideas settle and form naturally. And of course, collaboration plays a huge role. Working with creative leads to refine and reshape those ideas is always an essential part of the process.

How do you know when a track or soundscape is finished — when it’s in its final form and doesn’t need anything more?

There’s definitely a stigma in the music world around not finishing things, or overworking a project until the life is gone. I try to approach finishing work the same way I approach soloing when performing: I only want to keep going if I genuinely have something meaningful to express. If I find myself making changes that aren’t adding real value, I take that as a sign the piece is done. One quote that’s always stuck with me is that when you’re creating something, the goal is just not to ruin the original piece of inspiration that inspired that idea. Therefore, I try to honour the essence of the idea and only give it what it truly needs.

That was our interview with Harry. Until next time!