Samuel Pickens recording a podcast session on location

Samuel
Pickens

Audio engineer, producer, and musician.
Broadcast · Podcast · Studio · Live — New York City

I record and mix in rooms where there is no second take — live international broadcast, on-location podcast, and studio sessions across five cities.

My work splits three ways. I engineer audio for international broadcast — most recently in Davos, on crews feeding CNBC, BBC, France 24, NHK and Euronews. I record and produce podcasts on location, including Edelman's The TrustMakers and the World Economic Forum's Agenda Dialogues. And I track musicians — several hundred of them by now, in Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, London and Brighton. Alongside that I consult on live events, including the Aga Khan Music Awards in Lisbon.

01

Broadcast

CNBCBBCFrance 24NHKEuronews

Davos — Assistant engineer, international broadcast crews

Live multi-camera news environments with simultaneous feeds, interpretation channels, and no margin for error. Fast turnarounds, unforgiving rooms, international crews. The job is to be the person who has already solved the problem before anyone else notices there was one.

02

Podcast

Recording a podcast session in a treated booth
On location, Davos.

The TrustMakers

Edelman Foundation · Freelance engineer, Davos
"Devex's Raj Kumar On the Trust Test Facing Global Development"

Agenda Dialogues

World Economic Forum · Engineer, Davos
"Davos 2026: Global Economic Outlook" — with Christine Lagarde, Kristalina Georgieva, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Albert Bourla, Mohammed Al-Jadaan and Andrew Ross Sorkin

Lip Service

Assistant engineer
Brent Faiyaz on being labeled toxic, love, and fame

ADP Payroll

Assistant engineer · Corporate podcast series
03

Studio

I've tracked several hundred musicians across Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, London and Brighton — engineering, production, and playing on the records themselves.

Samuel Pickens at a studio control room desk

Zāna — "Summertime Rebel"

Engineer, producer, and musician (guitar, piano) — across her full album

Sessions run from single-vocal overdubs to full band tracking. I'm comfortable being the engineer, the producer, or the player who fills the gap in the arrangement — and knowing which one the session actually needs.

04

Live events

Front-of-house and systems work at landmark events — large rooms, live audiences, single-chance shows.

05

Event consultation

Aga Khan Music Awards

Lisbon · Event consultation

The Aga Khan Music Awards recognize musicians working across the Muslim world and its diasporas. The 2018–19 laureates included Oumou Sangaré, Ballaké Sissoko, Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Dariush Talai and Mustafa Said.

Consultation covers technical planning, artist and stage requirements, and making sure the sound serves the music rather than the venue's habits.

Aga Khan Music Awards laureates →

06

Sam Rye

My own project. Writing, playing, producing and mixing — nine releases since 2020.

Samuel Pickens tracking acoustic guitar
07

Work with me

Broadcast & live

Engineering for broadcast crews, conferences and live events. Available to travel; used to short-notice international calls.

Podcast

Location recording through to finished master. Single episodes or full series.

Studio

Tracking, production, mixing. Remote or in person.

Event consultation

Technical planning and artist liaison for festivals, awards and cultural programmes.

Tell me what the project is, when it is, and where. I'll tell you straight whether I'm the right person for it.

08

Contact

[email protected]