Samuel Pickens engineering a session

Samuel
Pickens

Audio Engineer, Music Producer & Guitarist
Recording · Production · Mixing — New York City

I record and produce records, and I play on them. Several hundred musicians tracked across five cities — and fourteen years running media at Davos when I'm not in the studio.

I engineer and produce music, and I'm a guitarist — which means I hear a session from both sides of the glass. I've tracked several hundred musicians in Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, London and Brighton, working as engineer, producer, and the player who fills the gap in the arrangement.

Alongside studio work I've spent 14 consecutive years as a media coordinator at the World Economic Forum in Davos, running capture logistics for CNBC, BBC, Bloomberg, France 24, Euronews and NHK — and engineering podcasts on location while I'm there.

Trained in Audio Engineering at Recording Connection (RRFC) and Music Technology at McGill University. Pro Tools, Logic, iZotope RX. Fully bilingual in English and French.

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Studio

Sessions in Montreal · New York · Los Angeles · London · Brighton

Recording, production and mixing — from single-vocal overdubs to full band tracking. I'm comfortable being the engineer, the producer, or the player, and knowing which one the session actually needs.

Samuel Pickens at a studio control room desk

Zāna — "Summertime Rebel"

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

Sumerian Records

Album launch campaigns — production and delivery
Samuel Pickens tracking acoustic guitar in a live room
Tracking guitar — I play on the records I make.
02

Podcast

Engineering and post-production for interview and panel formats — location recording, editing, spectral restoration, and mastering to broadcast loudness standards.

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

The TrustMakers

Edelman Foundation · 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
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Broadcast & events

CNBCBBCBloombergFrance 24EuronewsNHK

Davos — Media coordinator, 14 consecutive World Economic Forum summits

Coordinating live broadcast captures for international networks: crew and kit logistics, signal paths, scheduling, and getting clean audio out of rooms that were never built for it. Fourteen years of returning to the same week means knowing the venues and the failure modes before anyone unpacks a case.

Samuel Pickens coordinating a broadcast capture at the World Economic Forum in Davos
Setting up a broadcast position — World Economic Forum, Davos.

Aga Khan Foundation — Aga Khan Music Awards

Lisbon · Audio, videography and 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.

Laureates →

Landmark Events

Audio, videography and event consultation
04

Sam Rye

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

Samuel Pickens playing guitar in a live room
05

Background

Samuel Pickens at the World Economic Forum, Davos
World Economic Forum, Davos.
Education
Audio Engineering — Recording Connection (RRFC)Music Technology — McGill University
Instruments
Guitar · PianoSession playing and arrangement
Tools
Pro Tools · Logic · iZotope RXBroadcast loudness compliance
Languages
English · FrenchFully bilingual
Based
New York CityAvailable to travel — Europe and North America
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Work with me

Recording & production

Tracking through to finished record. Full band or overdubs, in person or remote.

Mixing

Records, singles and EPs. Mixed to translate on real speakers, not just in the room.

Session guitar & keys

Parts written and played for your record. Guitar and piano, remote or in the room.

Podcast engineering

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

Audio repair

Spectral restoration in iZotope RX — noise, hum, clipping, bleed, room tone. Salvaging recordings that can't be re-shot.

Broadcast & event media

Capture coordination, audio and videography for conferences, festivals and awards.

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

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Contact

[email protected]