Where are they now? The dBs graduates working in the creative industries

We look at the careers of some dBs graduates across the years to ask “Where are they now?” and how dBs helped them get there.

Studying for a degree is about developing your knowledge, learning how to study and live independently, how to network and how to sharpen the hard and soft skills required to get on in life. Ultimately, however, it is about finding employment after graduation.

In the creative industries, finding employment can be competitive which is why at dBs Institute, we strongly emphasise reflecting the environment of the industry in the content of our courses and how they are delivered. We do this to give our students the very best chance of finding work when they graduate, and because of their hard work, many do!

Here, we look at the careers of some graduates to find out where they are now, how they got there and how their specific course at dBs helped them with their journey. If you want to join the next generation of creative industry professionals this September, you can check out our Clearing courses!

Music Production Courses

BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production

Anaïs Jan, a dBs Institute graduate who studied at our Bristol campus, has been making us proud for years, but in 2024 she has stepped it up in a serious way. 

While she was studying BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production, Anaïs was placed on Hospital’s Women in D&B mentorship scheme, where she began getting regular slots at Hospital Records events, releasing tunes through the label and getting tutored by the biggest and best on the imprint.

In a short space of time, she has become one of the most exciting artists on the label’s roster, generated millions of streams and over 90,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and her latest adventure has taken her on a world tour to places including India, Korea, New Zealand, Romania and Glastonbury 2024.

Speaking about how studying with us helped her get there, Anaïs said, “Thank you dBs!!! I genuinely couldn’t have done it without you guys. Doing uni gave me the time to work on music and learn things in class and now I can do it full-time, which is great!”

Honourable Mentions

Izzy Fielding, aka Oppidan, is a dBs alum who, since graduating, has embarked on tours across the world, released a slew of UK Garage hits and was nominated for DJ Mag’s 2023 breakthrough producer award.

Olly Bishop, aka Formula, is another of our incredible alumni. Studying in the same class as Anaïs and Izzy, he is now represented by MBArtists, regularly playing shows across the UK, provided a guest mix for Charlie Tee’s Radio One show and his tunes have garnered support from the likes of Andy C, Hedex, Friction and Born On Road.

Graduating from our Plymouth campus, Aiden Morgan, aka DNMO, went viral last year when he joined UKF to cook a Rigatoni alla Vodka at Signorelli Bakery at the same time as performing an INSANE DJ set. He’s also been on the road at festivals and gigs across Europe and North America and has amassed an impressive one million monthly listeners on Spotify.

BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering

Bill Sellar, who studied the BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering Top Up course at our Plymouth campus, arrived at dBs with years of experience producing electronic music already under his belt. However, after completing his degree, Bill developed mixing and mastering skills which informed his career.

Since graduating, Bill has risen through the ranks of Super Audio Mastering (SAM) from an internship role while he studied to his current position as a Mastering Engineer, a role he has been in-post in for over five years now. While at SAM, Bill has worked on projects including mastering the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child soundtrack by Imogen Heap and working with Academy award-winning music producers in LA on video game soundtracks, including the soundtrack for Street Fighter 6 and songs from Metal Gear Solid. 

“It was the beginning of my career!” says Bill on studying at dBs, “Although I had 8 years of experience, dBs taught me how to apply my skills, gave me the support I needed to grow as an engineer and of course taught me how to use analogue gear and mixing desks.”

“I was very confident about my ability when leaving dBs. I had already developed and applied ideas for my website design and had a view of the future and a foothold in the industry. dBs helped me open the doors to my career and continued to support me after I had left. I have even been back to deliver guest lectures on mastering on 3 occasions since leaving.”

Honourable Mentions

Suvi-Eeva Äikäs, who studied BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering at dBs Institute’s Bristol campus, has gone on to gain credits for some incredible projects as a composer since graduation, including Sex Education and Hanna, as well as co-composing a series for Apple+ with Ben Salisbury.

Alexander Leeming Froudakis graduated from dBs in 2018 and, since then, he has been awarded the Yugo BAFTA Award in Beverly Hills for Best Student Documentary for his project "When The Floods Come”, which covers the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2022. 

Sound & Audio Engineering Courses

​​BA (Hons) Music and Sound for Film & TV

Lulu Thompson, who studied the BA (Hons) Music and Sound for Film & TV degree course, only finished her course this year and she's already worked on several impressive projects, some of which have won awards, and has generated a list of contacts that will help her get on in the industry.

In the three short years she studied at the dBs Bristol campus, Lulu composed award-winning short film scores, has a mixing credit to her name for Mike Westbrook’s ‘Band of Bands’ album, co-directed the music for The Courts’ interactive audio heritage experience and worked as a Composer’s Assistant on the Apple TV series Constellation with the legendary Geoff Barrow.

All of those opportunities, helped by her studies at dBs Institute, resulted in a growing list of contacts which will help her develop her career further.

Talking about studying here, Lulu said, “I've honestly loved it - and I'm not even sponsored to say that! The tutors know you very well, and the modules feel genuinely very geared towards the industry. It's not like, “We're going to push you out the door after the three years are done and you have a degree and that's it.” They're really trying to get you into the industry.”

“The contacts you get during your studies are invaluable. The lecturers really encourage you to seek out industry contacts, liaise with other universities and get projects on the go that way, and if they can help you in any way at all, they will.”

Honourable Mentions

George Ramsden and Jamie Bird studied in the same BA (Hons) Music and Sound for Film & TV class and, since meeting, they’ve made a formidable composition and sound design duo. Working on projects including the award-winning short film Muntjac, Jamie now works back at dBs as a module leader on the course he studied, but also still works closely with George on music and sound for film and TV projects.

BA (Hons) Sound Design

Only a month after finishing his BA (Hons) Sound Design degree, graduate Matthew Owen found work in the creative industries as a Junior Audio Programmer at Virtex, the world's first virtual esports stadium.

Talking to us when he first landed his new role, Matthew said, “We are building virtual stadiums with full 3D viewing experiences. You'll be able to view gameplay live, in 3D in the centre of a virtual stadium, which has not been possible before in any other medium.. My role within the company revolves around the audio aspect of this experience. One of the biggest parts of this experience is the excitement and sounds that go into creating memorable moments. I implement the audio systems that make that work, and working alongside the audio director, help to deliver the audio experience for thousands of people on many platforms.”

Over two years on, Matt is now a Technical Sound Designer for the development company and has returned to dBs’ Bristol campus to deliver guest lectures to our current students, explaining what his role entails and how he got his break.

Speaking about how dBs helped him get there, Matthew said, “dBs has been a keystone in my personal and professional development for the last four years. Their passion for sound and music was apparent from the start, and being in that environment really pushes you. The lecturers are all superb!”

Honourable Mentions

Giorgio Cortiana, who graduated in 2019, has now become a well-respected audio programmer, and is the co-founder of game audio company, 'Sound Reactions' with dBs Pro’s Jay Auborn where they work on projects including audio design and implementation for games, apps and interactive media, to advanced audio systems for installations and immersive experiences.

Orion Zane graduated from dBs four years ago and, since graduating, has jumped head-first into the world of professional sound design. Shortly after graduating, Orion worked as a Sound Designer at Supermassive Games and now works for game audio co-development studio Rev Rooms as an Audio Designer.

Victor Martinez is an accomplished audio engineer and sound designer who has taught psychoacoustics, sound design, film music awareness, ambisonics, binaural audio and non-linear composition for video games at the University of Girona.

Lillie Simpson-Little joined a legendary Bristol institution after graduating, working as a Junior Games Developer at Aardman, the creators of Wallace & Gromit, and is now working as a mixed reality programmer at Zubr.

BSc (Hons) Live Sound

Our BSc (Hons) Live Sound degree, which is taught in our Manchester campus and supported by access to the incredible New Century venue as well as our Bristol campus where we have a purpose-built venue space for students to practice in, is one of the most practical degrees we run. 

The practicality of the course lends itself to life in the live sound industry and as such, a huge percentage of our students go on to forge careers as live sound engineers working for venues, at festivals and on tour with bands and theatre productions. 

For Skye Walters, after working freelance for a period, she wanted to return to where she had studied and impart her knowledge to the next generation of dBs graduates by joining dBs as a Live Sound Module Leader and Technician. Now in post for over a year, Skye has become a crucial part of our Bristol faculty.

“Without dBs, I wouldn't be where I am today,” says Skye, “Studying brought me to a new city, into a new industry and taught me how to thrive there. I still have so many contacts that I made during my time as a student at dBs, and I feel like those have really helped me to integrate myself into the industry.”

Honourable Mentions

Ben Rollins and Dom Brown are both freelance live sound engineers who have worked at almost every major UK festival, working with a variety of production companies to keep the audience moving.

Game Development Courses

BA (Hons) Game Art

The BA (Hons) Game Art degree at dBs is a new course for us, with our very first cohort of students going into their second year this September [2024]. As such, we haven’t seen any students graduate yet, but one student Carla Uhlendorf has already shown that she will be going on to great things once she graduates in a couple of years.

Before she had even finished her first year, Clara was already making industry connections and seeking out opportunities for work experience. At the Global Game Jam 2024, which we hosted at dBs Bristol, Clara worked with the founder of local game studio Ground Shatter James Parker. Recognising that there was a long summer ahead that she could utilise to improve her skills, Clara reached out to James to ask if she could do an internship and he accepted her!

“My first year at university has provided me with lots of experience in a variety of programmes,” says Clara, “I was fairly new to most of them so looking back on the progress I have made in this year alone, I am quite proud of myself and I think that this internship will only help me strengthen these skills.”

Want to join the dBs community this September and continue your journey towards a creative industry career? Apply to one of our courses via Clearing today.