Elaine Rasnake talks mastering her craft (plus the craft of mastering) and navigating Philly independent music on the 25 O’Clock Podcast

Here at The Key, we first noticed the work of songwriter / producer Elaine Rasnake back in the days of our Items Tagged Philadelphia project, when her Postal Service-esque single “Spacesuit” hit Bandcamp. The series later taught us, through seeing her name pop up in the credits to releases by Rob’n Delaine and Marina Murayama Nir, that Rasnake was more versatile than her one-person electropop artist page led us to believe.

As Rasnake reveals in this conversation with Dan Drago on the latest 25 O’Clock Podcast, her intention with releasing music on Bandcamp in the first place wasn’t so much to land her spots on shows or in bands — though both things eventually happened, though her own performances, her Breathe Again EP, as well as her multi-instrumental contributions to Kate Dressed Up. Her intention in releasing music on Bandcamp was a calling card, a portfolio, a demo reel of what she’s able to do production wise, in the hopes that it would connect her with clients and collaborators.

“It was rarely ever about me until recently,” Rasnake says.

In the course of a 45-minute conversation with Drago, Rasnake reflects on growing up in Tinicum, her time as one of the only women studying broadcasting and sound engineering at Bloomsburg University — “I figured whether you’re talking podcasts or live events, [sound] is going to need to be recorded, or amplified, so I should learn how to do that” — and how this led to her current pursuit as a mastering engineer in Philly. She also talks of working with Katie Miller of Kate Dressed Up, and how she helped her better learn sustainability and breaking even, the job element of being a musician.

The podcast wraps with two acoustic performances; one of “Spacesuit,” and “Untitled 1,” both from Breathe Again. Listen below, and see Rasnake at West Philly’s Anthorna Gallery on June 7th, at Forest & Main in Ambler on June 14th, and Lancaster’s Station One Center for the Arts on June 15th.