On this week’s episode, producer-engineers who want to build tools on their own terms get a real blueprint from Matt O’Neil’s story.
After years of plugin ideas stalled by prohibitive developer costs, Matt used AI coding tools to build 42 original plugins himself, while also making an early bet on Houston before the city’s music scene took off.
During our conversation, Matt explains how he identified Houston as an underserved market, how working early with artists like Don Toliver shaped his approach to long-term creative relationships, and how AI removed the financial barrier that had blocked his plugin ideas for years.
Matt built Lunar Mansion Studios in West Houston after deliberately choosing Houston over New York and LA in 2015, reasoning that a fast-growing city would carry an early-established engineer upward with it.
On the workflow side, Matt typically does around 90 percent of his own mastering by thinking about mastering processing while still inside the mix, rather than treating the two stages as separate handoffs.
He credits long early runs with artists like Odatari, whom he has worked with since age 15, for shaping how he builds creative relationships.
You can hear it at bobbyoinnercircle.com, or via Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Mixcloud, Spotify, Deezer, and TuneIn Radio.
Also, a video version of this podcast is now available on YouTube as well.
Enjoy the show!
Chapters:
00:00:00 – Coming up…
00:01:02 – Making mixes translate from studio to phone
00:04:10 – How Matt describes what he does
00:05:31 – Why he masters his own mixes
00:10:35 – Working with artists from demo to mainstream success
00:12:49 – How engineers help artists find their sound
00:15:39 – Why Matt chose Houston over New York and LA
00:17:10 – Inside Lunar Mansion Studios
00:18:43 – Why Matt uses an Icon controller
00:22:05 – Go-to plugins every session
00:22:54 – Building 42 plugins with AI assistance
00:26:51 – Songwriting and beat making with clients
00:28:58 – AI as a tool, not a threat
00:29:50 – The best advice for working inside the control room
