If you don’t ask, you don’t get – how one email led to a rookie Caesar Edmunds producing Led Zeppelin

Growing up, Caesar Edmunds was always told he had “no chance” of working in music. However, the Singapore-born producer didn’t let that stop him – instead, he applied for a Sound Technology course in the UK with no prior experience and chased his dream. At every turn, Edmunds’ unwavering self-belief has opened doors – and it even bagged him work experience with the legendary Alan Moulder.

In the latest episode of MusicTech’s My Forever Studio, producer Caesar Edmunds shared some sage advice: if you don’t ask, you don’t get. As a case in point, Edmunds shares the story of how he first crossed paths with record producer Alan Moulder; he essentially harassed his peers til he got Moulder’s email. “A few of my friends had had did work experience with [him] and then I hounded them,” he admits. “One of them broke and gave me his email.”

Edmunds’ grand idea was essentially to send a cold email begging to assist Moulder in the studio. “I just emailed saying ‘Hey, Alan, big hero of mine… Can I come round and do work experience, please?’” he recalls. Surprisingly, Moulder agreed to let Edmunds join him in the studio.

Immediately, Edmunds was dropped into the deep end. On the first day, Edmunds was mixing Foals’ Inhaler, and, by the end of the week, he was working on music made my rock legends Led Zeppelin. “At the end of that week, Alan asked me, ‘hey, do you wanna, do you wanna stick around [for another project]?’” he says. “[The terms were that I couldn’t] tell anyone or [my] parents anything… Then when he pressed play [on the track], and it was Good Times Bad Times by Led Zeppelin.”

“It was mind blowing,” he continues. “I’m a kid from Singapore, so far removed from the music Industry, and the second week I’m working, I’m helping my sonic hero work on one of the biggest bands of all time!”

While the initial work experience period was just a month, Moulder took a shining to Edmunds. He ended up asking Edmunds to come back after finishing his university degree, and the rest is history. And it all started from a naive, hopeful email.

Now, Edmunds is firmly set up in London and has a strong back catalogue of production work to his name. He also notes that his dream Forever Studio is the one he’s made for himself in Battery Studios.

Of course, the Battery Studios complex is currently facing demolition threats. At once point, there were numerous Battery Studios artist complexes in Chicago, Nashville, New York and London, but now only New York and London remains. As Edmunds notes, plenty of history is contained within Battery Studios’ walls, with the likes of Brian Adams, Iron Maiden, and AC/DC all working there in the past.

“I’ve heard stories that like Robbie Williams’ Angels was mixed in my room,” Edmunds says. “It was made on my SSL 4000G.”

Right now, landlords are reportedly “putting a planning permission to try to turn it into flats”, the producer explains. Ultimately, the decision would be another damning loss for the music industry. “While London might need more flats, we also need more recording studios!” Edmunds sighs.

Caesar Edmunds is the latest guest on Season 8 of MusicTech’s My Forever Studio podcast, where we task some of the top producers and songwriters to put together their dream Forever Studio using whatever gear they desire.

While it’s an environment for freedom, there are some strict rules in the Forever Studio. Guests are permitted a limited number of items in their creative space, so they have to choose carefully. There will be nostalgia. There will be anecdotes. There may be gags. But there will be no bundles!

You can sign a petition to save Battery Studios at Change. Subscribe to My Forever Studio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and check out all episodes so far via MusicTech.