Having worked as a vocal coach for a decade, producer and engineer Gili Portal trained at the Abbey Road Institute before landing her current full‑time role at London’s RAK Studios. There, she has worked with household names including Coldplay, Elton John, Arctic Monkeys and Stormzy. “I had always wanted to do it,” she reflects, “but it did feel, as a woman, that I wasn’t very encouraged to, you know, deal with the technical aspects of it. So when the pandemic happened, I thought: ‘Yeah. I’m just gonna go for it.’ You know what, if I’m not good at it, that’s fine. At least I gave it a shot!’”
Photo: Ziv AmarAt the moment I can’t stop listening to
I listen to such a wide variety of music. I feel like it’s really important to explore as many different genres and artists as you can. My playlist at the moment include artists like MARO, Abel Selacoe, Little Simz, Anderson.Paak... Abel Selacoe is an incredible cellist. It’s really very diverse! To me, I suppose genre doesn’t really matter. It’s just about creating something authentic, with organic elements in it. I think the more you listen to a variety of different styles, the more inspired you become to mix different elements and create a unique combination. That will always broaden your ‘toolbox’. I’ve never been interested in becoming a ‘super specialist’ in one thing, because I was always afraid of repeating the same pattern over and over again. Kind of limiting myself. Every day, when I get to create music, I try to break the rules. To do something different. To make some fresh combinations. That’s the reason I do this, and keep on doing it. The reason I get up every day.
The first thing I look for in a studio
I would probably say, the vocal chain. You know, I’ve been a vocal coach for 10 years as well! It would probably be, like, a Neve 1073, a [Tube‑Tech] CL‑1B... I love to have a few mic options as I don’t have one specific, favourite vocal mic. I always do a mic shootout, because every vocalist is so different. And it can definitely be surprising a lot of the time, seeing what wins! Of course, having a [Neumann] U47 around is always amazing, but sometimes it’s actually the more modern‑sounding mic, like the [Sony] C800 that wins. So it really depends on the artist and the project. I also always look for those cool, lo‑fi mics to add something a bit different to the production. To add a different texture or colour. At RAK we have such incredible variety of mics; to be honest, I’m so spoiled!
The person I would consider my mentor
I’ve been really lucky, really blessed to have met two incredible, brilliant and empowering women in this industry who I work with closely and learn so much from. I engineer for the amazing producer and mixer, Marta Salogni; I’ve learned so much from her about production in general. She has a very unique approach. She’s always expanding the limits and pushing the boundaries, and it’s just amazing to be around her. I also work closely with Manon Grandjean, from whom I’ve learned so much about mixing. I’m so lucky to have her as a friend. She’s the most professional and sharp mixer. She always gives me the best advice and support, but in the most humble way. Manon is also the absolute queen of low end. She has a lot of tricks! She taught me a lot of techniques about how she approaches it, and it’s just been amazing to be around her and get her advice on my mixes. I always send things to her. She’s fantastic.
Gili Portal: When it comes to the production process itself, I don’t really like using references, because I feel it can limit the creativity.
My go‑to reference track or album
I should say, when I start a production process with an artist, I love getting a playlist together of everything that they enjoy listening to — although that doesn’t necessarily just mean the kind of music they want to make, if that makes sense. It helps me get to know them better. And, you know, really immerse myself in their world. When it comes to the production process itself, I don’t really like using references, because I feel it can limit the creativity. But when it comes to mixing, I have a very diverse playlist with a huge amount of variety — it ranges from Kendrick Lamar to James Blake — and I will always finish my ‘listening step’ with Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’. I feel like I’ve listened to that track a million times. I know every second of it. It’s timeless. It’s like a little piece of perfection to me. There’s something so authentic that they captured, you know? To this very day, I think it’s completely perfect.
My secret weapon in the studio is...
I’ve been very lucky to train at RAK. There it’s all about breaking the rules: like, putting mics in strange places or using a shitty little speaker in some way, or blending lo‑fi mics into things. So I always have all these little things that are somehow distinctive or positioned in a completely, almost random way — and you’d be surprised how incredible the result is, a lot of the time. I’ll use, like, a mic made by Fisher‑Price! Or maybe a podium mic, the old kind. I would definitely do that with drums: position those somewhere around the kit, maybe on the floor or a bit higher up, along with the left and right mics on the drum kit. It can be an incredible‑sounding parallel, or sometimes I would even use it as a main mic — it could be that! It’s really incredible, how much it can add. Yeah, I think I’ve learned that trick at RAK. They tend to do these sorts of things. Our engineers are pretty incredible.
The studio session I wish I’d witnessed
Much as I’d love to say ‘Feeling Good’ by Nina Simone, it doesn’t interest me on a sonic level as much as some other stuff does. I think I would have loved to witness the making of The Bends by Radiohead. It’s definitely one of my all‑time favourites, and I’ve worked with Nigel Godrich and with Johnny Greenwood and with Thom Yorke, but I would really love to see the process behind that timeless, legendary album. How it came to life in a space that I know so well! A lot of the time you’re like, trying to picture where things were placed and what the creative process was there. I’ve definitely been lucky to work with these incredible people.
The producer I’d most like to work with
On the more holistic, energetic side of things, I would say Rick Rubin. It would be great just to sit in a room with him and have a chat about life! I love his approach. I love his philosophy. I’m very much into meditation and that whole means of helping nurture creativity. To inspire yourself and continue being able to capture those moments, and yeah, just like, not being at all judgmental or making a space where there’s any creative block.
But also, on the sonic side of things, I would really love to work with someone like Labrinth, or Justin Vernon, or Kevin Parker: I feel all those three create a unique kind of world of sound around their songs. It would be fascinating for me to see their creative process in that way. The fact that they’re artists as well as producers — you know, these people have such a clear vision of what they’re going for. And I feel, being an artist myself originally, it does give you some kind of a better, wider perspective when it comes to what the artist is going through. You can really relate to a lot of those specific things and understand what it’s like. I think that has made me a better producer, knowing that side of things — and also, in fact, going through experiences as an artist that were not the best, when I was working with other producers. It’s taught me a lot about this business. To me, the most important thing is for the artist to feel comfortable, in an environment that feels open and inspiring for them to experiment and try new things. More than any piece of gear, creating a space where the artist can open up emotionally has been key to the best sessions I’ve been part of. Feeling calm and free to try new things in a non‑judgmental space is essential to capturing the best takes.
The studio experience that taught me the most
Once when I was working with an artist, while we were recording there was some kind of huge noise that came out of another studio, and it got onto our recording. People were of course pissed off in the room, just like “Oh shit!” And I was like, “Oh, my God, this is our drum sound!” So I sampled it and recorded it through a shitty mic, and it just sounded huge, and super interesting! This big, muffled kind of hit. I used it on the kick sound, and it was great. It’s moments like that that teach you how unexpected things, even mistakes, can often lead to the best moments of a record.
The advice I’d give myself of 10 years ago
I would say: trust yourself. Trust your instincts and intuition. Go with your gut feeling and trust your ears. Don’t hesitate. Don’t let the voices around you influence your confidence. Be fearless, experiment loads — as much as you can. And like I said, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because I think mistakes are a beautiful part of the process.