David Hughes on Bark 24|Dyn, Sonic Sculpting & the Art of Listening Producer David Hughes shares how Bark 24|Dyn helps him shape texture, dynamics, and emotion.

From industrial soundscapes to Foley experiments and cinematic textures, producer David Hughes has spent decades exploring how sound shapes emotion. As the owner of Shine On Studio, Hughes has worked across genres ranging from rock and metal to spoken word and film audio.

In this interview, Hughes shares insights into his creative process, the philosophy behind his band Sidewalk Police, and how Bark 24|Dyn has become an essential tool for shaping sound in his productions.

Inside Shine On Studio

Q: Let's start with the basics. Can you tell us who you are and what you do?
Hi, I'm David Hughes. I run Shine On Studio, and we do audio production for music, Foley, and voiceover.

If somebody has a creative idea in audio, they bring it here and I try to help them make it come to life. I've worked on almost every genre you can imagine, from rock, jazz, and blues to hip-hop, meditation recordings, and even cinematic work for film and documentaries.

Audio is a science, but it's also about nuance. It's not as simple as putting a microphone in front of something. There are small details that determine whether something translates into a beautiful sound coming out of speakers.

The Creative Process Behind Sidewalk Police

Q: You mentioned your project Sidewalk Police. What kind of music do you create?
Sidewalk Police is a project I do with my friend Russ, and we approach music a little differently.

We create soundscapes that aren't always structured like traditional verse-chorus songs. It's more of a journey. We take a lot of pride in fine-tuning every detail so that every sound in the track contributes to the overall experience.

A lot of the sounds we use are things we create ourselves. We might drag a knife across a cheese grater to create mechanical textures, or attach metal objects to a small box with a pickup and use it like an instrument.

When you listen to the final track, you might think you're hearing guitars, but sometimes it's actually a little metal box we built and ran through distortion.

Discovering Bark 24|Dyn

Q: When did Bark 24|Dyn first enter your workflow?
We were working on a song that actually started back in 2018. At one point we were ready to abandon it because we felt like it didn't meet our standards.

Then we started experimenting with Bark 24|Dyn.

As soon as we dove into it, the plugin started offering sonic textures we didn't even know existed. That changed everything. Suddenly the track had a new character and energy.

It really renewed the way we sculpt songs and develop them throughout the production process.

A Tool for Sculpting Sound

Q: How would you describe Bark 24|Dyn in practical terms?
For me, Bark 24|Dyn is a lot like a sculpting tool for sound.

If you think about woodworking or stone carving, you use tools to shape and refine the material until it becomes what you want it to be. Bark 24 lets you do that with audio.

It gives you the ability to mold the sound, smooth rough edges, and bring out details that might otherwise stay hidden.

The more versatile a tool is, the more it finds a permanent place in an engineer's toolbox, and Bark 24 definitely does that.

Upward Compression & Hidden Textures

Q: Are there specific features you reach for most often?
One feature we use a lot is the upward compression.

It can bring up the noise floor in a really interesting way, which reveals textures inside a sound that you might not notice otherwise. That works especially well for the kind of industrial-style sound design we do.

Sometimes Bark 24 just pops up in our sessions when that little voice in your head says, "You need a little bit of that right here."

Precision Dynamics Across the Spectrum

Q: What makes Bark 24 different from other dynamic tools?
The ability to control compression, limiting, gating, and expansion across individual frequency bands is huge.

It has a graphic EQ-style layout that makes it very visual, which I like. You can experiment with different curves and shapes and suddenly the entire sonic palette shifts.

It's a bit of trial and error sometimes, but that experimentation is where the magic happens.

Solving Mix Problems

Q: Does Bark 24 help with mixing challenges as well?
Absolutely.

Sometimes you don't want sounds to linger. For example, you might have a sound effect or instrument tail that overlaps with dialogue or another important sound.

With Bark 24's frequency-based gating, you can trim those tails very precisely. You can let certain parts of the spectrum pass through while removing others, which creates space in the mix.

That kind of surgical control is incredibly useful.

Creative Sound Design

Q: Have you found any unexpected ways to use the plugin?
One experiment I tried was placing Bark 24 after a reverb.

The upward compression can bring the tail of the reverb back up as it fades, which creates this long, evolving sustain. Then you can chop that tail rhythmically and turn it into a whole new texture.

That's where sound design gets really fun.

Crafting the Listener's Experience

Q: What do you think separates a good mix from a great one?
In those first few seconds, the audio has to pull you in.

If the listener's first reaction is "Oh no," the track doesn't stand a chance. But if the sound invites you in and makes you want to keep listening, that's when you know you've done something right.

The producers and engineers who succeed are the ones who spend the time crafting their sound. Tools like Bark 24|Dyn help you get there.