Leo Appleyard

Matt Aston

With over a decade of professional experience, Aguilar endorsee Matt Aston has toured the UK and Ireland year on year with various artists performing headline shows at venues such as Shepherds Bush, KOKO, the O2 academies, The Roundhouse, The Ritz in Manchester, Glasgow ABC and many more, as well as having played festivals such as Glastonbury, TiTP, V festival, Belladrum, Wakestock, Victorious festival, Isle of Wight.
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TV/radio credits including: BBC1, BBC2, BBC radio 2, BBC radio London, ITV1, ITV2, Channel 5, MTV, Ont sofa, Sofar sounds and 4Music.

In addition, Matt has a vast recording/song-writing experience, having recorded on Lucy Spraggan’s (Xfactor, Sony/Columbia Records) Silver album ‘Join the Club’ which peaked at number 7 in the official UK chart, as well as many other recordings, writing sessions and videos since in studios such as Wendyhouse, Metropolis, Park Studios, Oktopus Studios, BBC broadcasting house, Sofarsounds, remote sessions.

Mike Nichols

Like many bass players Mike took up the bass because someone had to play it and no one else wanted to. Fortunately he loved it. He studied jazz and studio music at Leeds College of Music, followed by the postgraduate course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After several years of learning his craft in covers bands and on cruise ships Mike established himself as a freelance player in London, working with various artists and shows. Mike has been involved in education throughout his career and has taught and written content for many of the major colleges and exam boards.

Arran McSporran

Arran has been a professional electric bass player and teacher since finishing his studies at ACM in 2007. He has toured nationally and internationally, playing in over 30 countries across 3 continents including many large international festivals. Known for his innovative plucking and legato technique on fretless 6-string bass, Arran has contributed educational articles to popular bass website bassplayersunited.com, has been interviewed for the UK’s Bass Guitar Magazine and bassmusicianmagazine.com and has taken lessons with Jeff Berlin.

A very versatile player, Arran has played in every genre from acoustic songwriters to jazz to metal and also in orchestras for musical theatre. Primarily touring in the metal scene, Arran has supported many of the biggest names in death and black metal with the bands Virvum and De Profundis and has also toured supporting Steve Vai with the Nicolas Meier World group.

Arran has played on over 30 releases, with artists that he has worked with live and on record including Virvum, Vipassi, Utopia, De Profundis, Seven7 (with Nicolas Meier), Demonstealer, Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy), Justin Stanton (Snarky Puppy), Scarab and many more. He has recorded on tracks with members of Obscura, Fear factory, Ne Obliviscaris, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Leprous, Cynic, Six Feet Under, Shining (Nor), Nile, Necrophagist, Nevermore, Allegaeon, Inferi…

Arran is endorsed by Rotosound Strings and Carillion Basses and is one of the few bass players using a fretless bass in metal. He has won several ‘bassist of the year’ awards including being voted one of the top bassists of 2014 in a Zero Tolerance Magazine poll.

Ben Scott

Ben Scott has worked at the international level of music performance for over a decade, recording or performing on drums with some of the UK and USA’s most prominent pop artists – notably Ed Sheeran, Tom Walker, Declan J. Donovan, Alex Winston, and Bülow. Ben is currently the musical director and drummer for pop artist St. Lundi, as well as fronting his own boundary-pushing solo show ‘The Ultimatum Experience’ where he performs at corporate events across the globe. Ben also enjoys writing and producing from his studio in South London as part of his own artist project and with an array of up-and-coming artists.

Paul Richard Clarke

Paul is an experienced 2D and 3D artist using both digital and traditional media. On computer his favourite applications are Photoshop, Procreate, ArtRage, 3DS Max, Snapseed, Sculpt GL and Paint 3D (yes, really). Using traditional media Paul is well practised in ink, watercolour, pencil and acrylics.

Paul’s has worked on a wide range of games and application demos using everything from Interactive Whiteboard note apps to VR art tools. He’s had artwork exhibited across the world and been used as an exemplar artist for a range of applications including Fresh Paint, ArtRage, Eazel, Photoshop, OneNote and more.

As well as teaching at the ACM Paul runs the cosplay life drawing evenings and FE Game Jam sessions. He’s also written and drawn eight published works and is currently working on the ninth.

As a fan of a wide range of visual and printed media Paul is well placed to offer advice and guidance on theme, form, flow, inspiration and excitement in a wide range of game and entertainment industry standards.

Tony Wathen

Radiokillaz is a pioneering Jungle and Breakbeat music producer, DJ, and educator, with a career that spans over three decades. With roots in pirate radio since 1993, Radiokillaz has made his mark on the music scene, playing on influential stations like Chillin FM, Flex FM, and Flight FM. As a producer, Radiokillaz has remixed top 30 records, including a no. 1 hit by Paul Hardcastle, and gained support from BBC Radio 1 legend Annie Nightingale, who featured his guest Quest DJ mix on her show. His releases on esteemed record labels like Universal Music, Passenger, and Warehouse Wax have further solidified his reputation as a leading force in the genre.

In addition to his music career, Radiokillaz is also a dedicated educator, teaching music production to 16-18-year-old diploma students at ACM in Guildford. He also hosts a bi-weekly radio show on www.infrared.fm, where he continues to showcase the best of Jungle music, keeping the genre alive and kicking. Radiokillaz’s unwavering passion for music and his active involvement in producing DJing, and educating make him a respected figure in the industry. Catch his fresh-sounding Jungle beats and infectious energy at his releases and performances, as he continues to push the boundaries of sound and inspire the next generation of music creators.

Matt Jones

Matt is a guitarist and music production engineer based in Birmingham and plays for progressive power metal band Dakesis.

Matt graduated from ACM Birmingham in 2018 and works as a dep/ session guitarist as well as running his own recording studio in Birmingham. He has worked as a guitar and music production tutor since 2010 and teaching for ACM since 2018.

Highlights of his career include several appearances at Bloodstock open air festival, multiple UK tours and European shows sharing the stage with former members of Iron Maiden and Iced Earth.

Catia Carvalho

Catia supports young talent holistically by equipping emerging graduates with the tools to navigate the complexities of personal, professional and civic identities for the future of work. With a multidisciplinary background in the creative industries for a decade, Catia advocates for the (re)design of siloed, incremental and reductionist views of talent; exploring themes around design thinking, holistic learning, interdisciplinarity and metaphysics.

Catia has a deeper understanding of the creative industries through her experience with different perspectives and languages, having worked with international clients in both multinationals and startups, branding and advertising agencies, and design and innovation firms across the B2B2C spectrum. Wishing exploring was still a lucrative path, her specialisms lie within creative strategy, brand development, design thinking, art direction and graphic recording.

Gwen Howard

Gwen’s (she/they) music practice spans disciplines including songwriting, composing, production, scoring, and sound design for film and TV. Her work has been licensed to Saint Rogue (Sony/ATV), placed in major international television spots such as “Married at First Sight” and “The Ultimatum,” and featured by organisations such as the Illuminated River Foundation and IKLECTIK .

She holds a B.M. in Popular Music Performance from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and an MComp in Electronic Music from the Guildhall School of Music.

Gwen takes a special interest in the intersection of electronic music, gender equity, and disability studies and sees her artistic practice as an extension of her activism.

Mattia Mazzoli

Mattia is a driven independent video game developer who has been dedicatedly working on his current project, Russell’s Range, independently. In his professional experience, he has previously collaborated with Whizz productions as a productions assistant, primarily mentoring and supporting aspiring students in filming their portfolio work. Additionally, he has also worked at the Joldwynds acting course hosted by Clare Davidson and Will Thomas Freeman, in the beautiful Surrey Hills.

Mattia’s passion for digital art and programming has fuelled his creative endeavours and enabled him to execute his game development projects single-handedly. With an unwavering commitment to his craft, Mattia is pushing the boundaries of solo indie development and is keen on leveraging his expertise to aid and inspire other young creative minds to pursue their aspirations with unbridled passion.

Madeline Castrey

Madeline Castrey is a musician, singer and researcher who enjoys a successful career in performance and academia. With a background in West End theatre and television, Madeline was the first ever 16 year old admitted onto a degree course at The London College of Music and now works as a PhD researcher. She is a professional opera and jazz singer, performing at many high profile venues including Opera Holland Park, Twickenham Stadium and The Shard in London, releases her own music with London labels and has had leading roles in several London shows including Les Miserables, Evita and The Lion King.
Madeline founded the charity Resonate, using music and singing to positively impact lives. Her work applying classical vocal technique to those living with serious neurological disability has been featured on several national outlets including BBC News, Sky News, BBC Radio, GB News and Channel 5 News. She has received several awards for her work and in 2022, she was honoured to judge the Princess Diana Awards as a past recipient herself, for young people making exceptional contributions to global communities. Alongside her performance and lecturing career, Madeline is also a musicologist and enjoys guest lecturing and voice/vocal coaching. She is passionate about the health/wellness benefits of using the voice and wrote her published book on this subject in 2023.

Connor Haynes

Connor Haynes is an engineer, sound artist and experimental musician, originally from Manchester and currently based in London. His career spans nearly ten years, and he’s worked live sound for +50,000 capacity festivals around the UK, along with having worked in multiple studios in Manchester. Connor also has professional experience as a sound installation A/V programmer using software such as Ma MSP, and his work on building an installation themed around the pandemic has been featured by The Sunday Times Culture Show.

Connor has been currently working as a freelance recording, mixing and mastering engineer since moving to London, along with performing as part of an experimental A/V collective, The Self.