About Us
Meet the Team
Audio Militia is a tight-knit mix of strategists, music psychologists, composers, sound designers, final mix engineers and technologists with a common passion - working together to create powerful music, sound design and sonic branding for the biggest local and international brands.
Richard Staub
Head of Final Mix
Richard has been with Audio Militia since the end of 2009 and heads up the Final Mix Department.
Proficient in guitar, bass and drums, Richard has also composed and worked with clients such as Disney, Nickelodeon, Mercedes Benz, Nike, KFC and many more.
Outside of work, a big lover of live music and touring. Having done multiple tours of South Africa, Europe and Australia with a multitude of bands such as The Dead Will Tell, FREExMONEY and Conqueror HC.
Head of Final Mix
Richard Staub
Maureen Mopai
Producer
Maureen is an easy-going, creative, and extremely well-organised producer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Television, and has cut her teeth in the media industry on diverse award-winning television productions.Maureen is pedantic about the fine details. Her incredible production background gives her an all round understanding and often she will troubleshoot before the problem has even made itself know. , which makes her a diligent producer who is meticulous in all activities and tasks.She is passionate about life and personal growth and strives on creating a happy workplace, which enhances creativity.
This diligent producer is meticulous throughout all aspects of production. She is passionate about life and personal growth and strives on creating a happy workplace, which enhances creativity.
Producer
Maureen Mopai
Ave Maseti
Final Mix Engineer
Ave is a passionate multi-disciplined audio engineer & composer. He holds a Diploma in Audio Engineering from Academy of Sound Engineering and is a Certified Pro Tools Operator Possessing 10-years professional experience with a strong background in Audio Post Production, Music Composition & Commercial Radio. He has worked for SABC, YFM and headed up the station imaging for Jacaranda FM.
Ave is an avid composer, proficient in contemporary music styles and has collaborated with SA legends Oskido, DJ Ganyani & Ntsika (of The Soil).
He feels most at home in studio and is passionate about innovation in music.
Final Mix Engineer
Ave Maseti
Nick Argyros
Co-Founder / CEO
Nick’s passion for the arts originated from a very early age. After excelling at The National School of Arts and completing a Bachelor of Technology Diploma at WITS, Nick’s passion for music began to blossom.
Nick’s continuous involvement with well-known bands such as 16Stitch, Seether and most recently: Newtown KNIFE Gang, have made him one of South Africa’s most skilled and respected drummers.
He has worked with, and learnt intensively from international Producers, including the likes of Jay Baumgardiner (No Doubt, Evanescence, Run DMC, Alien Ant Farm, Creed) and Ulrich Wild (Slipknot, Pantera, Taproot), who have also proven to strengthen his skillset.
Concentrating on Vocal Performance and Production, his innate attention to detail has made Nick one of the most sought after Vocal Producers in the industry. He has mastered the art of “Melody and Vocal performance” on multiple albums, allowing him to bring a different angle to the song-writing process.
His extensive career has included playing shows in Europe and the United States, as well as headlined many major South African festivals, including Woodstock, Oppikoppi, Ramfest, Synergy, Splashy Fen, Rocking the Gardens and MK’s “By die Dam” which has given him the opportunity to share the stage with The Prodigy, Sum 41,Blindside, In Flames, Funeral For A Friend, Alkaline Trio, Trivium, Biffy Clyro, The Foals and Danko Jones.
Co-Founder/CEO
Nick Argyros
Samantha Slabbert
Music Psychology & Research
Samantha is first and foremost a music fan, and despite having her Trinity Grade 8 in Bass guitar, Samantha’s passion peaks in what happens behind the curtain instead of on stage. With her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business and Honours in Music Psychology, she focusses on the cogs in the system that are often overlooked when creating audible art.
Her extensive research into the sociological and emotional effects of music and musical components, helps her emphasise the true purpose of every piece of produced music.
Before joining Audio Militia, she was intrenched in the music business, managing an online publication and podcast which generated content with the likes of Periphery, Underoath, Memphis May Fire, Bring Me The Horizon, Pendulum and Camo & Krooked to name a few.
Music Psychology & Research
Samantha Slabbert
Catherine Grenfell
Executive Producer
Catherine made her mark as a Producer and Presenter on 5FM for 15 years and has worked across a multitude of radio stations in South Africa.
She was also a lecturer for 5 years at Boston Media House, Freelance Radio and field producer and social media content director. Catherine has also DJ’d & MC’d at multiple music festivals over the years.
Other accolades:
Judge for The South African Music Awards for 10 Years
Loeries judge
Catherine Grenfell
Simz Kulla
Vocal Specialist
Simz Kulla is a producer /musician /artist /vocalist; Yamaha endorsee; composer; arranger and musical director. His instruments are primarily keyboards and guitars.
Better known for his work with The Muffinz, Simz is a well-rounded fresh musician with abilities to lead in any musical setup. Learning how to sing at the age of 5, Simz has been able to use his talent of vocal arrangement/production to create melodic and harmonic progressions for upcoming artists and established artists.
This has made Simz well equipped for choral music, string sections and big band setups as well.
Simz currently writes, producers and arrangers music for local artists in South Africa.
Accolades:
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Regional Coach Ser(Vocal) Coach Champion 2011(UJ)
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National Coach Ser(Vocal) Coach Champion 2011(UJ)
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Metro FM Music Award Winner for Best Group Album 2012
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6 Time SAMA award Nominee 2012 - 2015
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Feather Award Winners (Musician of The Year) 2012
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Arts and Culture Trust Award Winners (Music and Singing) 2012
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Wawela Award Winners Best Group/Duo 2012
Vocal Specialist
Simz Khula
Craig Hawkins
Executive Creative Director
Craig is not only the Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director of Audio Militia, but also Frontman, mix engineer and producer for local Metal band Pestroy ,spanning 16 years headlining festivals both local and abroad ,and opening for many international acts such as for Metallica at FNB Stadium .
In addition, Craig has been a vocalist for many Drum n bass acts both live and in studio.
He is also an award winning and 2 time Sama nominated mixing engineer, producer & remixer across a multitude of different styles, specialising in Rock & EDM .
Craig has worked with artists like Desire Marea, Hellcats, Louise Carver, Jack Parrow, and JR.
Craig Hawkins
Garrick Jones
Composer /Enigineer
Garrick has been making music in various forms from a young age. After having been part of numerous bands in his high school years, he started to experiment with production which ultimately resulted in the formation of “DeaderThanDisco”.
DeaderThanDisco saw multiple top 10 hits on various Radio stations nationwide and were finalists in “Steve Aoki's - Come With Me” remix competition.
Through this, the band participated in a masterclass in Amsterdam with the likes of Tiesto, Ferry Corsten and Steve Aoki.
Garrick Jones
Composition and Final Mix
Nontsikelelo Xashimba
Studio Manager/ Talent Influencer
Nontsikelelo is a diligent individual who aims to excel in the work that she produces, in addition to this she has a friendly and optimistic approach towards content creation that is collaborative in its nature. As a filmmaker, she is inspired by stories that consider the representation and respect of all individuals. In a nutshell, she is compassionate and has a sensitive heart for humans and art.
She completed her BA degree in Motion Picture Medium and as a result of her passion for storytelling she furthered her studies and completed her Honours degree in Motion Picture Medium. During the course of her studies she obtained a dean’s list award and achieved a best director and best film award for her experimental
Honours film titled Tart. She aims to continue to expand her knowledge in the craft in order to contribute to the entertainment industry in an impactful and memorable
manner.
Studio Manager
Nontsikelelo Xashimba
Paul Norwood
Executive Creative Director
Paul started his music career in 2002 while studying at Vega – The Brand Communication School. While completing his studies, he simultaneously taught himself the skills needed to record, edit, mix and master his band’s first studio album. The band’s name was 16Stitch, a progressive hard rock band, who took the South African music scene by storm, touring locally and abroad for over a decade, and performing alongside some of the world’s greatest hard rock acts.
Paul teamed up with Craig Hawkins, in an effort to take his music production skills to the next level, and together they founded Audio Militia in late 2006 which has since grown to be recognized as Africa’s leading Music and Audio Agency,
Co-Founder
Paul Norwood
Tobi Akinbiyi
Managing Director Audio Militia Nigeria
Tobi Akinbiyi has been active in the music scene since 1993, starting off as a DJ, attaining his Audio Engineering Diploma from SAE (School of Audio Engineering), then Bachelors (with Honours) in Recording Arts (Middlesex University).
Founding his own record label (A.T.T. Music Entertainment) and lecturing at various campuses in Europe and the Middle East.
He has not only shared stages and studios with the likes of Grammy Award winning artists such as Coolio and 50 Cent, but has also mixed live shows for artists like Cobhams Asuquo, Nathaniel Bassey, Lara George, Tim Godfrey and worked on albums for multi award winning Nigerian artist Darey Art Alade.
Tobi’s works have gained numerous awards on Nollywood movies like The Meeting (staring Rita Dominic) and the documentary Faaji Agba was awarded “Best Documentary” at Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards in 2016 - additional work include productions for Zenith Bank Nigeria, Interswitch and the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) respectively.
Tobi’s training in civil engineering in Austria, paired with his extensive knowledge in audio engineering, has allowed him to plan and build various studios across the world at the highest standards and equip venues like churches and event centres with state of the art sound reinforcement systems.
Managing Director Audio Militia Nigeria
Tobi Ankinbiyi
Etienne Hachler
Composition Specialist
Etienne Hachler, composer at Audio Militia with 10 years of working experience, studied at ASE (Academy of Sound Engineering, Diploma).Certified protools operator, guitarist, bass guitarist and music programmer.
Composed work for clients such as Disney LA, Nickelodeon France, Volkswagen, KFC, Nike & Stussy (Shelf-life - a multi award winning project: ciclopefestival Grand Prix, D&AD Wood pencil, onepointfour Sliver award, Clio sports winner silver, bestadontv best ad of the week) amongst others.Composed scores for films and short films including Black Market Brawl, My Beskermer, Shaft 6 and Moosebox animation series.
Performed with multiple bands such as Wrestlerish, Gangsterdam and Weed Dealer at festivals (Oppikoppi etc) and local venues around South Africa From 2008 - till present.
Composition Specialist