How Illuminati Hotties' Sarah Tudzin Let Herself Make One of 2021's Best Albums

Sarah Tudzin B.M. '14 is a producer, engineer, and the creative force behind the indie rock band Illuminati Hotties. Her impressive string of production and engineering credits run the gamut from indie artists including Slowdive and Pom Pom Squad to high profile projects such as the original cast recording of Hamilton. With her band, she's released three critically acclaimed albums under the Illuminati Hotties moniker, the latest of which, Let Me Do One More, came out in October 2021, and was cited as one of the best albums of the year by a number of premier music publications.

The road to this new record was not smooth. Let Me Do One More was meant to be the follow-up to her 2018 debut, Kiss Yr Frenemies. But as she was preparing the record, her label became embroiled in a series of troubling contract disputes with her label mates, and Tudzin decided that releasing the album with this label would be too much of a personal and artistic compromise. But to get out of her contract, she still owed them royalties on her next release. So to fulfill the agreement, she basically sprinted into the studio to record a whole different album, called Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’re Waiting For.

But that record would prove to be more than a savvy escape plan. It became another critical success, and the process gave Sarah more confidence as an artist, vocalist, and producer. In this episode of Sounds of Berklee, Tudzin talks about how she stayed motivated through the challenges as well as how she applied what she learned as a producer and engineer to her own music.

Produced by Bryan Parys and John Mirisola
Engineered by Isak Kotecki
Theme music by Sleeping Lion