Sarah Tudzin
Sarah Tudzin is an American record producer, audio engineer, and musician. She is also the founder and leader singer of the band Illuminati Hotties. Tudzin releases music on her own imprint label, Snack Shack Tracks, in partnership with Hopeless Records.
Tudzin has produced and engineered records for Boygenius, Weyes Blood, Slowdive, and Logic.
Early life
Sarah Tudzin grew up in Woodland Hills, California. As a teen she played drums in school orchestra and jazz ensembles, as well as participated in various bands.In 2011, she left Southern California for Boston to study at Berklee College of Music, initially focusing on drums. But she quickly grew bored of solo practice and instead switched to the school's music production and engineering program. She graduated from Berklee in 2014 with a B.M. in production/engineering.
Career
Tudzin returned to Los Angeles after graduating, where she started working as a studio runner at a major recording studio. She soon began reaching out to producer contacts, eventually landing a job with indie-rock producer Chris Coady. She spent over three years as his engineer on records for artists such as Amen Dunes, Porches, and Slowdive.These experiences, her developed a strong technical foundation in the areas of recording, mixing, drum programming, and production.
In 2017, Tudzin formed her own musical project, Illuminati Hotties, hoping to showcase her broader production and songwriting capacities. The following year, Illuminati Hotties released their debut full-length album, Kiss Yr Frenemies, on Tiny Engines. The album was largely self-produced by Tudzin, recorded in the studio where she had worked as an assistant.
In 2020, after tensions with Tiny Engines, Tudzin worked to regain control over her music. She released a mixtape called Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For to fulfill her contract obligations, while paving the way for independent work.
In 2021, she launched her own imprint label, Snack Shack Tracks, through a partnership with Hopeless Records. Under this imprint, she released the third album from Illuminati Hotties, Let Me Do One More on October 1, 2021. Let Me Do One More received wide acclaim with Tudzin saying that working as a producer and engineer gave her the confidence to fully realize her own creative vision.
While continuing her work with Illuminati Hotties, Tudzin built a growing resume as a producer and engineer for other artists. She worked on projects by Weyes Blood, Pom Pom Squad, Speedy Ortiz, The Armed, and more. The high point came in 2023, when she contributed engineering and production work to boygenius’ breakout album The Record. That album became a major hit, elevating her profile significantly with multiple Grammy nominations and a win for Best Alternative Music Album.
In 2023, she contributed vocals to “Igyah Kah,” a song for the Star Wars: Ahsoka TV series soundtrack.
On June 5, 2024, she announced a new Illuminati Hotties album called Power, released on August 23 via Hopeless Records.