Will Yip on Redefining Punk Rock with Turnstile, Title Fight

Producer and engineer Will Yip has spent the last two decades turning a community-rooted hustle in Philadelphia into one of rock music's most vibrant production careers. From sweeping floors at a local studio to ultimately building out his own custom space, his credits include bands like Turnstile, Title Fight, Superheaven, Sleeping With Sirens, and hundreds more.

After landing a 2026 Grammy for Best Rock Album with Turnstile's Never Enough, Yip sat down with us to detail his journey from obsessed kid to studio owner and his philosophy on serving songs over sounds.

You weren't always pulled toward music production. What was the turning point?

When I was five, I was obsessed with basketball. It wasn't until I was about ten that I found drums at school with some friends, and I fell in love. I said at ten years old that I was going to be a professional drummer. There was nothing else that felt like it.

Then when I was twelve, my best friend and I saved up $100 — which might as well be a million dollars at that age — and walked into a humble home studio. The second I walked in, I can still remember the smell: the studio, the gear. I said, “I don't want to be a drummer. I want to do this for the rest of my life.”

How did you eventually break in?

After that first session, I went up to the producer and said, "Hey man, I love this. Can I work for you? I'll work for free. I just want to be in the studio." And from that day on, I never left.

That studio formed my sense of community in the punk world. There were so many up-and-coming hardcore bands coming through to rehearse — bands like Cold World and Blacklisted, who have become such integral parts of my life even to this day. I had never heard music that was so visceral, powerful, and energetic. I fell in love with hardcore.

Will Yip at Memory Music in South Philadelphia.

Yip founded his own studio, Memory Music, in South Philadelphia in 2025.

So you dreamed about working at Studio Four before you actually worked there.

I used to research liner notes, and I kept seeing that all these records were done in Conshohocken, outside of Philadelphia. I'm like, “How is that possible? How is it not in LA or New York?”

The Butcher Brothers, Phil Niccolo and Joe Niccolo had Studio Four and Rough House Records there. They signed Nas, Ms. Lauryn Hill, the Fugees. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is one of my favorite records of all time. That studio, that label — right there in my backyard. For my entire high school career, it was just a dream.

What's your philosophy when your role is producer?

I'm a member of the band. That's how I see it. However we decide collectively to make the record, whatever the process evolves into, we're going to find it together. That's my job.

With most bands that I’ve done multiple records with — Citizen, Turnstile, Turnover — we've done it every way. They're all different. I know producers who do ten, fifteen, even twenty records a year. But producers have to remember that these bands have to play these songs every night for the rest of their lives. So I try to give every album the TLC it really deserves.

"As a producer, I'm a member of the band. Whatever our process evolves into, we're going to find it together. That's my job."

Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Turnover)

Tell us about your studio. What's the vision?

I wanted to create a haven for making rock records. I want any band to walk in and feel like they have everything they could possibly need, whether that's gear, room, lounges, or amenities.

Since I grew up making beats and hip-hop tracks, I wanted rock musicians to feel the way hip-hop producers feel when they open up Omnisphere. Instead of this snare, it's going to be a clap. Instead of this guitar tone, let's try a baritone, or a bass six. I want musicians to feel limitless.

Turnstile is one of the most important bands in rock right now. How did that relationship start?

The first time we worked together was over ten years ago. I knew right away they were on another level of hardcore. The music was aggressive, but melodic. It had vision and thought.

When Brendan [lead singer] has ideas, he's very specific. But he knows how to work with the energy in the room. Every album has its own thing — Time and Space, Glow On, and Never Enough — each of them are timeless and the most creative record we could make.

Turnstile's “Never Enough” (2025). Will Yip is credited as producer and recording engineer on the album, extending a run with the band that goes back to 2016.

Walk us through how you processed the vocals on Turnstile's Never Enough.

When we were tracking Brendan, he's very particular about his vocal sound — especially the compression. He wants it to sound like his voice.

We went through a wide array of compressors and plug-ins, and we always came back to the LA-2A. It allows the source to sound like the source, while giving it enough lift and dynamics control. It is the most “human-sounding” compressor there is, in my opinion.

You have multiple Apollos in the studio. When do you decide to change them out?

I don't think I'll ever get rid of them! The first Apollo 16 started it all for me. I used it on the Title Fight record Floral Green, and on everything after it for the next four or five years: Turnover's Peripheral Vision, the Citizen records, most of the Circa Survive records, and Balance and Composure. It's still kicking today!

Will Yip's original Apollo 16 audio interface.

Yip’s first Apollo 16, heard on countless recordings from the mid 2000s.

What about the SD-1 Dynamic Mics? How do those fit into your workflow?

When I was sent the SD-1s, I wasn't so sure. I thought, “Is it actually going to perform?” We've been using them ever since. All my engineers love them. We keep them up because they sound like those classic dynamic mics you can put on anything.

How would you compare your original Neve channel strips to the UAD plug-in versions?

Every record I've done has always been centered around 1080-series desks and 1073s. I have never felt completely comfortable pulling up a Neve plug-in from any company until UA came out with their Neve 1073 Mark II.

Will Yip at his studio in South Philadelphia, reaching for a Neve channel strip.

“This sounds like my stuff," explains Will Yip about Universal Audio's Neve plug-in emulations. "They have the soul of my records.”

You describe yourself as a "song guy" not a "sound guy." What does that mean?

I love gear. I love recording. I can talk to anyone about mics and compressors and preamps all day. But the reason I love music is because I love songs. To me, that's what made the greats the greats — the producers I looked up to growing up all had their hands in the songs.

You don't need to pay premium money to get a record to sound good in 2026. But there will always be a need to help people shape and elevate their songs. We have to remember that we're making music. It's a privilege. So enjoy it.

Philadelphia has been central to everything you've built. What is it about this city that keeps you inspired?

The community inspires me. Recently I opened a doom metal bar. A friend I met in the restaurant world told me it was his dream to open one someday. I said, "Bro, that's perfect." I wanted it to feel like a jazz bar, but with the complete opposite music. It's just another example of what the power of our Philly community can do.

“The hardcore and punk community of Philadelphia shaped who I am today. If the 20-year-old me had tried doing what I did in LA, it wouldn't have worked.”

Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Turnover)

You were the first Asian producer to win Rock Album of the Year. What did that mean to you?

That night hit differently. It messed me up for a little bit. Growing up, there weren't too many people who looked like me doing what I was doing. I wanted to join a band, and it was hard because kids wanted to be in bands with people who looked like the people they saw on TRL and MTV. I can't help what somebody wants, so I just said, “Let me be the best. Let me outwork everyone and make it undeniable.”

The drummer from Turnstile is also the first Asian drummer to get Rock Album of the Year. That's awesome, but also crazy. I’m representing a lot. I feel it. And I'm grateful for it.

It was hardcore that gave me a place. It was punk that gave me a safe haven. That's why I just want to give back — because music is for everyone, and everybody knows how to rock.

— Austin Lyons