Helena de Groot grew up surrounded by music—both of her parents were musicians. “My mom took singing lessons while pregnant with me,” she says. “I don’t have scientific proof that it affected me, but come on—being inside her resonating body must’ve left an impression.”

Still, she didn’t pursue music professionally. Her mother once warned her: “If you love your art form, don’t do it. Making it your job adds all the bullshit of work to the thing you love.”

Instead, de Groot found a calling in sound design and podcast production. In this interview, she explores the quiet artistry of audio work—how it relies on close attention to small, often overlooked details. She describes the process as an “ode to the banal,” where everyday sounds—birdsong, the clink of a mug—become tools for creating rich, immersive stories.

"I am so interested in history because history is nothing but life, right? It’s not different from now, it’s just life that happened a little bit ago or a lot ago. And when people are able to capture that life with all of its texture, it’s like an ode… It makes me appreciate actual life more, the one I’m living. I don’t need a big arc. I don’t need to do something important… And meaning is everywhere, if only you care to look or notice, pay attention."

INTERVIEW: On the Unglamorous Parts of Creative Practice