At International Music Summit 2026, we caught up with Rob Cowan from Point Blank Music School, where they hosted a session titled “SUPERCHARGE YOUR ABLETON WORKFLOW WITH SASHA, 36DB, AND POINTBLANK” During the session, Point Blank joined Sasha and 36db live on stage to explore their brand new Ableton Live Sound Environment.
Interview With Rob Cowan:
I’m here with Rob Cowan CEO of pointblank Music School, at IMS in Cala Llonga, Hello, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Can you tell us more about pointblank Music School? What is it and where is it based?
Sure. How long have you got?
It started about 30 years ago. I was a music producer with my own studio, and I began showing people how the studio worked. Fast forward 30 years, and now we have a school in London, one in LA, an online platform, and we’re also here in Ibiza.
That’s amazing. And what are your plans for IMS?
We’ve got a panel shortly with Sasha, which is very exciting. We’ll be talking about his environment and working with his producers, alongside a company called 36DB.
Then our Head of Education, Ski, is doing a track deconstruction tomorrow — Promised Land by Joe Smooth — which should be great.
So those are the two panels, and the rest is networking and, of course, a bit of fun.
Sounds like a busy day.
Yeah, definitely — but it’s all good.
I also have to ask about AlphaTheta. They’ve introduced a lot of new equipment this year, like the CDJ-3000X, a new DJ mixer, and the Ignite remixer. What’s your opinion on the new gear?
We love AlphaTheta. I come from the Pioneer DJ world — they support us, and we use their equipment in our schools.
I’m not a DJ myself — I’m more of a music producer — but the CDJ-3000Xs look amazing.
I might not know exactly how to use them, but our head DJ instructor Ben absolutely loves them. I love walking into the studio and seeing all that incredible gear. We’ve got it here in Ibiza as well, so it’s brilliant to have that support and access to the latest equipment.
If you want to learn how to DJ, you need to learn on the latest gear. So without getting too technical, I’m just really excited that our students can train on the best equipment available.
Do you know any specific new features of the CDJ-3000X?
Not in detail — I’m not the technical expert.
But I do know it includes the latest technology, and we integrate it into all our courses. We’ve also partnered with Tribe, an online platform with a virtual DJ world where this equipment is featured. So again, it’s all about giving students access to the newest tools — even if I can’t break down every spec!
Got it. Going back to your school — have any well-known artists studied there?
Yes, quite a few.
In the DJ world, Nicole Moudaber studied with us early in her career, and she’s obviously doing incredibly well now.
We’ve even taught Pete Tong — he came to learn Native Instruments Maschine. Goldie has also been a student.
And Felix Jaehn is another great example — he’s had number-one hits in over 11 countries.
So yes, quite a long list — those are just some of the more well-known names.
Perfect, that’s everything. Thanks a lot!
Thank you — it’s been a pleasure.
