Recording/Mixing/Mastering

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: Working on the Grammy Nominated lead single 'Breathing underwater' for Hiatus Kaiyote's second album 'Choose your Weapons' was a career highlight!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Lots of things!! I'm always working on my own band Kalacoma

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both... at the same time

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: That their record will be amazing.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Everyday is a different challenge and every album is a different sound!

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: how did you make that so awesome!? my answere is always detailed as i love to share the process! :)

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Maybe that there is a huge difference between everyones apporach to making/engineering/producing music and there is no one size fits all solution to anything.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like to know what makes them tick! Why are they making music, what excites them about muisic, what kind of sounds and instruments do they hear when they picture their finished product? these kinds of things help me align myself with their creative intentions.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: listen to previous work from any engineer/producer first, try and suss out if they have a knack for creating sounds that you enjoy! if so talk to them, ask questions, build a relationship.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: a boat... duh

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: i started my artistic career in visual arts but quickly moved to music once i realised the potential of sound! when i would look at a blank pice of paper i didnt have alot of ideas, but when i thought about sound, my brain would explode! 10 years on and I'v never looked back.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: an imaginarium aquarium

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Anyone interested in pushing boundaries and staying creative!!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: When choosing your microphones to record a drum kit, you need to consider how the off axis sound of those mics will affect the surrounding parts of the kit. This off axis coloration plays as large a role (If not Larger) than the on axis sound! if you work out your mic choice (and placement) correctly you wont need to EQ/Gate out the spill from the hats or cymabls, or try and get rid of that snare in the other mics because they will be working harmoniously together.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I Work with lots of different bands from different genres, i would say the string that ties them all together is a sense of creativity, i like to work on projects that are pushing boundaries.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My ears. And my sense for composition and balance.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Creativity and imagination coupled with experience and technical know how.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: The best thing about my work is that there is never a typical process. every job is so different, that i like to tackle things in a fresh and creative way each time. i don't use templates or 'go to' techniques, i sum up what is appropriate and necessary for the project to be the best it can be and then tackle the process as it unfolds.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: A super functional combination of digital and analog process. I like to use tape machines and summming mixers to open up the sound, while editing and recording into the digital world using Apogee, RME and UA conversion. I have a large space dedicated for recording drums and whole bands.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: SO MANY GREAT ARTISTS! i have been working with Hiatus Kaiyote for years now and they always inspire me with their genius and technicality, Simon Lam of I'lls and Godriguez' production for Sampa the Great are two of my favourite local producers that i have had the pleasure of working with. they are truly inspiring! Engineers like Nigel Goodrich and Suart White are also fantstic professionals who push me to do better work.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I Find myself Mixing a lot of different records and recording a lot of Drums. i really enjoy the challenge of engineering a really unique drum sound that can express the intention of the artists style and give their record an original sound.