Illuminate Emotion in the Mix

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

A: When looking to hire a mix engineer, find someone that you would enjoy collaborating with. Part of this mean that you respect their previous work, but you also have to get a welcoming vibe from communicating with them and be excited to share ideas with them. Even though everything is already recorded, I think the mixing process can still be a phase for collaboration.

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

A: I'm a lifelong musician. I taught myself guitar and piano and studied saxophone, drums, and music theory in formal settings. I've been in and around recording studios over 15 years, and have been working freelance full time in music production for over 10 years now.

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

A: I'm a big David Bowie fan and so perhaps in some alternate reality I can work with him. Of course his songs are great, but his approach to recording and songwriting is also very interesting to me. He really valued collaboration and spontaneity. He would gather talented people together and experiment to discover something new. I think he was very much aware that an artist, and especially a musician, will create very differently when working with others than when working alone. And the result is often more than the sum of its parts.

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

A: Mixing is what I most commonly do, though I also do a lot of mastering work. My studio is built for all the production requirements after recording. Although I don't do much recording these days, I have a lot of recording experience in my career and frequently offer tips and advice for clients that want to improve their recordings.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style tends to be an open and smooth sound that is natural, or perhaps a bit beyond natural (supernatural?). I love to get crazy with effects when it's called for and sometimes a song needs a more aggressive sound, but even in these cases, I always maintain dynamics so that the song can live and breath with the groove.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Here's a quick vocal recording tip that I often tell people: angle your mic slightly down so that it's pointing at the neck or chest. This helps to reduce "ess" sounds and plosives as the sound waves hit the capsule at an angle. It also catches some chest resonance and can deepen the tone of the vocal sound. If you're in a nice sounding room and want a more airy sound, you can also try tilting the mic upwards to point at the forehead. This will capture more "air" of the room, if it's a larger room.

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

A: Most typically I work in indie rock, folk, country, and jazz. But I've worked in every genre through my career and I enjoy working on all kinds of music.

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

A: My promise is that I will do everything I can to make you fall in love with your music. The recording phase can be long and I'm familiar with the feeling of being tired of a song once you get to mixing. I love to inject surprises in my mixes, not just for the listeners, but for the artist themselves to remind them what they love about the song.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I've spent years developing my hearing, both in an analytical and emotional sense. I can pick out precisely what what frequencies need to be reined in and I can also evaluate vocal takes to find the one that will most connect with listeners.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to say that I "illuminate emotion" in the mix. What this means is that I enhance the performances that are in the recording and I do this in an organic and natural way. Vocalists and musicians can expect to hear the feeling and emotion in their performances heightened.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Wether mixing or mastering, I always try to put myself in the place of the audience and how they will hear the song. This sets my focus on what's best for the song. When my head is bobbing and I'm losing myself in the music, I know I'm on the right track.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! Why not?

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I like to use a lot of analog gear because analog lends a depth and dimension you just can't get any other way. Plus I have more fun with analog, which keeps me inspired and creative.