Remote Mixing & Mastering

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

A: King and Academy's K&Aadian Bacon, an EP released recently that I was a part of from it's very conception. We set out with the task of putting something together in about two days. We liked everything so much that decided to make a full EP out of it. I was the producer in charge and mixed the entire project.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently taking a time off from client work to write and record my upcoming solo album. However, if any interesting jobs show up, I'll take them with my arms wide open.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Geez! Had this question been asked two years ago, I would've been all over analog. Nowadays, there are so many digital tools to make great sounding music that I have jumped on the digital side. Like I said earlier, I now work mainly in the box and haven't had an issue nor have I missed twisting knobs or sliding faders all that much. It's all about the sounds!

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

A: I always commit to bring the best out of their tracks.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Everything! The fact that everything I'm doing at the moment is helping create a brand new song, never heard before... I love creating, and even though I'm not the composer, I still feel like a big part of the process and I truly love that feeling!

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

A: Can you do [insert anything mix wise]? The answer is usually 'yes'.

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

A: Mostly that my job consists on syncing tracks in a program and spacing them and call it a day. There is a lot of knowing how to involved in the process, and not every decision is a standard in every project. There are good starting points but every track has unique information that needs to be processed correctly in order to achieve good results.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your vision of the song/project? The answer helps me get in the right mindset and make sure me and the client are in the same frame of mind.

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

A: It is extremely important to be confident with your own work and with the people you are hiring, ask as many relevant questions as you can think of and trust your choices. Always make sure you have the possibility to do revisions. Make sure everything is ready for you to take the next step. It is annoying to get a call for work and then wait for ages until the files are ready, and all the songs are tracked, etc...

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

A: On a desert island I'd only be worrying about personal satisfaction more than the customer's, so my choice would be, obviously my macbook pro, any small cheap interface (hopefully USB or firewire powered), one of my Ibanez guitars, a good set of earphones and a nail-clipper!!!

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

A: I started in 2006 recording my own music, using Cakewalk Pro Audio and a computer microphone, (not up to standards but definitely not as bad as you'd think!) and then in 2008 I took a certificate program in music production from Berklee College of Music, which taught me a lot. After that I started recording my band's demos and soon after began working with other bands, including punk rock outfit "The Lucky Ones" and a Colombian band called "The Rock Weapon". Then came work for my own projects, Alejandro Del Pino solo, and Arachnid Carcass. In the mean time I work writing music for corporate clients and coach rock bands to help them get the best out of their talents.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Raw, "old school," as in: I work with my ears more than I do with my eyes. More often than not, editing everything dead on to a grid makes music sound sterile just as fixing pitch to the closest cent. With today's standards, we would've had no John Bonham, and definitely no Bob Dylan...

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

A: The Foo Fighters, by far. I find them to be an extremely dynamic band with a streamlined creative process that concentrates a lot in the development of every song. They are raw and to the point and extremely experienced. That would be an amazing experience, I believe!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One of the obvious ones: The best mixes come out of the best recordings. When tracking, 'good enough' is NOT enough!

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

A: Mainly rock, I have worked with punk bands, Pop Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive rock and have worked in the past with dance pop and some tropical south american music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Creative and well balanced ears. I make sure that the song sounds as strong as it can.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I love making music human-sounding, I am a big fan of making mixes sound as live as they can get and throughly enjoy playing with the dynamics that happen in real life scenarios.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Depending on how involved I am in every project; for mixing I set all my levels down to zero and start bringing channels up and getting a balanced mix, once I have a decent starting point, I start playing with the stereo field and then EQ if needed. Once the raw mix is in good shape, I listen for possible creative output and special effects that could enhance any given passage of each song.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I usually work as light as I can to be able to handle most jobs on the road, however I have full access to commercial studios and plenty of outboard gear if necessary.

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

A: As a musician I love to get involved in as much as I can, but generally speaking, I work mainly as a producer/arranger for rock bands. I am an accomplished guitar player and do plenty of session work as well.