Musician, Editing & Mixing

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

A: I released an electronic album under my moniker Monoblack with a song called "Dead Space" featuring Morgan Nicholls of Muse and the Gorillaz. As a long-time fan of Muse, this was a dream come true for me.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: My personal alt rock music project called Modern Mirage. I've released 3 singles as of writing this and my full album will be out summer 2022.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Rob Murray for mastering. I've had Rob master multiple music projects of mine with zero revisions. He's incredibly knowledgable and friendly and anyone working with him will immediately sense that.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital always for edit-ability, precision and modern-ness.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That I can work with and around music all day, every day either in my day job or as a music producer.

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

A: iMac Pro, Logic Pro X, Jazzmaster with Fralin Pickups, Helix Native and Gretsch Drums

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

A: By day, I am a well-established graphic designer in the music industry. The other 50% of my time has been spent playing, recording and producing music since I was 10.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Gritty, overdriven guitars and fuzz bass with an overall polished feel.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: This one may be a bit obvious, but cut the lows on absolutely everything that doesn't need it – guitars, keys, vocals, etc. rather than boosting signals. I learned this when producing electronic music and it has carried over flawlessly into rock production. It adds clarity and lets your low end thrive without becoming too muddy. Another electronic to rock tip is to side chain your bass to the kick. This lets the kick transients punch through without effecting the bass signal. And it's completely seamless and unnoticeable to the average ear if done correctly.

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

A: I love working on alt rock the most. It's what I listen to and play on a daily basis. That can include similar genres such as rock, indie rock, pop rock and even electronic.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: An outside perspective and knowledge from initial tracking all the way to a polished master and everything in between. I'm stronger at some aspects than others, but I will be completely transparent about what I am and am not able to accomplish.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I am 100% digital other than tracking guitar and bass (which are modeled digitally). There's something about dialing in precise parameters and being able to tweak them on the fly that I think is invaluable. I use an iMac Pro with Logic Pro X as my DAW of choice. I have a countless number of premium plugins suites including Native Instruments, Output, iZotope, Addictive Drums 2, EZDrummer 3, Plugin Alliance, and too many more to name.

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

A: I do mostly everything for all my own personal music projects, and can provide that to external clients as well to an extent. However, I excel in editing and mixing.