Orchestral Music Producer

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

A: Favorite all the providers suit your needs, contact them one by one, sort them by the pricing and deadline and deal with the one you are most comfortable to discuss the project. Good communication between the client and the provider should be at its finest since the very beginning, as this is as important as the project itself. The provider should be able to capture the client's idea and translate it into musical language. This is a skill that every producer should have besides the technical skills.

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

A: 1. Water Filter 2. Fan 3. Lighter 4. Duvet 5. Torch Come on, this is life survival, not anything related with music production, don't expect me to bring my interface, keys or headphones LOL =D

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

A: I've starting to love music as early as I was 3 years old. I have an old organ in my house and by that time I can play the organ just by listening to a song. Sadly a few years after as our family's economic condition was not so good we have to sell it. But it won't stop the love of music in me. I got a mini size keyboard with very limited polyphony but I managed to learn some basic music theory while sharpening my listening skills as well. At the age of 10, I managed to experiment with a simple multi-track recording using my double-deck cassette tape. I record the first track on Deck A, then adding more track by recording in Deck B while playing the previously recorded track in Deck A. That's when I first encounter my love with music production. Then I start to get in touch with digital technology and start it very basic with some audio and midi software, during that time Youtube is not invented yet and what I do is trial and error until 2007-2008 I do learn a lot from youtube. I do this professionally since 2006, so now it's almost 14 years. Always thankful that I can make a living doing something I love

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is versatile but I can limit my versatility into something romantic, magical, cinematic or funky groove. If you aim for something romantic like Whitney Houston / Celine Dion style I can do it confidently, also something magical like most of Disney Movie OST, Alladin, Beauty and The Beast, Tangled, Frozen, Mulan or anything. I can make your project sound majestic and magnificent like Sam Smith Writings on the wall. How about making All of me by John Legend into something cinematic? Check out my demo reel! Not into that stuff? Want to have Stevie Wonder or Kirk Franklin style? Let's go, hire me! Yay!

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

A: I'd love to work with an artist who appreciates my work. Appreciate in terms of paying and in terms of understanding how my workflow and follow the rules we've agreed upon. I should say that I'm not going to do this for free or for exposure because sadly the exposure won't pay the bills. I also love to work with an artist who knows exactly what they want, how it sounds and contributing ideas on how to make it greater. I have this one client a C-Pop singer name Tian, I'd really love to work with him since he is very talented and knows exactly what he wants! Hey Tian if you read this I give you a shout out, you have to hire me again LOLL =D

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: At no cost =) I have two tips. Since I do the work with my team of co-producer, session player, mix and master engineer it is important to deliver a clear direction of what they should do towards the project. Providing sufficient references is also a must-do since sometimes it speaks clearer than words. It's also important to have a clear workflow to avoid any errors and keep everything organized. In short, workflow and communication. That's two most important factors in music production.

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

A: I do a lot of work orchestrating ballad music, arranging some magical Disney sound-alike tunes, layer up cinematic orchestration and laying some funky piano or brass on the tunes

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup is quite simple. Running on Mac mini i7 with 16GB ram 1TB SSD and 5TB of sound library. I use Apogee Duet 2 as my interface and M-Audio Keystation 88es as my controller. No fancy stuff here, hire me so I can buy them =)

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

A: I can promise my clients a great expected result, fast respond, and fluid creativity.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: When I can surprise my clients that their song/project could be that great. I always love to make my clients happy, encouraging them, sharing the information I have or anything they want me to do. Some massages? Unfortunately no =D

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

A: Well, the most commonly asked is about the pricing issues. Hey, I'm not that hard, we can always negotiate =) but I know my worth and I know my capability. I do make a living from this and I'll not do it for very small amount of money, but as long as you have great material and you like what I do let's work together!

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

A: People consider me as an Artist, which is totally wrong. I like to sing, but some people fainted after heard me singing, that's when I decided to work behind the screen. I'd love to support artists, make their wishes come true and bring out the best of them. Not the best of me. But, well I do my best =)

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: The first is the deadline. I do concern much about how can I deliver the projects on schedule. If I can't make it then I'll negotiate, if it fails then I'll recommend the client to another provider. It's important for me to work stress-free with sufficient deadline as what a quote says "you can't rush art". Secondly, do you need a short demo? I'd love to give some of the prospective clients (not all) a taster of my production, making the music just from the verse part or chorus part. This is very effective for me to turn prospective clients into a deal client.

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

A: Of course, I've done a lot of work with a talented Indonesian singer Pritta Kartika, a great gospel singer Josiah Ruff, a Kenny G & Dave Koz sound-alike saxophonist Jimmy Koentjoro, a great mixing engineer Stefanus Wayanartha, Amazing topline writer Mariami, and the talented UK based producer and songwriter Matt Hughes who's also my best friends, you can find them all at SoundBetter and trust me you'll not regret it.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I've been experienced both. I was starting from the era when Analog still becomes a must of old days recording. During that time 1999-2000, computer processing was not as great as today, the resource is very limited and the cost is still relatively high to achieve such great computing power. But as today everything changes, I clearly stand on the digital side, because it is undoubtedly easy to do, portable and affordable. However, in some cases like mastering, I do trust analog gear sometimes. I can say from the production side I stand on the digital side and from the post-production side, in between analog and digital.

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

A: One project that I will be very proud of (because it's going to happen in January 2020) is a gospel project from a producer/songwriter in the US. I will be recording in Prague with Prague Strings Orchestra. There is no greater achievement of an orchestrator than having their composition played by the real world-class orchestra. For this project, I've been involved as the main producer, choosing the main singer, providing session musicians, arranging the orchestra, and arrange the live recording session in Prague. And you know what, this dream is made come true by this platform. SoundBetter!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I've done 3 Christmas projects in December 2019 and now working with the US based Artist, hopefully, can finish it all by early January. Check out my website to stream my Christmas Project

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can say that my strongest skill is to give a romantic, intimate or cinematic strings arrangement into a song =)

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I do something from zero to a finished product. I just need a topline, lyrics and 3 references track how would you like the project sound alike, and I'll tailor the music into something that you'll love. I also do an orchestral arrangement over something you already produce, say, you already produce a great track but want strings or orchestral arrangement on top of it, I'll do my magic for you!

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

A: I can say three of the most influential artists/producer represent my music are David Foster, Kirk Franklin, and Disney Studio Orchestra

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

A: A common type of work, I did production for a songwriter who already has the topline but didn't have the music, a producer who already produce the track but not happy with the result and wish me to do it better, someone who already has a final product but wants to have orchestra sound on top of it, or an Artist that want me to take care of everything =)

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I will asked about demo/draft of the song that you want me to produce, together with 3 references how you would like your song sound alike. I will made a simple mockup to give a brief idea about theme, melody, intro/ending, chord progression and song repetition format. This is usually in the form of solo piano with one lead instrument. After getting approval from the client I will develop the foundation of the song mainly for bass, guitar and drum, then I will give the client next mockup. The last process is giving it orchestra colour (if needed) and the final instrumental music production will be delivered after this step :)