Ben Whelan on SoundBetter

A producer, mixing engineer and composer who approaches every project from a musicians perspective, giving each detail the personal attention it deserves.

Ben is a recording & mixing engineer, record producer, composer and musician based in Leeds. His experience as a songwriter playing drums and guitar led him to explore recording and production in his early teens, and this later developed into an interest in recording other bands and musicians. As a producer he works with artists at various stages of their career, from independent aspiring artists and hobbyists to Grammy nominated musicians and artists signed to major labels.

Ben has a keen interest in live performance and is a firm believer that some of the best records are those that were recorded live. This informs his approach when capturing performances both in and outside of the studio, utilising production tools to enhance and elevate great performances rather than aiming to fix issues artificially.

Since earning a Masters Degree with Distinction in Music Production in 2018, and being awarded The Solid State Logic Prize for Top Achieving Music Students in the same year, he has worked on a variety of projects including; live and studio albums, dedicated mixing projects, live sound engineering, commissioned compositions, and services for songwriters covering all aspects of record production. Ben is always seeking out new opportunities to expand and develop his knowledge in all areas of music production.

https://www.ben-whelan.com/

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Interview with Ben Whelan

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Nothing I do will ever feel like a 'transaction'.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The variety. Being able to focus on one area of music production for extended periods is really useful, but having the opportunity to broaden my outlook on any given day keeps things fresh and often informs other areas of my output.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: The first thing I like to do on any project is try to get to know a little about the artist. What led them to their current project, where they want to go next, and what inspires them. Whether it’s mixing or a full production, I then incorporate that energy into the work that follows.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My studio allows me to record overdubs as well as working with solo artists but is also largely focused around creating a comfortable yet neutral sounding mixing environment. It serves as an extremely flexible creative space for composing and arranging and is supported by a number of Class A Pres, high quality converters, multiple sets of studio monitors, and a vast selection of instruments and oddities to inspire ideas.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: It's often said that a good song will always be a good song. I firmly believe that the most important part of any song isn't the music or the lyrics, but the songwriter themselves. If you can truly connect with and understand that person, what follows in the recording, arranging an mixing stages will be improved tenfold.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: A large portion of my recording work tends to be focused around live performance. This ranges from everyone playing in the same room and live shows, to larger and more developed arrangements based around a solo performance or live guide track of some sort. My mixing has included work on rock and indie, acoustic and folk, and also crossed into commercial mixes for television.