In-Box Mix, Out-of-Box Sound

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

A: Children´s album for friend from church in another city :) I did all the arrangements, producing, recording, mixing and mastering. And I conducted the children´s choir. Lots of fun and lots of hard work, but it turned out very nice. you can hear it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj17TX21lKI

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Full length album for my worship leader friend from church in another city.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital - When you know what you are doing, it sounds really good. And it is way more accessible these days. That being said. If I could use Analog, I would not be opposed to it.

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

A: You will like your song even better.

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

A: Are you a professional? The answer is yes. :)

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have any reference song that you like the sound of and has a similar vibe to your song? Do you have a particular song in mind when producing your song?

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Helping artists to make their songs sound better than if they mixed themselves.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Start with drums, then vocals and lastly the music. Get rid of the nasty mud so that everything is clear and is not distracting from the music. Mix at low volume levels, compare with reference tracks and check the final mix on various speakers - I usually listen to the mix on average speakers in different room, in my car and on various headphones,

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work with Cubase software and MOTU hardware. Mixing in the box.

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

A: That a mixing engineer will take a poor recording, sprinkle it with a magic dust and make it into something unbelievable.

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

A: It pays off to take a risk.

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

A: Well I am a digital, in the box guy - so I would take my computer, soundcard, a nice microphone (Rode NT4), mic pre and a guitar. With that (and the software, but I take it as a part of the computer) you can achieve a lot.

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

A: I started playing guitar when I was 11. I played in various church bands, started leading worship, studied in US, where I saw the real studio work and when I came back I started recording our church band and learning how to make us sound good. That was 3 years ago and I still have a lot in front of me, but I am getting good.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Meticulate, always ready to learn

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

A: Neal Morse - that guy is an insane musician and has wonderful sense of melody and harmony.

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

A: Dave Pensado, Chris Lord Alge, Neal Morse, Lincoln Brewster, Mike Austin, Brad Paisley.

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

A: Rock, Pop, Country

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: EQ and compression

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I make it into a clear statement, that will have some weight and will get your attention.