Mixer, Finisher, Producer

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I think the sonic gap between the two has pretty much closed. But the workflow is very different! I love the tactility of a console and outboard, it teaches you to use your ears, not obsess over numbers and working visually. But the ease of digital, coupled with the vast sonic improvements in recent years makes that medium win over analogue, for me anyway.

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

A: I made a record with French superstar Nolwenn Leroy. With the A&R conspicuous by their absence, I effectively A&R'ed the record and pieced together the demos (some were just voicenotes) to create a sonic world that was a British and much more programmed update on Nolwenn's traditional Celtic-folk sound. I programmed and played a lot on it with the artist only involved towards the end. It was intense but a huge learning curve. The record went gold and sold over 100,000 records in France alone.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am developing a young pop artist who reached out to me because of my 1975 credits. Plus I am mixing a stable of neo-soul/r'n'b artists produced/co-written by a friend of mine.

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

A: Charlie Westropp, Matt Urchin and Lorenzo de Feo are all fantastic producers.

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

A: To work with them until they are 100% happy. I don't want anyone to compromise.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Every song/artist is unique, bringing with them a different vibe, emotion and set of challenges.

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

A: I tend to be the one asking the questions to ensure I fully understand what they want and what they're about. The more I know about a client, the better I can tailor my work to their needs. So it's a very hard question to answer!

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

A: That I can make something sound expensive when it's a terrible recording!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1. How quickly do you need this turned around? 2. Do you have reference tracks to guide me? 3. What are you looking to achieve together? 4. Can you give me some context on you and your career aspirations?

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

A: You get out what you put in. Good communication is essential, plus ensuring you know exactly what you're looking for, especially as so much of the work on here is done remotely. If we work together, then I will really appreciate well labelled and edited stems which don't require too much fixing!

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

A: Laptop, Neumann TLM103, UAD rig, Focal monitors and a power generator!

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

A: I started out 20 years ago playing lead guitar in a major label band, with lots of effects pedals! I then assisted Paul Epworth on records from Florence + The Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires and others. At that point I moved over into Production, working with The 1975, Jordan Mackampa, Kawala, The Rifles, Veronica Fusaro

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm a fan of solid low end and won't be afraid to augment the drums with well-chosen samples! As a mixer/finisher, I'm pretty hands-on. If I don't like your 808s or a synth patch I'll look to replace it with something similar but better, with the intention that the client won't notice but will just say "I love what you've done with the synths" 😂

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

A: Arctic Monkeys - I feel they have lost their way on recent albums, although I appreciate their thirst for trying something new. I would love to marry that sense of forward motion with the raw talent in the earlier songwriting.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always listen to the artist because they have the ultimate say. Get them to focus on what they want to achieve and feel emotionally (ideally without technical jargon) and then translate that information into a set of decisions. But also try never to work backwards as it's soul destroying! Finally, educate yourself on the fine points and symptoms of Demoitis!

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

A: It changes a lot, but genres I often work on are singer/songwriter, modern r'n'b, indie rock and soul/neo-soul. But I'm honestly comfortable working in most genres as it's ALL about the song / feel.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Hard to pick one, but I would say getting the rhythm tracks to sound exciting...they are the foundation of the house (aka the mix) after all! I also specialise in getting an analogue / console sound from plugins in the box.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Hopefully my sense of taste from listening to almost every genre of music over the past 30 years! I will always out musicality first: the digital workflow is just a bunch of tools; it's what you do with them and how they serve the song and artistic vision that counts.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Listening to the reference/mix stems/DAW project (with a coffee) to get a sense of where I want to take the song. Because those first few decisions will set out the framework for the emotion and vibe of the finished master. Then I go into 'audio maid' mode and do any problem-solving: fixing before mixing.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I sold all my outboard to embrace the flexibility and instant recall of ITB mixing. I adore the analogue sound of UAD and Acustica and have tons of their plugins. Focal and Avantone monitors routes from my Apollo 8; UAD Satellite; Pro Tools and Logic with over 1000 plugins and an array of unusual software libraries and literally millions of samples (although I probably use only 50 haha).

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

A: Timbaland! His genre versatility and approach to creating the drum sounds in his head with his voice are inspiring. Johnny Marr from The Smiths for his journeyman approach to always moving forwards in his career: from 80s indie to film scoring with Hans Zimmer!

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

A: I am a finisher/mixer. In a landscape where so many talented artists do so much themselves, my job is to take the track over the finish line with additional production (could be changing parts, redoing synths, arranging etc) and then mixing the track so it's release-ready, as well as often mastering it too.