King Karnov is an music producer based out of Minneapolis. He has creates production with a mixture of live instrumentation, synth, and samples for a wide variety of artists including Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Little Brother, KRS-One, Raekwon and more. He's also created music for various video games, films, and television media outlets.
As a music producer it is about creating a sound that fits the artist the best, and that can take,,(in my book) as long as it need to take. I really care about music, have been involved in music since 8 years old and really enjoy working with the artist to create a masterpiece. Whether its me infront of a piano, drum set or guitar, i want to embody what the artist wants to convey in his/her creative space. That allows me as the producer to use my many years of knowledge to create the track, provide instrumentation for the track, and coach the artist from the console so that it translate very well to the artist's audience.
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Credits
AllMusic verified credits for King KarnovInterview with KXNG KARNOV
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Well, my first commercial placement in 09' for Busta Rhymes. It was a song called We Want In from his album named B.O.M.B. I was in my college final when he called to lemme know how the mixing on the song was going. It was definitely a proud moment to see my name in the liner credits. I grew up waiting to get home with a CD just to see who produced it so to see that and see my name in the Source for producers on the mic rating section was crazy. Definitely a proud moment
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Im working on a instrumental project, a album featuring artists, various artist's in the Cali area, and various 3rd and 4th quarter releases.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Jeff Ellis, is a dear friend of mines and great mixer. He is a excellent guy and great on making your sound very elite.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog and Digital. Its nothing wrong routing a memory moog into a Apollo interface, its a great sound.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: That I will work very hard to help them get closer to the goal they have set for the musical aspirations or for their project.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: That i get to live my dream and create music allday. I use to work a regular job and i just knew it was not for me so i really appreciate that I'm not wasting my life working a job i do not like.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can you leave tracks upon meeting, and (most times) the answer is no.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That its oversaturated, which can be true at some points, but if you expand your horizons sonically and creatively you can create your own lane
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I want to hear their music, then I ask what the vision is that they may have for a project. This gives me an idea of what they are looking for sonically.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: That there are many ways to utilize my services and that I work really hard to achieve the sound that i desire on a daily basis.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Macbook Pro with the DAW and plugins of my choice, my Oddball King Bass, Mpk Mini, Oddball, Kingcaster, and a couple 3 tera byte drives for storage
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been producing professionally since 2005, but have been creating music since 8 years old
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I would say that i have no set sound or style but is very interested in cool sonic beds or cool synth patches and chord melodies. Also interesting drums arrangement is something i love to create within the song.I love live instrumentation and use it in every track whether its guitar, bass, piano, organ, drums, or percussion
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would work with the artist who is willing to allow me or trust me (if you will) to take their talent and fully create a new sound different than anything they may have done, not taking away from the sound that their fans may be use to.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Just learn as many DAW's as you can. Don't just use a software or machine because your favorite producer does. That can really limit you. Create without limits and try to learn as much as you can.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: It varies,,lol once again. I work on everything from R and B, Hip Hop, Piano Ballads, EDM, Dance, Neo Soul, video game sound beds and etc.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I think my strongest skill is knowing how to blend in many music environments, and not being scared to take risks for the sake of the song. Adding many elements, or staying minimal to provide a different feeling in a track.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Again this varies from song to song, but usually i like to be like a swiss army knife when it comes to a song where I can be there in a multifaceted sense or i can be there for just the production. Even sometime after the song is done the writer may come up with a concept for the lyrics but what i may see what he or she brings to the table and ill supplement to it with my element. Or I can create the music, create the instrumentation from the foundation up, create the lyrics and chorus and just have the top liner prep the track for the artist
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: It varies from track to track but i think that is my process that I usually work off of feeling or what the artist is in need of that i work with. It can be a movie, or even me just playing chords on my guitar. After the initial idea comes, ill build around the idea and move on to the next idea very very quickly. I also work very fast so i get a lot of music and instrumentation done.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Well I work mainly on my lap top with my DAW of choice of the time, a lot of great synths (moogs, korg synths ) guitars, and basses.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Im influenced by James Brown, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, (they are super awesome and Minnesota) Dr. Dre (is a master at the work he does and is a inspiration), J.Dilla (he is definitely the master), Dj-Hitek (has a great influence on me and i enjoy his work), Hans Zimmer, (for his excellent scoring work) The type of production i like is 60/70's rock, 70's soul, 80's r and b, 90's r and b and hip hop.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Music Production Which includes: Track creation with live instrumentation and programming done by myself most of the time, Track editing with effects and then, after the tracks are done i collaborate with the artist or a top liner who i help with the writing. If the artist/writer is experience i usually coach the artist through the recording process of the demo/reference. I always make sure my products are top quality.
I was the Music Producer/Musician in this production
- ProducerContact for pricing
- Beat MakerContact for pricing
- Game AudioAverage price - $700 per day
- Live drum trackAverage price - $150 per song
- Keyboards - SynthAverage price - $300 per song
- Electric GuitarAverage price - $200 per song
- Bass ElectricAverage price - $300 per song
for request of Terms of Service please email kingkarnovbeats@gmail.com
