Latin Pop Producer/Songwriter

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

A: I recently viewed a video a song of mine being sung by more than 20,000 people at the same time! One of the artists I work with has such a big following, that his fans stay outside his hotel just singing our songs hoping they will get his attention. I'm also quite proud of my own portfolio. I'm currently writing and producing 20+ songs by myself, to myself; trying to make every single one a hit so that by the end, I choose the top 5-10 to release to the public. Right now I have 5 and I already want to release them! Gotta stick to the plan though.

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

A: I work very closely with Nathalie Q. and Ani De Los Reyes. Just awesome musicians and producers on the rise!

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

A: I've been a musician since I was 8 years old. Started out playing a bunch of instruments, but I was never satisfied with playing only one. I wanted to have a one-man band and started learning as many instruments as I could since I was very small. Little did I know I was creating the building blocks for my production career. It wasn't easy though. I didn't have many resources and my parents didn't want me to be a musician so I had to practice without them knowing. I remember my first recording microphone was my RockBand USB mic haha. I recorded my voice and my acoustic guitar with that mic for around 2 years before I bought my first "real" studio microphone. I never stopped since. Always had passion and perseverance. At 17, I was fortunate enough to receive a Berklee College of Music scholarship and studied there for 4 years. After graduating, the real work started and fortunately hasn't ended yet! I'm probably never going to retire either since I don't feel this is work. I still can't believe I do this for a living!

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

A: Question: "Can I listen to a preview of what you've worked today?" Answer: Depends. It's important to leave as little as possible to the clients' imagination since they won't get the full idea. They might think the final work will end up like the demo. That's why you're hiring a music producer in the first place! That's why I don't show the client my work until it is absolutely necessary. Also, I won’t start working on the project until it’s funded and won’t deliver all of the agreed material until the job is marked as complete and the money is released.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Working on my own music as an artist with my team along with music for other signed and unsigned artists. Extremely proud of what we've done so far, but we still have a long way to go!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Why not both? I love the sound of a guitar with an electronic beat behind it. So many options when you combine both of these worlds!

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

A: I promise you'll love the final result and that we will become the best of friends!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Grooving to the end result. Knowing that you spent all this time working and making everything sound "perfect" and that even though you've listened to the track a million times, you can sit back and really enjoy your own work.

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

A: That having a hit song will ensure success. Don't get me wrong, a hit song surely helps, but without correct marketing you might as well be throwing your money to amazonian monkeys. The real challenge starts after you've made the record. Over night successes don't usually happen!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What kind of music/artists do you listen to? What kind of music do you currently play/sing? What kind of music do you want to make/sing? Which artists have influenced your style? Who is your audience? Where is your audience? What kind of image do you want to portray?

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

A: Be sure to know what you want as much as you can. I will guide you, but it's important to meditate and to envision your future and your goals before we start working together.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Very vocal inclined. I love processing and editing vocals, using EXHALE and other vocal synths. Another passion of mine is creating tight, compelling harmonies. I feel the music industry hasn't explored the human voice enough, production-wise, so I try to implement some innovative processing to everything I do.

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

A: Commercial Pop music. I love combining styles, always innovating and creating things people have never heard before. I've worked from Trap to Mexican rancheras, which turned out to be great songs!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: The first and most important thing is my first conversation with my client. I interview them as thorough as possible to figure out what they want. I know it's hard to express yourself if you haven't produced music, so a lot of times my clients discover things they actually wanted without knowing they wanted it in the first place! Second in the list is either songwriting or beat-making. If I start with songwriting, I normally write from 2-3 songs with the client and/or my peers and then choose the best one out of the songs written. I strongly believe that without a great composition the whole record can crumble, so this is why I concentrate so much effort in the songwriting stage. After songwriting, the production stage begins. This is where I would record all instruments and, if the client is working with me remotely, I would record guided vocals so that the singer would know exactly what to do in the studio. However, different songs have different processes, so I might start with the beat if the style requires it (Hip-hop, Trap, some Reggaeton and some others). I would create a basic beat, write 2-3 melodies an lyrics over it, and then complete the production process if this were the case. Next is the mixing process. I would deliver the mix engineer a "producer's mix" and give him specific guidelines and song references to make it sound as best as possible. This stage is important, so I'm very good at negotiating revisions with the engineer until the mix turns out sounding the way the client and I want it to sound. I normally go with keywords like dynamic, pumping, smooth and not harsh, and engaging. Finally comes the mastering stage, where I apply a similar process as the mixing stage. The only difference is that it has to sound impecable in every sound system! I don't agree with the "volume war", but I do think the song needs to be as loud as it can without loosing it's pump and quality (this last part's important).

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I've always been a room acoustics geek. Studied it in school and applied it to my own home studio. I also do some consulting for other producers/engineers who want to treat their own home or professional studios. My studio has all the instruments and equipment I need, ranging from all sorts of guitars, percussion instruments, folk instruments, and synthesizers. The only instrument I don't have is a drum set since most of the music I create has programmed drums. However, I have access to state-of-the-art studios in case the project needs a real drum set.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Innovation. One of my main purposes when making a record is to always implement either a sound, a lyric or a melody that no one has heard before. I love combining new technology with acoustic/real instruments as well.

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

A: My main type of work is songwriting, instrumental/vocal production and full project supervision. Many projects can have incredible songwriting, impecable production, but terrible mixing/mastering. One wrong decision or person can ruin everyone else's work if wrongfully supervised. That's why my main passion is getting a record to sound incredible, all the way from the first melody note to the mastering process. I'm also a strong believer that teamwork is essential, so I have a very efficient team of grammy nominated engineers, songwriters and producers who will make my clients' record shine. I do the legwork of choosing the right team for my clients, so they don't have to. I feel it's better this way as well, since too many leaders can lead to conflicting ideas, ultimately resulting in a deviated and imprecise project.

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

A: Probably a knife, a flare, a guitar, and a boat.. haha!

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

A: It would probably be Rosalía. She's quite new in the industry, but she shows how flexible she can be towards music. She also seems to enjoy being in the studio more than anything... Same as me!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Surround yourself with great songwriters. Bad song + great production = bad record.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Perseverance. If I don't have a hit, I won't turn it in. I'll start from scratch if I have to. I also never turn in things late so another skill is time management. I always make sure I give myself a few days to really listen and process my work before I turn it in.

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

A: Max Martin, Benny Blanco, all the Major Lazer guys, Mauricio Rengifo, Andres Torres, John Mayer, Quincy Jones too many to count!