Producer - Mixer - Arranger

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

A: I am still very proud of the song 'Re: Anne' by Charlie Raphael-Campbell, which is still my primary audio example. I had a clear idea in my mind of how the song should be arranged and the end result entirely exceeded my expectations and delighted the client.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently working on a song for Emily Mercer, a talented singer-songwriter based in Manchester. We are looking at giving her a slightly more aggressive and impassioned sound with this new track in order to broaden the scope of her work. It's been going very well.

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

A: Russell Cottier is another talented Record Producer and an all round great chap.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I really don't mind - the idea and the performance are the most important things. They're the things that people remember.

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

A: Though we can go in many different directions throughout the course of a production, I always promise that they will still sound like them at the end of it all, and that their personality will shine through.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I just love that you can take a song, whether it be written on a piano or guitar, or a sketch in a DAW, and make it into something truly exceptional that we can all enjoy, and perhaps bring enjoyment to others on release.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Firstly I would have a discovery meeting with the client to find out about what they want to achieve with the project. Then I would attend rehearsals where we would audition and potentially rearrange and rewrite songs to fit our shared goals. Along side this I would set up a shared Spotify playlist where we can post tracks that influence the sound of the project - it's quite a fun exercise and helps to break the ice and see where we are musically. I would then record live or basic demos to take with us into the studio. We would either work in a commercial studio, at my home, or at a location of the client's choice. I enjoy location recording as I find it very inspiring in addition to capturing unique and unusual sounds. I work in a variety of ways depending on the nature of the project, whether people record together live or on an individual basis. I would then edit and compile the best takes from the sessions and prepare for mix down.

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

A: I would love to work with HAIM, mainly because I think that they are an exceptional live band, and I feel that their recordings don't reflect this fact too well. I would love to strip back their sound and really highlight their skills as musicians.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If something isn't working in the mix, it is usually an arrangement issue.

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

A: I like to work in the broad area of rock and pop music, though I like elements of folk, jazz and electronica. I'm not a believer in the advent of the sub genre as I feel this has led to music being strangled of its creativity in recent decades. I think that fusing broad styles helps artists stand out from the crowd and create new trends.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I like to think about the big picture, whether it is a song or a whole album, and then analyse each element in detail. I think this just allows the client to just be themselves and they can leave all the technical and tedious tasks to me.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to make sure that I can make a client's song the best it can possibly be and also stand out from the crowd. Whether this necessitates a change in structure, melody etc. is determined on an individual basis. Every project is an exploration, which makes it all the more fun.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Currently I have a fairly simple setup, centred around my iMac and Apollo 16 interface running Unity Rock mkII monitors. However I have recently acquired an MTA 980 32 channel console and hope to install it in a new studio space in the near future.

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

A: There are too many to mention, though I admire the production work of Hugh Padgham, Greg Penny, Kevin Shirley and more recently Rich Costey and John Congleton.

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

A: I tend to partake in full production work for my clients, though I also do mixing, editing and string & brass arrangements.

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

A: Hmmm, not sure whether I get commonly asked questions that much. Musicians can all be completely different and have varying concerns and needs. This is why a discovery meeting is essential, as it helps me understand where the client is coming from, both musically and personally.

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

A: I think people think I just set things up and press record. There's so much more to the job and I'm heavily invested in every piece of work that I do. Producing music with someone is true collaboration and the recorded work should be something we are all proud of.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I would ask what it is about them that makes them stand out from the crowd - this can be very important when it comes to the approach we take. I would also ask what they wanted to achieve with the project - this set our goals straight away and tells me what kind of a task this is.

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

A: I would make sure that the songs/music that you want to record is the very best it can be. Finishing a recorded work should still feel special, even in the world of streaming and social media.

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

A: I'm not particularly a gear head, but if I had to choose, maybe my laptop, an interface, a decent mic (U47?) a 1073 pre amp and a decent pair of Monitors (Neumann or Unity Audio). That's all you need really, though I don't know what good they'd do on a desert island, does it have power or adequate air conditioning?!!

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

A: I've been Producing for about 15 years, however I did take a detour through composing music for film for a few years. This definitely helped my arranging skills and time management.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would say my style involves the music being punchy, melodic and with strong contrast of textures and dynamics.