Stevan Krakovic on SoundBetter

I am a Sound Engineer and Music Producer operating from my own studio in North London and can look back at a 15 year career in the industry. While originally coming from a Hip-Hop and electronic music background (despite a classical music education) I now work mainly in alternative rock, folk and cabaret. Apart from producing I do a lot of mixing.

I often like to take a very classic approach to production: Working closely with the artists to get the songs and arrangements perfect and the band tightly rehearsed, to be able to go to the studio and capture great performances and emotion in beautiful sounding spaces. At other times modern production, layering sounds and studio experimentation are more appropriate and I will do whatever the artistic vision requires.

I also enjoy recording on location (much of Wolf People’s „Fain“ album was recorded with a mobile setup in an old gatehouse near the Yorkshire Dales) as well as old school recording (all live in a room with no headphones & no overdubs) such as the legendary London folk & jazz collective Whiskey Moon Face’s album, which I recorded.

Longstanding friendships with the bands Tom Mansi & the Icebreakers and Wolf People led me to work on many of their records as well as working on various side projects, such as numerous successful library albums for Boosey & Hawkes.

Through another long term collaborator, musical director Michael Roulston, I also worked with some of London’s finest cabaret acts, including Polly Rae, Dusty Limits, Champagne Charlie & Tricity Vogue.

I was nominated and shortlisted for „Breakthrough Engineer of the Year“ in the MPG Awards 2011 and „Breakthrough Producer of the Year“ in the MPG Awards 2012.

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Stevan Krakovic

Wolf People
Wolf People

Reviews (15)

Endorse Stevan Krakovic

by Hersh
Verified
Stevan was super accommodating and patient guiding me through the process never having done it before and needing a hip hop style backing track building up from scratch...

He was tireless in his energy and kept going as if it was his own even when I was lagging!
by Matthew S.
Verified
Timely, professional and excellent results. It was a pleasure working with Stevan.
by Sue S.
Verified
Its always a pleasure to work with Stevan, he has an eagerness to identify what you want achieve and works with you to get there. That comes from a centre of caring about the client, not just the job. So all thumbs up from me.
by Bruce C.
Verified
Stevan is a treat to work with. He genuinely cares about the final product and if you are satisfied. He gets into the mix and treats it as his own. Would recommend!
by Ryan A.
Verified
I was quite impressed, He took time and devotion for my project, Stevan didn't complain when it came to review the tune few times until we had the perfect result...He definitely knows what to do once he hears a track ....(Effect + pitch correction for my vocal)(made that all the instruments breathe & shine).He's patient, Loves is Job and affordabl
by Sue S.
Verified
'Over the moon' with the engineering and mastering on my second track with Stevan. Great job !
by Sue S.
Stevan is a total professional, Polite, friendly and creative & cares greatly about the artists vision. So makes an outstanding collaboration of Artist & Engineer. He is insightful, patient and a highly skilled. I am 'over the moon' with his work, his ideas and the results - Fabulous !!! Highly recommend and look forward to working with him again.
by Tom Carradine
I've had the joy of working with Stevan on two albums and have been very impressed with his work. On my live album his perfect choice of microphones and their placement meant that we captured a beautiful recording with very little to be tweaked in the final mix. His attention to detail is second to none. I couldn't recommend him more highly.
by Dusty Limits
It was such a pleasure to work with Stevan, especially as I didn't have a huge amount of studio experience. He is utterly professional, friendly, patient and focused. The finished product sounds glorious. I can't recommend him highly enough.
by Champagne Charlie
Stevan is a joy. Highly skilled & professional, he is very patient & organised. He brings calm to the studio, having a positive effect on everyone else. He also has a great sense of humour. He has a great ear and is very good at suggesting ideas & ways of trying stuff, alway ending with a brilliant result. I am over joyed with the finished album.
by Tom Mansi
Stevan's knowledge of microphones and their placement, room acoustics and the ability to get the maximum out of the equipment available has made recording with him a first class experience. Constantly experimenting to increase his already substantial palette he is never afraid to accommodate another’s opinion, focusing on achieving the best results
by Tom Watt
I've had the pleasure of working with Stevan a few times on some very different projects and it's always been a pleasure. He has a very well organised way of working and a precise approach to jobs but above all he has a great ear for it and a very relaxed and patient attitude.
by Jack Sharp
Stevan is everything you'd want from an engineer and producer. He's hugely professional, hard working and knowledgeable, but most importantly he's really good fun to be around. I've worked with Stevan on and off for years, and you always know that sessions are going to go just right, and that everyone involved is going to enjoy themselves.
by Polly Rae
I had such a great experience working with Stevan on several tracks for my show, I found him extremely professional, reliable, easy to work with and the work he delivered was of the highest standard. I really hope we get to work together again in the future!
by Danny Toeman
Stevan is a great producer to work with; friendly and professional. He has a superb knowledge of all the vintage and up-to-date studio equipment in his studio, and he definitely knows, as a producer, how to get a great performance out of an artist. He is also connected to lots of talented session players, which is very useful for any project.

Interview with Stevan Krakovic

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I am especially proud of the the Whiskey Moon Face album, as my partner Rory and I somehow managed to capture their amazing free spirits and managed to make an album and EP in less than three days, which sound beautiful and are true to their sound. That is more their work than mine really, as they are such amazing players but I am still proud of it and listen to it regularly:-)
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I am currently working on an album with up and coming UK folk artist Pepe Belmonte.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: While analogue sounds great if done right, digital does as well (if done right) and is cheaper and easier to run and more flexible. While I unashamedly work on digital only I make sure I use the best mics, pre's and compressors on the way in and most importantly the best musicians with good instruments in a good sounding room... If you get it right at source, digital will capture it and you have a winner! It is all about the song, musicians, room and instruments!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Working with a wide range of different and interesting people and helping them make great music!
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: It might sound a bit obvious but I would probably take my U47, 1176, Rupert Neve preamps and my lovely old Fender Twin.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been doing this for almost 15 years now!
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: It changed over the years. At the moment I do a lot of alternative rock, folk and cabaret, but I am also quite known to have worked in UK and German underground Hip-Hop and electronic music as well as Jazz and film soundtracks.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Listening to and artist and help them make the strongest record possible by helping them using their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. I have plenty of great musicians to call upon to help artists get the sound they want on their record, ideally using real players.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My main recording setup is a beautiful sounding room with wooden floor and various diffusors that make for lively and massive sounding drums and string sections and it fits a full band, with amps in the room or the adjacent isolation areas, of which there are three. We have a large selection of vintage drum kits, amps, vintage and new microphones, preamps and compressors and record straight into Pro Tools HD, which we also use to monitor from, thanks to it's almost negligible latency.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: There are so many amazing people out there! I am lucky enough to have worked with Tony Platt (AC/DC, Bob Marley, Bad Plus) and Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Einstürzende Neubauten, Young Dreams), both of which I consider friends, mentors, gurus and personal heroes! Apart from that I am a big fan of Bob Dylan. Creedence Clearwater Revival, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Rudy Van Gelder, Jack White, Beethoven, Bach, Shostakovich, Queens of the Stone Age, Snoop Dog, Dr Dre, the Wu-Tang Clan, Massive Töne, David Bowie, NIN, Nick Cave, Portishead, Tricky, Roni Size, Adam F & Aphex Twin also had a big influences on me in no particular order;-)
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: It depends on the job, sometimes it is more recording, sometimes mainly mixing and sometimes full on producing, be it as a traditional music producer or as a co-writer.

Danny Toeman "Layin' It On The Line"

I was the producer, recording engineer, mixer in this production

Dusty Limits "Silhouette Town"

I was the mix engineer in this production

Tom Mansi & The Icebreakers "Year As A Ghost"

I was the co-producer, recording engineer, mixer in this production

Tom Mansi & The Icebreakers "Heartbreak Hooligan"

I was the co-producer, recording engineer, mixer in this production

Mixing EngineersContact for pricing
Recording StudiosAverage price - $450 per day
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Mastering EngineersContact for pricing
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When mixing I do as many revisions as necessary (within reason) until the artist is happy with the final results, as there I see no point if the artist is not satisfied.