Mixing, Production, Drums

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

A: I really wanna see how Björk crafts a song!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Working too long will hurt your productions so you should be taking notes and following them to move quickly. You will never lose sense of the bigger picture if you keep your notes and you will actually save a lot of time.

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

A: On any given day, you might find me listening to Ariana Grande, Meshuggah and Bill Evans. As a mix engineer, producer and drummer I have worked with metal bands, folk singer-songwriters, jazz big bands, symphony orchestras and electronic musicians. That being said, in the recent years, I've found myself working more and more with indie musicians.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I think listening is my strongest skill. As an engineer, I find that the least I participate, the better the outcome will be. This is especially true in a recording context. Too many producers try to force their styles and ideas on their clients instead of just listening and doing what needs to be done.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: First of all, I bring a different perspective. I find that the more time you spent writing and producing a song, the least perspective you have. You finally reach a point where you don't know what you are doing and this is where I come into play. I will enhance the strengths of your song while minimizing the weaknesses, add more character to your vocals, get more punch out of your drums.

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

A: Most people reach out to me for my mixing services. I am the last guard before my client's creation reaches the world and my only goal is to make sure the song has the impact desired. Additionally, I play drums in several bands and am often requested as a session musician.

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

A: I'm a big fan of Tom Elmhirst. The amount of bass and warmth he's able to put into a mix is incredible. He's got this huge, dramatic sound especially working with bands such as The Kills. I also love Ken Andrews (and his band Failure) for his creative sound design.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: The first step is to listen to my clients and to the references they provide. I will first take lengthy notes on the rough mix which will help me work efficiently. Then I will make sure to communicate with my clients throughout the whole process and doing revisions as needed until the song is perfect!

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

A: I learned by experimenting with a little bedroom setup when I was a teenager, started recording and mixing local bands that I played drums in. Went to school so I could expand my knowledge and started doing it more and more professionally.

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

A: An sm57, a UA interface, a laptop, a decent pair of speakers and a decent pair of headphones

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

A: Make sure to send me plenty of commercial references and a rough mix so we both go into the same direction!

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

A: Mixing can be quite a mysterious process, most people don't understand than it can take 15 hours to achieve a great mix.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Taking somebody's idea to the next level!

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

A: I will do everything I can to make my clients happy with the final product.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Mostly digital, for the simplicity of "recalls" and consistency but I'm never against a little bit of analog processing.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Assisting and engineering for different producers, freelance mixing, teaching and playing shows around New York City.