Top tier mixing & mastering

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Hybrid. Both have their pros and their cons but mostly I feel like the best way to work is to chose what's appropriate for the project.

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

A: I will put my absolute all into achieving the goals we set out for your project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Working with a diverse range of styles, abilities and ideas! I am forever in awe of ideas that come from clients. There's no such thing as a bad idea! and I love exploring and experimenting with them. Even if we don't use that idea in the end record, it's a fun process and still goes into the making of it somehow. And hey, this is supposed to be fun right?

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you looking to achieve? How many songs are you looking to work on? What instruments are involved Do you have sounds in mind already? Do you have ideas / reference tracks for those sounds? Do you have a budget in mind?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Forget the gear. It's all about the song.

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

A: Currently it's a healthy mix of alternative and hip hop.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Listening. Both from a musical point of view and as a recording engineer; the best performances - and ultimately records - come from musicians who feel comfortable so this is always the first thing on my mind whether at the studio or via online conversations with remote work.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: First and foremost I'm here to serve the song, so I'll bring my listening experience, firstly as a music lover to feel what is trying to be conveyed. From here my engineer experience will be able to translate that into certain moves to improve and/or balance things to help convey this emotion best. Being a musician I can bring a lot of imagination and creativity to a song, but only when asked. I learned early on in my career never to impose an opinion or idea of where a song should go unless asked. Sometimes my job is purely to balance what's already there in the best way to let the message come through.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Before any sessions begin I like to chat with the client via email or phone to clarify what they want to achieve and make sure we book the right amount of time to do it comfortably. With recording day sessions we'll usually get acquainted while setting up, grab some tea/coffee and discuss the day's tasks. I'll draw up a rough plan on a notepad and work to it in the background. I always try to keep this away from the client so they can just focus on being as creative and productive as possible. For mixing and mastering sessions, which are often remote (especially during the pandemic!) we'll discuss the project as above, and I'll work away - usually in segments to keep as much objectivity as possible - and send a first version over once I'm happy with it. This will also include time listening back on various systems too. If a second revision is needed, I'll ask the client to send as much info as possible and make sure I understand what they need. Usually from here we're looking at minor tweaks which we can send back and forth very quickly and finish up in good time.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: 32 channel Analogue desk + tube and class A preamps into a MOTU 24 io soundcard all via firewire to a Mac Pro running Logic Pro X. Logic is my DAW of choice for workflow. I love it because it's everything in one package and doesn't get in the way of the creativity. In fact it's easy to stay creative which is an absolute must!

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

A: Steve Albini is always a go-to if I want to check my values as an engineer and studio manager.

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

A: Recording, mixing, mastering for bands, singers, rappers, podcasts. Creative music production which can often include playing instruments, suggesting ideas for sounds / textures / arrangements. Sometimes some pitch / timing correction (only if needed and/or asked for).