Mix, Master, Write, Sing

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on my own music as well as several client projects!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both because there's benefits to both. I love the color and capabilities of outboard elements, but I get amazing sound digitally. You need the ear, not the gear!

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

A: I will treat your song as if it were one of my own.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love music in general! It's amazing to work doing something I'm this passionate about. I love hearing an amazing mix!

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

A: Well considering there would likely be no source of electricity, it would have to be instruments. Assuming I could power it all up though, Manley cardiod mic, Chandler TG2, 1176 blackface, LA2A, Lynx Aurora. Epic vocal chain.

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

A: In 2009 I was touring as singer of the band Friday Night Fever. We did 4 US tours. I was on season 10 of American Idol. I moved to LA to continue the artist path, and it has lead to so many amazing opportunities. I started a studio in 2014 in Hollywood and been in steady business since. I've been releasing music since 2009 as Luke Mitchell.

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

A: Frank Ocean. His music was the theme when I first moved to LA. I love the artistry in his music.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Put markers on every song and label the tracks. Organization is seriously the key to finishing projects. It seems obvious, but watch how much faster you finish a song when you put markers labeled, "Verse, Pre, Hook", and so on. When you see every 8 or 16 bars divided into parts, navigating the session is much easier. Also when you bounce stems, most daws label the file whatever you named the track. Make everyone's life easier and clearly label tracks :)

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill.. Vocal mixing. I'm a singer as well, so I have a lot of practice at the Hi-Fi, pop, In Your Face vocal mix.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I'm fluent in Pro tools, Ableton, and Melodyne. I work fast but think about music like an artist. At this point I'm very quick at making tasteful creative decisions, and care most about hitting the emotion of the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It depends on the specific tasks. For mixing/mastering, the client sends me a reference mix and track stems of their song, with the same processing as the reference mix. This way I'm not completely altering the sound they were going for. We talk about the direction of the song. I mix and deliver the first master. If the client needs mix changes, I offer 1 free set of revisions.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a fully sound treated studio in a 4 room recording facility in North Hollywood. I do everything in the box. Apollo interface, White Yamaha HS8 speakers and 10" sub. Guage 87 Condenser mic.

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

A: I listen to Frank Ocean, Sza, Kehlani, Majid Jordan, and some Classics playlists on Spotify. Also some Miguel, D'Angelo and Prince from time to time.

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

A: What are your rates? A: Depends on the project. What program do you use? A: Pro Tools, Ableton, Logic, Melodyne.

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

A: MAGIC!'s latest album "Expectations". Outside of music, I build recording studios in LA. I spent most of 2017 building Nasri Atweh's (from the band Magic!), and Adam Messinger's (Justin Bieber producer) studio in Sherman Oaks. They knew me as studio designer/builder, but over the course of the 5 month build, I introduced my music side. Nasri was looking for someone to get his vocals ready for the final mix of 10 songs. I showed some of my work, and he hired me to do Vocal editing/mixing, Pitch correction, Time Aligning for the album. I'm proud of this because initially building these guy's studios, I didn't expect to work with them musically. It was a privilege to be a part of the project!

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

A: People think music making is some magic touch, when truly it comes down to patience and being thorough. Being thorough takes time. In many cases, rushing the creative process (which includes mixing as taste is the attribute that should be most sought after in this aspect) is what will lead to a mediocre product. In sessions at my studio, artists appreciate how fast I navigate the DAW and on occasion, assume it should cost less because less time was spent, but the speed didn't come over night. I'm fast because I've been doing this every day for 16 years.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I mostly need references of the sound they are going for.

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

A: Be clear with instruction/what you are looking for, and deliver files as organized as possible to ensure everything goes smoothly!

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

A: Laci Mercede if you need a female vocalist. She's amazing.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Serious and artistic. I hear the mix from multiple perspectives: artist, consumer, and business.

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

A: I work on variations of R&B, Trap, Hip Hop, Pop, Soul, Funk. But I also write for and mix some House and Edm artist/djs as well.

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

A: Mixing and Mastering are the more common tasks, but I also do a lot of Vocal and Audio editing, Tuning and Time- aligning. Some clients need help layering vocals with doubles, harmonies and ad-libs.