Mix & Master (Radio Quality)

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

A: Definitely my proudest record is "Real Life" by Toronto hip-hop producer @mxubeats. We brought in @BritneyJayy into the Hollywood studio for that one. @NuLighter sent in his vocals remotely from North Carolina. I co-produced the beat; we started it in LA and finished it in Toronto and Mexico. Haha! I did all the vocal processing, mix, and master.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A number of mix-master projects for vocal pop and hip hop producers, also mixing down some clients' work for TV and film.

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

A: The biggest misunderstanding is that there's a magic button or plugin that can fix issues with a song. Like for example clients will come to me saying, hey there's noise in the vocal can you fix that in mastering? And while some things can be improved in mastering, for other things I really need to get into the actual tracks/stems and do fine-grained editing.

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

A: Listen to their work, read their reviews, try Googling them, and make sure they are the right fit for the job.

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

A: Vocals - hip hop/trap, R&B, and pop.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Communication, communication, communication. I always start by touching base with my client, to understand what their needs are. Then I listen closely to the mix references they sent. Then I start the mix process by getting the vocals really clean, fixing any performance issues. Then finessing the next most important element which is usually the kick/808 or snare/clap. And so on. I'll test the song on a number of systems, go for walks with it on my headphones, compare it to existing commercial releases, etc. and send off to the client and see how it sounds to them.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My workflow is a combination of going into the studio and working from home. At the studio I use Yamaha NS-10s and Genelecs and at my home setup I have Yamaha HS8 monitors and Sennheiser HD650 headphones. I'm always monitoring on different systems, especially my phone and laptop speakers to make sure it translates. And who can forget the car.

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

A: Jaycen Joshua's mixes (Omarion - "Post to Be", Rae Sremmurd - "Black Beatles" and many more); Mike Dean (mix engineer and producer for Travis Scott, Kanye West); Alex Tumay (mix engineer for Young Thug, Travis Scott, 21 Savage); Noel “Gadget” Campbell, Manny Marroquin, & 40's mix for "Work"; Patrizio "Teezio" Pigliapoco's mix on "Heat" by Chris Brown; Mustard and David Pizzimenti's mix on "Ballin" by Roddy Rich; Nav's work on "Beibs in the Trap" by Travis Scott (produced, wrote, featured, and mixed); Bruce Swedien (mix engineer) and the whole Michael Jackson team on Thriller and Off The Wall; Phil Tan's engineering for Mariah Carey; Leslie Brathwaite's engineering for Lil Uzi Vert and T-Pain; Kesha Lee (mix engineer for Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, Playboi Carti); And many more...

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

A: Britney Jayy, she is a very talented writer and singer who always brings her A game to the project.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I like to work in the box because it's what I'm familiar with and I can take my rig anywhere and work remotely.

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

A: I promise to work with you to realize your vision. Client is king. PERIOD. I have no ego in this, and I will work with you to get you to 110% satisfaction.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love taking a good song and making it into a Great song. I love helping clients see their dreams through to reality by getting the song to where it needs to be, to make it sound pro and like something you'd hear on the radio or Spotify, rather than just a demo.

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

A: The most common question is, when can you have this by? And my answer is usually, it's already finished :D

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: To send a reference for how they want the mix to sound, something they really admire the sonics of.

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

A: My Macbook, Sennheiser headphones, Yamaha monitors, external hard drive with all my plugins, VSTs, and sample libraries, and cell phone for communicating with clients :)

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

A: I've been doing this for a very long time. I started with piano lessons when I was 7, then got into a children's choir that toured around and we sang for the Queen of England haha among other things. I got into producing and composing, mostly jazz piano, and hip-hop and R&B beats, but I also played drums and keyboards in rock bands and in church. I went to school for music theory (BA, MA, PhD) in Vancouver and then in upstate New York where I did a lot of DJing and producing in the house/techno warehouse scene. Then I moved to Hollywood, CA where I worked out of studios as a mix & master engineer.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: The way I see it, I'm there to take the client's vision to the next level. If they want it crisp and loud, I make it crisper and louder. If they want it lo-fi and weird, I make it more lo-fi and weirder. I accelerate whatever they are going for. Some engineers only care about their mixes sounding great on hi-fi systems. For me, I care a lot about my mixes popping on cell phones and laptops to beat the competition and since so many people (even A&R executives) are gonna be listening on small speakers these days. You never know how someone is going to find your music so it needs to slap in all circumstances. I make sure my kicks and bass will cut through on tinny systems, that it's going to be fully mono-compatible, that it's going to sound great as a 128kbps MP3. The vocals are king for me, I always start a mix with the vocals front and center and sounding amazing, unless the client specifically wants quiet or less present vocals.

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

A: Travis Scott because he always keeps it genuine, focused, and highly creative. The emotions that dude brings to the mic, and the sonics his team brings, are a huge inspiration for me.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Often, with arrangements, less is more. Especially if you're making a beat for vocals to go over later, leave space in the midrange for the vocals to really shine in the arrangement. It's as much about what you don't say as about what you do. And avoid clashing elements.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is that I'm not just an engineer, I'm a producer and songwriter myself. So I can bring to the table a musician's understanding, beyond just the technicals, to make it sound actually like great and exciting music and that fits the intended genre.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I take the song from being just a cool arrangement or amateur demo, to something that can compete in the music marketplace and sound like a radio-quality mix that is musically engaging, people respond to, and all the elements cut through clearly and really slap.

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

A: Every situation is different, but a lot of times someone will come to me with a specific problem like "my low end is too muddy" or "the vocals are too buried" and they want me to fix it. Some problems I can fix in the mastering stage, but I always explain to clients that a full mixdown is going to put the project on the best possible footing to really get all the sounds dialed in. A lot of what I do is getting the vocals sounding amazing, making sure they're all in tune and the timings are tight, really using my ear and music theory background for that. And the kick, 808, and snare which are really important in hip hop. I want it to really cut through on all playback systems. I'm a producer myself. It's music first and foremost, and I understand that you gotta have the kick tuned just right to make the beat slap, or getting a certain type of delay dialed in on the adlibs, etc.