Pop Producer / Mix Engineer

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

A: You get what you pay for. If you've never hired anyone remotely before, know that people who charge tiny amounts generally do a mediocre job because they can't afford to spend time on the small details. My prices may seem expensive but they adequately reflect the work that I put into it as well as the quality of the end product.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on some of my own music, taking my sweet old time.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog when possible. It just sounds so much more natural.

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

A: I will do my best to go above and beyond your expectations. If you promise to provide ample communication, I will get your work done in a timely manner.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are your inspirations? Do you have any reference music? What is the general vibe you are going for?

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

A: UAD Apollo Twin (best portable interface), Keyscape (its a plugin, but whatever I'm a piano player), HS8's (for reference), La-2a (best compressor for vocals hands down), AKG c414 (jack of all trades mic, they work on everything)

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

A: This is it right here. I went to school at University of the Arts to get my Bachelor of Science in Music Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology so that I could learn as much as I could from industry professionals.

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

A: Lights. She has a fantastic voice and her songwriting is really solid and varied.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Use your ears! Turn off the visualizer and don't get distracted from those "analogue" looking UI's. If it sounds good, then it is good.

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

A: I typically work on all forms of pop as well as EDM, but for mixing, I've worked in all sorts of genres ranging from rap to folk music and everything in between.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Melody writing. I've always had a knack for it. I can write ear-worm melodies in my sleep.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring memorable melodies, feel-good vibes, and arrangement complexity.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I produce, I like to focus on the core elements of the song first. Melody and feeling. When a song isn't nailing these two, its a bad song. Period. Once I get a great foundation, I work outward, making sure that the whole arrangement reflects the chorus (or chorus-functioning part).

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I'm rocking a humble but powerful setup. I use a UAD apollo twin for my interface with Yamaha HS8's as my main monitors. I have an AKG C214 that I mostly use for my vocals (it sounds great on my voice). When I need to due more heavy-handed recordings, I have regular access to a full recording studio.

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

A: One of my biggest influences was Avicii. I loved his incredible variety when it came to genre combinations and songwriting. Charlie Puth is another artist I've come to appreciate. He just has an insane sense of melody and really knows how to make a fantastic song.