Arend Lee Jessurun on SoundBetter

I work with singer-songwriters, specializing in the genres of folk, rock, and pop. In recording sessions, I bring my expertise as a vocal coach to get the best take from vocalists. I give meticulous care and attention to each of my mixing and mastering projects so you can have a product you believe in.

Pleased to meet you! I’m Arend (pronounced AIR•end). I'm a full-time music professional in LA.

Since playing around on GarageBand in high school, I have loved working in audio and trying to approximate the sounds of classic records. In those days I would record and mix my friends' music. I'm incredibly fortunate to now get to do this professionally.

I am passionate about home recording and the capabilities indie musicians now have thanks to modern technology. With my tools and know-how, I can to help you get your home recording sounding ready for distribution to Spotify and elsewhere.

I love getting others' music heard, and I love working with songwriters especially. Though I have a soft spot for folk music, I also have clients I work with in the rock and pop genres.

Please read more about me and my process in the "Interview" section.

I have a few other skills which aid me as producer, and these include:
• A degree in vocal performance (I help with technique and coaching)
• Composition (string/horn/vox arrangements, etc.)
• Sheet music engraving (lead sheets and whatnot)

I love to see others' projects come to life, and I'd love to have to joy of working with you on your music!

Send me a note through the contact button above.

Languages

English

6 Reviews

Endorse Arend Lee Jessurun

by Em
Verified
Arend was an absolute doll to work with.. I'm not the conventional type of musician understanding music theory and Arend was there with a humble heart and helpful spirit to guide me along the way.. he showed me several different versions and his knowledge of chord structure and his domain of folk singer/songwriter is just beautiful and professional. I loved working with him and I'd do it all over again.. a beautiful experience that brought my song to life.
by Ramsey Lee
I was lucky to work with Arend on a single that was very near and dear to my heart, and I couldn't be happier with the results! Arend was a dream collaborator; patient, kind, communicative, open-minded and flexible. They did an incredible job making sure we were aligned on the artistic vision throughout the process, so I always felt trust that the final product would be beautiful. I would highly recommend working with Arend!
by Aria Liang
Arend assisted me in producing and mixing my first single, and I couldn't be more grateful for his patience and expertise in working with a novice. His ability to make the entire process less intimidating significantly alleviated my anxiety about bringing my vision to life for the first time. The experience was both enjoyable and efficient, with ideas continuously flowing as we worked together. If you are a musician starting out and seeking someone to help produce your first project, Arend is an exceptional choice!
by Mark Mekailian
You'll find that working with Arend is such a charm, because they are a good listener, has valuable input, is truly skilled and capable of meeting a project's needs, and is above all kind. I've known Arend for 3 years now, and have had the pleasure of getting to work with them from time to time. Arend proves consistent in all of their beautiful qualities and abilities, and has truly only ripened over time. I trust Arend to be a good student of any project, being prepared and open minded.
by Mina P Bloom
Arend mixed and mastered our latest track and they did a fabulous job! All revision notes were met with enthusiasm and creativity. They worked fast, diligently and brought out elements of the track I never even thought of it. It sounds FIRE! Highly recommend working with this lovely human and can't wait for them to mix my next track!
by Elaine Lay
Arend helped me record a demo of an acoustic ballad a while back. With a chord sheet & 2 run-thru’s, he played & recorded the guitar parts (1-2takes? Impressive) & had me sing over it. Recording can sometimes take forever if you’re working with the wrong people, but it only took 2 hours to nail the demo from scratch.
He later sent me the completed version. The sound was incredible. He managed to make my manly voice sound feminine with his great mixing. And have you heard his song “Wishful Thinking”? The sound speaks for itself: Arend is your go-to acoustic guy. Seriously.

Interview with Arend Lee Jessurun

Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm producing and mixing a folk duo's debut album, playing supporting guitar and singing BGV on another folk artist's debut album, and producing and mixing my own concept album.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog saturation is unbeatable, but with proper gain-staging, oversampling, and an analog-style workflow, you can achieve that same vibe with all the benefits and ease of digital audio.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise to be kind, supportive, and passionate about making your music sound as best as I know how.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love the immediate feedback of tweaking knobs and getting the sounds I want. Making music that is pleasing to listen to in real-time is an amazing feeling.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Communicating your needs, wants, and must-haves makes the process easy and happy for each party.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A Macbook running Logic Pro X, a Scarlett, an acoustic guitar, and an Electro-Voice RE20.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been recording and engineering records since 2018. I'm a full-time professional musician cultivating a career as a producer and singer-songwriter.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: As you develop your ear, using a loudness-matched reference song (preferably WAV or another uncompressed format) is your best guide in the mixing process.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: My music theory education has helped me immensely not just in production, but also in engineering. Having ear-training as a performer has fed back into my ear-training as an engineer, and vice-versa.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I love to bring warmth and glue to a song. My sonic aesthetic is influenced greatly by classic 60s and 70s records.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I like to begin by importing a reference track. This is often a mix that the client likes. My goal is to create a mix that sounds good beside the reference. Once all the tracks are imported, I begin gain-staging. If there's any audio repair or subtractive EQ needed, I will do that too. Next, I like to emulate an analog processing chain of preamps, consoles, tape, etc. At this stage, I make sure each track has the general sonic characteristic I'd like. From there, I create and gain-stage several busses until I've got a good rough mix and level hitting the stereo buss, making sure nothing is hitting my plugins too hot. Now that I've got a rough mix, I use a top-down mixing approach, processing the busses in broad strokes with EQ, compression, and saturation, eventually working my way down to individual tracks. I like to start with the rhythm section: drums, bass, guitar and/or other accompaniment instruments. Once I've processed the instruments, I will process the vocals. At this point, I do more stereo buss processing. This usually involves master EQ, compression, tape, and anything else needed to enliven the song. If I'm also mastering the song, I will then bounce the mix and import it into a new session for mastering.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I'm a home producer, working within Logic Pro X. My room is acoustically treated for good EQ results. I like to use KRKs for my monitoring.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Some of my favorite producers/engineers/musicians are Richard Swift, Tom Schick, Nigel Godrich, Sufjan Stevens, Charlie Peacock.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I do most commonly do mixing, mastering, and production for clients.