Mixing Engineer, Editing

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

A: The proudest moment of my career has got to be the mix I did for Marigolds here in the UK. They are a Norwich based indie/emo band signed to Beth Shalom Records. I had been wanting to work with a signed artist for quite some time, but more specifically, Marigolds and Beth Shalom Records. I'm proud of this because I reached out to the band not thinking that they'd go to me, simply because they've had another great engineer on previous EP's and singles. After mixing their track, they were blown away by it and chose mine for the official release. I finally got to work with a signed band that I love and a label I admire.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently, I am working a new UK singer-songwriter - Lauren Alex Hooper and her Producer, Richard Sanderson on their new EP 'Honest' set for release at some point this year. I have edited and mixed this record. My good friend and trusted mastering engineer Luke Bredin is mastering it.

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

A: As of right now, I do not know of anyone personally. I would sure love to connect with other users though! Once I've interacted with a few people, I'm sure I'll be able to recommend.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Can I say 50/50? Personally, I don't really fuss over Analog vs Digital because if something sounds great, does it matter if it was from a hardware analogue unit or from a plugin that cost under £100? If I really had to pick only one or the other, I would say digital and that's because I work in Digital. Analogue is great, and there certainly is a sound to it, but there are fantastic advancements in digital technology that's allowing us to make great music without the overly expensive analogue gear. Again, a lot of digital plugins sound just as good as the hardware counterpart. If it sounds great, it's great.

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

A: I promise to listen to you. To understand what is in your head, your thoughts on where you want your song to go and how it should sound. My aim is to work WITH you to ensure your vision becomes a reality. You'll get a professional quality result you'll love that both you and your listeners deserve.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I LOVE waking up every day and being challenged by another person's creativity. With every project, I learn something new and overcome new challenges whilst honing my craft. What's great about working with other musicians is that I get to learn a bit about them and their journey and develop a great relationship that I would never be able to do if I wasn't in music. I love people and what they can create in their head and with their talents and skills.

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

A: Q1) "You've worked with (---) genre, are you skilled enough to work in mine?" - I get this question from time to time. YES, I can work with you. Sure, I may have more experience in other genres, I'm certain I can deliver a great result for you. Q2) "Do you record?" - No, I don't record artists at this time, I only mix. However, I do play the guitar and a bit of bass, so if you need some of that on your track, I can give that a shot. Q3) "How much do your services cost?" - Charges will vary from project to project, just give me a message and we can discuss price based on your project needs. Q4) "Do you provide mastering?" - YES, however, I provide mastering, but I outsource it to my trusted Mastering Engineer I work with closely. I focus completely on the editing and mixing. If it's something you require, let me know and we can get you sorted.

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

A: I think the biggest misconception is that I will fix peoples mistakes or make a poor recording sound just like the professional mixes we hear from our favourite producers and artists. A mentor of mine said this to me once: "Record as though there is no mixing. Mix as though there is no mastering" Essentially, in order to get amazing quality, it all starts at the source with recording. Make sure your recordings are the best quality possible and the mixing will sound great. Of course, I can clean up sounds and make some improvements, but there's only so far you can go. Great masters come from great mixes and great mixes come from great recordings.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have a vision for your project - i.e, do you know what you want. This is really important. If you know what you want, you'll be able to tell me exactly what sound you are looking for and what you are trying to say through your music. Is your project 100% ready to be mixed? - This. I've worked with some people who keep writing into the mixing period. This is not good and ends up putting us both in circles. Get your song fully recorded and produced the way you want it, then when you are 100% ready, submit it for mixing.

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

A: Find someone who really gets excited by your work. It's your art, your passion, your endless hours crafting something that's mega important to you. The least you can do is find a Producer that wants to take your song as far as it can go, a mix engineer who really understands how you want it all to fit together and a mastering engineer who knows the genre and it's necessities to make your art something that stands out. Providers should want to invest in what you do just as much as you investing in them!

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

A: 1) My ears - you can't hear music without them. 2) An interface. 3) A laptop with infinite charge ;) 4) My Ilok 5) Monitors. I mean, could you really use all these (bar the ears) on a deserted island with no electricity? Haha, but those are what I would take considering power was not a worry!

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

A: After high school, I wanted to do something in science. Science got in the way of what I really loved doing at the time and that was drumming, so after I completed high school I took up music. I went to the local college in town to study Music Technology, a level 3 BTEC course that focussed on composing, production, recording, mixing and music business. It was there that I found a love for recording and mixing. After college, I had no idea where I wanted to go, but after a gap year, I went to study Sound Engineering at the University of South Wales in Cardiff UK. Here, I really developed my love for mixing more than anything. I loved how there were so many possibilities for mixing a track. I graduated from University in 2017 and immediately set up my business from my home studio and have been providing mixing, editing and some recording since then.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm not sure how to name my 'style' per se, but the three main areas that I focus on in the mix are: 1) Vocals - This is where the story comes from. The message. I want to make sure the vocals pop out of the mix and are clear enough for the listener to engage with the song. 2) Guitars - Tone is really important. A great tone practically mixes itself, but I like to make sure the guitars are up front, especially in guitar-heavy genres. A like a wall of sound with guitars that hit you like a truck! 3) Drums - I love really punchy drums that cut through the mix. A lot of my favourite records have drums that are explosive and hit you in the chest. I pursue that sound. Ultimately, I look for impact and make sure the appropriate elements carry weight and impact, others support and some instruments provide the subtle but 'wow' factor.

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

A: There's actually quite a lot. My favourite record label is Solid State Records and one band that would be amazing to work is Demon Hunter. I found their music in 2013 and heard their record The World Is A Thorn and I had chills when listening to it, but also felt empowered by it. Their lyrics are really deep and make you think. Their riffs and drums hit hard and I love how they can blend 'Ballad' esque songs with really heavy aggressive tracks. I think that working with them, or with the producer involved most in their records would be great, because I'd learn so much from them musically and production-wise, but I'd love to really talk to them about faith, music and life in general. They are definitely some really cool people.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: De-Ess and EQ your Reverbs and Delays. These can really cloud a mix if you are not careful, so Eqing them appropriately helps in keeping the mix clear whilst still providing that depth and spaciousness you want. Too much low mid energy makes it very cluttered, and too much top end in your verbs can really accentuate 'S' and 'T' sounds in vocals. You can also make things sound more distant when playing with filters on your delays and verbs. TRY IT! De Essing before your delays and reverbs can help tame those sibilances (SSss) that can get emphasised by verb and delay.

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

A: I find myself working with Pop/Pop Rock music mostly. It keeps you on your toes when mixing other genres too!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: In terms of communication with clients, it's the listening and understanding of the artist's vision. I like to really understand what the artist wants and why. I then carry this out and deliver something that they want! In terms of mixing, I think my biggest skill is in balance. I really prioritise having everything sit together really well in a way that makes sense sonically. I'm a guitarist and drummer and sure, I love them being loud and proud, but I also enjoy them locking together and sitting in the mix with the bass guitar so that the vocals have a great foundation to work with. Whatever you have in your track, I'll get it balanced right so that the whole song can shine.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think that I bring life to a song. That probably sounds really ridiculous or big headed but honestly, I feel like I bring this alternative perspective on the song that surprises people. When I worked with Mitchel Dae on his track 'Say I'm Wrong' he was not that confident in his production and arrangement of the song. After I mixed the track he felt so much more encouraged and had a clearer idea on how he wanted the song to sound. So I like to think I bring something good to your song, maybe a few surprises that will catch you off guard but are enjoyable and add to the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Once I load the multi-tracks into my DAW, I like to listen to the sounds provided all together and get a rough balance of everything. This helps me build a picture of what the song sounds like and where it's headed. One by one, I'll check each track for anything out of place and make sure everything all good to go in mixing. Often I'll chat with the client about what their vision for the song is and get any references. I like to mix things one by one, so first I'll tackle the drums and get them sounding big, snappy and punchy. I'll move onto the Bass and mix that with the drums, making sure the low-end gels and then move onto the guitars. keys and synths and make sure these sit nicely on top of the rhythm section. Vocals are my last process once the band has been mixed. I'll go back and forth between elements as I go through, making sure it all comes together. When I've mixed it and I'm happy with what I've done, I'll send it to the artist and we will work on refining the mix so that it's exactly what they want. After all, it's their song and it's my job to bring their vision into reality.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup is pretty stripped back. I'm 100% digital, using Pro Tools 12 as my main DAW in my home studio setup. I'm a big fan of Fabfilter, Waves and iZotope plugins in my workflow, I'm especially loving the Soundtoys stuff (Decapitator is my fave)

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

A: My biggest inspiration is Jordan Valeriote (Neck Deep, Counterparts, Forevermore). I love his approach to mixing and the sound he gets in his work is phenomenal. Romesh Dodangoda (BMTH, LTA) is another inspiration for me. Love that guy's snares! On the musician front, I really love Demon Hunter and Ryan Clark is a great vocalist with great lyrical genius. I've been a huge fan of Bullet For My Valentine since my teens, so they are pretty high up for me too.

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

A: At present, I mostly do mixing work. Just recently, I mixed the latest Marigolds (UK) track Nerves.