Producer, Musician & Engineer

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I grew up on analog... analog synthesizers, analog tape. But I also love digital. So both.

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

A: That I will them an amazing sounding recording of a greatly worked song.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The creation! The chaos of ideas brought together onto coherent form.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Mainly, after listening to either the artist singing acapella or the demo of the song we are going to work with, I tend to ask: Ok, so where do you want to go from there?... and when we are recording I ask them:"Please tell me your story"...

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Keep it simple, less is more and let the song dictate what it wants and needs.

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

A: I have done almost every kind of genre. Now, I usually work within the alternative sound, whether is Alternative Pop, Alternative Rock, Alternative Urban. Anything outside the normal, outside the usual, is my favorite.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Being able to identify and translate to music, onto a final music arrangement (to some known as "beat") what the artist is wishing the song to sound like and be.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: To a song I bring what the song is asking for, from emotion, strength, beat, either subtleness or aggressiveness, and make sure the atmosphere of the song, the soul of the song becomes present.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My focus is on the song. I start brainstorming with the artist, learning about the artist's vision, what the artist wants to express. The song's lyrics are super important and highly influential for capturing the emotion of the song as while you are listening to the lyrics you are learning a story, like a movie scene, and that dictates the mood, emotion, instruments and tempo of the song. From there everything is wide open to find what the song is asking for and being connected to the artist's sound and integrity.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Well, my studio set up is centered on Steingberg's Cubase 11 as DAW, with DSP plug-ins from Universal Audio UAD-2 processors, Slate Digital, Softube, TC Electronic, Plugin Alliance, Waves and many other assorted processors. Virtual instruments from UVI, Applied Acoustic Systems, Arturia - all of which are arguably the best virtual instruments around, together with a vast array of virtual instruments from Roland, Korg and others. Along with these I have a collection of Roland hardware synthesizers, several keyboard controllers and control surfaces including Softube's Console 1 and Console 1 Fader. Mic pre-amp is handled by a Groove Tubes ViPre and another pair of vintage pre-amps together with a collection of microphones covering 30 years of mics, along with 2 digital 8 channel pre-amps. At the center of the studio is a Mac Pro Quad Core with 17TB of HD and 64 GB of RAM and MOTU audio interfaces. The studio monitors are ADAM, behritone and Yamaha.

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

A: What I'm mainly sought for is for music production - covering from song selection, musical arrangements, programming, performance, recording and mixing. There some projects which need me to work post-production and mixing for. Also part of my work entails handling A&R duties, keyboard sessions and co-writing with the artists.

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

A: Its ironic... I studied film production in college. I fell in love with movies at an early age and right around the same time I started piano lessons and music theory. Music has been essential in films since the beginning of the "Talkies". And music is one of the things I love the most about films as well. And while in college, in order to pay my expenses, I used work as a session player and work in different studios all over. I have been professionally playing and part of the music industry for 33 years.

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

A: There are several misconceptions about what a record producer/music producer does. First, someone who programs beats is not a record producer or a music producer. It takes so much more than that. There are so many details and elements that have to be attended and handled that go far beyond doing a beat. Second, record producers can enhance greatness but we are not alchemists. If there is no great songwriting, if there is no performance with the feeling, energy and vibe needed, don't expect the record producer to bring that in. We do not carry a bag with little magical potions to make that happen. That's where the greatness of the artist comes in. What we do is make sure that such greatness is enhanced 100 times over. And third, songs and productions do not happen all in an hour. It takes time to make great music. Don't expect to have immediate results. That is a false expectation. It all goes through a process. Instant gratification only applies to social media, and its not real.

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

A: Wide range of influences, a bit too long to mention. But main influences come from Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Ministry, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Eno, Trevor Horn, Giorgio Moroder, Arthur Baker, Roy Thomas Baker and Reinghold Mack's work with Queen to name a few... all the way to Vangelis, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, to the Fania All Stars. Some of them whom I have had the honor to work with or meet.