Recording, Composing, Sessions

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Some portfolio pieces - covers and sound design work.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Hybrid (See Allen and Heath GS24 desk for example) Analog for sound, digital for workflow

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

A: To provide them with a product they want, and if its not right, to work with them until it is.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Playing with audio and sound is just outright fun.

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

A: How long will it take!

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

A: That anyone can do it - lots of people do, and the industry is swamped - but it's difficult to find consistent quality.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What sound are you going for? Do you have a record that has the kind of production you're after?

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

A: Listen to the demo reels; and don't hire anyone for free, as tempting as it might seem.

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

A: Insulation foam to keep warm, a pop shield to catch fish with, a Fairchild (and a power generator?!) to heat the fish on, and a Zoom H1n to record a diary on. This is a ridiculous question...

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

A: I've been in the music industry for 15 years. I started at the age of 13 when I picked up the guitar, and then eventually did Music at the University of Leeds. I got into production via composition; I was picked up to compose for two games and thusly needed to make sure they sounded good!

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

A: I collaborated on the composition of a track called The Legends Demise (https://soundcloud.com/colourofsound/the-legends-demise) and took care of the mixing and mastering. I think its a great mashup of genres which would work well in any action movie or video game.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Funky.

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

A: Snarky Puppy - they're a home grown outfit of incredible musicians, with an amazing work ethic and production value.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: When EQing: Cut before you boost!

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

A: Rock, Pop and Electronic

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Research and client communication. Preparation.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: With any luck: Nothing. I want transparency in my production; I want the artist to be as faithfully represented as possible.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: After talking to a client, I will then choose the best mic setup depending on the desired sound. Then, after tracking, I'll organise my project to ensure a clear workflow. I usually edit the audio first, selecting the best takes, checking for phase issues and so on. Then, I'll applying corrective EQ (if needed), compression and other processing. Finally, after consulting further with the client, I'll apply a mastering chain to the master bus, or for a multiple tracked project, export mixes into a new project and master the tracks together.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run an in-the-box Logic based studio, using Fabfilter and Waves plugins mostly. My home studio is suitable for recording single people, but is not suitable for recording bands simultaneously. I have treated the room for the best mix experience. All my equipment can be found at chriswmusic.com

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

A: Snarky Puppy, Bob Katz, Justin Vernon, Dan Worral, Butch Vig

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

A: Mixing and Composing