Topliner, Vocalist, Songwriter

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I really like to make my clients happy so I will work in whatever timeline is best for them, but typically I can turn something around between 2-4 weeks.

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

A: I am so so proud of the Music House that my boyfriend, Louis, my friend, Liza and I started together called Wounded Zebra Music House. We specialize in creating music for Sync and in 2019, we obtained a connection that now allows us to directly submit to one of the biggest Sync Libraries in the world called APM! I am so proud of the three of us and how hard we all work to create amazing songs and productions.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Oh boy. A lot haha. I am working on my own debut EP that I will be releasing with The Orchard Distribution. It's about my bone-marrow transplant, my life in quarantine (despite Corona, I've actually been in quarantine for 10 months now LOL), and my struggles in dealing with my rare disease. I am excited for my music to help other people who might be struggling. I am also working closely with the label owner of Simplify Recordings & Play Me Records to release new toplines with his signed DJs and Producers! I have released two singles with two of his artists so far and I have 5 more in the process! I also get hit up on Instagram, Facebook and my email all the time with producers wanting to work with me! So I am always open to these messages and working with new people. I have had many paid gigs this way!

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

A: This is my first time on SoundBetter and I am really excited to look around, make connections and explore some amazing songwriters, producers and artists!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I would say Analog when it's available to use, but mostly digital because you have all the same tools at a fraction of the price! AND digital is all portable so it allows me to be flexible with my clients if I need to go to their studio or something.

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

A: My promise is to do the absolute best I can with the project they give me. I want them to be able to share a project that they are happy with and proud of.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the creativity and collaboration of it! I love hearing tracks from producers and DJs and seeing what kind of topline would fit best with it! I am also a HUGE meticulous nerd and it actually really relaxes me to edit my vocals, be really nit-picky about things and really make things perfect. I love dotting the I's and crossing the T's if you know what I mean =)

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

A: The most common question I get from clients is what my turn-around is. I tell them that whatever timeline or deadline they need to adhere to, I am flexible! If they don't have a deadline, then I usually get them a demo in a couple of days and the final vocals within a week or two.

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

A: The biggest misconception is that I do not do my own vocal editing and production and that I don't know how to operate a DAW. This is not true. I put a lot of time and effort into learning each DAW that I own, researching the gear I needed and the techniques I use to comp, edit, pitch-correct and mix my vocals. I truly do everything myself. My boyfriend is a music producer also from Berklee and he taught me how to do everything myself so that I can be self-sufficient and confident with my skills.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is their budget for this project? Do they have any musical references that I should take inspiration from for this topline? What is your goal with this project? Do they have a timeline or a deadline? What splits would you be comfortable with?

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

A: I would say make sure you find someone who you are passionate about working with. This is YOUR song and YOUR vision and if I am going to fit that, then that's perfect! Ultimately, I want the client to be happy with and proud of their work.

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

A: Shure SM7B Mic, My Macbook, Cloudlifter Pre-Amp, Apogee Duet and my keyboard.

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

A: I have been songwriting since I was 12 years old and singing since I was 6! From 2013-2015, I attended Berklee College of Music for Voice & Songwriting. After Berklee, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my songwriting career. Since moving, I have done toplines for Kitsune, Youth Control, Warner Chappell, and Simplify Records and am in the midst of coming out with my first EP via The Orchard Distribution. My main goals in music are to be a successful topliner, a successful solo artist and have success in Sync music.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: When it comes to art, its sucks to put labels on things. BUT if I had to say, my style is definitely a mix of pop ballads, EDM and emotional lyrics.

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

A: Karra! I would love to pick her brain as to how she got into toplining and the EDM world, how she learned her vocal production styles and how she handles collaborations.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Yes! Melodyne your vocals BEFORE you do anything else to the stems. Then, record them into buses on new tracks. That way, you don't have to keep going back and forth between your melodyne and your vocal editing. ALSO, find the plugins and presets that sound good on your voice and set up a template for your vocals so that you can easily use it for every project!

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

A: I usually work on EDM/Pop tracks.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Definitely my vocals. I have a 3-octave vocal range and am skilled in various styles of singing. I can sing low growls, strong & powerful belts and also super high and airy vocals. I am super skilled with finding harmonies, and matching my voice perfectly in terms of recording doubles, triples and harmonies under my lead vocal.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Character and emotion. My voice is super emotional and my lyrics and melodies marry this very well. I went to Berklee for voice and songwriting and I apply the skills that I learned there to every single project I work on. I also bring passion, work ethic and friendly professionalism. I like to get to know my clients and their needs. I am a huge perfectionist so I want to make their project the very best it can be and something that they can be proud of.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a full home studio set up! For DAWs, I have Pro Tools 11, Ableton, Cubase 10.5, and Logic and can operate all of them. So, if the client has a preferrred DAW they want me to work in, I can do whatever! For my microphone, I have a Shure SM7B Professional Cardioid mic with a Cloudlifter Pre-Amp to make my vocals really come out. For my interface, I have the latest model of the Apogee Duet!

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

A: I admire Karra, Julia Michaels, Sarah Aarons and Ariana Grande!! Karra is my toplining queen. She has had so many successful releases with DJs, she has her own Splice vocal sample packs and she is KILLING it doing her own vocal production and editing. In terms of my toplining career, I aspire to be like her. I admire Julia Michaels because she is a TRUE singer/songwriter. Her lyrics and melodies are so catchy AND she has also developed herself as an artist. In terms of songwriting and my own artistry, I aspire to be like her. I admire Sarah because like her, I have also had to go through a lot of medical struggles. She had to have her leg amputate and was really sick for a very long time, yet she still persevered and worked hard to create the career she wanted. I have a chronic rare disease and sometimes it really gets in the way of my music and living a normal life. Sarah inspires me to never give up and to keep pushing through even when you don't feel 100% healthy. I admire Ariana Grande purely just for her vocal talents and how hard she's worked to be so skilled. She is the QUEEN of vocals and she NAILS her performances every time. In terms of my vocal skills, I aspire to be like her.

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

A: Toplining! So a DJ sends me an instrumental track and I write the melody and lyrics and then I record vocals for them as a feature.