Producer, Audio Engineer

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

A: Recently finished El Topo's latest EP, which was very transitional for them (as they were changing countries and had a short time for the production stage). But I sent out many demos and set up quite a few of WhatsApp calls to achieve what they wanted and the result came out just the way they imagines and paid for. I'm proud to have added this producer and sound engineer experience to my resume with El Topo.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on my 2nd album as a solo artists, on Everblaze's and El Topo's upcoming releases as a producer and sound engineer. Also I am working with several local bands, which you can find on my website, as a sound engineer.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! Digital for practical reasons and analog for the audiophile in me, who likes clarity and huge sounds.

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

A: Perfect deadlines. Crystal clear products.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I enjoy every step. I play guitar every day. I record and mix my own songs just to improve myself and get them out there. I recorded my own EP just for that reason.

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

A: What're your prices like? Are you sure you can play this guitar partition? Will it sounds great when the mix is over? My prices depend on your projects depth, because that determines the time I need to spend on it (hence the bills I need to pay during it). If I said yes, I will play it with ultimate quality. Well, was the recording great? I will surely make it sound good but if I'm polishing a turd...

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

A: That I sell my skills because I can, rather than the fact I've been working in the industry for 18 years.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What're your aims with the material at hand? How do you see the process going with this material? And how can I help you achieve your goals?

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

A: If you don't have the money to hire a high end engineer or a studio but still believe perfection can be achieved, I am the guy.

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

A: My guitar, my 15-watt amp, my pedals, loads of books, and perhaps a generator to run them.

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

A: I have been doing this for 10 years but only 2 years professional. I have become professional in the path of composing and recording my own music, which, over time, allowed me to see and understand where a material is going and how to use the tools given to achieve a great sound, catching up with market standarts.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Relaxed, thorough, the devil in the details and energetic.

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

A: In Flames, because they are a very analog band in these digital times and they're very meticulous, thorough, detail-oriented and highly talented.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Technicality in gear and plugins is only there to help you achieve what you hear in your head. Do not become a slave of those, but only to your own imagination.

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

A: Pop-rock, Rock, Metal.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Guitar playing, composition and understanding a demo before starting the mixing process.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring originality (only if asked for), clean and spot on guitar playing skills, music production understanding and the market standarts as a sound engineer (even more if the artist is searching for something original).

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I am very through with the timeline and the brief. I want to hear it all before we even begin working together with a client: What do they have in mind? Who inspires them? What is the end product they expect to hear? And then I get to work and work tirelessly day and night to achieve the given brief.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work on the following gear: - Gibson Les Paul T Ebony - Marshall JCM 2000 & JVM 410, with 1960A 4x12 cabinets - Shure microphones - Focusrite Scarlett soundcard - Analog pedal setup for both bass and guitar - Large variety of music production suites/plugins - Reaper and Studio One DAWs

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

A: I have three guys that showed me the way to my current position: Jari Maenpaa from Wintersun as a great instrument player and a mixing engineer to achieve his own standarts, Trent Reznor as an enthusiast for music and Yoad Nevo as a humble but incredibly talented producer and sound engineer.

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

A: As a sound engineer, I record, edit, mix (in-the-box) and digitally master the songs they give me. I also give mixing consultations, if the clients ask for, during these processes. Along the way I can also produce the sounds they want to hear in their songs, reamp their guitar sounds or use MIDI to enforce their drum/piano/electronic sounds if they wish.