Chris Hill on SoundBetter

I'm a session drummer, producer and sound-designer based in Berlin. I have specialized in elegant grooves, creative sound design, vintage drum tones and the organic implementation of electronics. I'm known for my genre-bending approach & versatility; highly dynamic, expressive and musical. I'm very excited to work on your next project!

I am offering drum recording sessions out of my tracking & writing studio, from where I'm able to track creative and industry-standard drum tracks in a great natural sounding and purpose built room.

I'm very passionate about music, recording and sound-design and and I am very fortunate to be working with a wide range of internationally acclaimed artists, producers & brands such as Alice Phoebe Lou, Kyson, Merryn Jeann, Hush Moss, Majan, Quinn Oulton, Demae, Parra for Cuva, Beau Diako, A Song for You, Jackpal, Ex Olympic, Badmómzjay, Bozza, Olmo, Jesper Munk, Klaverson, Yum Yuck, Noah Becker, Duendita, The Offline, August Charles, Frank Dillane, Mercedes Benz, Drive Now, Red Bull Music, Nokia, Zalando, GAP, Carla Otto, Viu Eyewear, ARD Television and many more.

At my studio, I'm constantly housing up to six different drum kits (Vintage Gretsch, Vintage Slingerland, Yamaha, Pearl 70's Wood Fiberglass, C&C etc.), a minimum of 15 snare drums and a large assortment of Cymbals and Percussion, to sonically tailor each song to your personal preference - all recorded trough industry-standard microphones and API- and Neve-style preamps. I am also set up to offer drum programming, sampling and percussion overdubs of any kind to create a highly individual rhythm track for your song.

Let's create together!

Send me an email through 'Contact' button above and I'll get back to you asap.

Credits

9 Reviews - 2 Repeat Clients

Endorse Chris Hill

by Sonny G.
Verified
It was spectacular to work with Chris again. He went above and beyond as always.Brilliant tones/sensibility and very effective collaboration!
by Samuel K.
Verified
Chris goes above and beyond. Super communicative, super upfront and transparent. Very easy to get on the same page with and provided me with everything I asked and more. Highly recommend.
by Sonny G.
Verified
Chris is supremely organized, thoughtful, knowledgable, and technically brilliant. I have no doubt that his client's almost always experience this, but he "nailed it" first try with my incredibly nuanced request to create a soundbed of highly specific grooves. Not only am I both absolutely pleasantly surprised and thoroughly impressed with his talent as a musician/engineer, but I loved his communication and approach to the remote session that both put me at ease and ensured effortless logistics.
by Jack L.
Verified
I can't recommend Chris enough. He went above and beyond for my project and I'm beyond thrilled with the results. I'll now be using Chris for all my future projects. So pleased to find him!
by Arturo N.
Verified
Chris is really a master at his craft.

Groove, sound, really good taste and beautiful playing.

He always thrives on making the drums and percs fit to the particular song he is working with.

On top of that he is a great proffesional and a really nice person with excelent comunication.

Couldn't recommend him more.
by Julian N.
Verified
It's been an total dream working with Chris. He intuitively understood the tones I was after, and delivered exactly that. High quality recordings - I can't recommend Chris highly enough!

Excellent dude & killer drummer :)
by Pan W.
Verified
Working with Chris has been amazing! Drum tone, performance and mic selection was spot on to the feel of what the track needed.
Communication, process, file delivery and overall vibe has been a total breeze - chatting and communicating as if we've been friends for years.
I'm already looking forward to recording the next piece of music together!
by Nicolaas R.
Verified
Chris is an exceptionally professional and creative drummer. Not only does he play drums brilliantly, but pays very good attention to detail, and picked up and replicated minutiae in my drum programming that not even I took note of. His keen ear also extends to his proficiency in the recording arts - his mic placement and selection is as much a part of his service as his drumming is, and delivered a pristine 14 channel drum mix on completion of the job -complete with creative mixing suggestions.
by Francesco G.
Verified
Chris is a killer drummer and a pleasure to work with. Real creative approach to drumming. Very interesting ideas, punchy grooves and the recordings are top notch. Bravoo!

Interview with Chris Hill

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Coles 4038 Macbook Pro 70's Slingerland Kit with Acrolite + Istanbul Cymbals Midi Keyboard Internet Access
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Less is more
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: It's relatively simple and focused on drum tracking. I own a lot of classic drums (mainly old Gretsch, Ludwig & Slingerland, but also quirky vintage MIJ drums and a modern hi-fi Tama Star Walnut), a ton of cymbals and all the percussion goodies, because the source for me is THE most important part of the recording chain. To capture these beautiful instruments I have invested in a professional recording chain consisting of great mics (including Coles 4038, Sennheiser 421, Aston Spirits, Oktavas MK 012 etc.), CAPI 312 & Neve Style GAP Pre-73 preamps going into selected outboard processing and going into a RME Fireface for A/D conversion. My output usually consists of a roughly premixed stereo drum stem as I hear it (for mixing reference) and 10-16 individual drum tracks for the mixing engineer / producer. If electronics are needed, I'm either using Sunhouse Sensory Percussion to add a bit of human flavour or I am programming in Ableton Live or NI Battery. And for sound-design I have a bunch of guitar pedals, a Tascam 424 Tape Machine, an OP-1 mini synth and a classic SP404 sampler. And on top of that I'm constantly searching for new sounds how I can integrate them into my rig.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich for sure, because he has carved out a hybrid sound that I am searching for myself.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: It mostly oscillates between Indie Pop, Electronic Music, Singer Songwriter, HipHop & Funk/Soul and can sometimes even touch Free Jazz. Most of the stuff I've been working on has required a delicate touch, vibey sounds and a modern/vintage aesthetic, so I guess this is where I have started carving out my niche. But I love all styles & genres of music as long as it's made well. In recent past I also have been getting hired to work on specific sound design aspects of a certain projects, e.g. creating fresh top layer loop packs etc, which I've been really enjoying too.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Regarding studio work, I'm very inspired by musicians who are approaching the role of the drummer more from a producer's and sounddesigner's standpoint, namely guys like Aaron Sterling, Joey Waronker, Matt Chamberlain, Darren King. I also love Steve Jordan, Steve Gadd and Al Jackson for their god-like grooves and feels. And in regards to implementing electronics, I really like what Ian Chang (Son Lux) & Mason Self are doing with Sunhouse Sensory Percussion. Nigel Godrich is another hero of mine, for obvious reasons.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Collaboration and the people I am meeting along the way...
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: When do you need the track? Do you have any reference tracks in mind?
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Highly musical. I create whatever the music tells me to.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: great tones, great feel, great groove, big ears and a lot of creativity.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both, I try to combine best of both worlds.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: You're gonna be 100% satisfied.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Listening, Listening, Listening.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: There are various types of sessions that I get asked to do: either my client comes in with a fully fleshed out idea of what they want and already have it programmed in a demo version and the job is to replace it with high quality and highly personalized sounds. Sometimes it's just about adding in certain percussive or sonic details to an existing rhythm track. Often the track has no rhythm track at all and we're developing in tandem and creating a hybrid between live drums, programming and percussion.

Chris Hill Drum Reel

I was the Drummer, Programmer, Percussionist in this production

Live drum trackContact for pricing
Programmed drumContact for pricing
Sound DesignContact for pricing
PercussionContact for pricing

I'll do as many revisions as needed until the producer is happy. Turnaround time is usually a few days unless I'm on tour. Percussion, programming and drums can be done in a package deal.