Music Producer, Remote Mixing

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

A: I worked on an album entitled "Larger Than Life" that was made by some local artists. I produced 12 of the tracks and Mixed&Mastered the whole project. I'm proud of this album, as it was completely done within 48 hours, and really did well on a smaller scale, with a lot of interaction from a lot of radio stations and fans.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on various mixes and masters for artists, an instrumental album and just about anything else that passes through my email on a day to day.

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

A: Not as of yet, but I'm never shy to recommend people!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Trick question. HYBRID! I love using elements of both analog and digital within my music. I love the human sound, However, if I had to mix on one platform only, it would be Analog, I love the challenge.

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

A: I PROMISE, that this song will sound great, and I will do all I can to make sure you are proud of this work.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The creative process, I love polishing great music, and getting to hear new music from artist! God, it's a dream.

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

A: Can I get free Mixing if I give you credits? You can probably guess my answer, but credit is given on paid or free work, and I very rarely do work for free.

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

A: That it's easy to get in to.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Forget your budget, what music do you like? What got you into music? what drives you? What message do you like to send in your music?

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

A: Create a dialect with your potential worker. A strong relationship will help create a strong record. We are all in this together, because we all love music.

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

A: I'd take an MPC, my laptop, a vinyl player, a whole mess of vinyl, and a microphone. Would be a crazy album.

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

A: I've been producing and engineering for 4 years now, I'm self taught with various placements within studios and direct involvement in up-and-coming artists. I'm also an active student working on my Undergraduate Degree.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm very clean, everything is well calculated. When it comes to production I love a good samples, Ella Hayes, Gladys Knight, the classics; you could say I'm an old-head when it comes to production.

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

A: Pharrell Williams or Justin Timberlake. They're both geniuses, and every session is a different session with them, I feel the chance to be within one of those sessions should not be taken lightly, and I'd love to be part of whatever wave they create next.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Bus your effects! People underestimate the effect sending a Reverb or a Gate can truly have. The able to control each part of your mix as much as you can is vital. Send your FX, send your recordings to categorised buses, and label everything!

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

A: Predominantly Hip-Hop. A lot of people in my local area work on Trap/Drill music, so that tends to be the focal point. However I'm always looking to work on other genres.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is most likely my mixing IQ. I tend to be able to pick up necessities very quickly when starting a mix.I know what style of compressor will complement each element, do we use digital or analogue, FabFilter or analogue emulation. All these critical elements I feel I make good choices on, and make sure each piece is correct.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: In terms of mixing, clarity. I'm really big on being able to hear each part of a track, and make sure everything has it's own pocket, it's sort of like OCD. I like my vocals present, my bass running, kick showing prominence, and instruments spaced out and it's only done until it feels like I can look around the room and see each instruments

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My work process is preparation, I like to make a cup of tea before I sit down, and once all the tracks are imported and colour coded/labelled, I tend to listen to the song, take a minute to soak up the emotions being projected. Then I try to prioritise everything on the basis of what needs more attention, I re-level everything before I start to mix however.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I like to keep my main setup portable. So I tend to work off a six-core 2018 Macbook Pro. My DAW of choice is Pro Tools, however I can also work out of Logic Pro X and Ableton just as well. I have my go to plug-ins such as Waves, Native Instruments, and Slate. However I frequently use studios with plenty of hardware too, so expect that to be involved.

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

A: Engineers like Alex Tumay and Jimmy Douglass really inspire me. Their techniques I feel are revolutionary, and to be half the engineer they are would be an honour for anybody. Production wise, obviously DJ Premier, J Dill are go to's, however people like Kenny Beats and Teddy Walton also play a huge part in my sound.

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

A: My most common work tends to be two-track Mixing and Mastering for Hip-Hop clients, with occasional track-outs. However, as a producer, mixing instrumental segments are a second nature. This music tends to involve a lot of Vocal Tuning and I also include hardware elements into my mixes too.