Music Producer, Songwriter,

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

A: In France, the word: "music producer" doesn't exist. For french people, it means the person who pays for everything. To explain my role to them, I usually say that it's a little like a movie director. Often in France, artists don't realise the benefits that a producer can bring rather than just hiring a sound engineer. It would be like making a film with just a cameraman.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I often talk about the emotions and feeling that we want to elicit in each song. That's more important than any other technical concern.

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

A: Practice practice practice beforehand because when we meet things are going to move fast and you need to have the right performance on hand.

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

A: My Sontronics Saturn mic, my Vintage Api pre-amp, my Gibson Melody Maker, my Orange Jim Root guitar amp, Native Instruments Maschine.

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

A: I've been doing this for 18 years now. Playing in bands, writing songs and poetry, recording great indie artists on the Liverpool scene followed by the Paris and french scenes.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Fusion. Cross over. I think it's important to mix everything up in 2015.

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

A: I'd love to work with Aphex Twin. It would be amazing to write some pop songs with that guy. I'd also like to do a record for Tailor Swift. I love bubblegum pop!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Go and watch the band live or in rehearsal. Listen to all their songs . Find out what an artist is going for by any means necessary!

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

A: I usually work on noisy rock and punk stuff half the time and mainstream electronic and pop stuff the other half.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is a strong vision of the finished project. The ability to step back and experience the big picture.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I have a great musical culture. I'm not an amazing musician but I am good at finding and know what makes a good tone.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I focus on songs and what the song needs. Sometimes it takes time to get into an artist's head but I usually manage to understand what they need for each song.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I rent a cute inspiring professional room in Pantin. Big enough and equipped to record an entire live band. 18 track RME soundcard, 3 API pre-amps and a nice collection of mics, guitar amps, effects, synths and assorted gizmos!

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

A: I've never been to audio school (I went to songwriting school at ACP in Paris instead) but I have constantly learnt on the job since I was 18. For music production, Mixerman is the definative teacher in the field in my opinion. For modern pop productions, Dave Pensado, Chris Lord Alge and Toni Masarati. For rock, I've studied the techniques of Steve Albini and Slipperman very closely.

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

A: My everyday work is split between producing records for budget conscious independant rock bands and developing songs (writing lyrics, music and mixing) for mainstream pop projects. French acts have a desire to sing great songs in english and I can help out with that. Writing songs keeps me in a musician mindset for when I have to be an engineer.