Pop, Rock, & Hip Hop Producer

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can cook Uncle Bens 2 minute rice in 1:58 . . I'm also pretty killer at vocal production

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

A: Lead Composer - Werewolf Online. I'm especially proud of this, as it was one of my earlier projects. The game has a cult following, meaning a lot of pressure was on the music, however, the reception of the songs blew my wildest expectations, with fans going as far as to upload playlists of the songs online. Regardless of the scale of any projects I undertake in the future, this one will always be the one that I'm most proud of.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A leitmotif for an upcoming novel, a Pop artists debut single, 10 hours of meditation music, a mix for a Metal song, and the first of sixteen songs I'm producing and writing with an artist on their upcoming album

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I see a lot of benefits to both analog and digital to the point where they both hold their strengths. The honest truth for my choice is that I have more experience with digital, and a studio that's set up better for it, so it's simply a better pick for me.

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

A: That I'll focus on being the producer you need. If I don't think that I'm the right man for the job, I'll let you know before we even start.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The moment in the morning after every email and bit of admin is finished when I sit down with a new song for the first time and can really start to work

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

A: "Are you able to make this sound?" I'm proud to say I've never had to reply "no"

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

A: A lot of people overestimate the effectiveness of Autotune for a producer

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always start by asking about what songs are inspiring them. Sometimes they'll come back to me with a list of 20-30 songs that are inspiring them, while it's just as common to only receive one or even zero songs. It's my job to read between the lines to find out what it is they want.

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

A: Know what you want. You don't need to know anything specific like the sounds you fancy or style you'd like, as any good producer will be able to help you find that. It is vital however that you know what you want the song for, and what type of story/emotions you want the music to tell. Even if you can't describe it, once you know what you want, the foundations of the song is built

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

A: Acoustic Guitar, Bongos, Kalimba, Jaw Harp, and Ukelele. If the strings break, I'll at least have firewood.

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

A: I wrote my first song thirteen years ago, which started an obsession that never stopped. For a long time, I'd spend the whole day thinking of the next song I was going to write. Despite this, working in the field always seemed like an impossible goal. Over time, as I became more experienced, the idea of making a career started coming to mind after I began to make some small money here and there from things like busking, to session guitar work. I was fortunate enough to start working full time in the field in mid-2018 when I was 21. After months of building myself up to it, I finally quit my office job to focus all of my time on finding new clients and producing music. After a while of uncertainty with a rapidly declining bank account, I began to find my footing in my career and really start to get some good credits under my name, which has lead me to more and more opportunities to grow as a writer and producer. My music and my business are continually expanding, while I still find that same joy every time I sit down with a new track and start piecing together the next hit!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Rhythmic and simplistic

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

A: Charlie Puth. He thinks in a very different way from me, and I think that would lead to some interesting results

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Split your vocal chain into two tracks. Have one track as the main one, and one with just the top end of the sound coming through. This way, you get much brighter and clearer vocals, and if you want long reverbs, you can add it to just the high-end track which prevents the song from getting muddy, or the vocals from sounding distant and lost. Also most importantly, keep hitting save!

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

A: I specialise in Pop, Rock, & Hip Hop. I'm no stranger to Jazz, Funk, Soul, Lullaby, Classical, Cinematic, R&B, Acoustic, Ballad, Metal, and pretty much any style you can think of!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Songs can be built in an infinite number of ways. I find the direction that suits what you're looking for, and add my own creative influences that build on this inspiration. Effectively, I bring development and character to a song in a way that fits the song itself.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Something always inspires the first step of a track. From there I take that inspiration and ride it through the song and build it into a finished piece.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I like to keep it clean and simple so that inspiration can make its own way out. I have my midi keyboard in front of me and my monitor behind that. I keep my guitars behind me so there ready to grab as soon as I need them, and my array of miscellaneous percussion and melodic instruments (such as bells, kalimbas, and bongos) on a shelf just to my right

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

A: Jacob Collier, Hans Zimmer, Lauv, Charlie Puth, Oak Felder, Sean Douglas, Ian Kirkpatrick, James Newton Howard, John Mayer, Buddy Rich, & Andrew Huang.

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

A: Most commonly I'll write and produce, although I help out with almost every technical job that needs doing. I consider myself a one-stop-shop for all my clients, so they don't have to look for hundreds of different freelancers, and it means that I can build strong working relationships with them