Top notch mixing

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

A: I started play music when I was 8 years old. It was piano. Then I started to learn guitar. And at the age of 14 I went deep into drums. At that time I also started to learn DAW and make simple dance tracks. In 2011 I started producing songs for myself and my band. Later on, after I have gained some experience, I started mixins for other musicians. At the beginning it was just a hobby, but after that I started to receive orders for commercial mixing. I have became a full-time mixer approximately in 2017.

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

A: I will do my best to make your music sound as best as possible.

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

A: Mystical Science band. I did the whole production.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Indie-rock band album.

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

A: There are a lot of cool pros here. Every mixer has its sound even if they work with one genre. You have to listen and pick one whose sound seem to resonate more with what you have in mind.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analogue is cool for sure. But for nowadays pace of life it is just off the budget. Even the most old-school analogue guys are “giving up” and switching to digital. I would say, that the recording should be done with usage of goon analogue gear and good converters. And you can make a perfect mix in the box for sure.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: A lot of creativity involved.

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

A: Can you make us sound like “famous band name here”? I answer that it depends on production. But I encourage them not to be willing to sound exactly like someone else. The sound should be unique. That is what makes music interesting.

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

A: Many people don't quite understand the importance of mixing and how a very good recording may be spoiled by a bad mixer.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask them for a rough mix. I am asking what they like about the rough and what they don’t. I also asking for 3-5 reference tracks

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

A: Make as much good recording as possible.

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

A: Gear to survive or gear to mix? :) For mixing - laptop, 2 sets of monitors, audio-interface, headphones.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Natural, musical, sweet.

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

A: Coldplay. I really love their music.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Yes, sure. Listen more and tweak less.

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

A: Indie-rock, rock, hard-rock, funk - basically, I work more with music with live instruments and live drums. But I do electronic projects as well.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can listen to actual song rather than listen to individual tracks. That is giving me to shape the overall message of musician.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Persistent sweet-sound with controlled dynamics, but yet sounding natural and emotional.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: At first, I am discussing with client his needs, listen to rough mix and think at what direction we can go with it.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work in the box. For mixing I have simple but effective setup. Firstly, I have a dedicated room with acoustic treatment. Then I have a powerful PC with Intel i7, TC electronics AD/DA converters, 3 sets of professional studio monitors, and a bunch of contemporary VST plugins.

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

A: I am inspired by rock of 80s and indie-rock, shoegaze of 90s, pop-rock and soft rock of 90s and 00s.

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

A: I usually do mixing. I also do mastering, recording instruments and vocal. I also play guitar, bass and drums. So I can record my performance or record performance of other musicians.