Harmony Vocalist / Producer

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

A: I find myself constantly the most proud of what I do at the moment - because every project allows me to learn a lot and grow musically. However, here's one: when I was in my country's Air Force Band we did a cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. I did the arrangement, which included a rhythm section, a string trio and a flute, and 9 singers. And yes, we performed the middle operatic section live. It was absolutely mesmerising to be on that stage.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: So many things. An a-cappella cover of Death of a Bachelor. An original song with a female guest vocalist, with all sorts of synthy sounds and some Disney vibes. A Knower-esque funk cover of Break Free. An indie pop song which started from a sample of me hitting a metal bottle with a mallet (which I turned into a beautiful electric piano). A Periphery guitar solo. An eastern pop song with some Arabic vocals and intense use of microtonality. A choral version of Unintended.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: It's all context dependent. Analog is better in a lot of ways, but for some styles or situations it's very impractical. That said, I wish I had the option to record with actual tape, but I currently don't :)

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

A: I'll do whatever I can to make the music better. That's a very general statement, but it's a good principle.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Hearing the result and knowing I made that.

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

A: Nobody really knows what being a producer means. So I don't know if misconception is the right word here, but there is general confusion about the role of a producer. And the truth is - it's a very flexible role. In my book, a producer should be able to fit himself into most situations and be able to help - with anything from songwriting to sound design (not alphabetically).

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

A: A recording device (such as a Zoom), an acoustic guitar, a piano, Cubase, and an instrument I've never played before. Saxophone?

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

A: I'm 20 years old! Just got released from the army (where I was guitarist and arranger for the Air Force Band). My next step is getting deeper into recording and mixing, which I've taught myself to a large extent.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Somewhere in between acoustic folk music, jazz and rock. I'm quite in love with harmony really. Damien Rice is a good example of the sound I'm talking about, though I'll lean more into the jazz territory many times.

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

A: Ariana Grande. I'm fascinated with pop production, the accuracy that goes into writing and producing this type of music - and she's a hell of a great vocalist. On the other end, Jacob Collier - the way he works is just so inspiring to me. I actually find myself taking a lot of my processes from him.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: It's not for every project and certainly not for everybody, but try this: When you're about to arrange a song, especially if you're using lots of virtual instruments, try to collect as many sounds as possible that fit into the world you're creating, before you ever record anything. This way, recording it will be much more intuitive with all those sounds at easy reach. Whenever you'll have an idea, you'll probably already have the perfect sound for it sitting in your project.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I always try to make people's songs come out the best they can. I've learned that even if I was just hired as a guitar player, I'll have a very difficult time if I don't point out that I think the song structure can be better. Or that the vocals were not recorded properly. Or that there's a grammar mistake. Or that the mix could be improved. Anything that comes to mind, I will probably say - because that's the basis of great musical conversation.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It may of course start in the middle if I'm working on someone else's project, but here it is, in general: Inspiration: very important part for me, for my personal projects anyway. Songwriting: usually I'll start from the lyrics, and try to express them in the best way possible through the music. Arrangement: I'll at the very least have a good idea what I'd like the song to sound like. Sometimes I'll even write charts for it. Recording: typically I'll record myself playing and singing everything required. Editing: a very important part of the process that I find is many times done no justice. Especially when handling someone else's mix, I'll first of all make sure the stems are in the best possible shape. Mixing: I'll make every added track sound stellar with everything else before I move to the next. Often at this stage I might add some extra tracks or remove stuff that doesn't fit. Mastering: I'll go with what the song needs, mostly compression as I prefer to fix the mix rather than the master.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a home studio, with some of the usual suspects (Cubase Pro, a set of monitors, various microphones and so on) and some really special gear and instruments (a Kawai baby grand piano, a 1985 Roland Jazz Chorus amp, many electric and acoustic guitars and lots of pedals, to name a few).

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

A: I'm hugely inspired by Jacob Collier, his sense of aesthetic in terms of production and creating a so-called "sound world" in his songs. On the songwriting end, I'm greatly influenced by jazz songwriting and things in between jazz and rock songwriting (such as The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and many more). I also really admire the general musicianship of Bruno Mars and Panic! At the Disco.

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

A: Often a client will ask me to arrange backing vocals for an existing song, as well as record them and sometimes mix them with the original. Other times clients will just send me a song or melody and ask me to produce a whole backing track - in which I play all instruments, sing backing vocals, mix and master.

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

A: That's very difficult to point out. I'll work on most styles of music - the most important thing is that there is an idea behind it, that the music knows where it should go. With that said, most of the projects I get to be a part of fall somewhere between rock, jazz and funk/r&b.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm really good at doing backing vocals - both arranging, making them on the spot, singing, mixing them later - all of it. I happen to have perfect pitch, so I've been harmonising with melodies since I was young, and I decided to take that headstart up and really practice doing it. I've done numerous a-cappella arrangements for popular songs and for my own needs, for both large ensembles and smaller groups (such as barbershop quartet).