Japanese Mixing and Mastering

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

A: Michael: The more details and references you can give me the better! My main goal is to get your track exactly the way you want it to sound and feel. Maxx: Come with a clear vision of what you want. This way I can get a better understanding and can deliver faster, hopefully without too many revisions.

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

A: Michael: Solar panels for electricity, an unlimited Splice Account for inspiration and samples, Apogee Duet 2 for recording vocals, Bose noise-canceling headphones for monitoring and sleep, and an unlimited supply of coffee and creamer. Maxx: Laptop, Neumann U87, a pair of HS8, DT 770 headphones, and an Apollo interface.

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

A: Michael: I started producing music when I was 13 years old and I recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Music Industry and a Minor in Music Production. I currently have three artist projects going on at the moment: Club Yokai (Hip-hop), AZU (EDM), and Wabi Sabi (Lofi). Maxx: I want to work within a recording/mixing studio. I am currently in my last semester at USC so I hope to get an internship that can lead me down that path.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Michael: I tend to use a lot of EDM production techniques in all the music I work on since it was the first genre I grew to love. My style changes a lot between projects but the music I love to make is simplistic with a lot of small details to make it sound complex and interesting. Maxx: Very clean and light. I tend to not use a lot of compression and distortion in a lot of my personal projects.

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

A: Michael: pH-1: man has the craziest flow. Maxx: I would like to work with a lot of Korean rappers such as pH-1, Gray, Loco, and BeWhy.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Michael: Treat silence like an instrument. Maxx: Practice makes perfect and be patient.

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

A: Michael: Mostly Hip-hop/Rap and EDM. We are currently writing demos to potentially pitch to K-Pop/J-Pop/C-Pop acts in Asia. Maxx: Hip-hop and Pop.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Michael: Being critical to get the best product. Maxx: My willingness to learn more. I don’t know everything, so I want to learn more about the business and mixing.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Michael: I believe that I bring that extra 10% that a lot of songs are missing. Whether it's something super simple like silence/beat cuts or vocal effects/chops, small details add a lot to the whole song. Also, my ability to be objective in the mixing/mastering/production processes can help a lot when there are issues preventing the song from reaching the level the artist is striving for. Maxx: A more polished version of what the artist/producer gave me without ruining their creative vision.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Michael: Generally I like figuring out what direction an artist is trying to go for. From there it's a lot easier to figure out how the mix, master, and overall vibe should sound like. Generally, I like to spend a while on the mixing process before approaching the mastering process (This gives me enough time to let my ears rest and to be able to listen critically). Maxx: It really depends. I usually start by listening through the track and do a rough mix with the levels of the song. From there, I will mix the stems further as I get to know the song better.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Michael: We are using Yamaha HS8's monitors with an Apogee Duet 2 as the audio interface. We are also equipped with a Shure SM7B and Shure SM58 for microphones. We also use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 for open-back monitoring and Audio-Technica ATH-M50 for closed-back monitoring and recording. Maxx: I currently use Pro Tools 12 with a Scarlett 2i2 and a pair of Yamaha HS8 speakers.

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

A: Michael: Kenny Beats, Skrillex, Porter Robinson, Madeon Maxx: I take a lot of inspiration from mixing engineers such as David Kim, Steve Albini, Bob Power, Chris Lord-Alge, and Brian Malouf just to name a few. They are great audio engineers that I base my style off of.

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

A: Michael: One of the singles I released under my pseudonym AZU called "Weeping Willows" - I was very proud of this track since it came together quickly, it was the first time I ever sang on one of my songs, and I did all of the recording, production, mixing, and mastering. Maxx: A project that I am especially proud of is Aleyna Yim’s song "Video Game". It was one of the first projects that I was a part of that got over 100,000 streams on Spotify. I helped with recording and mixing the song.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Michael: I am working on a lot of beats for our next beat packs as well as creating demos that are going to be pitched to J-Pop/K-Pop/C-Pop artists. I am also working on new original music and remixes for the artist projects I mentioned earlier. Maxx: Michael and I are currently finalizing our next beat pack that will be released for leasing.

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

A: Michael: Haven't had too much time on the platform but would recommend any of the top-line singers for producers who are looking for vocals but don't have any gear/singers nearby. Maxx: I honestly just started using this platform, so I do not know anyone that I can confidently recommend on this site

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Michael: Digital since it's a lot cheaper and I'm a broke college student haha. Maxx: Digital for now because I have no money. If I had money, I would have a lot of analog gear.

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

A: Michael: I will work as fast and efficiently as possible to get your track the way you want it. I will never compromise quality in order to complete more gigs as well. Maxx: I will give you the best quality in a timely manner.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Michael: Ability to work with a lot of different people and listen to different styles of music. Maxx: The process. I enjoy seeing people create music, spreading their message, and being apart of that process is very special to me.

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

A: Michael: Q: How long? - A: About a week max if it's the only project I'm working on, 2-3 weeks if there are a lot of requests. Q: Do I like the song? - A: Honestly depends. I believe being 100% honest is the fastest way to improve your craft. Maxx: Q: How much will it cost? - A: Depends.

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

A: Michael: My ability to work fast came to me overnight. Maxx: Mixing is easy.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Michael: What is the end goal for this track in terms of release, marketing, label, etc.? What do you feel like the track is lacking? What do you want your music to sound like? Maxx: How fast do you need it? What kind of sound are you going for?

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

A: Song/beat mixing and mastering. We are also producing for a lot of local artists and leasing beats through our Beatstars page.