Mixing, Mastering, and Prod.

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

A: Probably "Warm Skies". This was a collaboration I had in the works for some time with Zaynik where I did most of the composition, producing, and mixing. The only problem is that the project file got erased so it will never get released (if you go to my portfolio playlist, it's the track named "EDM Track"). We worked really hard on it and even the last version we exported still sounds pretty good.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A couple songs for my main alias Gazing Skies and the tracks for Pearle's upcoming debut EP

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

A: When it comes to mixing, both Austin Leeds and Nurko are amazing and they work incredibly fast

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: A good mix of both. Nothing beats analog saturation but staying organized is way easier in a digital environment as opposed to something like an Otari Series 54.

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

A: I promise to work my hardest to make a track that's exactly what you have in your head

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Being able to make other artists happy to be writing the music they want to write

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

A: "How do you work so fast?" Usually, when I work on a song, I'm able to take the core idea and run with it and because of my workflow, I'm able to keep the creativity flowing until the track is finished

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

A: That we all use loops and don't know music theory or how to play an instrument. I like to take pride in making absolutely everything from scratch to be sure that every element is just the way the client wants it.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What artists do you want to sound like and what spin do you want to put on them?

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

A: Look for someone who listens to exactly what you want and works to achieve that goal. Even if you aren't production savy, a good producer should know how to interpret what you want into a track

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

A: A MacBook (with the charger), a good pair of ATH-M50s, a UAD Apollo Twin, a mic and a solar panel with the battery to power everything

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

A: It's mostly been making my own music and wanting to just live off of my own music while hopefully touring from time to time

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: If Owl City composed the track while Foria and Said The Sky produced the rest of the track

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

A: Probably Owl City, mostly because when he works on music, he brings this sense of wonder to every single one of his tracks while also being extremely creative in his approach

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Listen to genres outside of your typical genre, even if it's a genre you don't tend to like. If you don't like rap, for example, go try to find a rap artist or two you like and figure out why you like their music vs other music in the genre, then use that as an influence in your tracks (do this with various genres and you can get a unique style while also learning the intriquicies of different musical genres)

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

A: I usually work on EDM tracks in the style of Dabin, Foria, Astrale, and Nurko but I also work with softer sounding genres like synth-pop, R&B, etc

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Music composition and structure

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Influence from other genres that integrate perfectly with any style of music I'm working with

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Before I even start working on the song, I always have the artist send me reference tracks and I'll spend time immersing myself in the style they want. After that, I import the stems/midis into Ableton and start working around those, while always checking in with the artist to be sure I'm going in the direction they want

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use a pair of Yamaha HS7s with a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 on a custom-built PC (specs below). When it comes to software, my main DAW is Ableton but I also use Pro-Tools and FL Studio from time to time. In terms of plugins, my go-to's are usually reverbs from Valhalla, iZotope plugins (Ozone, Trash, Iris...), Serum, and Harmor. Computer Specs: Intel Core I9-9900K CPU @ 3.60GHz 16GB GDDR5 RAM GeForce 1660 GTX Super

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

A: Said The Sky, Owl City, Foria, Midnight Kids...

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

A: Mostly just making a song around an existing idea they have, whether that be vocals or a chord progression and melody.