IndieFolk Producer Songwriter

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

A: Harley Eblen & Dominic Romano are fantastic collaborators and would always recommend them wholeheartedly.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I work in a hybrid environment and I always want the song to come first. I have many Analog units I use for flavor and my rack preamps and compressors are always in use but also I will never use equipment that will inhibit quick and spontaneous creation.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: For mixing my most important requests are: Multi-tracks & References. But really what I want to know from clients is what they want, past this service what are we striving for? That's always going to play a role in our work.

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

A: My Seagull acoustic simply for the comfort. For practicality: A laptop, UAD Apollo, an SDC & a midi keybaord. Monitors & cables are provided by the Island locals right?

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

A: I've worked in Studio Productions & Live Events for 14 years. I graduated with a Music Performance Bachelors Degree & went on to write, performance & tour all over the world. I then became heavily investing in Front of House Live Sound & Studio Production.

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

A: I also have a huge respect for Andy Hull, S. Carey, Ken Yates, Kim Janssen & Alexander Biggs for being genuine with their raw emotive lyrics. Justin Vernon has always inspired me in both his emotive lyrics & vocals and also his cleverly designed arrangements.

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

A: Cowriting & Producing are my strengths. I love bringing more depth and clarity to both the emotion & meaning of the music & lyrics as well as the Production & Arrangement itself.

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

A: Recently I scored a short film 'Two Graves' that won an 'Award of Excellence' at the Canadian Short Film Festival. Winning awards isn't everything but when it happens it's a great feeling that validates your hard work and passion. I also loved working with artist 'Jon Bryant' & producer 'Nygel Asselin' last year, such great guys and we had a lot of fun writing and touring together.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have two full-time artists that I'm currently running Pre-Production for, developing both their studio arrangements and their live ones simultaneously & I'm excited to start touring with my live clients when it is safe to do so. Also currently cowriting with many incredible artists on a few things that will be released soon.

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

A: It's that we'll make something great.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Working with a variety of people and sounds is always incredible but really what I love most about the work is the work, Songwriting is my passion through and through.

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

A: How long will it take? Timelines can be pressing but I want to focus on the content first. O course if you need something urgently I'm happy to provide that service.

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

A: As a Producer/ Songwriter I fill a few various roles. Some misconceptions people have is that people are only allowed one role, the one you first saw from them. I love being varied in my work and I also try and help people expand outside their comfort zone.

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

A: Don't be afraid to be honest about what you want. Never be ashamed about what you're trying to achieve, never compromise but also be open to change for the better.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Simple, emotive & honest. Songwriting with Alternative & Folk elements.

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

A: Andy Hull & Ken Yates's lyrics & vocal style inspire me, I'd to work alongside him and talk about his process for creating simple tracks with powerful emotions.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Keep things simple. DAWs give us the ability to take things as far as we want but don't forget simplicity is key.

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

A: Usually, a cowrite will start as a Singer-songwriter track but will quickly either continue down that path or branch off into Alternative, Americana Folk & Alt-Rock.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Cowriting & working with clients is where I thrive.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Each Writer/ Producer has their own voice that they bring to a session or a mix. My voice show's my love and passion for great songwriting and arrangements, enhancing emotions and character that was already there while also bringing clarity and a grounded sensibility.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Every project is different but also very collaborative. Depending on the client's time frame I usually start with a call so we can get to know each other and talk about our goals for the project. Once on the same page - I like to set timeframe goals for different parts of the process.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work from my studio with Universal Audio Rack units, Neumann Microphones, multiple monitoring systems & a plethora of instruments I've acquired over the years. I always start working in service to the song with acoustic instruments and good tracking but also have a lot of synths and rack units for when needed.