For 20 years, I’ve created a wide range of inventive content across media, and over time I’ve become most captivated by writing music for niche projects and creating sound for picture. I like collaboration and am most satisfied when my ingredients complement the dish.
I’ve made sound design and music for many films by Academy Award nominated animator Gary Schwartz. I cofounded Erie Canal Theatre, making dozens of original radio dramas for WFMU, including coproducing the two-season sci-fi underground masterpiece “Switchboard Infinity.” Zelda and the Unibrows, an award-winning music project I cofounded, was featured on NPR and CBC radio, and took part in international art collaborations, performing, remotely, to galleries across Europe, once with an orchestra.
I achieved a BA in Media Arts from Wayne State University and completed all of the courses at Ohio’s Recording Workshop. I recorded albums for bands for several years before transitioning to film work. I assisted in many departments in both production and post-production, and also became a Detroit ambassador for visiting productions. When the nascent film industry collapsed, I founded Backseat Detroit Tours, sharing my city with over one thousand people before shuttering due to the pandemic.
I can edit/record music, dialogue and foley. I can compose, track, mix, sample, narrate and design complete soundtracks for screen or speaker. I can also produce and project-manage for work requiring teams.
have my own idiosyncratic style, and love collaboration. I work in Logic Pro X.
Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.
Credits
2 Reviews
Endorse Joseph C. Krause
Joe Krause is one of the most creative and talented people I know. His ingenuity and skill at all endeavors of sound, music, and art never cease to impress me. We have collaborated many times before in enterprises of music and audio; his ideas, his production style, his impeccable taste and knack for organization have made each collaboration a memorable and enjoyable experience. I do thusly give my most hearty and genuine endorsement to Mr. Joseph C. Krause. I humbly vouchsafe that when you request his talents, you will have requested the best.
I've worked in the studio with Joseph C. Krause multiple times in various scenarios -
I've hired him to record and mix multiple albums I've performed and composed with rock bands and I've collaborated with Joe on his own self-funded projects.
Every interaction with Joe has been simultaneously the most professional and the most fun I've had in any studio experience. Mr Krause will work with you on your terms, respectfully submitting his opinion and advise where it's warranted and helping you flesh out exactly what you're looking to produce. Would work with him exclusively if given the choice
Interview with Joseph C. Krause
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I've been presented with a partly-recorded cover of the theme to "Metroid" and I'm filling in the missing parts and mixing it. I'm working with a DJ at WFMU to co-host a new internet and terrestrial radio show. I'm assisting with podcast productions. I'm writing original music.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I've upgraded from a spare bedroom to a renovated basement, giving me a larger dedicated space and room to experiment. In one corner, I have my workstation with all of the tools for audio, as well as an extra screen for sound-for-picture, and the other end is a configurable space that can transform into a music or vocal studio, or as a space for visual and other media art, all with enough isolation to block out jackhammering coming from the car wash renovation next door.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Switchboard Infinity, the 18-episode show I produced for radio as Erie Canal Theatre. When the opportunity arose, I got together three other co-producers and together we wrote, directed, recorded, edited, composed music and sound-designed 18 episodes over two seasons. I want to make more.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Not yet. Let's be friends!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: They're both valid tools.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I'll make both of us proud of this work.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The unique challenge of each project reinforces my skills in a virtuous cycle.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: "Can you do this by Thursday?" "Yes."
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That I'm primarily a keyboard player. I'm much better at producing music and audio than playing piano.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: It's the journalistic "inverse pyramid." Big-to-small. What's the grand vision? How does this project fit into it? What are the details?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I work in the spirit of trust and good faith. Treat me the same and we can only succeed.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Laptop, keyboard, accordion, iPad, coffee pot.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: About 20 years. Out of college I spent a few summers recording bands. I worked on short, documentary and narrative film productions for a few years after that until the local film industry collapsed. Then I continued media work on the side while running Backseat Detroit Tours, which closed due to the pandemic. While running the tour company, I produced three seasons of original episodic shows for radio.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Layered, detailed, anxious, intense, cartoonish, playful.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Anthony Roth Costanzo. His grammy-winning Glass/Handel project from 2018 was a massive collaboration with artists of all kinds, resulting in a moving and inspiring series of recordings, films and performances.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: I use custom key commands while editing to place commonly-used operations together. With practice, this compressed my editing time on an episodic dialogue project from days to a few hours per episode.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: In-the-box instrumentals, theme music, score, electronic or electro-acoustic ensembles, non-musical audio such as podcasts and audio drama, and indie music of many genres.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Bringing together multiple artists and project elements to make a whole project greater than the sum of its parts.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: A perspective trained by working in the "other" genre. I often have the ear of an outsider and discover fresh ways to present an idea.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: An initial phoe call to discuss the project and timeline followed by emails for any further details. After delivery of the mix, another call to discuss finishing details or revisions when needed.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Frank Zappa, because I can always tell how much fun he's having creating music. Philip Glass, for his innovation, open spirit and work ethic. "Weird Al" Yankovic for his musicianship, professionalism and attention to detail in a genre that isn't known for these traits. Bedroom producers of all kinds, for following their muse.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mixing stems recorded elsewhere, creating original sound design for animation, producing radio drama, writing short scores, such as theme music.
I was the Composer, producer, engineer in this production
- Sound DesignAverage price - $300 per minute
- Dialogue EditingAverage price - $100 per minute
- Post EditingAverage price - $100 per track
- Film ComposerAverage price - $300 per minute
- Time alignment - QuantizingAverage price - $40 per track
- Full instrumental productionAverage price - $200 per song
- Podcast Editing & MasteringAverage price - $100 per podcast
Work includes two revisions, $50/hr thereafter.
- Danny Elfman
- Philip Glass
- Frank Zappa
- Shure SM7B
- Sennheiser AMBEO
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
- MOTU 896
- Yamaha HS7
- Moog Theremini
- Yamaha P80
- Carny ObscuraSep 14, 2020
My latest sound-for-animation work with Gary Schwartz, 'Carny Obscura' will premiere at Carrington Art in Sandusky,Ohio on October 16, 2020.
The exhibition, DARK CARNIVAL' will open Friday, October 16th, coinciding with the 150th Anniversary of Cedar Point. - "Iztac" EP ReleasedSep 14, 2020
A fun new collection of my music and sound design.
http://bit.ly/iztac-streaming
- I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard CohenSep 14, 2020
This is a book about tribute albums, and it contains a blurb about "Prosthetic Lips," a compilation of "Weird Al" Yankovic tributes I put together when I was 15 years old.
