Music Producer / Songwiter

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

A: When people think about producers, they usually think audio engineers - people who record the artist. This is very wrong. A producer these days is the same as director, screenwriter & executive producer of a movie. Producers help write the song, produce the song, often mix & master the song, cheer the artist, make sure the work flows efficiently, feeds the creative process, and so, so much more.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask what your vision is. The clearer I understand your vision, your influences, your taste, the higher the chance is that I can nail exactly what you are looking for in your song. And, hey, I might learn a thing or two as well in the process.

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

A: Sometimes I, myself, want to be careful to not ask for too much when somebody is doing me a favor, but I am here to tell you that this is a horrible idea - ask, ask, ask away! After all, YOU hired me, and since I get the most joy out of having my clients to be as satisfied as possible, it is ALWAYS okay if you ask for another thing!

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

A: An acoustic guitar, double bass, cello, grand piano and a coffee machine.

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

A: I originated from the electronic music scene. I started making EDM in 2011 by putting together loops and samples and eventually proceeded to making everything from scratch. From there on, I just slowly progressed and progressed, switched from genre to genre, from instrument to instrument, from school to school and now I am here.

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

A: I usually work on semi-acoustic music (music that has a mix of acoustic elements and electronic elements). I love both acoustic and electronic music, so it has eventually become my 'thing' to blend these. I originate from the electronic music scene, so every know and then you will hear something in my song and think "What? Okay. I like it". Hopefully. I really, really believe in being unique - not only in regards to music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is adding all the small details, that little fill, that extra harmony, that one feature etc.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My job is typically to improve a song when working with other artists in whatever form that improvement may be. Sometimes it is songwriting, sometimes it is a production-related thing, sometimes it is something phonetic.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I typically feel very inspired, so whatever I am working on, it just shapes itself. However, if I do not feel inspired, I will do something unusual like using a new VST, trying a new sound, using a new instrument, etc. I rarely have a strict, super structured work process. It has to feel natural to me.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I was going to write "Don't do it unless you know what it does" - but that would go in a completely counter-intuitive manner to my own work flow and process, so, my advice would be to "Do it, even if you don't know what it does", and then find out what it does. This feeds the creative process, the learning process, and the end result.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: A medium-sized room of modicum sound reflection treatment with Yamaha HS7 speakers on stands plugged into a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. For recording gear, I own the Aston Spirit microphone with the Halo Reflection Filter, as well as a multitude of guitars, basses and fiddly instruments like kalimbas and accordions. For midi and other fun stuff, I use Tyros 4 or Yamaha P-45 e-pianos.

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

A: I love John Mayer. He rolls the film back to the very essentials of music creation, philosophizes on important matters and reflects on this thought process in his nothing but fantastic songwriting. His albums and singles are always crisp and fresh in the production with only the bare minimal, essential editing, though still having complex chord substitutions and small details here and there. I am also a big fan of Lauv.

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

A: I work equally as much as a mixing/mastering engineer as I do as a music producer. Less common work includes session guitarist/pianist/bassists/backing vocalist recordings, songwriting, and ghost productions - though all are fairly common.