Producer and/or studio 2-for-1

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

A: I'm most proud of my soundtrack work as this was where I really cut my teeth as a producer. I've composed and produced hours of music entirely on my own due to the budget constraints afforded to Canadian film. I would liken the whole experience to being thrown in the middle of a pool and learning to swim back in as I was in the dark on so much of the process when I started. Over a period of time I quickly developed as a composer, instrumentalist, engineer and ultimately a producer skill set emerged.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished up helping Wolf Parade prepare/rehearse for their world reunion tour and now I'm back to working on Boomshack's record. They're an 8 piece jazz/funk band made up of extremely talented instrumentalists. The groove is solid and the hooks are out of this world.

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

A: Is Jayme Langen / Poplar Sound Studio on here?

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both have their purpose, I'm certainly not a purist either way. I've spent enough time with both to know what they do well and what their limitations are. Ultimately, there just tools for the job. When it comes to guitar effects, synthesizers and mixing consoles I prefer an analogue signal path but digital can't be beat in certain scenarios.

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

A: I promise to work extremely hard for you and offer creative guidance that I believe to be in the best interest of you and your project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That everyday I wake up and my brain is occupied by thoughts of music. I don't think about quarterly goals, shareholder value or spreadsheets. I think about harmonies, arrangements, chord progressions, melodies, lyrics, microphones, production techniques, instruments. Contributing to the great conversation of music, in ways great or small, is a life fulfilled. This is what makes me happy.

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

A: Do you use autotune? I once made the mistake early on of using autotune on a record and it made me feel so sleazy. Keep in mind that this wasn't a creative choice to get a "cool" sound but rather a corrective measure to improve the quality of the vocalist. It doesn't improve anything. This is going to sound harsh but if I don't tell you Simon Cowell (or someone like him will) but there is no button for talent. Talent is something that develops with time and focus invested in any given obtainable skill. Put your pride to the side and seek advice/instruction if you're green at something. Put your time in and earn your stripes, the results of your effort will be evident. This is a lot of money to invest in your art so I want to see you get the most out of it and I only want to put my name on things that I can be proud of, too. If you have to resort to autotune, you've already lost.

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

A: That I put my pants on one leg at a time.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Are you gigging? You need to be gigging. It's the cornerstone of our craft as musicians. Those who gig their music before entering into production ostensibly produce better results on the record and make better use of studio time. Do you have a roadmap for your music project's success? What are you goals expectations with it?

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

A: Really suss out your options when it comes to producers and studios and figure out what balance of the two best works for the music you are looking to create. Beautifully designed studios are nice to hang out but can be too carefree and relaxing. It's not a holiday destination, it's a workshop for crafting objects made of audio frequencies. Find a producer who has good taste and opinions that you value but who you also, above everything else, have a meeting of the minds with creatively. By the time you get into the studio, it's time to work. You don't want to get hung up on details and waste time. Everyone involved should be on the same page when it comes to what goals need to be accomplished in order to get from A to Z. It's a niggle of mine but I don't like to see phones in the studio. They're a distraction that rarely play toward the collaborative team effort.

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

A: Elektron Analog Rytm, Teenage Engineering OP-1, Fender Telecaster Plus, 1970's Fender Twin Reverb, Audio-technica ATH-m50x headphones... Heintzman & co. upright grand #firstworldanarchy

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

A: I studied music at the Canadian College of Performing Arts and graduated in 2004. My first gig as a musician came shortly after I moved to Vancouver, I played piano with an orchestra who performed instrumental interpretations of classic rock songs (Bohemian Rhapsody, Another Brick in the Wall etc.). I moved to London, UK, squatted above a reggae nightclub and gigged around. Moved back to Vancouver, got into filmmaking and soundtrack composing and produced countless soundtracks out of my bedroom. Eventually got tired of the bedroom so I started a studio on Vancouver Island, so here I am.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: 90's alt-rock kid with a strong British influence during the formative years. Later on I became much more exploratory with music, seeking mastery in every genre. I went in multiple directions; classical, jazz, electronic, songwriter, new wave,

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

A: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, D'Angelo, Kendrick Lamar. They're artists who are creating work where the production really send me in a positive, curious direction.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Mix your music with pink noise! The amplitude strength of pink noise is proportional to the sensitivity of the human ear across the spectrum. If you run pink noise through an auxiliary channel and bump the level up so that it just masks the low end of your mix (kick, bass etc.), the frequencies you hear peaking over the pink noise pose a potential hot spot in the mix that might be unpleasant to the listener. I should say, always mix with your ears first and use this as a corrective/polish step, too much pink noise and you will go insane.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: As a multi-instrumentalist I often act as an additional band member, filling in parts where need be. Musicians that I've worked with in the past seem to take value in my musical ears and my ability to work both subtractively and additively. I know my tools and make sure things work as they're supposed to.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Gig, gig, gig > rehearse in studio, bring cohesion to performances and nail down parts, sonic palette > play songs live off the floor and capture the groove/flow of the songs from the rhythm section. Isolate melodic parts for later tracking sessions.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Tiger Mountain is a 1,500 sqft soundproof and acoustically treated studio comprised of two isolation booths, each with their distinctive acoustic qualities and a spacious live room. The studio does not have a control room, instead the mixing console is in the live room. This was done intentionally as the established studio setup of old always struck me as sterile and not conducive to keeping the energy levels up and getting the best performance out of a band. Back in the day there were, of course, reasons for this but with the way technology is now, my personally feeling is that it's wildly unnecessary to separate the producer/engineer from the artist. The studio is also equipped with a lounge area, kitchenette and toilet.

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

A: Jeff Lynne, Nigel Godrich and Brian Eno contributed to my understanding of music production in a really significant way, each of them for different reasons. Jeff Lynne focused on the importance of the song itself before production. Is it a GOOD song? You should not look to production to save it if it's just *meh*. Brian Eno had a passion for the intricate inner workings of music and instruments and created environments whereby happy mistakes could reveal themselves. I think that's an avenue of musical genius that is overshadowed in the digital age due to every sounds seemingly being at ones fingertips. Personally, I seek joy in structuring similar situations and using the ears to spot the glimmer of musical gold. Nigel Godrich represents more recent complete mix of the two for me and certainly a producer who I've admired through my own growth and education as a musician.

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

A: Producing from both a creative and technical mindset. My work with musicians begins long before I officially start "working" with them. I like to get to know each member of a group and see a number of their shows before I decide whether my musical leanings and taste will meld with theirs. We're going to make a baby together, a beautiful musical baby. So, it would behoove us to make sure our creative genes are a solid mix before jumping into anything. As a studio, Tiger Mountain offers an ideal creative working environment at a price that's affordable even for new and emerging artists.

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

A: Indie rock, electronic, experimental, jazz, funk, soundtrack. I don't typically connect very easily with country or metal.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Even under pressure, I keep a cool head and problem solve very well.