Producer | Instrumentalist

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." I get to be creative, write music, make noise, be silly and work with incredible people for a living. I couldn't ask for a better job.

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

A: The question I get asked the most comes after clients tell me an idea that they've had: "...is that possible?". As a producer, my job is bring ideas and sounds to the project that you might not have thought of on your own, and to make your project feel complete. So my answer is always, "let's find out!"

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

A: Music production technology is often overwhelming and mysterious to those who don't understand what the technology does. There's a lot of buttons, knobs, and faders after all! For people who don't understand what a music producer actually does, they may think that I'm just pressing buttons in an unartistic way, only using presets made by someone else, and trying to throw ideas at the wall hoping they stick. In reality, producing is more like painting on a canvas; I take colors of sounds, chords, fx, and soundscapes, and create a picture for your ears. Sometimes, it IS random colors thrown together that create an interesting piece. Other times, every choice is intentional and the parts are arranged in a specific way for a specific reason. For me, it's all about finding a healthy balance between the two - that's what I think makes great music production and in turn, makes great art.

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

A: Be honest and authentic with your music. Don't be ashamed of your craft, or what inspires your creativity. That's my mentality when it comes to working with other musicians. Mainly because this is what professionals do; they take their work seriously.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Music takes practice. It doesn't matter if you're writing, performing, or producing. Practice like you're close to achieving your musical goals, because whether you realize it or not, YOU ARE. My professors and music teachers have all agreed over the years that practice brings the BEST musician out of your inner-most self. Without dedication to the craft, our skills won't grow. Practicing doesn't always mean picking up an instrument. Sometimes it means listening to songs you like, analyzing the production of the song, and then replicating it. One of my favorite quotes about music is by the great Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky : “A good composer does not imitate; he steals.” Start "stealing" production techniques. Practice.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: The music I write for myself is a blend of various styles of electronic music, but leans towards EDM. If we're talking about my personal style, I'd have to classify myself as a big nerd trapped in a musician's body.

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

A: In 2016, I was approached by Disney to participate in a video game soundtrack for the game "TRON RUN/r". I was hired to produce two remixes of tracks by the great Giorgio Moroder (Scarface, Donna Summer, The Never Ending Story), and Raney Shockne (Queen of the South, The Assignment) for the game; one of which was actually used in the game for it's own level. The audio department at Disney sent me the original stems for the songs, and I used those stems and my own instrumentation to produce two remixes that I'm still very proud of. at 26 years old, that was a huge accomplishment for me, and I look forward to the next time that I have the opportunity to do that.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Over the last 6 months, I've been acquiring the best production gear I can so that I can streamline my production workflow and deliver quick returns for my clients. I've been working with bands, artists, and brands from all over Music City as an instrumentalist for their projects; Trumpet, Keys, and Synth mostly, but I've also been arranging horn charts, cowriting with clients and friends, editing podcasts, and making tracks for live performances. When I'm not doing those things, I'm writing original music, and practicing a LOT. I'm also the lead trumpet player in the 12 South Band (12southband.com), a party band from Nashville, so I've been performing all over the country with them for the past several years.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I've always thought this was an arbitrary question. I use both in my studio, because sometimes, one sounds better than the other. I use whatever helps me get the best sound for your project.

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

A: I'm here to be a resource for you - not just to take your money. I care about your project as if it was my own, and that's what my previous clients have always appreciated about my work ethic. You can expect my very best work, because that's what you'll get.

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

A: I would take my Behringer Poly D synth, my favorite trumpet, my AKG C414 II mic, an interface, and my laptop! I think that's all I would need in order to have fun!

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

A: I've been on this path since I was about 18 years old, so that would put me at 15 years of real production and performance experience.

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

A: That really depends. Pop/Electronic is my specialty, but I have real work experience producing in every genre from children's music to metal and hardcore, so I don't discriminate.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is made up 5 hardware synthesizers, 3 drum machines that are all controlled with MIDI through a MIDI interface and USB by my computer. My computer is a 2012 Macbook pro, but works better than most brand new laptops because of the way that I have maintained and upgraded it over the years. I use Logic Pro X as my primary DAW, but I also have Ableton Live 10 and Reason 11. I have several MIDI controllers of various kinds (keys, drums, wind controllers) that I've programmed within Logic pro to help me put new ideas down fast. I don't like to waste time searching for the "perfect preset". I prefer to design an original sound using my instruments first, then add the finishing touches after. Check out my instagram for a look into what I do! @portariusmusic

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Music theory can be our greatest friend or our worst enemy when it comes to creating. But as the old adage goes, "rules were made to be broken." My strongest skill is taking an idea and taking it into its full potential as a project - whether I'm producing the entire project, or only adding small parts into it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: One of my greatest strengths as a classically and commercially trained musician is my ear for hearing a song's potential. I look past the song into the "realm of the invisible" and try to imagine what it would sound like if there were no "rules" and I let the music do the talking instead of me.

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

A: After more than 20 years of playing in bands and orchestras, and nearly 10 years working in the music industry, it's especially difficult for me to list all of the people in this industry that inspire me. Some of my personal favorite bands and artists are Tears for Fears, Giorgio Moroder, Above & Beyond, Daft Punk, Tangerine Dream, and The Midnight. I wouldn't say that the musicians themselves inspire me, per se, but rather the interesting sounds they create with electronics of all kinds. In my opinion, these are some of the bands and artists that have set the bar for music production today and over the last 50 years.