Perfect Mixing & Mastering

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

A: Theres been so many.... Recording and mixing the last Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album was an honour, as always. Also recording with David Bowie. He's an icon that will last forever. I am very proud of the 5.1 mixes I have done for Depeche Mode and Nick Cave where we rebuilt all the albums from the masters and mixed them in surround sound. That gave me a lesson on how to mix like some of the greatest mixers ever. I learned a lot from those projects ;-)

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That I hear great music and work with amazingly creative people that I've managed to work with for many many years.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm finishing a double album for an artist in Turkey and just finished mixing an album for someone in Taiwan. I'm also mastering 2 eps for uk artists as well. Always busy.

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

A: I don't know anyone else here at the moment.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I'm old school analogue but followed the digital revolution right from the start. They both have a place. Theres nothing that beats putting your sounds through a big desk and theres nothing that beats having unlimited access to emulations of all the gear that costs £100,000s

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

A: To give them 100% of my creativity and to make sure the mix is perfect for them.

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

A: Can you make my song sound like...? Ill always try my best. Can I ask for one more change or adjustment. Yes, I want you to be 100% happy. How much do you charge? It all depends on the project.

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

A: That its easy and anyone can do it. They can't. Not all people can cook and not all people can mix.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What sort of sound are they looking for? I want as much information as they can give. Whats the timeline.

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

A: Contact me and see what I can do.

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

A: Ok. Well it would have to be an Apple Macbook that would be fully loaded for sure. UAD thunderbolt Octo, Dynaudio speakers, maybe a huge console (with a cover) that I could use for summing and if necessary use as shelter and don't forget the cables. I'll need plenty of those.

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

A: I started way back in 1991, so its been a long time but i'm still here :-) I worked at a studio owned by the Kinks and that gave me a great insight into the hours and dedication needed. From there I went to Mute Records and I had the chance to work with nearly all of the artists on the label and learned so much about production, recording, mixing and the creativity of sound

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Wide, Strong and Exciting

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

A: I would have loved to work with James Brown.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Listen to the song. It generally tells you what to do.

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

A: All sorts. I work with rock, pop, funk, soul, jazz, electronic, hip hop and mixture of all of them sometimes.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Capturing the vibe of a song. I like all sorts of music and I can quickly get an idea in my head of how I think a song should sound, What's important and how to bring that out.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Well. maybe you should ask my clients that. Seriously, I try to add clarity and sound. I want to make the record as good as it can be. Using good balance and vibe.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I setup the session. Listen to the rough mix to get an idea of how the client hears their work and then set about trying to form my own opinion of it. I might have a chat on the phone if I think that helps me and the client to get a firm direction and also some clients want to talk, so I'll speak to them just to say hello and add a personal touch to the project. I let the song guide me on direction of sounds and use the tools I have to sculpt and mould the mix towards that point. Once I have something I'm happy for the client to hear they can then feedback to me to steer me in towards the finish line.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Its mainly digital with an analogue front end. I have a Rupert Neve 5059 Satellite and Crane Song Egret that I use for analogue summing and everything goes through those two units. I use UAD, Waves and Brainworx plugins to mix inside the box. They have the best emulations of the classic gear I would have used when I first started many years ago.

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

A: Quincy Jones is a huge inspiration to me, both as a producer and an artist. I've been lucky to work with some amazing producers including Flood, Alan Moulder and Daniel Miller. They all had a profound impact on my approach to production, mixing and working with artists in the studio

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

A: I mainly do mixing and mastering.