Engineer-Producer

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you looking for out of the final project? What aspects are you expecting from me? Are you willing to put in the extra effort it sometimes takes to make something really special? How much of your original vision are you willing to sacrifice if it gets in the way of the music? What deliverable are you expecting? what platform will this end up on? Do you have any preferences for how you would like this work to be done?

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

A: a computer with Ableton Live, a Nord Keyboard, Barefoot monitors and an apollo

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

A: I started playing piano at the age of four when my parents inherited my grandmothers piano. I've played in bands, ran live sound, gotten degrees in audio, learned numerous instruments, and purchased way too much gear. 20-something years later, I still find music as magical as it was when I could barely play.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would say it's 'Communal'. Music doesn't exist in a vacuum. I have only two ears, I can only hear so much. I only have two hands, I can only play so much. Music ends up passing through generations and across country lines, and it should be made for the world by the world. I am here to contribute my piece. I hope you contribute yours.

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

A: Any artist who promotes the wellbeing of their fellow man is an inspiration and a privilege to work for. I have had the pleasure of working with a few of these, but they are a rarity.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Feeling. I'm the best at finding and amplifying a feeling. A technically competent mix is delightful to listen to, but it will only get you so far. if there's too much 15kHz, a meter can tell me that. A meter cannot tell me how a track moves a listener, what it reminds them of, or how it makes them feel. Having a strong emotional core to any record is what makes or breaks a hit song, and that is what I am most capable of tuning into.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring clarity. I have an obsession with 'pop' as an idea, but what that means to me is something that is clear and understandable in its purpose, interesting and compelling. I mostly listen for the original intention of the artist (even if it’s not "traditional" pop) and there are small mindset shifts that I bring that can universally uplift and reinforce the essence of the track, pushing it in the direction it naturally wants to go. As someone who has bounced around the creative world in quite a few ways, I always try to approach everything from a multimedia perspective- "can I see this in a music video?" "Does this feel like a movie?" - A track can be confrontational in its sound and presentation, but still be compelling to a wide audience as long as it's consistent in its direction and vision.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Whether I'm Producing tracking, or mixing, I follow my feet and I follow my ear. when I'm working with an artist in the room, they typically have a vision and following them close enough that they dont notice thy made their own musicc is the goal. if I'm by myself, the music commands me. I will be halfway through tuning the sound for the keys and if I think I hear a bassline, I'll drop everything to track it out so I don't forget it or get lost in the sauce. its important to be able to step back and change your perspective too.

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

A: I produced an ambient/experimental record based on the Apollo 10 communications recordings with my music project Gnosis a few years back, and we had the privilege of breaking it out onto a large format analog console. The whole experience was so much fun, and we just made music with no expectations or judgement the whole way through. Whatever stuck the landing made it on the record, and I hope to continue making art as free and unbounded as that in the future!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have been working with VIVIAN LUTHER on some of her upcoming music... I can't say too much but it's gonna turn heads when it comes out!

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

A: There are some absolutely world-class engineers on this platform, but they don't need my help.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: haha- a mix. They're useful in different ways. To pick one and ignore the other is to lobotomize your toolkit. digital is clean and precise, fast and (with enough computing specs) unlimited, but analog adds detail. Running signal through long stretches of copper introduces more potential points of error and noise, but forcing your sound to spend time in the physical world adds grit based on the laws of physics- the most fundamental boundaries that exist. Digital emulation will always get better but will always take more effort to achieve than raw physical limitations.

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

A: I promise you will walk away feeling better about your music than when you first arrive.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Being a part of something bigger than me. Helping create something that goes out into the world is one of the greatest feelings.

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

A: "Can you *so-and-so* for free?" No. I'm sure your project is great, but I cannot eat on a sick beat alone.

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

A: I cannot "Fix it in Post". Despite having incredible digital forensic audio tools and the skills to use them, a bad initial recording will at best be a polished turd. I can remove a fly buzzing in the background of a take, but I cannot fix your guitarist's bad form and sloppy chords.

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

A: Bring bold ideas and a focused mind. The more you can visualize of the project you are trying to make, the more I can help you implement it in practice.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Layer your reverbs! We dont live in a 2-dimensional flatland, why should reverbs be the same?

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

A: Pop, hip-hop, rock and bedroom/indie genres are my forte, but all music speaks to me. I hope to never settle into a groove of what I work on. challenge me!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Consoles/Monitoring: Vintage Ramsa 8428 large format console, Adam T8Vs, TOA mixcube (auratone clones) Microphones: Warm Audio U47 tube mic, Audio Technica AT2020’s (2x), Audix DP7 Drum Mic set, Sm58's (3x), mxl 993 Stereo Pair, Custom subkick mic Outboard Gear: Mindprint envoice EZ-1, Warm Audio Bus Comp, Dbx 166, Ibanez Graphic EQ, Colour Cp5 Mic-pre with 70s card, Apollo Twin, Teac 2300 Reel to Reel tape Machine Instruments: Yamaha Compact 3 Piece drumkit, Behringer Pro-1, MicroKorg, Korg Minilogue, 2011 Fender Strastocaster, 1989 Samick Electric Bass, Assorted Guitar Pedals (strymon, ehx, rat, ect.) Marshall half-stack

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

A: Watching artists like Daft Punk, Tyler the Creator, and Pharell effortlessly move from one project to another, one sound to the next, never stopping on genre lines, and always collaborating, mixing it up, and challenging themselves and the culture with their styles and sounds. Certified Genius Super-Producers.

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

A: I spend most of my time engineer-producing. When Singer-Songwriters come to me with a demo or an unfinished idea, they typically have it all figured out musically, but need someone to fill the gaps in the musicality they can't accomplish, and then glueing that to the technical recording and processing side. As an engineer-producer, I span the gap between the creatives with the ideas and the tape (or DAW in most cases).