Music Producer/ Vocalist

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

A: I wrote and produced a song for a young lad whose Aunt had died from a terrible illness. he had a great voice and really did justice to the song. It wasn't a huge nation wide hit or anything like that, but it received lots of local coverage on the media and raised a good amount of money for the charity. I remained anonymous and still wish to do so.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Collaborative song writing for a medium sized record label, pre-production for a singer/ songwriter, some vocal covers for a karaoke client and some backing tracks in the pipeline

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

A: I have worked with the vocalist Tee Webb for many years as a producer/ writer/ musician, he is a true professional and we seem to have this 6th sense when working with each other and everything always gels perfectly. I have also worked with Aidan Thompson (engineer/producer), he did a few remixes on some of my collaborative work with fantastic results.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I grew up with analog and loved it. I really miss having the big 2" Ampex tape reels swooshing round and that monstrous analog desk that you used to have to thump a few times to stop it crackling and there were certain nuances that you would get from an analog recording that you don't seem to get from digital, like for instance when you had to "drop in" a take and there was sometimes a little glitch. Having said that, working in digital is far more efficient and flexible and it would make working remotely virtually impossible. Can I get my DAW to look like a 24 track tape machine? ;-)

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

A: I would promise to deliver to their requirements and hopefully offer more in the most efficient and professional manner.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: What isn't there to like about it, making music has got to be the best job on the planet.

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

A: Q. How do you think you can help my project? A. By bringing creativity and quality in a professional and flexible manner.

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

A: Maybe the amount of time it takes to produce a track. When my wife asks me how long am I going to be, I reply "8 hours sweetheart", and her reply is "is that 8 hours in real hours or in studio hours?" So even I don't appreciate how long a track takes to produce!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: The main question is - what are your expectations from me? then elaborate about the required style/ genre, did you want the track to sound like any particular artiste? If the track is going in the wrong direction, what would be the contingency plan? Urgency of the project is always a good one to ask, but I think the most important question is - do you have any questions for me?

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

A: Ask as many questions as you like, explain in as much detail what you expect for your project, if you are unsure about anything let the provider know so you can be reassured

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: If I had to chose one I'd say pop-rock, that gives it quite a wide scope.

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

A: Grand Piano, Acoustic Guitar, iPad with Cubasis, any decent vocal mic and a Korg Pa4x 76 arranger keyboard

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

A: Coming from a family that was heavily in to musical theatre, it was inevitable that I was going to have a career in music. At 7 I was classically trained on the Piano and French Horn achieving grade 8 distinction on both. I had a fantastic piano teacher, she trained me classically, but also taught me about chord structures, jazz and how to improvise which put me in good stead for the future. By the time I was 13 I had formed a band as a keyboard player/ singer and the band went on to become one of the top bands in Leicestershire and appeared on ITV's New Faces where we came second. I left school at 16 and flitted between various bands touring Europe and recording. I landed a deal with Hansa Ariola and recorded an album with Gus Dudgeon (Elton Johns producer) and being in the studio was a side of the business that really appealed to me and at 22 I set up my first recording "studio" with a Teac 244 Portastudio. This was followed by various incarnations to where I am present day.

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

A: Peter Gabriel, his vocal quality is excellent and creatively he is brilliant drawing inspiration from all sorts of genres, I just love his productions.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Give your ears a rest, sometimes when you have been working for twelve straight hours on a track, it probably isn't the best time to do a mix. Go back to it the following day or better still a few days later with fresh ears.

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

A: Everything and anything, I am happy to work in any genre of music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would probably say my creativity, yes I'm an excellent keyboard player and vocalist, but I think creativity is probably what would make me stand out from others.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Experience and creativity! I've been in the business a lot of years and have probably covered most genres you could think of, so I think I could make your song sound exactly as you would like it to sound. I once did a project for an African church, the singer/ songwriter just had the top line, so no chords or structure. They wanted a sort of "African Township" sort of vibe, fortunately for me (and them) one of my all time favourite albums is Graceland by Paul Simon which is full of African musicians and vocalists. Simon, was lucky enough to travel to Africa for his inspiration so he did the hard work, but I drew on his inspiration and utilized it for my client and in their own words "everyone we play this to thinks that it is an African band playing on the tracks".

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: The first and foremost thing is talking to the client to get a full understanding of what is expected from the end product. Block out the song with a piano and guide vocal to establish the format, add a very basic rhythm track (just bass drum or click) then build from there, sending little snippets to the client as I go along to make sure I am heading in the right direction.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Small, compact & bijou........ it's pretty much like Doctor Who's Tardis small in appearance but a great big sound on the inside!!! I am currently using Cubase 10, I didn't actually choose Cubase - it chose me, I worked on a project in the 80's at a studio in London and they had just invested in an Atari 1040st with Cubase and as it was an ongoing project it made sense that I invested in the same and I have stuck with it ever since. All of my production tools are on board and I have a stack of brilliant plugins and great samples. I have a small Behringer desk which I use for my SE2200 A vocal mic I have a Strat and a PRS Santana special which I put through a Line 6 floor pod plus. The room as I mentioned is small but very functional, it is an integral part of my home, so I roll out of bed straight in to the studio. It is well isolated with acoustic baffles and acoustic panels

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

A: I have a very eclectic taste in music, I am a big fan of Peter Gabriel, his voice has a very unique quality to it and his lyrics are awesome, my favourite band at the moment is Frost* they are a UK prog rock band and co founder Jem Godfrey production is sublime. I also love Infected Mushroom, Sam Smith, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, System Of A Down, Snarky Puppy, Quincy Jones......I could go on forever :-)

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

A: Production for songwriters is probably the work I am asked to do more often and it is probably my favourite type of work as it gives me the opportunity to be creative.