Producer/Songwriter/Mixer

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

A: I wrote a song for a health campaign ad. That was my first client work so it was very special to me. I did everything, wrote the song, mixed and mastered it. When I was playing the song in front of the client, she told me "Tumataas balahibo ko. Ang ganda." (In English, "Goosebumps. The song is beautiful.")

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I constantly produce music (whether for myself or I think suits for other artists). I also teach 1 on 1 music production from time to time.

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

A: None at the moment.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I love a little bit of both. I have plugins that emulate analog hardware. I love them to bits!

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

A: That I will take care of you tracks. I won't produce, mix or master it just to have a go at it. Artists write with their heart and soul. I will always do my best for the artist/client before they share their songs with the world.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: What I like the most about what I do is hearing the finished product; that a song started with just humming and eventually having a full production for the song. Music (listening or producing) makes me happy.

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

A: 1) "How do you write music?" My answer is that I pick up an instrument (guitar or keyboard) and I hum 'til I get solid hook for the song. 2) "How long will it take for the song to be finished?" Writing a song for a client takes me about 1-3 days.

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

A: That I just stare at my computer and click stuff

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What kind of vibe do you want the listeners to feel when they hear your song? Are you learning during the whole process?

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

A: Look for someone who can learn and help you develop as an artist.

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

A: I'd take the following with me: My Taylor GS-Mini My Macbook Pro An Audio Interface An SM57 Pen and Paper (Does that count as 1 but a bundle?)

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

A: My career path is to produce a ton of tracks for myself and my favorite artists. I've been producing since 2011/'12.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is pop mixed heavily mixed with R&B/soul and hip-hop.

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

A: Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Justin Timberlake, Charlie Puth, Mac Ayres and Tom Misch.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Take your time with chord progressions. If you keep them interesting all throughout the track, you glue your listeners to your songs.

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

A: I usually work on pop mixed with heavily with neo-soul, R&B/soul hip-hop elements. I've also produced other genres like house, acoustic and orchestral.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill would be production. I produce full songs and write all the elements for it mostly on my own (sometimes I exchange ideas with fellow artists).

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I usually start with a hook and I work around with some verses that I think lead to the hook smoothly. Chord progressions are significant in my work. I always experiment with those to help me build a strong hook for the songs I write.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My workflows are typically these two: 1) Songwriting with a pen and paper, using my guitar or keyboard to experiment with song ideas. 2) Open up my DAW, load a piano instrument and experiment with chord progressions.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My home studio setup consists of studio monitors, an audio interface, a MIDI keyboard and some guitars. I work with Pro Tools and Ableton Live for all things music & audio. I mostly do remote work for song production, mixing and mastering.

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

A: Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Timberland, Charlie Puth, Noah 40 Shebib, Mac Ayres and Tom Misch.

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

A: Song production, mixing and mastering.