Remote Mixing & Production

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

A: A few years ago I got the opportunity to record and mix a virtual children’s choir. We travelled to a number of lower income schools and children’s homes. We recorded around 200 different children singing and drumming. It was a lot of work and ended with a rather sprawling final mix, but taking this back to the children and seeing the joy it gave them was a very special moment in my career that I will hold on to forever.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have currently wrapped up work on the next Jessica Vines release, as well as a few singles for some artists in the Fargo/Moorhead area.

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

A: At this moment there isn’t anyone I know, but everyone on here seems to be very talented and professional.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I work almost entirely digitally, mainly out of necessity. Analog gear (and the pursuit of it) can often get in the way of a creative flow, but can also offer a flavor you can’t get anywhere else. A lot of the work I do to “glue” a song together is born out of an emulation of the analog signal flow of old. But that said, most of the tools you need to take a song over the finish line can be found in the box.

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

A: My promise to my clients is simple: I want to help make your music sound more like itself. What I mean by that is that often in the creating stage, you know the kernel of what makes the idea special is there, but your perspective is a little too up close to the project to see the forest for the trees. I offer a more birds-eye view that can identify what the core of the music is, and bring that out.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the constant inspiration and reacting to new ideas that people send me. What makes music and other forms of creativity so special is that each of us has a perspective that is unique and original to ourselves, so while some of us may find ourselves in similar lanes to other creatives, some of the conclusions we arrive at are wildly different. I find that variety refreshing and invigorating.

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

A: The most common question I get is “what is the turnaround time?”, to which I respond “when do you need it?”. Mixing and production is more a conversation to be had, and iteration is to be expected, so I always encourage clients to think of it like a collaboration and less like a service transaction.

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

A: The biggest misconception I’ve encountered has to be the adage, “we can fix it in the mix.” For sure there are several corrective measures I can take to make something sound better, but if there are inherent musical/arrangement/sonic/etc flaws in a mix, most of that has to be addressed at the tracking phase.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I usually ask if the client is referencing any other creative work for this project. Mainly I’m trying to get into the same mindset that the client is in so that I can use my skills to take the project to the place the client wants it to be.

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

A: All I would say is be patient and have an open mind. In my experience, bringing in someone else to work on your creative project can usually be scary, but often results in something you’re immensely proud of.

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

A: Gear is great, but I’ve never really relied on it. As long as I have a laptop and some familiar headphones, I’m off to the races!

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

A: I played all sorts of music all my life, and started studying audio engineering in 2012. I have been producing work for people professionally since 2017.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Overall I wouldn’t say I have a style or sound, but if there were something that sets me apart sonically I think it would be my emphasis on texture. I love to bring out those small details in a sound because it’s appealing and it helps the music jump out at you a bit.

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

A: I would love an opportunity to work with Tom Misch. Tom seems to have this magical ability to move between genres and bring musicians from different walks of life together and make something all its own. It’s those sort of adventurous creative endeavors that inspire me.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The tip that has served me the best over the years is to have a hard time limit on time spent searching for the right “sound”. When you’re in the creative mode, it’s very easy to get bogged down tinkering with synth controls or plugin presets, so I tell myself that if I haven’t settled on a sound to record within five minutes, then it’s time to either stick with what you got, or move onto the next creative idea.

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

A: I typically work on rock, jazz, pop, alternative, rnb, and hip hop, and often find myself somewhere between all of those.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is switching gears and locking in with the client. I pride myself on my ability to understand what they are trying to say or accomplish with their art, and I try my absolute best to lend my skills to their cause. Your goals will be my goals.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to find the part within the song that makes it special and amplify it. As creatives, it can sometimes be hard to look inward and correctly identify what that “special part” is or how to differentiate it. Having someone like me with an outside perspective and the wherewithal to bring those qualities out can take a good song and make it really extraordinary.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically when starting from scratch on someone else’s recording I will start with all the faders down and bring in the core elements of the song (these usually being the drums, bass, vocals, or a strong melodic instrument), and work on getting those essentials to really sing on their own. Once those are in lockstep with each other, then I go about bringing in all the other elements until I have a nice balance. After that I make several passes, focusing on different elements like transitions to automation.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Though I sometimes run audio out of the box and through pedalboards, the bulk of the work I do is in the box. My setup is small and mobile, but I promise that the sound I offer is much heftier! I do most of my work in Logic Pro and Pro Tools, preferring the former if I have the option.

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

A: I am inspired by the work of Brian Eno and the adventurous perspective he offered recorded music. Like Eno, I think of audio as a form of sculpture, one that I find especially potent.

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

A: The most common work I do is music production for people who have the bones of a song and want to build it out more. This usually means making a skeleton session of the song and overdubbing different instruments depending on what the song needs. These sorts of projects are collaborative in nature, and I mix as I go.