Mix & Master & Dolby Atmos

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

A: In this madly gigantic mixing job of "Bad Doberan and Elsewhere" by Napoleon Murphy Brock & Ensemble Musikfabrik we mixed it together with Ali N. Askin, which then took with overdubs more than one year. Eventually everyone was so happy and satisfied and also the CD sales did well, now the distributor and label wants to do a vinyl release.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Many unrelated stuff, there are several Dolby atmos mixes lined up, a Disco music mix and production and some meditation music mixes.

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

A: I've heard some Sam Loose mixes. For rock and metal clients I guess he's worth checking out.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: In general, I think analog is still very important in adding color and organic feel to music, and digital is logistically great and it is time effective.

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

A: Music is my passion and regardless of with whom I work, when I craft a piece of music I try every other way to reflect an emotional level that moves me. I would then make that meet with the client's needs to achieve the happy result.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That I can do it anywhere and anytime.

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

A: They ask me how and what format they should deliver the audio files. I tell them that I use dropbox for transfer and prefer 24bit wav files and then give them a full description of track exporting and how to label, acronyms like HH for hihat.

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

A: I guess there's a belief that it is a technical job, which is not incorrect. When you are mixing classical music you do not have much room but when it is indie or pop you can become very creative with your tools.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Many. But mainly I want to understand the main influences, where and how they recorded the material, if there are any record label deals, their audience sentiment and what they think they represent.

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

A: For to reach the best result, the artist should at least have a clear direction, for that a reference track and a rough is super useful. Then, being able describe the imagination, tell the story or what they want to achieve with the track/album becomes the channel where we can then sculpt the end product together. Communication is key.

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

A: A Martin acoustic guitar, a djembe, a mbira, a daf and lyre.

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

A: In the past 20 years, I've worked as studio assistant, as recording engineer in major studios in Istanbul, as TV postproduction editor, as sound designer and as FOH mixer.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I keep things simple and am quick at achieving the sound in my head. The rest is communication and labour.

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

A: Yukimi Nagano, because I like her musical understanding, she works with good musicians, she sings beautiful and she appears to be easygoing.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I spend considerable amount of time to figure out the spatial aspect and the time-based effects for the track because I believe real or fiction when the ambience sits the track starts breathing nicely.

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

A: Ambient, avantgarde, jazz, indie and film soundtracks. And usually its mostly studio recorded material, but it can also be live recordings.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I listen very carefully.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: For me the most important thing about music is the emotion. After I've discovered the emotion of the song, i plan an mix aesthetic based around that and gradually and with the artist's consent I sculpt the finished sound.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: At first I talk to the artist to identify the artist profile, the goal and the vision, go through the files, musical material provided, research and propose a roadmap. Eventually I like to clarify every single detail and set deadlines. For all this, I provide a clean and quick communication.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: At my home studio I run Logic Pro X on a Metric Halo ULN with Softube Console1 and Genelec 8010s and a pair of Beyerdynamics DT 770Pros. To finalize I then go to the big studio with Verdade monitors and Auratones and a Dolby Atmos setup. There we have LA2A, HammerEQ and Eventide H9000.

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

A: As musician i am inspired by Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder and as producer by Shawn Everett and Eric Valentine.

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

A: Mostly it is mixing and mastering, and then comes recording, vocal editing, tuning and noise reduction especially for Dolby Atmos.