Mixing Engineer

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

A: Just reach out to me! Whatever it is you need, we can figure something out.

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

A: My laptop, my speakers and something to connect my laptop to the internet, so I can reach people and find music to mix.

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

A: I started out with producing my own music about 10 years ago. When I came to a point where I was so busy mixing my beats that I got stuck at making 8-bar loops, I realized I had more fun with mixing than with the rest of the production process. Since then I have dedicated myself to building a career as a mixing engineer.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to mixing. Whenever I finish a mix and later hear something I don't like, I stop everything I'm doing and jump right back in the mix to fix it until everything sounds as perfect as can be.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently working as a Recording and Mixing Engineer for a friend who's trying to make an EP. We just started out, but it's already a lot of fun and I truly believe in this project. I honestly can't wait until everything is finished and I get to show other people what we've been working on.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I love Analog for the way it works. It can be a real puzzle sometimes, but there's almost no greater feeling than when you find a way to actually solve the puzzle. Most Analog consoles add some nice harmonics as well, which could be a great addition to your sound. However, depending on the gear you have available, your options can be quite limited, whereas in the Digital world, you can have pretty much everything you need with a few clicks. Personally, I think I can get you a better mix digitally, but once it's finished, I will definitely run it through an analog console to see if it could improve the mix any further.

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

A: To always treat their music with the same care and attention that they do. I treat it as if it was my own and never cut corners or rush through the process. I approach each mix to make it the best I've ever done, regardless if it's for a big artist, or an artist just starting out with their first recording.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The job itself. I used to study something I really didn't like and the idea that that would become my future made it very difficult for me to be happy. Now that I've made it possible for myself to pursue a career in music, I couldn't be any happier. I get to spend my time doing what I love and work with awesome people and that's pretty much all I need.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I could ask my clients about their vision for the song, the process of making it, if there's anything in their genre they like the sound of. I might ask if there is anything about the song they really like or really don't like. Maybe there are some songs that influenced this song that I could check out for reference. I basically look for ways to find the sound my clients are looking for.

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

A: I'd love to work with Slowthai sometime. Big fan of his work and the dude's got amazing energy.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: For artists: follow your heart, express yourself, love yourself, but work hard and work everyday. Success doesn't come over night. Same goes for producers. For mixers I'd say serve the song. You may have the best ideas for it, but at the end of the day, it's someone else's song and you only need to make sure it becomes what they have in mind for it.

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

A: In the past I have mostly worked on Hip-Hop, but I've recently become more interested in mixing different genres like Indie Rock, Rock, Jazz, Pop, Soul and R&B.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I think my strongest skill is that I care a lot about making my clients happy with the music they bring into the world. To an artist, their new music is like a newborn baby and I want to do everything I can to make sure that baby can live its best life. I can't be happy if my clients aren't happy.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to find the mood of every song I mix and make the listener feel the emotions that come with this mood. To find this mood, I might ask the artist what their song is about or what it means to them. I might also ask for the lyrics to further understand the emotions behind the song. I then proceed to look for the elements in the song that have the most potential to carry the mood, and then build the rest from there.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First thing I do is communicate with the client to find what it is they're looking for. We might talk about a specific direction or influences or references from other songs. We could get as specific as talking about certain effects that they like. If there is a rough mix, its the first thing I listen to. Before I start mixing, I always find it very important to get a proper feel for the mood of the song. Once I understand the mood, I start looking for ways to enhance that mood and make sure that it's not just heard, but felt. I could mix a song in a day or two, but depending on the amount of revisions and the speed of communication, it could take a bit longer to get the best possible result, but no matter what, you can count on me to do everything I can to deliver you that result.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Latest version of Pro Tools on a Windows setup and access to a recording studio with an SSL 6000e console.

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

A: People like Dave Pensado, Andrew Scheps, Tony Maserati, even the Lord-Alge brothers inspire me a lot. At some point I hope to be somewhere within their ranks.

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

A: I'm mostly passionate about mixing songs.