Composer, Producer

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I would say that I bring a unique musical background to the table - I have a foundation of being taught music theory and having some basic classical training, but also have years of experience in hip-hop and electronic music, as well as some rock. I feel that my scoring can be as "cool" and "edgy" as you want it to be - using elements of these contemporary genres - but also as emotional, powerful, and "timeless" sounding as needed.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My setup is almost entirely digital - using Pro Tools and virtual instruments from Spitfire Audio, Native Instruments, and EastWest's Composer Cloud X, along with my ability to play live piano, guitar, and bass, I love to digitally create massive sounds that feel authentic and convincing. I have a Gretsch hollowbody electric guitar that gives me a great range of tones, and my Slate Digital condenser microphone, with its various emulations, is also a highly versatile tool in my arsenal for recording additional live textures.

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

A: Outside of SoundBetter, I do lots of production, composing, and songwriting for both sync licensing, and for recording artists and labels. I also run my company Rooftop Audio, through which I offer mixing and mastering services. I love the fact that on one day I may be working on producing a hip-hop record, and the next day composing an orchestral score.

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

A: Wes Writer and I had the chance to co-write a song for the Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game. That will forever be a special project to me, as it was my first major placement of that caliber, and also because I love Marvel and Spider-Man!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Various production and mixing projects.

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

A: Wes Writer - my co-writer / co-producer in much of the work I've done over the past several years. Deraj - a longtime friend and someone I've made a lot of great music with for sync licensing. Rioux V - another friend of mine I've worked with on several occasions. All 3 of these guys are absolutely phenomenal!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Again, flexibility and adaptability. Also I work from home, and don't have room for a live orchestra in my house :)

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

A: My promise to my clients is that I'm not ok with turning in poor work just to get paid. I hold myself to a high standard and I don't want to turn in music I'm not proud of!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love being able to work from home! I travel some for my work, but for the most part I'm able to live my life in small town Ohio and work on music that ends up being used all over the world. That's pretty cool.

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

A: "What are your rates and turnaround?" This is a bit of a variable simply because of the time factor - regarding both how quickly the client needs the work done, and also how heavily booked my schedule is at the time.

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

A: Using a virtual orchestra is less glamorous than conducting a live one in a massive studio, sure. But it also gives greater flexibility and adaptability. I love being able to compose an orchestra in a room by myself - it allows me so much freedom to fine tune my ideas.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you hoping to accomplish with your project? What sound / style / mood / energy do you want the music to have?

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

A: Be up front and clear about your expectations - include references if you have a specific sound you want to achieve.

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

A: My laptop, obviously haha, considering most of my workflow is digital. Some decent monitors. My guitar. MIDI keyboard. Interface. Boom, that's basically my entire studio :)

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

A: After graduating high school in 2012, I attended the Recording Workshop (RECW) in Chillicothe, Ohio for the 5-week CORE program. There I was given an intense crash course in proper recording technique, engineering, and the production process. From there I began meeting and picking up clients online to sell beats to and mix for. Gradually I built a good reputation and expanded my clientele, and released some of my own music as well. Over the past few years my writing/production partner and I have continued to get bigger opportunities both in working with artists, and in sync.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: That's tricky because I consider myself a bit of a chameleon - I can kind of adapt to whatever type of production is needed in a certain context without being "stuck" in my own sound. Maybe that's the best description I can give!

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

A: I'll say Kanye. No explanation needed. He's Kanye. Haha.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I think it's hard to be a great producer without also becoming at least a decent engineer. I feel like my time spent learning to mix and master was well worth it, because it adds so much more polish and professionalism to my production.

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

A: The majority of my career has been spent in hip-hop, but nowadays, because of my work in sync licensing, it really varies day to day!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: If I'm going to attempt something, I go all in and do it with as much excellence as I possibly can. I also value relationships and try to be an easy person to work with!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My process is to first and foremost make sure I understand the needs, expectations, and vision of the client. Sometimes there is a very specific sound/genre I need to target, other times it's more of a mood or feeling. I can work with either! Next, if there is video content that I'm going to score to, I spend time brainstorming and looking for visual cues to inform what the music should do. I'll tinker around on my keyboard with different lead instruments and progressions until it feels right, and then I simply start with the foundational pieces and build it out from there.

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

A: I'm inspired by many different types of music; perhaps that's why I love composers like Ludwig Goransson and musical artists such as Childish Gambino - they are incredibly versatile and you can hear influences of multiple genres in their work.