Producing/Mixing/Mastering

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

A: Q: What type of equipment do you have? A: iMac, Ableton Live 11, Yamaha HS7, AKG P420, Squier Bullet Telecaster, Dunlop Dyna Comp MXR M-102, Focusrite Scarlet Solo, and a pair of Sennheiser 6xx headphones. Q: How long have you been producing, mixing, mastering? A: Six years. Q: Can you mix to a reference track? A: Yes.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1. What type of emotion are you going for? 2. How long do you want your track to be? 3. What bpm would you like your track at? 4. How would you like your mix balanced? 5. Is there a reference track for me to follow for mixing/sound design? 6. Would you like your track to feel warm or cold?

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

A: My advice is to work with someone that fits your energy. It is easier working with someone that vibes with you.

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

A: Easy! Laptop, sound card, headphones, midi keyboard, and microphone.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is diverse. One beat can have you put you in a sandy desert with a revolver; another can have you feeling like you are shooting through outer space!

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

A: I would love to work with Odesza because I would love to see their workflow and how they process/resample their sounds.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always mix in mono. If you can make it sound amazing in mono, then your track will sound good anywhere.

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

A: I usually work on chill hip hop beats/instrumentals.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is attention to detail. I will iron out all the smallest details.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring three things to a song: 1. A unique sound design. 2. An equally balanced mix. 3. A master that can compete with industry standards.

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

A: A project that I am proud of was my self-released album MNTNS. I am extremely proud of this album because it is diverse. This album pulls from a variety of genres giving the listener a ride of a lifetime.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on refining my sound, mixing, and mastering capabilities. It is dire for one to improve in music consistently. I enjoy teaching music production and am building the number of students I have. It is my goal to share what I have learned in music thus far.

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

A: Not at the moment.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I grew up in the digital age, so I'm going to have to go with digital. I pick digital because it is usually cheaper while maintaining similar quality in sound. Although I like digital, I wouldn't mind getting more on the side of analog to expand my music knowledge and understanding of how digital is emulating analog.

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

A: I always to give my 150% best work every time I work on a project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love that each project is as as unique as the first. I get bored with most things, but when I work on music the time flies by like nothing else.

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

A: The biggest misconception is that it is easy work. Although I enjoy my work fully it takes a lot of active listening and attention to make each project sound its best.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My typical work process starts with finding a sample I like. I then alter and build around that sample to make an 8-16 bar loop. From there, I create a skeleton of the beat. Once I have made the skeleton, I create alternate rhythms and melodies to make variances in the track. I then add effects to make each part of the track smoothly transition between each other. From there, I export all stems for mixing because mixing is easier to focus on when you take composition out of the picture. Once the song is mixed, I export all the stems for mastering.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup is modest and effective. My studio includes the following pieces of equipment: iMac, Ableton Live 11, Yamaha HS7, AKG P420, Squier Bullet Telecaster, Dunlop Dyna Comp MXR M-102, Focusrite Scarlet Solo, and a pair of Sennheiser 6xx headphones. The equipment is important, but the environment of my studio is equally important. My studio is in a room filled with custom soundproofing panels that ensures hearing accuracy on my mixes and masters. I also have colored LED lights that help set a specific mood and emotion for the track I am working on.

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

A: There are too many to count, but I will give you my top 3! My top 3 include Gorillaz, Clams Casino, and Odesza. I started listening to Gorillaz when I was in elementary school when their album Demon Days came out. I was pulled in by to their cover, which I found in a newspaper one day. I asked my mom to buy the album. When she did, I listened to the album on repeat for weeks. The album allowed me to immerse myself in a new world of sounds that made me feel immense emotion. The thing that inspires me most about Gorillaz is that each song has a unique story. In order to tell these stories, they use a variety of artists/instruments to convey them. You never know what you are going to get! Clams Casino has a special place in my heart. I was introduced to them by a friend in my later high school years. They quickly became one of my favorite producers. The first song my friend showed me was "I'm God." This song is a resampled beat from the song "Just For Now" by Imogen Heap. Clams Casino brings a dark, psychedelic, and dreamlike type of sound to the table. What inspires me most about Clams Casino is his use of delays and his drum sample choice. It is organic and calming to the soul. Finally, we have Odesza. I started listening to them after my college years and when I started learning music production. The album that inspired me most was A Moment Apart and more specifically the song A Moment Apart. I fell in love with how this duo resamples sounds over and over to create something entirely new. As a whole, this duo brings you into a magical world that you never want to leave. Each of these professionals is amazing in my eyes because they have mastered their unique sound giving each listener a new world to dive into. It is truly inspirational to have the ability to bring the listener into a space that can help them escape reality while simultaneously bringing them face to face with their deeper emotions.

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

A: The most common work for my clients includes producing, mixing, and mastering high-quality beats. Each beat has a unique sound that differs from the previous, fueling my client's creativity and inspiration. If an artist already has a beat/stems, I will mix and master them with the same care and precision.