El Cid on SoundBetter

From your home studio to a professional sound, for less

I'm a 24 years-old Italian audio engineer based in UK, and I mainly record & mix local rap artists in my studio.

I'm looking to expand and diversify my portfolio.
I'm extremely focused on details such as intelligibility of the words and correct loudness levels.

Hit me up and let's work together!

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

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Interview with El Cid

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Bones - Mascia I produced, recorded mixed and mastered the track. I'm proud of myself and I'm proud of the artist who wrote the lyrics. The result is just great and we established a good connection in the studio.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm recording and mixing a 5-track-debut-EP for a local rap artist called Mascia
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I don't know anyone on SoundBetter yet
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: I'm not siding with anyone. My setup is digital only, but I can see myself investing in analog gear in the future
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will make your track sound competitive and professional, ready for streaming services
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I like literally everything about this job. I could do it forever
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Do you produce beats as well? Yes
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: No misconceptions so far. I make people's music sound better
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What is their long-term vision with music
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Establish a human relationship, don't be afraid to ask questions It's your product and you are paying for it to be perfect
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: I recon there wouldn't be electricity to plug a studio in a desert island, but if I had to pick I'd say a Macbook Pro with Logic installed would be in the list
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started making beats around ten years ago, I used to record rapper friends in my bedroom for free and we literally wrote dozens of unpublished albums together. I then attended an Audio Engineer College-Equivalent School in Italy for two years, where I perfected my craft and learned a lot about the Pro industry
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Straight to the point, scientific approach and hyper focused
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I don't have a particular artist in mind, but defo someone who creates a good vibe in the studio, with a positive mindset and a long-term vision
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Trust your ears more than your eyes/the meters
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: The genres I'm most comfortable working with are Rap, Trap, Drill, UK Grime, UK Garage, Bassline, Urban and similar
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I'm a perfectionist and I know my DAW from the ground up. Being never fully satisfied with my own work allows me to improve mix after mix
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Clarity, detail, loudness, realism
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I start cleaning up the tracks by imperfections, bad resonances, etc. Then I fix the dynamics and tones till everything works together. My next phase is more creative: I add effects and tridimensionality to the song. Before exporting the file I master the product and compare my loudness, stereo field, eq curve and other factors to the industry standard ones, making sure I'm competitive and balanced. The whole process takes at least two separate sessions, to give my ears the possibility to 'reset themselves' and find further imperfections before delivering
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: In my acoustically treated control room you can spot a Focusrite Clarett 2 Pre, Adam T5V Speakers, my Macbook Pro and Beyerdynamics DT770 Headphones.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: One of my biggest influences is MSM Engineer, a successful and talented UK Rap/Urban mixing engineer based in London
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Most of my clients are rappers who aspire to land on the streaming platforms the right way, with a solid and competitive sound but without necessarily spending a fortune. I provide them with quality mix & masters, revisions and recording sessions in my studio in Glasgow, UK