Songsmith

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on my own songs, trying to branch out to different genres of artists I love.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Although I do use analog now, I haven't always had the privilege of a world-class studio. Things are much cheaper and take up less space in digital.

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

A: I've been a mucisian all my life but I started making music in middle school, but played instruments much before that. I was a self-taught artist throughout high school, which then gave me an opportunity to go to music school. I currently attend the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My own singing style is pop singer-songwriter, but I try to incorporate chord progressions that aren't usually used in pop music. I always try to write conceptually, but in a way that people can relate.

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

A: I would love to work with Bruno Mars because of his sheer vocal talent and charisma on a track.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If you can't hear it, its not doing anything.

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

A: I work on pop, singer-songwriter, indie rock, pop punk, hip hop and R&B.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My greatest skill is my ear training, whether that be theory-wise, or production. I've mastered eq and the ability to hear certain frequencies and micro dynamics within a record. I can also figure out chord progressions by ear, and it really speeds up to process when an artist provides a reference track.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I add my creativity and improvisation to songs. Many times artists have only given me one take to work with. To make harmonies or backing vocals, I bring the take into melodyne and manually make my own harmonies. I chop them up to fit and add variation. Another thing I do that is unique is vocoder. Vocoder really boosts the presence of a vocal and adds a harmonized chorus effect. I am also a music theory nerd, so it's always a mission for me to bring in chords and harmonies that keep things interesting.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For a song, the first thing that comes to mind is your concept, no one likes writing blindly, so I actually come up with the title of the song first. A little bit of writing comes next, but is meshed in with the music: the chords, instruments, tempo. All of these things contribute to drafting your song. Production, recording, mixing, and mastering are your next steps in the process.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: A have a few studios I usually work on, My favorite is the API legacy console, because I prefer inline consoles. I also use an SSL and the legendary Neve 8078. My favorite mic for vocals is the AKG 414 XLS, combined with a 511 neve preamp, it has a natural crispness that is desired in contemporary vocals. The match box and producers pannel features a lot of analog gear like the LA2A compressor, and many UA limiters, and neve and SSL pre amps. The studio has a main control room and then a live room with drums, pianos, etc.

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

A: I really liked a RnB song I made with another female singer, its a very moody and sour song, and has a lot of emotion. I produced and mixed the song, and also had a verse. I also created the album cover art.

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

A: I promise to make you a banger. I put a ton of effort in to every track and know I can make your track into a work of art.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love working and talking with other artists. I learn a lot from talking to people. I also really like seeing what works with different voices and it helps me try new techniques and make more unique sounding tracks.

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

A: Why is mixing and mastering so expensive? Learning mixing and mastering is very difficult, it takes years of practice and learning to perfect it. My prices are not based on how much money I want to make, its based off my abilities and the effort it takes for me to complete the job.

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

A: There is a lot more to mixing and mastering then just putting vocals on an instrumental. There is a lot of creativity which would make the same track sound different with different producers.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How much does music mean to you? How invested are you in your career? Are you doing music for a living?

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

A: I think sometimes it can be a hard decision because it sometimes can be pricy. But, you get what you pay for. Professional sounding music is very important because that is the biggest thing that music curators and bloggers look at when looking to promote a song.

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

A: Realistically, I would take a water filter, a pot, a knife, a gun, and a blanket. But for music, I think the most important pieces of equipment are your computer, microphone, headset, and instrument.

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

A: I love the musical genius of Stevie wonder and the production skills of Finneas.

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

A: song writing and melody writing, mixing and mastering