World-Class Horn Tracks

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

A: Jared Richardson, our in-house arranger/mixer, is an incredibly talented producer. He created an extremely hip/modern medley of ABBA hits, which is soon to be released! It includes some of the most challenging and intricate horn lines we've ever recorded. Also, check out Michael Kim's 'Artistry in Metal' on YouTube!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Jim, our low brass player, is also a composer/arranger. He wrote an original composition 'Fire & Ice' for brass ensemble and drum kit and we're working on the final stages of audio/video production prior to the release. Michael Kim, our trumpet player, is a prolific producer of exciting YouTube videos, and we have a few major projects in the works right now for his channel.

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

A: Jim Hopson, session low brass player & arranger.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. The future is here!

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

A: We promise to work with you to produce the highest possible quality musical product.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: We like the challenge and variety of working with a wide range of unique and talented artists and producers. It's also very satisfying to hear how our tracks contribute to our clients' final products.

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

A: Q: How will adding horns to my song make it sound better? A: It depends on the song. Horns can add an interesting counterpoint to vocal melodies, create warm background textures, fill in gaps in the groove, or straight up drive a tune. The possibilities are endless. Q: Will adding horns make my song sound cluttered or messy? A: Not when you work with us. Some tunes just need simple and sparse horn parts, and other tunes could benefit from adding some hard-hitting and busy tracks. Q: My style of music doesn't often use/require horns. Will you still work with me? A: Yes, enthusiastically!

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

A: That it's difficult and unnecessarily complicated to add real horn tracks to your song. If you find the right provider, it's easy, satisfying, and sounds WAY better than midi/synth/fake horns. We're a one-stop-shop kind of provider for horn tracks.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your vision/intent with this project? Do you have any specific musical ideas that we can help you realize? If not, do you have any guidelines or parameters that you would like us to work within?

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

A: To begin, look for someone who provides a high end product which meet your needs. Just as important: look for someone who is professional, reliable, easy to work with.

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

A: A trumpet, a trombone, a saxophone, a solar-powered generator, and a working satellite phone.

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

A: We're a collective of top-call session musicians based in Vancouver. We've been working together for well over a decade in all kinds of scenarios, and over time we've developed a really efficient and effective process for putting together top-flight horn arrangements and recordings.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Precise, modern, and versatile.

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

A: Bruno Mars. He's kind of a modern-day James Brown... he makes hip, interesting, dance-friendly music with a high level of complexity and artistry. He's also a great performer, or course, and knows the value of a great horn section!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Invest in building relationships with other like-minded music production professionals. Surround yourself with a pool of talented, hard-working, and supportive colleagues.

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

A: Between us, we have decades of experience playing, recording, composing, and arranging in the following styles: pop, rock, EDM, jazz, world, funk, Latin, folk, bhangra, polka, children's music... name a genre and we've probably played it.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Unrelenting work ethic.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Excitement, energy, and authenticity.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Most clients approach us with musical projects that could benefit from adding horn tracks. We listen to the project, talk with the client about their intent, write arrangements if necessary, record the tracks, and send them back to the client for approval/revisions. Sometimes clients ask us to provide multiple musical options or additional material for later editing/sampling, and we're happy to do that as well.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: We mostly record at our acoustically treated home studio, but sometimes we rent a local studio space for larger sessions. We write arrangements on Finale 26, record/edit/produce on Logic Pro X, and use a PreSonus Quantum 2626 interface with a maxed-out M1 Mac Mini computer. We have a small collection of high-quality ribbon, condenser, and dynamic mics, but our go-to unit for most work is a Townsend Labs L22 modelling mic. We also have a mobile recording rig for on-location sessions.

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

A: Some of our varied influences include: Rush, Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, Chicago, ABBA, The Jerry Hey Horns, Duke Ellington, Fred Wesley, Tito Puente, and many LA studio greats past/present.

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

A: Most clients send us bed tracks for their songs and ask us to add horn tracks to them. Some clients have very specific ideas of what they want us to add, and some clients want us to create new musical ideas from scratch. We're very flexible! We can even build complete instrumental & vocal productions for clients.