Music producer and engineer

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

A: We made a dubstep album with a couple of friends at school, never came out but it was my first 'album'. We all played producer/mixer/mastering engineer.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: My upper body strength. And an indiepop album.

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

A: There are lots of great people on SoundBetter, I don't have to tell you that.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both, old-school TV wasn't black or white, it was black and white, we're better off when we don't have to decide.

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

A: You're not just another client. I'm gonna be honest, I want to be associated with the next big thing, makes me look good as well. So if I help make a song for you, I will do everything in my power to put it in front of the right people.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: No damn suits!

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

A: Basically if I can deliver the goods. My answer, see for yourself, if you hate it I am very sorry.

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

A: That I'm a lunatic.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you want to sound as great as your favourite artist? No mixing engineer or producer can help you do that until you push yourself to the limit. And if they're local I ask if they want to split on the pizza.

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

A: Ask a million questions.

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

A: Macbook, M- Audio MIDI controller, Apogee interface, SM58 mic, Sony MDR-7506 headphones. That's basically the cheapest stuff I have (except for the Apogee), you can make amazing music with just that stuff and it's super-reliable.

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

A: Classic story, friend shows you how to make beats, you become obssessed, friend isn't interested anymore, you decide to become a professional. Going to Berklee was when I felt I became a real pro.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Almost retro, almost trendy, people either strongly hate me or strongly love me.

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

A: Max Martin, Beyonce, Adele, Dave Pensado, Kanye West, Seban Ghenea, Benny Blanco, because in their fields, their basically gods.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't follow any rules, make awful music and listen to it later with some perspective and take out the bad stuff, under all the bad stuff, you''ll find something that sets you apart.

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

A: EDM and Pop, but I'm flexible. I listen to everything anyway, there are only one or two genres that I don't do because I have no experience in them.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Knowing what hits people. When I listen to a new album by anyone, I can always tell which ones will be the hits instantly.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: That WTF moment. There are too may 'good' songs, I'll do one thing that you don't expect.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Tweak, eat, tweak, sleep, tweak, repeat. I normally do one thing a day and it becomes my day. I'm having cereal, I'm thinking EQ, I call my mum, I'm thinking sidechain. By having that one thing on my mind but also taking a lot of breaks, the project is an extension of myself and no matter how long it takes, when I'm done, I go to bed, wake up in the morning and listen and I'll change one thing, and I know it's done.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have just about a million keyboards stacked up on each other, outboard preamps, compressors, etc., a huge mixing board and the my prized KRK monitors. There's also Neve at my uncle's house that I use every now and then. Do I pretend that having analogue gear makes my music better? No. I actually use the plugins more then I use the hardware. I have all of that stuff for two reasons, the 'vibe' (it makes it look like a 'real' studio) and options, I want to have choices, I don't want to use software because it's my only option.

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

A: I am crazy about Adele, The Chainsmokers, Yeasayer, Kanye West, James Brown, Arethra Franklin, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar. I know that's kind of a weird mix but I am really that guy, everything from EDM and Jazz to Pop and Indie Rock.

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

A: Mastering, not really by choice, just happened.