Mixing/Mastering Engineer

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: They go together. The process of analog to digital and back to analog is unavoidable (unless you're using tapes). While recording, there is no substitute for good microphones, good preamps and good D/A convertors. After the material has been recorded, it doesn't really matter to me weather you're using plugins or physical outboard gear. The end result can be quite similar as well as you work with a setup you know how to use properly.

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

A: Putting as much time and as much work as it takes to get their music to sound great.

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

A: Playing music since I was about nine, my main instrument over the years was guitar. I also play piano, bass, flutes and all kinds of electronics. I got into the "technical" side of things, mainly to have a better understanding of how these things operate and how the magic of mixing music works. The more theoretic side of engineering can be as relevant to any musician as much as it's relevant to a professional sound technician. Over the years, I found out I really enjoy working on other people's music as a mixing/mastering engineer, bringing their raw material to a different a place. Making it a whole, rather than separated audio recordings.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Always aiming for an organic sound. The details and tiny nuances of each instrument is something I try to bring out when mixing.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Sometimes it's about letting the instruments speak for themselves, rather than trying to make them sound like something else.

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

A: Folky/americana kind of stuff, rock music and jazz.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Making acoustic guitars shine.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A well defined, rich sounding and detailed sound.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Aligning the raw tracks, listening to the song start to end and from there working on each instrument one by one. Once a rough mix is achieved, I usually send a sample to the client to make sure we're on the same page. After they approve, I'll proceed working on the track.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: All in the box, using top of the line plugins and a high quality audio interface.

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

A: The first name that comes to mind is Jim O'rourke, the guy has put out all kinds of beautiful sounding music over the years. There's an acoustic guitar player named Daniel Bachman I really enjoy listening to in the past few years, great sounding records. Besides that, a band I listen to a lot lately is Tool. Straight to your bones kind of music... The way Joe Barresi mixes their stuff is quite amazing I think.

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

A: Mixing, mastering and sound editing.