Producer/Engineer/Mixer

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

A: I think people often want me to do stuff that actually can only be fixed or changed by going back to the performance, arrangement or the song itself. I think that artists sometimes think I can make things brighter or darker say, which I can to some degree, but what really should have happened was that the tone of the voice or the instrument wasn't right in the first place. Another one is excitement, or loudness. The sense of excitement or loudness really must come from the performance. It can be enhanced slightly with distortion, EQ, delay etc, but it fundamentally lives in the performance.

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

A: I have been doing it all in all for about 8 years. I have also been studying it alongside this. I went and did a couple of degrees, and have done various training courses and masterclasses. However, it started for real 4 years ago when I set up a studio in a basement in Liverpool with my music friends, and the first track we recorded there hit nearly a million streams nearly straight away. That same track went on to be nominated for best production of the year by the Independent Music Awards. That was my friend Jalen N'Gonda's "Why I Try", which you can find on Spotify or on my website. Then I went on to work with Liverpool legend Pete Wylie, and earned my first album mix credit. That was a very exciting project.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I think being able to adapt and to understand artists vision is key. And also to read the room to figure out how to get the best vibe and maintain a good energy level.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I am an arrangement freak. In pop records especially. I have tricks and techniques to keep the song exciting and to waste no space or attention on unnecessary noise. With more creative projects I tend to be bolder and braver than most, and will really go to town and explore mad ideas.

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

A: Yes, my friend music producer/mixer Daniel Morgan Ball. He's a lovely guy, very talented and skillful.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital every day of the week. There are many reasons for why I believe this. Recall is quicker when working digitally. Digital equipment tends to be more reliable. The sound quality of a 24bit wav file is a much more accurate way of storing a signal than analogue. Upon playback the recording will sound exactly like it did on the way in, which is not true when working analogue. I have invented a workflow which I call DIGILOGUE, which sets out to replicate the positive impact working in an analogue domain has, but in a digital environment. Best of both worlds one could say.

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

A: I promise to do whatever it takes to get a recording to where it needs to go, honest and clear communication and to do whatever I can to make the artist satisfied with the outcome.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the variety and the challenges. Most importantly I love music and this job is right in the epicenter of music.

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

A: Anything big and really detailed would be great for me. I think something like Elvis and The Beatles would be very exciting because of the variety of instruments that would come through the door would be brilliant (not to mention the talent). Working on something like Pink Floyd would be amazing because the marriage of effects, soundeffects and music is so brilliantly done.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask what their inspiration is and what they want their music to sound like. Some people will then go on to say very specific things, and others will say very abstract things. And that is fine. It does tell me a lot about someones personality and vision. Some people might not even know or really care. In any case it is important to establish this early, because our entire working relationship will be based around that.

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

A: There are so many great producers/mixers out there, and I would imagine it to be really difficult to pick one of us just based on a picture and a sound clip. I suppose it boils down to reputation, communication and gut feeling really.

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

A: As I said earlier, I can make anything work with an AKG C214, a Focusrite Interface and a Macbook Pro. So the next two items would have to be a pair of monitors and a pair of headphones.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I tend to go big on stuff. So in that regard we could maybe say a bit Phil Spector-esque. I also like things to to have a lot of guitars so in that regard I might be a bit Jeff Lynne. My love of reverb and delay might put me back in the Spector bracket or be comparable to the work of Bob Clearmountain perhaps?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I can share many. A big one for me would be messing around with pre-choruses. You can usually do so much with them. Take them out, cut them in half, change chords. It depends on the song, but you can really transform a track. If it ever feels like it takes forever to get to a chorus, or it takes too long to get to the second one, then the answer is probably the pre-chorus (if the song has one).

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

A: Generally speaking I find myself in a singer-songwriter, pop/rock, country/americana or folk/pop world. So nothing to drastic far in out in any direction. I do enjoy prog, so sometimes there are elements of that.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typical for a pop record is to do pre-production. Work out tempo, structure and depending on time, we can also plan instrument-specific parts and proper arrangement at this stage. Then I tend to send the demo of to a drummer. I have a few people I can call upon. Depending on the sound the artist desire. I can also program them myself if budget is an issue. Then we head back in and record everything on top of that. And we might send it back out again for other remote session players. Usually strings and bass gets taken care of by some other guys I know.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup is very minimalist. Usually these days I only use one mic (AKG C214), my Focusrite Liquid Saffire and Macbook Pro. I seem to be able to get studio quality sound easily enough that way. I do have a larger desk, a Studiomaster, and a small valve preamp too. If my mic signal needs some dirt and I feel i can commit to that then I will run the signal through these devices for that purpose. Other than that guitars and bass is usually DI and drums are programmed. I do however have all the necessary equipment to record full band setups live should that be required.

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

A: I get inspired by anyone who is great at what they do. I do love people who are in charge off all aspects of their work. Tom Scholz (Boston), Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) spring to mind. They are sort of the Steve Jobs of the music world, really taking care of all aspects of their project, and I admire that.

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

A: The most common type of work I get is full production work, where I would typically be involved from pre-production through to final mixdown. I do really enjoy this type of work because you get to plan ahead, mix as you go and really have a vision to stick with.