Music Mentorship & Mastering

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

A: I worked with an artist named DVDDY on his first ever release "Wanderer" which just so happened to have Devin Barrus featured on it. That song is on its way to hitting 1 million streams on Spotify alone. He told me it would never have been possible if I hadn't been a part of it, so I'm deeply honored.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I've got an EP coming for my own music project, a couple collabs, and I'm mastering an EP for some clients. I also stream on twitch here and there so I can run monthly seminars so I've been updating the layouts!

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

A: Devin Barrus has the voice of an angel. Incredible top liner and singer and is the fasted I've personally every worked with. He can have something for you within a day and It'll be professionally mixed by him too. Kellin quinn from sleeping with sirens does amazing vocal and drum work!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: BOTH! I'm fully in the box but I use TONS of analog emulations every single song I work on. I love the flavor and realism they bring when you can't afford to have all the fancy gear!

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

A: I can absolutely guarantee that within 1 session you'll see the potential in your music and the magnitude of how much I can teach you.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Seeing students get excited when I teach them something new and the lightbulb in their head goes off. Gradually seeing them improve and how happy they are about it. Making friends with cool people!

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

A: Why are you so handsome? "How did you get in my house?"

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

A: That every single song they make will get a label signing just because we worked on it together. This isn't a quick fix either, it takes a ton of time to get really great at this. I'm a mentor, I'll teach you how to improve your skills & mindset and guide you, but I can't piggyback your project and do all the work for you. You have to put the effort in as well.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Why do you want to be an artist? Money? Fame? Solve your issues? What are you struggling with? Have you worked with other artists before? Where do you want your music project to go? Who's your target audience? Where do you see your music being played? What do you want people to feel when they hear your music? What's more important to you, quality or quantity?

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

A: Be serious, and bring the drive & work ethic. I vet who I work with, and I'll do my absolute best to help you improve your skills and see just how incredibly fulfilling it can be to be an artist, but I value my time and energy, and I respect yours. So if you're not ready to light that fire under your ass and put in the work needed to make your dreams a reality, I won't waste my time or yours.

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

A: Laptop, Headphones, Microphone, Camera, Subpac

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

A: I started DJ'ing when I was 18. Moved to New York at 20 to learn music production in Ableton at Dubspot. Came back to Vancouver and DJ'd here and there in the club scene while working full time, but started working on my own music project. Eventually other artists started asking me for help with their music and over time I've been able to go full time with music and developed this mentorship and mastering business!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I like to think my music is more about the journey it takes you on and what it makes you feel as opposed to what genre it resides in. When people hear my music I want them to feel motivated to outside their comfort zone, say yes to the things that scare them, have the courage to believe in their true authentic self. Hopefully that can create a ripple affect on the people around them.

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

A: Any of the artists mentioned above would be a dream come true, they're all masters of their craft so I feel like I could learn a lot from them, and they all seem like genuine human beings which I value more than talent.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: - LESS IS MORE. More layers doesn't equal better. Work on getting the most out of the elements you already have before you add more to it. - VIBE OVER EVERYTHING.

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

A: I mainly focus in the EDM realms, but I've worked on: Electro, Bass, Deep, Prog, Tech House Dubstep, Drumstep, Melodic Trap Synthwave Mid Tempo Moombahton Pop Punk, Heavy Metal Hyperpop & Pop R&B Country Latin & World

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: - My ability to make a song creatively interesting, knowing what a song needs, or doesn't need, how to get the most impact out of the least amount of elements possible, and then achieve professional sonic quality.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Experience in knowing what's best for the song and having a clear vision for the big picture aspects.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I work with students improving their own songs, then I work on client masters, or else I'm working on my own music projects.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run everything out a studio room I built out in my house. I have acoustically treated the entire room, from the flooring, to the shades on the window, and the ceiling absorption clouds. Then I calibrated the frequency response of the room using Sonarworks so I can hear true sound every time I step into the room! I'm currently using Yamaha HS8's with the matching sub, and I use Shure SRH1840's, Senheisser HD600's, and Slate Digital VSX system as my headphones.

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

A: There's sooooo many artists killing it right now. Au5, Tokyo Machine, Virtual Riot, Marten Horger, Knock2, Ghastly, DVDDY, the list goes on.

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

A: I mainly do 1 on 1 mentorship, Mastering artists music, or 1 on 1 consultations regarding what the artists needs to do to improve their music!