Indie Producer & Songwriter

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

A: A great Australian duo call The Presets, they're kind of an indie/dance project that write some massive tunes with very a very small palate of equipment - proof that knowing your gear allows you to squeeze every bit of creativity out of it.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: DAW templates - make sure you create them ahead of time to speed up the technical steps so it doesn't get in the way of your creative flow. For example; I spent hours one day putting all my plugins into special folders so when I go 'I need an EQ' all my colours are there in one folder and I can just pick - some DAWs try to do this but there is always junk and some missing. Do it yourself!

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

A: Lots of electronic pop and indie stuff. Probably because that's what I've become known for in a few circles - 'the synth guy' with a few nice bits of kit that tend to attract certain people.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I worked as an editor for other engineers early on so my DAW chops are well defined - this means I can move really quickly to keep up with streams of creativity an artist might be having. I think I also have a sense for when an artist needs support or someone to tell them to take a break; I try to be sensitive to signals to ensure it stays fun and comfortable.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My strength is melody and top lines with emotion - too many years listening to Radiohead and Kate Bush as a kid! I like to bring the emotion out wherever possible to humanise the track and make it more than a consumable - it has to stand the test of time.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Pre-planning is key. I usually sit with an artist and talk goals and references to gauge what they're looking for. I'll then mock up a couple of ideas to test the appeal before pulling together a first draft of the progression and structure - I'll try to get vocal scratch in ASAP to then build up a first draft of the arrangement (beats, supporting parts, leads etc) - after this we refine vocal parts / work on harms and start add the special touches before mixing and mastering.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a dedicated writing and production setup in my home; it's a well lit room with nice acoustics and comfy furniture/ergonomics for collaboration. I use a MOTU AVB system with 64 channels of IO which really helps stay in the flow as all my outboard and synths are 'ready to record' without any patching. I also have American guitars and basses, valve amps, Roland drums and drum machines - all the usual things you'd expect. I've spent a lot of time during COVID to perfect my remote recording, which works great - providing real-time remote collab with artists anywhere in Europe.

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

A: Im a big fan of Churches and their approach to the electronic pop - they use all analog hardware but don't just recreate the 80's like some genres, they adopt modern production techniques like sample stacking and heavy layering of vocals using parallel compression etc.

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

A: I most commonly write and produce tracks for artists in a co-writer capacity. This will generally involve taking ideas from the artist, maybe a singer, and create the full arrangement using my analog synths, hardware and software processing. I'll then record the vocals (I do a lot of remote work) and then edit, tune, mix and if needed, master.