Mixing, Mastering & Production

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

A: I usually work on contemporary Christian music, pop-rock music, EDM, Tropical, Singer Songwriter and (hybrid) orchestral music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is my deep investment in my clients and their projects. I don’t just provide a service; I fully commit to sharing their vision, goals, and dreams. Whether it's offering creative input, sharing industry connections, or guiding through tough decisions, I make sure the artist feels supported throughout the process. This personal connection allows me to bring out the best in every project, ensuring it truly reflects the artist's unique voice.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Usually everything starts with a conversation with the artist (or client). I will try to capture the emotions and the image they envision for the end product. But also, what type of person is the artist, what makes them tick, just to get an overall sense of character. And then I try to focus on to what is expected from me. If there is any reference material, I will request that too. Reference material can be anything from another track but also sketches, images, poems etc. everything can be useful. And in the case of music to film or video, I will probably get the (rough) film material with temp tracks if any... When you are talking about doing a mix, I usually bring up all faders (not too loud) and start listening while taking some (mental) notes. I will try to notice weak and strong points, listen to the groove and/or the breathing of the track. And then, I usually start organizing and colouring all tracks, perhaps while listening to a reference track. At the second time listening I will start making little adjustments, balancing faders, doing some eq. And then after I have a rough mix I will work on the weak points. If there any major issues at this point I will discuss these with the artist. And from there on I just listen to what the song is trying to tell me and make my mixing decisions based on that. I also make sure that I take my (mini) breaks on time. Then, when I believe the mix is near completion I will have the artist sit in (most of the time virtually/online). When an artist is a recurrent client, and I am completely aware of what the client wants, I just send the finished product. (This doesn't mean there will be no rework)

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The people! I love how musicians passionately talk about their instruments or when artists share their personal story. I’m constantly learning from these interactions, and it’s this continuous exchange of passion and creativity that makes each project exciting and fulfilling.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My mixing setup is based around the SSL XLogic X-Rack with summing modules and line modules. It is basically the audio path of an SSL Duality or AWS900. I have two Universal Audio Apollo interfaces that feed the SSL. I also have an older Roland/Edirol interface that I feed ADAT from one of the Apollos to go to my headphone system and Bluetooth transmitter. (To test my mix on Bluetooth speakers). On the SSL stereo bus output I have inserted a Bettermaker mastering equalizer, a Bettermaker bus compressor, the Kush Audio Clariphonic MS parallel equalizer and a the Bettermaker mastering Limiter 2.0. Before the audio is going to my speaker monitor sets, I have a Trinnov Nova for room correction. Look it up, it is a beast! My monitors are the fantastic Dynaudio Core 59 speakers and two DMAX Audio Super Cubes 5 auratone-like speakers. A big shout-out to Andrew Startsev and his team who make these Super Cubes 5. These guys are amazing and deliver an affordable complete package including DSP amplifier, cables and what not. As additional outboard gear I have some preamps and effects going back to the 80's. My plugins are the usual suspects from Universal Audio, Softube, Klanghelm, Waves, Wavesfactory, Native Instruments, iZotope, VSL, Steinberg, Xfer records, oeksound and the wonderful Plugin Alliance. Specifically for vocal tuning I usually choose between Steinberg VariAudio, Revoice Pro/RePitch or Melodyne, whatever the job needs... My composing setup is based on servers running Vienna Ensemble Pro with orchestral libraries from Vienna Symphonic Library, EastWest, Native instruments Komplete and Synthogy Ivory II. And on the main machine I also have Native Instruments Komplete, ReFx Nexus, Ravenscroft 275, Spectrasonics, BFD Drums, WavesFactory, Amplesound, u-he, Music Lab and some additional orchestral libraries from Cinesamples and 8Dio. Also I still have some outboard gear going back to the eighties. For example my back in the day dream synthesizer, the Roland D-50. I still own my first one and also the rack version D-550 with some great (non Roland) ram cards as well. But also other Roland, Korg and Alesis gear. For control of the studio I use an ICON QCon Pro G2 daw controller. These ICON people are amazing. There was a technical issue where the (not to be named) store did not want to act since it was a few days out of warranty. The people at ICON Pro Audio stepped up and quickly replaced the faulty board all at their expense. That is what service is all about! And next to the QCon Pro G2 I have an iPad running metasystem Metagrid. It executes all my (sometimes complex) macros for my daw.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I love both analog and digital, and my setup reflects that. Analog gear brings a certain warmth and character that I find irreplaceable, while digital offers flexibility and precision. For example, my Bettermaker analog equipment provides full recall, blending the best of both worlds. Over the years, I’ve seen the gap between the two close significantly, and today, I can achieve that analog vibe fully in the digital domain when needed. It’s all about choosing the right tool for the job.

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

A: I promise to always respect the artist’s vision and ensure they feel heard throughout the process. My goal is to deliver a result that not only meets expectations but also feels authentic to their artistry.

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

A: That a piece of fancy gear or a plug-in can save your life!

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

A: When looking for a provider, focus on finding someone who understands your vision and is willing to collaborate closely with you. Every artist and project is unique, so communication is key. Make sure the provider listens to your needs and brings the right expertise to enhance your project. Also, don’t hesitate to ask questions or request examples of their past work to ensure they're the right fit for your goals.

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

A: Ah, there you have that question too! 5 devices... I could name 5 fantastic devices, but if they don't match, what's the point of choosing them. So I'd pick 5 items that would work together as a unit, then I'd pick: 1. My laptop 2. Universal Audio LA-610 channel strip (it's versatile all-round) 3. Apollo x8 interface 4. Nuemann Mic, I think the TLM-103 (because it's also all-round) 5. Dyn Audio speakers (I'm used to them). So nothing outrageous, but it will do the job!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I think you should ask someone else. Music is so personal and up close that I can't judge what my style would be...if there was one.

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

A: Interesting question! I don't have a single artist I can think of. I think my answer will change almost every week. But I find artists interesting who have been around for a while and are constantly reinventing themselves. Or artists who really have a story to tell and want to get back to why they originally started in the music business. But if I had to name a few, I'd say: Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera... (I'm not sure why I'm only mentioning female artists now)

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Keep space available for all instruments and start with that early in your recording/arranging process (unless it's part of your sound). Also make sure you can still feel the emotion or groove if you play your music production at a low volume (like normal speech level). And if you don't feel it, just say out loud to yourself what you do hear (or how it makes you feel).

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished mastering a Christian album in between another large mix project. And oh yeah, with a life long friend producer and songwriter, we are working on the follow-up track for a Belgian group. We also did their previous single and it topped the charts in Belgium.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I hope I bring to a song whatever is needed. In some cases that means being silent and follow the artist's direction. On other occasions it means going into a full-blown creative partnership with the artist. I have had it happened that artists even donated parts of their royalties when I got that involved.

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

A: I love the legendary albums like Songs in the key of life from Stevie wonder or Earth, Wind & Fire albums. There is a lot to learn from those albums. But also newer albums like 24k Magic by Bruno Mars are a great inspiration. I think from every genre I have inspirational music playlists. But as a child growing up I already listened to the production aspects of music. So my early inspirators are: Quincy Jones, Arif Mardin, the duo Alby Galuten and Karl Richardson, Bruce Swedien. And when it comes to artists that inspired me, I think you need to invite me over for a day... But nowadays, there are so many great talented music professionals. And most of them are very accessible, it is mind-blowing!

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

A: For my clients I usually do a lot of editing ahead of the mixing. This ranges from tempo editing to vocal tuning. I do not work with a mix assistant that does those kind of things. So when after editing I come to the mix stage, I already did a lot of mixing in my head. True, sometimes that is not beneficial to the track when a lot of editing was needed beforehand, it looses momentum and a fresh view. But I have learned how to deal with that. Most of the time the solution is doing a completely different track from another client in between. At the other end I also compose music for theatre, festivals and film/video.