Shaun Farrugia on SoundBetter

I am a skilled & creative mix engineer who enjoys finding what is special about each track I work on and bringing it to life in a way that connects with the listener on an emotional level. I love working in a large variety of styles and would love to chat more about your project and how I can help you getting it to where you want!

I offer a large range of services including mixing, editing, production, compositions and more - I am skilled, passionate and very invested in my work. I love to discuss projects with the people I work with so that I can better understand the vision they are trying to create.

I have released 4 albums with my own band over the years, and know exactly how it feels to take a song from inception to completion as an artist. I am here to facilitate that process for others and make it an enjoyable and inspiring process, no matter the capacity I am working in.

Please reach out if you would like to discuss a project further. I am very approachable and love interacting with people in a creative capacity - Shaun

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Credits

In Malice's Wake - Slayer Silent Scream Cover

1 Reviews

Endorse Shaun Farrugia

by Jordan Clark
Shaun was fantastic to work with when it came to mixing my vocals for my track! He was able to provide a fresh approach to the stems and came back in a timely manner with an excellent result! I could not recommend Shaun enough, will surely be using again for my next project.

Interview with Shaun Farrugia

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I have been an enrolled student in the URM academy for the past few years - I have mixed 20-30 tracks in a practice capacity and there are a few that I have completed that sounded amazing. The feeling of mixing a track then listening back in the car and having everything sit just right is something that made me very proud and this practice has given me a lot of confidence to offer this as a professional service.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I am currently working on mixing a Slayer cover with my band that I engineered. It is sounding great and will be released soon.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I have recently worked with Jordan Clark on an EDM track he produced - he was fantastic to collaborate with
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital - it is convenient, sounds great, and is all I've known up to this point.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I am a little new but I am dependable - deliver what I promise every time. I am enthusiastic and determined to get things right - and am looking forward to a collaborative process to get it there.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Bringing music to life - that feeling of listening to a mix where you forget about the mix because everything is sitting right and then there is just the song left to enjoy.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can you get it to sound like "X" - answer would be that it is a little dependent on the recorded sounds, but if it suits the song and the recorded sounds available then we should be able to get pretty close!
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Not sure any spring to mind here.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What is the song about - what is the feeling/story/emotion behind it? Do you have past recordings/mixes that you like/dislike? Can you describe how you want this to sound? What are you hoping I can achieve with this mix?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Please just get in touch so that we can have a conversation - I am highly approachable and enthusiastic. It would be great to discuss a potential project together.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Headphones, Monitors, Interface, PC - strong coffee.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I am relatively new, I have been practicing only for a few years but this has become an unexpected obsession. I have playing in a thrash/death band as guitarist/vocalist & main songwriter for the past 20 years - and released 5 albums as artist/performer (In Malice's Wake) - but have recently fallen in love with the production side of things. I have been working hard to gain the skills and get to the point where I am proud of my results and confident to work on music production and mixing professionally.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I love natural drums - whilst I have worked with samples, i prefer to take drums as far as possible without them. My style is punchy, huge and aggressive while still feeling human - like a band is playing.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with Testament - I have been a lifelong fan and would love to work with a band that has inspired me over the years.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Eq in context - you need to ensure everything is working together - its easy to make something sound great in solo - the sum of the parts is what matters.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Predominately heavy, guitar based music - rock through to death metal. I am a lover of most styles of music though and enjoy the challenge of getting anything to sound great.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Using eq and compression to ensure that everything works together in synergy - and of course communication - this is vital for the process.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Enthusiasm - understanding - and a willingness to work in collaboration to achieve a shared goal. I believe my skills in manipulating audio allow me to create mixes that are cohesive, clear and powerful.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I like to have a discussion with the artist to determine a vision for the project - I love listening to reference mixes to help get an impression of the sounds and styles that the artist is after. I will generally work to get a roughly finished product quite quickly and then send this off for directions and notes - from here I enjoy going back and forth to refine the finished project until the artist is very excited about the end result.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a reasonably humble home studio setup, I am working 100% in the box at this stage using a Focusrite Clarett+ 8Pre, running a range great plugins on a high end PC and working predominantly on Cubase 12 Pro. For monitoring I have a pair of Kali IN-5s which I love and my room is treated with a multitude of 6inch panels to tame reflection. I also reference using a pair of Sennheiser HD650s and like to edit using these for a more intimate look at the details.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: The range is huge - I'm in love with the sound of many incredible albums all the way from Pink Floyd's Dark Side - through to AC/DC's Back in Black, through Clutch's Earth Rocker to Possessed - Revelations of Oblivion and most recently Bloodbath's Survival of the Sickest. As far as producers & mix engineers go - I love the workflow and approach of Jens Bogren, Dave Castillo, Dave Otero, Tue Madsen and a huge list of others..
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I am currently enjoying mixing completed tracks immensely - taking completed multi-tracks and making them work together in exciting ways - that match an artist's original vision and intent. I am most intimate with guitar based heavy music - but am very open minded and just enjoy working on music - I have mixed EDM vocals recently and enjoyed the challenge of getting them to sit just right.