Music Producer

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

A: In January of this year (2022), I released my 10th ever album, "X." It was a keystone moment for me as a producer, and it quickly became my most popular album. I produced, mixed, and mastered all of the tracks, and had one featured artist, DED RXBBIT, that I've known since I started producing.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently finishing up my annual album, "Head Space," which releases in January 2023.

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

A: I'm pretty new to the platform, but if anyone I would recommend Bishu. His sound is so unique and crisp, and I love the content he creates on Twitch/YouTube. There definitely aren't any barriers between himself and the music he creates.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I would definitely say Analog. You get a certain warmth from analog gear that you can't find anywhere else. Even though digital audio can be manipulated and changed around in software to "sound" warm, you just never really feel it the same way.

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

A: They'll always get a high-quality final product from me, no matter what that product may be.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the freedom it gives me to be creative. I never feel bogged down by finding the "correct" interpretation of something.

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

A: Customers most commonly ask who I'm inspired by, and what my background is. I typically give them my top 5 artists at the moment (which is always hard because I listen to all kinds of music and never really have any favorites), and I give them information about how long I've been doing what I do, my education, previous client history, and the like.

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

A: It would definitely have to be the common misconception that being a producer can't be a full-time job, and that you can't be successful doing it. You can be successful, as long as you spend the time and learn about all the things you need to know to improve your sound and work efficiently.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What application are you planning on using the final product for? Who are some of the artists you listen to? What music do you know that could fit what you're looking for? What kind of mood should the project convey?

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

A: Don't look for someone super big and spend more money than you want to spend. Show some of the smaller artists some love - you never know what they're going through, and you never know what they're really capable of until you try them out.

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

A: I would take my computer, a midi keyboard, keyboard, mouse, and one visual monitor. The base level tools you need to make good music.

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

A: I've been producing and composing music since I was 12 years old, so I've been doing this for nearly 10 years. I originally wanted to continue doing this full-time, and still plan to.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Very sparkly, dreamy, and the like. The music I make would fit well over a wordless film, or even as part of an audiobook.

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

A: I would absolutely love to work with Virtual Riot one day. Very early in my career, I took a lot of inspiration from his complextro style, and loved how many small details there were across every song. I took a lot of inspiration from that, and wanted to make similar music. Although I never reached that point, I still found my sound along the way.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The song being "perfect" isn't important. When you feel like it's done, even if it isn't "perfect" to you, then it's done. Don't spend too much time tweaking small details, because that's when you fall down the rabbit hole and eventually never finish a song you were once in love with.

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

A: Usually, I'm working on soundtrack-influenced music. EDM, specifically dubstep, future bass, lo-fi, house, deep house, and progressive house.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill would have to be my time management and drive. When I have a deadline, I often finish projects well before it, mainly because music production and composition are very momentum-driven. As soon as that one key moment in a song comes to fruition, the project completion is well in view.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my own sound, the sound that separates me from other artists. Specifically, I bring my own brightness and "sparkle" to a song. The sounds I use and my mixing techniques bring out a lot of the ear candy we often overlook.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically, I start with a written prompt or a story. As I read, I try to recreate the setting in my head; where are the characters located? What point in time is the story taking place? How are the characters feeling? From those prompts and questions, I can try to take that mental image, and turn it into something audible; something that conveys the emotional message. Music is a powerful thing, and can heavily influence how we feel.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio features three visual monitors for maximum productivity, Mackie CR4BT 5" reference monitors with an 8" subwoofer, and the Mackie Big Knob Studio+ interface, running off a custom built Windows PC. For mixing projects and DAW control, I heavily enjoy using the QCON Pro G2 controller units; I use the main unit with one extension, giving me 16 channels to control manually. I also get heavy use out of the Roli Seaboard, the Akai MKII Mini, and a full size Yamaha 88-key keyboard for creative inspiration. For recording, I turn to a Behringer Xenyx X1222 console, and for mics I fall back on Shure SM57's. For vocals, I'm using a small diaphragm condenser mic, passed directly through the Mackie interface preamps.

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

A: I'm heavily inspired by Skrillex, Deadmau5, DED RXBBIT, Armin van Buuren, LoneMoon, Heatbeat, Slushii, Boombox Cartel, Rogue, Knife Party, Zomboy, Virtual Riot, Feed Me, Julian Calor, Pegboard Nerds, Mord Fustang, Knower, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Gunship, and the like.

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

A: Most clients I have are looking for music that can be used for livestreams and film applications.