Pop Singer/Songwriter

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

A: The album I made in 2022. I made 16 songs, organised 9 musicians, and bankrolled the whole thing on my own and I thought it turned out pretty well.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A new album for my band.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital.

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

A: I'll do it until it's done.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Recording is the bloody best thing there is.

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

A: That people role into the studio and do 1 take, that the 'magic' just pours right out of them. Music takes work like everything else.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What exactly do you want?

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

A: Tell me what you want with as much detail as you can.

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

A: Acoustic guitar, laptop, interface, mic, multi-fx pedal.

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

A: I do a lot of corporate/function gigs, several times a week. I'm always working on my original band, recording and gigging with them. I do session work for local guys & I wanna get as busy as I can with recording, I absolutely love it.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Soulful.

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

A: Teddy Swims. Because that voice is absolutely insane.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Go at it until it's done.

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

A: Pop. But I have a lot of experience with soul/rock/RnB.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Songwriting.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to be very vulnerable and emotive. I try to tell the truth and let the words demonstrate the feeling. I like exploring contrast in my voice, I've worked hard to be able to manage low, high, soft and loud. I'm on the dirtier side as a vocalist and when I'm recording I throw vocal hygiene out the window and do whatever it takes to get the best take.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When it comes to arranging, I go at it until it's done. I don't follow a particular process, it always depends. With songwriting, I fiddle around with chords on the guitar until I find something that fits the sense of how I think the song ought to feel. Then I improvise melodies, whilst recording myself and slowly develop the lyric and structure around what I consider to be the strongest and most emotive melodies. I continue performing the song, experimenting, recording and repeating until I'm happy with it. Vocals are a different and certain process. I learn the vocal whilst I'm writing it, and get it practised before recording. Then I tend to split my recording process into 3 or 4 sessions. I go 1) line by line, 2) section by section, 3) full recording, and 4) creative dump/overdubs. That way I can explore the lines in a lot of different ways and have the opportunity to see if I can improve upon the vocal and get it really tight. I like to have my vocals sounding good to go raw. I record dry and listen to it soloed out of the laptop speakers, so I can hear it at its worse. When I'm happy with it in that state, it's ready.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use an Aston Spirit with UAD Arrow.

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

A: Teddy Swims, Michael Jackson, Jazmine Sullivan, Leon Bridges, Panic! At The Disco, Sam Cooke

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

A: Songwriting, arranging and recording vocals/guitar.