Pop/Rock/Country Producer

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

A: Essentially, I specialise in all styles that are loosely, if not definitively, characterised by a pop-country, pop-rock, or stadium-rock sound. I was raised on classic rock. My teenage years were influenced primarily with pop-punk. I fell in love with modern country in my 20s. And I'm always keeping my eye on mainstream pop to keep up to date with contemporary music trends, whether it be The 1975 or Machine Gun Kelly or Dua Lipa.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! Analog for the sound. Digital for the workflow. My setup is a hybrid of both!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: This entirely depends on the project. Usually, however we follow a similar pattern: The first step us for us to discuss the project in detail, and for me to gather the information I need to make a start on the song(s). From there, I'll start to produce the track before we have enough for you to record your parts if that's what the project requires. We can arrange to do this either remotely or for you to come to my London studio. After this, I will finish the production, and once you give it the green light, I'll either start the mixing process, or send you the project unmixed (if you would prefer for it to be mixed elsewhere). Of course every project is different from A to Z. Some require co-writing, for instance, and some don't. The best thing is for us to discuss your specific project before agreeing to anything, in order to make sure we're the right fit for each other :)

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Spend enough time on the vocal! So much of the time, in the studio, I think people spend a great deal of time building layer upon layer of instrumentation. And don't get me wrong - the instrumentation is very important... but not if it comes at the expense at the vocals, and detracts from the time you would otherwise spend perfecting the lead vocal. Ultimately, with a commercial pop / rock track (or any other genre for that matter) the vocal is the essence of the song, and the rest of the track should provide a very comfortable shell for it to sit in. And without any level of doubt, enough time needs to be spent on getting the vocal right - from the pitch, to the timing, to the nuances of its character. This is make or break for a song!

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

A: Speak with them first, and make sure you share a vision! It's all very well shopping around for the 'best' producer / mix-engineer. But how good someone is for YOUR music is entirely subjective, and more important than anything else is music style, musical chemistry, and above all... COMMUNICATION! So make sure your producer communicates well with you before you agree to anything!

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

A: From the modern era of commercial music, I'd pick either Miley Cyrus or Machine Gun Kelly because I think their styles are so cool. They manage to be incredibly mainstream, whilst integrating a more aggressive rock n roll (even punky). Historically, well working with Queen would have been an absolute dream!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is setup in a penthouse flat based in South-West London. The main living area is a dedicated live-room, and one of the bedrooms has been converted into our control room, having been sound-proofed and treated acoustically. Between the two rooms, we have an abundance of guitars, amps, synths, drums, and outboard audio gear, as well as the newest digital audio software meaning we have the sonic capabilities of 'analog recording' with the efficient workflow of digital music production.

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

A: There are far too many to list, to be honest! From Freddie Mercury to John Bonham to John Mayer, my tastes and sources of inspiration are quite eclectic. And there are endless ways to write and produce a song. For me, I try to bridge modern music production capabilities and contemporary tastes with the influence musical history, keeping one eye on the charts and another on the greats. As a mix-engineer, the Chris and Tom Lord-Alge's upfront style has inspired me, for as long as I've been in music production.

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

A: Full Instrumental Productions (including mixing and songwriting assistance if needed) I do occasionally mix and master songs that I haven't produced, or run vocal-tracking sessions in my studio, but I much prefer to oversee and craft the entire production of a song from A to Z. I find that when a song goes from hand to hand, the end-result can often be rather disjointed, but when one competent producer oversees everything right from the end of the songwriting process up until mastering, the results are far better ... at least from my experience! I work with clients both remotely and 1-1 in my studio, so your location shouldn't be an issue. We can always find a work-around :)