Enhancing your sound, delivering release ready results. As artists producers and engineers, we understand the importance in bringing out the best qualities in a piece of music while maintaining the strength and impact of the creator's intent. We are not here to change, we are here to enhance.
My experience is built from The Artist & Performers perspective, where the desired outcome is achieved with minimal hassle, being respectful of time and budget, and delivering an end product that not only I am proud of, but you are too.
Over the years have played in numerous bands, most recently Empty Friend and Looking for Droids, (and many other who are lost to history, thankfully perhaps).
I am also a keen music producer and have been releasing music independently, and on underground dance labels
In 2005, motivated by the lack of empathy experienced from disinterested sound engineers, unreliable producers, and results falling below expectations, I decided to study Sound Engineering so that I would be able to get the end results I would be happy with, and more re recently attained an HND Distinction in Audio Production.
From recording my own bands at rehearsals or gigs, getting demos ready for reference & submission I've been hooked in that process for nearly 20 years, and find so much satisfaction in the process of writing, collaborating, refining, and releasing.
Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.
4 Reviews
Endorse David JW Norman
Recently I utilized the mixdown services of Dnaps in order to get a track ready for submission to a label for release. Working with Dave Norman was an excellent and seamless experience. Dave took the time to understand my vision for how I wanted the finished track to sound and what elements of the track were most important to me.
Once Dave understood my vision he worked his magic. Not only did he send me over a mixdown that exceeded my expectations, he did it in less time than what we had agreed upon for a deadline. I highly recommend Dave Norman and DNAPS.
David is an excellent engineer. I've got relatively little experience of working with a professional mix engineer and the idea was intimidating. What's great about David is that he demystifies the process through a really collaborate iterative process, and kicks it all of with a Zoom call, which means we got on the same page. He's an artist producer and understands where I was coming from, and my anxiety - and the opportunity to comment on A/B draft mixes was invaluable both to make sure the end result matched my expectations, but also to help me learn how it all works. Highly recommended!
I recruited DNAPS to help me with some recent tracks for my upcoming album. Not only did they (David) manage to deliver exactly the right feel for the tracks, but he did so promptly and with some excellent processes to make the whole dynamic run smoothly.
I'll return to DNAPS for future releases and recommend him enthusiastically!
Dave did 2 mixes for us. His service was impeccable in speed and he is very responsive. The quality of the work was very high indeed - and these were complex tunes. Dave has a wonderful ear and is able to significantly improve the sonic quality of a record, increasing its impact for the listener while preserving the original intent and character. Highly recommended! Mark Allin (AKA Riigs, Toolroom, Manual Music)
Interview with David JW Norman
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Broken Glass - where I recorded, mixed, mastered and even made a music video for the artist. The reason I'm proud of it is because this was their first solo project release, and I exceeded their expectations
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: This week, a melodic house track, horror trap track, and some EBM.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: If you can, why not use both? There is a hefty price tag with analogue, and there is a lot of fetishisation around it, as well as gatekeeping which attempts to create a barrier to entry. The majority of listeners have no opinion and when you've spent hours crafting a piece of art, and hundreds, if not thousands, producing it, for it to be played on laptop or mobile phone speakers, does it really matter?
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: That you will be happy & satisfied.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: That I get to listen to new music and make a contribution to someones emotional experience.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: How did you do that?
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That we can fix everything or somehow manifest a change in the recording or compositional process.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Which 3 elements of the track are those which convey the emotion you feel a listener should be engaging with? Please provide up to 3 reference tracks, and from these describe which 5 constituents are most important to you and why. What timescales are you working towards What don't you want
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: First and foremost, review their portfolio and see if it matches with the sounds that you like, and feel is in a similar ballpark for what you want your outcomes to be. Secondly, get into a conversation and see if you can get along, regardless of how good someone might be, you don't want to end up working on a project with someone you don't get along with.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: My first foray into sound engineering was studying the craft in 2005 to support band related activities and it remained a solid fixation and hobby to the point where I decided to start my own business.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Analytically musical.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I don't really have an answer for this, too much focus, I feel, goes into putting people on a pedestal to be an aspirational outcome or as super humanly talented or creative. The truth is that creativity isn't a talent, it's a way of operating, and that all art is valid.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: From a creative perspective, that less is more. This rings true for mixing as well, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: As a bass player of over 25 years and having spent most of that time in bands I have worked on plenty of rock, grunge and indie music. I also get asked to mix house, techno and jungle among others.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Communication, in that I build out the vision of The Artist early on and seek their feedback to ensure it is being met.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Transparency, that is to say that I am not here to change what The Artist's intent is, but to enhance the qualities already within the music itself. The creative process in mixing is really problem solving, "How can I achieve 'x' without impacting 'y' in a way which isn't noticeable.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: My first port of call is to build a conversation with The Artist so I can get to know them a little and understand what desired outcomes and expectations they have for their music. I always ask which 3 elements of a track are those which The Artist wants a listener to be engaging with emotionally and if they choose to provide reference tracks ( I suggest at least 3) for them to pick which 5 elements resonate with them the most. I also want to find out what it is they don't want, which creates firm boundaries and reduces the number of potential revisions. Combined, these answers allow me to have tangible 'sonic image' of they're perception of what they want and is a great way of getting past metaphors. When mixing starts, I first build a draft mix which I seek feedback on from The Artist to ensure I'm on the right track, and then dig into refining the track to ensure that revisions are kept to a minimum. Taking a bit more time time in the 'getting to know you stage' can save a lot of time later on.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have an acoustically treated home studio space. The heart of the studio is an Apple M2 Pro with a Focusrite 18i8 (3rd Gen) Audio Interface running Logic Pro for mixing and mastering, and Ableton for creative music production. I use a pair of Kali LP6 for monitoring and Shure SRH1840s for late nights.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Over the years the artists which have stuck around are The Prodigy, Nine Inch Nails, and Primus. The most inspiring thing I've discovered is that we can learn from anyone and everyone and each other. When people bring me music I find I'm always hearing something I wouldn't have tried or thought of doing and I just find it awesome.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: The most common type of work I am delivering for clients is mixing down tracks and providing best practice advice.
I was the Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Engineer in this production
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $350 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $50 per song
- Ghost ProducerAverage price - $500 per song
A mix is typically ready for an initial review & feedback within 3 days of the agreed start date. 3 revisions, additional revisions are negotiable, pre master and demo master delivered as standard
- Logic Pro
- Izotope Suite
- Black Rooster Audio
- Acoustically Treated Studio
- Apple M2 Pro
- Ableton Suite
Priority turn-around
