Electronic Music Specialist

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

A: No at the moment

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

A: Vangelis, because of the unique soundscapes and the impact his music had in the movie industry. He was perhaps the first composer to use 30hz and below sub, which today is a standard in every movie. He was such a brilliant mind that influenced thousands of composers and engineers.

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

A: There are several to pick but to point out one it is probably Moses Pelham - I Love You I literally saved the track as the beatmaker lost the channels of the original instrumental, but years back in our collaboration he provided me some of the draft channels which were dug from the backup drive. I was the executive producer for the track, and have provided post production and mixdown.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Stellar Mode 003 and 004 mixdowns for vinyl.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both, Analog is unmatched for transients and dynamics, however with digital you have more control especially when working on massive projects 100+ channels.

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

A: That they will enjoy their music more than they used to.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Bringing life to music, strengthening the sonic values, bringing out clarity and musicality and above all creative analytical thinking about the concept of sounds.

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

A: Is analog mastering better? - It depends what are you looking for. I tend to use both worlds. Can the mix be loud as "example"? - It depends on the instrument choice, song key, instrument and bass presence and sustain. Is it ok to leave stereo sub? - Yes, if you are not printing vinyl. If you want it to be pressed on vinyl control the loudness and do 45rpm pressing.

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

A: 1. Sound Synthesis and fine tuning are not that important. "A synth sound is a synth sound" 2. That the mix or master can fix poorly setup instruments and bad instrument arrangement.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: - In what format will audio be released, digital, physical or both? - Do you tend to do a vinyl record? - What is the desired loudness you are aiming for? - Are there any references?

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

A: Reference tracks should be the ones with similar instruments, not the ones whose sound you like the most.

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

A: Laptop, Headphones and Propellerhead Reason, Microphone (Shure SM58 would do the job) and Roland SVC350 Vocoder.

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

A: I'm a solo enthusiast pursuing the art from 2005. I've started releasing records for different European labels, I've contributed to my city culture trough various project supported by Ministry of Culture that were in domain music compilations by artists from the city and music workshops as a tutor in collaboration with Faculty of Electronics. I run two record labels with the concept of Electro music and Italian Horror Disco.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style of music - Sci Fi Electro For the mix and master I would say "organic"

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Before diving into EQ and Compression it is important to have your drums tuned according to the music. If the kick has 2 fundamental frequencies, both need to be in tune with the instruments. Tune drum instruments, adjust the phases, play with the timing and the groove will be much better

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

A: I mostly work on Electronic music (Electro, Techno, House, Breakbeat, DnB, Disco, Ambient, Leftfield, Downtempo), Hip Hop (Old School, Boombap, other fusions). I'm also enjoying working on Cinematics, Berlin school and Ambient.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say that mixing is my strongest skill, however mastering is what I enjoy more.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Musicality, Instrument Audibility, Dynamics and Clarity.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I speak with my clients in detail to be sure that we are listening the music from the same perspective, and after I always express my vision of how the input material can be used to get maximum out the instruments. Often a client is in a need of post production and I also provide guidance about sound synthesis and sampling in the terms of achieving better sound before diving into the next step of production. I also do sample and instrument replacement if needed. After all the instruments are set the next process is mixdown.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I mix in the box and I use 3 pair of speakers, HEDD Type 20 Mk2, Adam a7x and reference hifi JBL L50. I use Adam SP-5 headphones and RME Fireface UCX Interface. Due to demand of hardware mastering I use tunnel for in-house usage of hardware gear, and I use VTG Pultec, Elysia xpressor, Elysia Museq, Bettermaker Limiter and Studer A812 Mk.1.

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

A: I'm inspired by many musicians and engineers. Let's name a few, without any order: Alan Parson, Vangelis, Dave Pensado, Andy Wallace, Bruce Swedien, Sascha Ring, Herbert Powers Jr.

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

A: What I mostly do for artists is mixing and mastering however I do a lot of post production. I'm diverse in Electronic music, but also have great experience working with bands and live musicians.