Producer | Remixer | Mixer

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

A: My favorite project as of recent would be the Turbosimp - DOUBLE-EDGE EP. It's five tracks with a jersey club / techno vibe and was so much fun to make. It also marks one of the quickest projects I completed start to finish, in the span of about 3 months. The process of writing, completing and releasing in such a short time is something that has taken me years to achieve so I'm quite proud of the fact I was able to release it without all the preciousness involved.

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

A: Tom from Mastering The Mix has been great to work with when I need a second pair of ears on something, definetly check him out!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both are great and have their own qualities that are worth exploring. Analog is great for something more human, warmer and less perfect. When it comes to precision, coldness and an otherworldly quality, digital is king.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Writing new music every day!

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

A: "Someone else is doing the same thing for a bit less, can you lower your price?" My answer to this is that sometimes I can, based on workloads, but sometimes I can't. I also like to mention that my price is for my expertise, so if you really like how my tracks are sounding versus someone else's who might be less money (or more!) then its up to you to decide if my touch will be worth the extra money.

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

A: A big misconception is that writing music is something more magical than it is. Putting the time in every day to write, mix, sing, play, etc, is all that is required to achieve your personal goals. The magic does happen and can strike at any moment, but the chances are greatly increased if you are mentally and physically sharp enough to capture it.

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

A: Mostly mixing and additional production in the EDM / Dance world, but also quite a bit of production in both EDM and in Indie Pop.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: This past year I launched a label, Vision One, and my main focus has been finishing music and releasing it through that channel. At the moment I'm working on releasing a sample library and will post a news update here when it's finished.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your goal with the music? Is it your career, a hobby, something to just show your friends? What is your deadline? Who inspires you and what are some references for the kind of sound you are aiming for?

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

A: Understand that I want to deliver the best possible result for you but at the end of the day, music is highly subjective and we aren't inside your head. If the first draft is way off from what you wanted, articulate in the most specific way possible what is that is wrong with it and I will do my best to get it to where you want.

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

A: Piano Analog Rytm Mk2 Microphone Laptop Interface / Monitors (Technically 6!)

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

A: I started producing music in my New Jersey bedroom at the age of 14. By 22 I had a touring artist project (Chordashian) and was producing for local artists as a living. I'm 33 now so that puts my total time to about 19 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Synthetic but organic. Sometimes overly joyful and other times melodramatic.

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

A: I like to work with artists who have strengths opposite my own so that I can learn from them and also so that we both have a role to fill. An example would be someone who has a great singing voice, a pianist, a drummer.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Not quite a production tip but an overall production tip. Don't relisten to your music over and over again before working on it. It is much easier to find problems and finish the track when you haven't over exposed yourself to it.

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

A: It's kind of a strange split between very electronic, dance type music and more natural, guitar-driven indie rock type music. I find that my sweet spot doesn't lie in between however, I like usually committing in either direction.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say my ability to create interesting sound effects and ear candy. After that I am very confident in my vocal editing abilities.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Years of working in music, an ear that can discern melodic problems, frequency conflicts and the knowledge to not fix what isn't broken. If your track only needs the slightest adjustment to be ready then that is what it will get.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It largely depends on the goals of the project, but usually I go in with a very broad idea of what the artist wants but nothing so narrow that I get stuck in a corner. After that initial setup, I will re-listen to the client's references and notes and make sure I didn't go off in the wrong direction before sending a first pass. Hopefully the first pass is in the right direction and then its finishing from there. If not, I will recalibrate based on the client's feedback.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a soundtreated home studio with a mostly digital setup, save for an analog heat mk2 which I love using to crispen sounds up.

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

A: Huge James Blake fan :)

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

A: I'll only take a project that I'm positive I can deliver an awesome end result on.