song producer and topliner

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on an artist called JAMES who has a really interesting project similar to the band Jellyfish. Also finishing up an EP for ZAR who is a young south asian (Indian) girl with a killer voice. Working on two new songs from Aidan Lewis, a great singer-songwriter. We just sent a track for Dave Pensado to mix. Super excited about that. Dave's a genius.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: In the box. Because it's got it all. Tons of the best producers and mixers do it that way and for good reason. Sounds amazing. The technology just keeps getting better. Nothing against analog people. They have their reasons. Not me.

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

A: I hear the term producer thrown around a lot and sometimes by people who "buy" beats online and slap lyrics over them. (I can feel the haters already) THAT'S NOT producing. Sorry but it's just not.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Who are you as an artist? Why do you sing/write? How committed are you to being more? What artists do you love and why? How honest in your writing are you prepared to be?

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

A: A solar power generator. A satellite dish because i have to have internet. My Mac M1 fully loaded for music. An acoustic guitar. And a large disco ball.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I'd say if you can develop a sense of what to feature and get really good at keeping each section feeling full with less instruments, it's a good thing to focus on. (I say that because it's not always easy for me to kill my darlings in that respect.)

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use a Mac M1 Dynaudio MKIIs for monitors with a Dynaudio sub. Sound-treated room with great vocal mics. Loads of VSTs and PlugIns. I do everything in the box. I've got mandolins, acoustic and electric guitars. A cello. It's cozy but a little over the top with computer screens. (which I love)

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

A: Well, I can't talk about it yet because of an NDA, but you'll hear it soon. I got to work with an artist called MRo in London. She's an amazing artist and typically self-produced but sang on a track I did. MRo is the daughter of Neil Davidge who produced Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead and David Bowie and one of my heroes.

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

A: YES! For mixing you have to hire Samarth Dhawan (Sam).

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

A: I PROMISE you'll learn something about who you are as an artist you might not have known was there. AND you'll have something you can play for anyone and they'll get exactly who that artist is because you'll sound like a total pro.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That it's always different. Every song I produce, I discover something about the artist and about me that excites me. And when the song is done I LOVE playing it loud and often and have a pretty good idea others are doing it too.

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

A: "How do you see me as an artist?" And I try to answer honestly based on their style, their tastes, and how they speak. Because I listen to them intently, my answers tend to go over well.

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

A: I'd say think about who you want on your team. I'm an artist who loves artists. I've been making and producing music for shows, movies, trailers on so many big projects, there's a good chance you've heard my work without knowing who did it. And that comes from knowing how to deliver based on listening to what people need and executing the request with authenticity and heart.

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

A: Music production has been developing for me for 15 years. Working in movie trailers and tv spots, got me prolific in a ton of styles quickly. Now most of my time is working with artists. I still work in media but artist production and development is my first love and it's great to be back in it.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: The song dictates the style for me. But if there is one thing that I consistent try to do is find the hook and make it hooky-er. Chorus has to lift and feel great every time it gets there. Everything else in the song should make you want to get to the chorus again and again.

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

A: I think doing a song with Halsey would be killer. I dig her stuff and her voice has got a great vibe. I think of her because Trent produced "I Am Not a Woman, I'm a God." That's the stuff that speaks to my soul.

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

A: Pop or pop/country crossover seems to be the clients I've worked with lately. But my side project VOTRA is basically electronic pop/deep house/chill. I do a lot of custom work and trailerizing for trailers and having done that for a lot of years, I'm pretty much convinced I can create nearly any style of music and do it with heart.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: It's framing a song so you feel what you hear. A painting decorates space. Music decorates time.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a heart for the artist and what they want to say. I bring a vision of who they can become by molding the songs into a cohesive artistic expression. At the same time, we want the song to sell so it is also a product. So I make sure the product is at least as good as what's already out there.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If I get a demo from an artist I'll fly it into my DAW and start coming up with a vibe instrumentally. Sometimes I'll strip the vocal out to use for a vocal reference. I like building on the original idea but then find a vibe that supports how I think the song can best be showcased. Then I go over it with the artist, make changes we agree on and then we sort out a vocal session. If the artist played an instrument I like to record that too with the track and dial in the sonics on it. Then I wind up tweaking it. I can get a first pass done in about four hours but between the artist's needs and my own need to make it great, it can take a couple of months of tweaking before it is really done. I can expedite that if need be but haven't had to as of yet.

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

A: I've done some work with mixer Dave Pensado whose work speaks for itself. He says he's a mixer but he thinks like a producer and I love that. I really dig Timbaland's stuff and I'm a die hard fan of Trent Reznor.

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

A: Songwriters aren't always "recording artists" at first so together we envision who they want to be as an artist, discuss styles that we mutually like, then start with the best song they have to create something special.