Solo Piano Mixing + Mastering

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

A: Turnaround time - within the week where we schedule the slot; Revision limit - nonexistent; Help with recording - included; Some addresses to pitch to - I know the relevant labels and A&Rs and can pitch your music

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

A: Im expecially proud of what Daniel Paterok puts out. He works under different monikers and has such a large output, all pieces equally amazing. I'm very happy that we have such a nice and healthy working relationship. My role is editing, denoising, sound design, mixing and mastering everything he does.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Mixes and Masterings for days. Also finally some of my own music which I didn't do for a long time.

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

A: Im pretty new here, so I don't know yet.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog is really nice but I go with digital here, since there are so many nice tools and things that just would not be possible to achieve in the analog world.

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

A: I will work the hardest to get your piece to where you want it to be and where you feel that it expresses what you want to put out in the world.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Working with different artists and music day in and day out.

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

A: When working with Solo Piano Music people often are unsure where Mixing ends and where Mastering starts, since I sometimes only work with one stereo file. So a big misconception is, that everything I do is "just mastering" - and should only cost what usual mastering costs.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Since when are you around as a composer? What are you trying to achieve? What do you sound like? How do you record? How many releases do you have?

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

A: Choose the right professional for your style and genre. Look for someone who is specialized and among the best for what you try to achieve. Don't go for the "a friend can do it cheaper" option, that never turns out well.

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

A: Well, a laptop, an interface, two speakers (with the periphery I hope) and internet... ;)

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

A: I studied Audio Production from 2010-2012 and went to working as a freelancer directly after that. So Im doing this as my profession for around 11 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I try not to have a style when mixing and I try to give the piece what it needs and take care of the vision of the artist. What I like in mixes is clartity, width and depth. I aim for the consumer to feel intimacy and to be swallowed by the music. I tend to like mixes a bit less warm than many other people.

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

A: There are a lot of artists that inspire me, but I just love what I do every day, working with smaller artists and make their dreams of a professional sound come true, this is what keeps me going. Generally I love to work with people that know their craft like I know mine.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Try to listen with the consumers ear.

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

A: Neoclassical Solo Piano Music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: After many years I think I finally manage to think less technically and more musically. That means that I've nerded around long enough to know exactly what tool (e.g. which compressor) to reach for, but finally I also have more situations where I know when not to overthink stuff like that and just move on to serve the piece and not my technical interest.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Due to my specialization in solo piano music I have a good ear for what works and what doesn't. I can help the piece with editing to get to the right direction. Clients of mine also say that I manage to give recordings a certain grip and depth and that I can grasp and accentuate what makes the sound of the pianist unique to bring the individual character and own sound to the forefront.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I do the "Solo Piano Package" I mostly get involved before the recording starts, I hear demo recordings and advise on microphone positions for a certrain sound. When I get the recording I check everything for flaws and use denoising and editing for correction. In the mixing and sound design phase the general sound and vibe of the piece gets set. How close is the piano to the listener, how big / wide / deep is the piano, do we use room, does the piece need clarity or warmth? In mastering the piece gets rounded of, the final loudness is set, I ensure that the dynamics do work on different speakers and different formats, I export audio for different distribution ways. Hit me up if you have questions!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work with a hybrid setup between working in the box and integrating hardware outboard gear.

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

A: Daniel Paterok, Jonas Pieper, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Zino Mikorey

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

A: What I do the most is my "Solo Piano Package" which takes care of everything we might need to get from the raw recording to the release ready, finished master. The steps covered are editing, denoising, sound design / mixing and mastering. Its the perfect allround package for pianists.