Indie rock audio engineer

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

A: I'm usually hired by bands that tend to gravitate around post-punk, noise-rock and stuff like that.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I always try to serve the band and the song, not my ego.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I try to understand the esthetic of the band, listen to previous releases, ask how they envision the project and ask for reference tracks and what in particular they like in those tracks. Then I assess the source files and confirm that everything is fine and that I can start with the static mix. Otherwise, I will detail what the issues are and propoose ways of addressing them. I send the static mix when there are lots of tracks, otherwise for, say, a power trio, that doesn't really matter since it's easier to fine tune levels in later stages of the mix. So, in that case I will send a rough mix with some ambience, panning and basic automations. This gives a clearer idea of where the mix is going. I adjust based on the band's feedback and refine the mix, fine tune the automations and check compatibility on different playback systems so that the next version I send the band is fairly close to the final mix. Expecially if I will master the song, I don't do much mix bus processing, but at this stage I check with the band if they need it to be louder and a little compressed to be able to validate the final mix and in this case I will do a pre-master so that it's easier for them to compare with their reference tracks. Once the final mix is approved, I send both versions to the mastering engineer (with and without bus processing) so that they have all the flexibility.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog for tracking, reamping, summing. Digital is so convenient for all the rest.

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

A: My ego will not be part of the process. It's about bringing YOUR vision to life.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: You learn with every project and every customer. I learn all the time, even from the youngest and less experienced folks, for instance when they ask you something that seems totally "wrong". And that's why I never say no even to the craziest ideas. You think 'this will not fly' but if you really try (adding whatever it takes from a technical point of view) you realise that it's actually the most cool thing in that mix.

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

A: That a poor performance or a completely corrupted recording can be fixed in the mix and sound like your favourite record. In those cases, I will check with the band if they are happy with the source material. If they are not and they expected it to be fixed in the mix I will propose to record again the parts they are not satisfied with and I will suggest ways to capture a good performance with good quality using what they have.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Tricky question... I'm more at ease talking about my approach, which is to be at the service of the band and not of my personal taste. So my mixes can sound very different based on what the band wants. But in general, I tend to keep a safety distance from overcompression or overlimiting. I tend to find more old school solutions for enhancing drums rather than reaching out for samples. Same for pitchy vocals: I'll always try other techniques before autotuning them.

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

A: Good one! I would love to work with Frenzee! They are an indie band on a small label, so they probably don't have the budget to hire Bob Clearmountain yet :-) I love their energy, the aggressive female vocals and the fact that they don't have a bass, which gives an extra challenge to the mix engineer. Frenzee, if you are reading this, just reach out. First song is free!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Have a vision for your song from beginning and do all the steps with that vision in mind. Recording 25 guitar tracks with 4 mics and 3 different amps will not make your record any better. It will just waist everybody's time and energy. So, have a vision and commit to it!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a hyibrid set up with a small Soundcraft console going to Reaper. I have some outboard compressors and reverbs that I use sparringly. What I tend to do a lot in the analog domain is reamping using some of my favourite gear, like the Intersound IVP and Harmonic Percolatori for instance. These can go through an amp (often a bass amp for guitars...) or sometimes straight to the console for a more full range overdynamic sound.

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

A: I am a big fan of Steve Albini, both as a musician and an engineer. Besides his big and boomy drum sound and harsh guitars and thundering bass... I like his filosophy of not interfering with the creative process of the band unless the band explicitly asks for advice. Musically, I'm inspired by artists and bands who don't follow the established rules, be it the rules of harmony like Arnold Shoenberg, or the rules of the industry like Captain Beefheart or Scott Walker. I love the '80-'90s noise-rock scene, Currently, I like a lot what Amyl and the Sniffers and Frenzee are doing. I also like Joe Barresi's approach to mixing, using stomp pedals, reamping all sort of sounds, using the "wrong" amp...

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

A: I do a lot of mixing expecially for indie bands looking for a raw and aggressive sound. I do mix and master packages for the ones who don't want the hassle and cost of hiring another engineer for mastering. I also do audio editing and mixing for podcasts.