Mixing and Mastering Engineer

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

A: Recently I collaborated with Venjent on "Fuego". I helped with production, a little bit of song writing and I also mixed and mastered the track. Still can hardly believe it. Unreal.

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

A: I promise you'll not come across anyone who will care more about your music than I will. I am super duper autistically overly analytical about every single detail. It's a bit of a problem.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Music is the closest thing to magic we have. I get to be a wizard. What could be better than that?

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

A: You could do a lot worse than me.

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

A: I'm 100% "in the box" But if I could only have 5 plugins they would be: Fabfilter Pro MB, Spectre, Soothe 2, Cableguys Waveshaper, Ozone Maximiser

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

A: I started music production on FL studio around 2012. This was when Skrillex was really starting to take over the new dubstep scene. Since then I have been passionatley releasing my own bass music. Most of which sounded awful. After years of dedication, I decided to pursue an audio engineering degree in 2018. Since 2012 haven't stopped learning. I don't think I ever will. I've come a long way.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I like exciting loud clean mixes. That's what I'm aiming for generally speaking.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Work fast - you only have a short window of objectivity. 80% of your results will come from 20% of your decisions so work on the most important 20% first. Never do anything by default. Always volume match. You can't be objective otherwise. Avoid unnecessary phase distortion after peak control. Clippers often sound more transparent than limiters. The easiest way to mess up your mix/master is to have an inconsistent low end. It takes up so much more headroom than other frequencies. It needs to be tight! It's VERY easy to use too much reverb on something. Careful. You probably want to try oversampling digital saturation to avoid aliasing. Don't apply sweeping changes to deal with one-time events/problems. Use automation. Don't be afraid to make BIG moves. Turn off the frequency spectrum on your EQ by default. Mixing is 3D. Width (panning), Height (volume), Depth (distance) How do we use depth? Wider sounds sound closer. Narrower sounds sound further. Brighter sounds sound closer. Darker Sounds sound further. Dry sounds sound closer. Wet sounds sound further. Always have your reference mixes super easily accessible. They are your north star, ensuring you don't stray too far. Check them regularly. (I have the same comp reference file in my project at all times) Here's a few off the dome! Hope that helped.

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

A: Drum & Bass, Rock, Hip Hop (Someone send me some metal please, I'd love to work on some)

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm very good at determining problem frequencies by ear, I can basically play back the entire audible frequency range inside my head. I'm also a massive nerd and love the technical side of audio processing. I have a lot of audio tricks up my sleeve.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My goal essentially with all music I engineer is to make it emotional, energetic, clean, balanced AND loud. (Assuming I'm working on energetic music)

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My Process: Stem Mastering or Mixing & Mastering First, I stay organized by creating dedicated folders and subfolders for your project. I import all multi-tracks into my DAW, determine the tempo and key of the track (if applicable), and make sure everything is perfectly aligned with the grid. This ensures precise editing and automation later on. Then, I colour-code each track and strip any silence, giving me a clear overview of the session. After organizing, I step away for a brief break to clear my head before diving into the mix. I listen to the track all the way through, noting any areas that need attention. From there, I tackle the biggest issues first, then work systematically down the priority chain—usually starting with the drums and bass, which form the foundation of the mix. Once the low end is solid, I make sure the vocals sit perfectly on top, followed by adjusting the other instruments to fit harmoniously within the remaining space. Establishing the right priorities is crucial for crafting a great mix. For mastering, I focus on subtle volume and width automation to create balance and a nice flow of energy. I don’t generally rely solely on static EQ moves (if any); instead, I approach each section of the track with precision, making small, tailored adjustments as necessary. Every master is unique, and I use my discretion to ensure every move serves the track. Very often some form of low-end dynamics control will be needed before applying transparent limiting, bringing the track to commercial loudness (if the music calls for it), my focus with limiting is generally to ensure the low end remains intact with minimal distortion. Before sending the final master back to my client, I test it on various playback systems to ensure it sounds great everywhere. Often, I'll discover one or two very minor tweaks that would enhance the result. My goal is for you to be happy with the mix on the first pass—And usually, that's what happens. Lovely jubly!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work in HD650 headphones on my laptop primarily. I have many reference speakers I check throughout my process.

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

A: People most often come to me for stem mastering. This hybrid between a mix and a master works well and gives me the freedom to do my best work for the client.