Beats and Music by Yolanda

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

A: My first song on my first album. Totally professional all around. I had been out of music for over a decade and hadn’t worked for awhile, so getting back into the groove of working was going to be a challenge for me. Luckily I had a mix/master engineer who helped me the whole way thru this song. He told me what gear to buy, to drinking water before and during the recordings, to exporting audio stems from pro tools and transferring them with we transfer. My role was the artist and recording engineer. I was the singer, songwriter, and recording engineer.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am not working on anything at the moment because I am focusing on moving out of my current situation and getting my car fixed.

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

A: No I don’t know anyone.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, because I grew up on it. I was taught digital in college. I learned about analog. I have an analog mixer, but I do not use it. Shrug. That’s practically the only reason. From what I heard analog has a more rich sound. I like that. But I like digital is in for me right now.

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

A: I will be a problem solver and a difference maker. Come what may.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: When my client tells me I did a great job and they like my work and they move forward with it in their project(s).

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

A: What genre do I do? R&B and Hip Hop, but I have ventured out and done Pop, Trap, and Funk. They sound awesome. I believe I can make and record any genre. Am I a producer or artist? I’m both. I do it all. I’m an indie music artist and usually we’re known for our DIY attitudes. We will figure things out. I am building a team to delegate some of the work. Can I mix and master? Yes. I have been mixing since 2004-2005. I picked back up in 2021 but I have do not allow any obstacles to stop me. Unless it’s well out of my hands, then I will reach out for help and solve the problem. Either way you will end up calling me a problem solver.

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

A: That I’m a beginner so I won’t know what to do, but beginners braved it and came up with solutions, that’s what made them experienced.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What do you want your song to say? What key, bpm, theme, mood? What concept in details do you want your song to tell your audience? What genre, sub genre? Do you want me to record vocals? Are you leaving the creative side to me when it comes to creating the song, lyrics, melodies, and harmonies? How long do you want your song, 2-4 minutes? What is the song structure you want?

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

A: Be very open, diverse, communicative because I can’t help you if you don’t talk, and understanding because I also work at Guitar Center it pays the bills right now. But if this can pay the bills I will only work 2 days out of the week at Guitar Center in order to keep my discount.

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

A: Focusrite 2i2 Studio bundle, macbook with music production software on it, kaotica eyeball, krk rokit 5 monitors, and mackie sub.

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

A: My career path was singing and being an artist, but in 2003 I had no clue of any schools for indie music artists so I took up recording engineering and the arts. I have been doing this since 2021. I have been beat making and recording audio since late 2003.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Queer, good vocal range, my favorite motto I adopted from a college peer is “whatever’s clever” or whatever gets the job done, for instance I use to make my artists put a blanket over them while they were recording in the hallway, and I am more skilled in auditory learning. I pay close attention to tone and clarity.

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

A: Usher, because he has been in the game for a long time and I feel like he could teach me how to be in the game for a long time.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always figure out what key you are going to make a song in. Each instrument must stay true to that key and can have key changes but each instrument must reflect the change as well.

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

A: R&B and Hip Hop

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Recording audio

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My unique voice, recording arts experience, and computer savvy or technical experiences.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First I decide what song I want to make. I figure out the key, bpm, and emotion I want to convey. I begin finding sounds I like, melodies, chords, and bass. I produce it and arrange it to a song structure according to the song writing I’m about to do next. I hold off until I write a song. I start writing the song by deciding what I want the end results to be like. I write the concept in detail. Then I begin the writing process. Once I have that then I finish my song structure with my beat. Then I start learning the words to the melody of the chorus, verse, bridge, etc.. I export the song from start out of FL Studio and upload them into a new session or the title of the new song in the session as stems in Pro Tools Artist. Then I begin recording, editing my mistakes out, and mixing some along the way. Once I am satisfied with my recording, I begin mixing and talking to the artist or producer how they want the sound. After they are satisfied with final mix, I master and send over the master bounced down file.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have cost effective studio equipment. I am workin with the Focusrite 2i2 Studio, KRK Rokit 5’s for monitoring, Kaotica Eyeball, Mackie 8” sub, Sterling Audio VMS mic shield, Pro Tools Artist and FL Studio Producer.

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

A: Ne-Yo and Mario

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

A: Vocal recordings