Mixing | Producing | Bassist

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

A: 1) I had the pleasure of multi-track recording a live performance by the great Wayne Shorter Quartet featuring John Pattituci, Brian Blade, and Danilo Perez. My mix was printed to a full-length video of this performance. 2) Running live sound in a small Kurdish village along Turkish/Sryian border, the show took place in an ancient ruin site and the music was completely out-of-this-world. 3) Recording a traditional Japanese koto master by the name of Shoko Hikage. The koto is one of my favorite instruments and I was honored from this experience.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both!

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

A: 100% Satisfaction

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I do music for a living in the comfort of my home and get to perform on stages around the world, what else could I ask for?

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is the underlying meaning behind your song, if there is any. Do you like the rough mix you have now or do you want to take it in another direction? What DAW did you use, and can you provide dry stems in the original format (WAV).

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

A: Graduated with a degree in Sound Arts from Ex'pression College for Digital Arts and have been working in the music/sound world ever since. I was a live sound and recording engineer at the SFJazz Center for 5 years, a touring live sound engineer and bassist in the Middle East and Central America. I also wrote the course on Music Mixing at the Academy of Art University, where I have continued to teach students for over 10 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Experimental and authentic.

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

A: Yussef Dayes, because the sound he creates is what I hear in my head.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Less is more.

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

A: I tend to work on a lot of reggae, jazz, and world music. But I've worked on anything from country and rap to techno and classical,

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Knowing when an experimental idea serves the song or not.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A sensitive and artistic approach that allows the song to breath.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: There's a big budget studio nearby I use for tracking, but I do all my mixing and mastering from home. I'm running Pro Tools Ultimate, Logic Pro, UAD Apollo Interface and Neumann monitors.

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

A: I'm a big fan of the old greats like Coltrane, Miles, Pharoah, Mingus, Hendrix, James Brown, King Tubby, Bob Marley, Alton Ellis, Ernest Ranglin (this list never ends). In the modern world I really dig Yussef Dayes, Vulpeck, Floating Points, Natalia Lafourcade, Menahan Street Band, Polyversal Souls.

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

A: Mixing and mastering, as well as additional production work and original bass tracks.