Hip-Hop/R&B Audio Engineer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: The biggest project I'm currently working on is a 13-song album by Seattle Hip-Hop artist, EMoney, that I recorded, mixed, and mastered over a period of two years featuring Kill Nigel, Highway, and other phenomenal talents.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! We live in an era where we have the freedom to create even more complex mixing strategies and neither should be ignored. I do the vast majority of my work in the box, but especially when it comes to producing quality recording files, a knowledge and skillset of analog gear can make or break a project.

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

A: I'll never stop working to achieve the sound you envision, or your money back.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Meeting people from wildly contrasting cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds uniting to create a body of music we all can be proud of. And of course, simply being able to make a living in the music industry. Every day I'm grateful to be an engineer.

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

A: Q) How long can I expect to receive a reference/final mix? A) Two-three business days Q) What DAW do you work in? A) Pro Tools Q) Can we try to make this sound more like [insert artist name] A) Of course, and if not we'll land somewhere among the stars

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

A: Fast hands and speedy workflow does not mean it's an easy job! Crafted quality mixes is time and energy intensive, and while using the clients time effectively is important, the harder part comes after, Rome wasn't built in a day!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's the vision you have of your musical career in a year? Two? Ten? What's the most important thing that needs to be communicated to your listener through your music? Who is your target fanbase? And what does music bring to your life?

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

A: Take the time to make sure all deliverable files are as they should! Delays caused by improperly bounced audio or corrupted files can be understandable frustrating so don't forget to double check your stems.

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

A: My U87, a Pultec EQP-1A, an LA-2A, Slate VSX headphones, and my Macbook Pro

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

A: I have been a freelance recording, mixing, and mastering engineer for eight years, as well as having owned and operated a successful studio business that started in the height of the 2020 Covid Crisis

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Heavily inspired by the Bay Area and Chicago Hip-Hop scenes in particular, with a passion for the musical era spawned by Bryson Tiller's TrapSoul

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

A: It's always been my dream to work with Denzel Curry for his lyrical ability and experimental sound.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Start from the ground up! Templates can be a useful tool but will never replace building the sound an artist is looking for from a personalized stand-point.

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

A: I primarily work with Hip-Hop and R&B vocalists and tend to prefer music that sits evenly in the middle of those - a bit of vocal stylings mixed with a catchy cadence. I've worked on a wider range of genres over the past, including Pop, Dancehall, Country, and Pop-Punk.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is finding the sound, texture, or general vibe the artist has locked away in their head and bringing it to life. Tone, emotion, the physical space the music resides in are all vital to a successful song that meets the clients vision.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a fine level of attention to detail in every mix I undertake, and between comping vocals, time editing, manual pitch correction, or even getting a better mix from a two-track instrumental, I always strive to ask myself what more can be perfected in the mix.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My typical work process may vary depending on if I'm recording the project or not but generally I set my fader levels for a general roadmap, then start mixing soloed individual and group files to remove unwanted frequencies and lay a balance for the song as a whole. Once the isolated parts of the mix are more manageable, I start adjusting compression, dynamic and static EQ's, tone shaping, and parallel processing. Finally after the nitty gritty is attended to begin to play with effects processors to establish a physical space for the vocals/instruments - whether that be reverb, delay, saturation, flangers, stereo spreading, or a combination of all that and more. All audio is routed to the mix bus and gain staged to ensure no clipping is occurring within the mix.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: We have an isolated 8x8 recording booth that houses our Neumann U87 AI microphone Audio is being routed in order through a WA-73 EQ pre-amp, Drawmer 1974 stereo-EQ, WA-2A optical compressor, and interfaced with a Focusrite 18i20 Mixes are monitored through a set of Yamaha HS8s and HS5s Headphone array includes Slate VSX modeling headphones, Audio Technica M50X, and M40

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

A: I'm wildly inspired by T-Pain who's versatility and dedication to the art of music continually surprise me. I love his ethos of dragging elements from other genres into modern music to create something even more original. My favorite producer is Kenny Beats and his ability to adapt to any scenario and creating an inviting, creative space for the artists that he works with.

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

A: Recording and mixing audio is 90% of what I do on a daily basis with my clients, providing guidance and feedback on their takes while ensuring audio is coming back at a healthy level. Time allowing we create a solid reference mix by the end of session, where I then pick up on my own time to allow for a more in-depth final mix.