I am a working professional musician and studio producer with released material. My studio has been around for 20 years or so where I have worked with almost every form of music form Metal to EDM - Indie to Jazz - Choirs to Orchestral. I am grateful to be sought after for my production and collaborative skills not just mixing.
I've been working in music for 30 years - which led to me setting up Skatandah Studios to work for local artists. This has blossomed into my band AEONS on our 3rd award-winning and highly praised album recorded here. I quickly learnt I had a talent for production - to help artists develop their work not just record it. This has resulted in multiple repeat clients encompassing a vast array of musical styles. This includes :
Progressive Metal / Crossover / Hardcore
EDM / DnB / Synthwave
Indie / Indie Folk
Orchestral OST and production music
Podcasts
The producer in me is what I enjoy most - working with artists to full realize their vision. But of course it's important to get a great sound and I try and stay away from the modern "blueprint" sounds that everyone seems to go for and adapt to the music and the talent of the artists as it speaks to the listener, not whether it "sounds the same" as other recent mixing trends and thus gets lost in the mire. My bands recent albums have all scored 9+ out of 10 from reviewers when we have a very distinct, individual style.
I can mix to a professional, release level. I can Master of course. But most of all i can help you produce your work and get it to a world-class potential.
Send me a note through the contact button above.
Credits
Interview with Skatandah Studios
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Obviously every AEONS album as its my own band. The 3rd album - The Ghosts of What We Knew - is some of my finest work, I believe.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm working on the 4th AEONS album, the 2ns Swarf Damage album and my own Synthwave album. Plus there are 2 clients in the future that I won't say here but they are prominent bands.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital. Analog gear is expensive and heavy. I'm old enough to understand both and my camp is firmly modern.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: That I will try my best to take your journey to where it needs to go.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Sitting back after a session with a whisky and listening to the finished product a smile on my face about what we have achieved together. I do spend a lot of evenings going back over old recordings and enjoying the moments again!
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: How do you get good at writing? My answer : Listen to A LOT of music. Whatever you think a LOT is, multiply it by 10.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That I am metal focused only!
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I do like a personal chat before I work so we can find the right journey for the music. That chat usually answers everything we need to know.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Let's make something wonderful. So be open minded
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A 7-String Ibanez, a GT-1000 or similar with a set of headphones. My laptop and an interface. Oh and about 15 crates of Strings!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been a musician for 30 years - including long tours and something like 1000+ gigs. The studio has been around since my band in the early 2000s needed an album recorded so I did it! It's gone on form there
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: My personal style is Progressive Metal but in the studio people can say they know a track I have worked on because it sounds fuller musically.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I really don't mind. But in reality it's one I share a common vision with.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Taste is subjective. Don't listen to anyone but yourself when mixing. If your mix "lacks" something learn to identify what that is but find your own solution. YouTube and the web are full of people with great tutorials but the end sound must be yours.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Meta, Rock, Indie, Folk, EDM, Orchestral
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I'm a musician first and foremost. So hearing the right thing for a song to do is the key.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: As a song writer myself I can find the layers and the hooks that will bring out a piece to its full potential. Notably all the bands I work with have had re-writes with me that they have walked away with a better composition, without changing the fundamental of the tracks they have submitted. With some EDM artists I have worked with that means adding musical complexity. With Indie bands or artists that usually means layers. With Metal bands it means additional guitar or orchestration components.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Most of my jobs have so far been full band album or solo artist album sessions. That can take weeks. Where I work on single tracks I really like to work with the artist to get what they want so the next time they visit we have a workflow. Workflow is an essential component of production and needs every component individual to be on the same journey.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I run a powerful PC setup which runs the latest CUbase, al SLL plugins ( which I prefer ), Waves, Heavyocity, Kontakt etc.. I have a full EWQL orchestra available and all the latest mastering tools.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: On top of the recording and mixing - which is a given - bands and artists come to me for production - to help with their arrangements and their layering. I traditionally will take a band and add the layers it needs to fatten the musical dynamics, or even take a singer-songwriter with just a piano or a guitar and turn in into a full suite of instruments.
I was the Writer, Artist, Producer, Mixing and Recording Engineer in this production
I am pretty flexible to work with and my standards are high for what leaves the studio. I am very happy to work with the artist in depth.
- Opeth
- Mastodon
- AEONS
- I use Cubase
- with the full suite of SSL
- Waves and expected VST
