Pro Mixer / Producer

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

A: I was extremely lucky enough that I was offered a job at an amazing recording studio before starting my University / college course, so I could straight away learn on the job from industry greats, such as Phil Brown (The Rolling Stones / Jimi Hendrix), Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) and Robin Black (The Beatles). I started right from the bottom, working my way up to head engineer, then Producer and Mixer. I also was the drummer in many different bands, as well as playing a variety of instruments / DJ’ing so this helped me fast track my editing and listening skills when it comes to making records. To me it comes very naturally when things feel out of place / time / pitch etc, so I can quickly adjust things in the mix if necessary. I’ve been working solid in the professional music industry for over 17 years now, and I think I’m safe to say I haven’t’ made any enemies and really lucky to know and collaborate with some of the most amazing musicians and people around the planet.

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

A: Get your demo to the best it can possibly be and try to check for cracks / damaged audio etc, so that it saves any sending back and forth so I can finish your mix as quickly / efficiently as possible. I like to colour code and organise all of my stems before starting as I have a really efficient way of working, so I would ask if you could label your stems as best as possible. Also feel free to send specific references of how you would like the mix to sound like.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: As your mix engineer or producer, for me it’s more than a job – I become part of your team and my name is associated with the record, so I really strive to create the best possible version of each song. I want to be proud of all the work I do, and I have often sacrificed so many holidays / overtime just to make sure each little tiny detail is improved and deadlines are reached. I was also previously submitted to the Music Producer Guild awards for mixing all 27 tracks of Big Narstie’s album, however the deadline of the album was technically released a week after the deadline - but to my amazement the MPG team got in touch with me saying they were overwhelmed with votes for me and forwarded me their feedback, which I’m happy to forward onto any client. Some of the quotes included: Jessie Ware: “Dan is the sweetest and bloody most brilliant engineer / producer who I adore working with” Big Narstie: “Dan you da man, professor of sound. BDL my brother” “I honestly have never met a human so dedicated and passionate about his work, he is absolutely non-stop, putting 110% into his art. Giving up his social life and basic needs so he can deliver before the deadline with impeccable skills and attention to detail.” “Dan is the most positive, hardworking and dedicated professional I know in the music industry. His passion for music oozes out of him and he has a special talent of making people feel fantastic whilst recognizing and pushing them to their best potential. He works all hours around the clock, ensuring his clients are ecstatic with the final result.” “Dan Vinci is the hardest working engineer who is consistently reliable, patient and diligent in his work. His life revolves around his craft and he works day and night to make sure his clients are happy with the final product. Dan has also inspired and encouraged myself and many others to pursue their dreams and constantly pushes everyone to reach their potential. His love for collaboration and music is contagious and I wish there were more people in the industry like him. He has worked so hard over the years and it is time for him to get the recognition he deserves.”

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

A: There are so many amazing studio memories I feel I can write a book already, but one of the most stand out moments was composing music for the mighty Sir David Attenborough, a personal hero who I got to have dinner with afterwards. A real “pinch me” moment, he has done so much to promote the natural world and is actually quite rock n roll, not liking the fashion / paparazzi / attention / selfie’s etc, has a real strong backbone whilst being a great gentle soul too. 
I also loved performing / DJ’ing at Twickenham Stadium to 80,000 at the England Rugby World Cup with Laura Wright, who I had just finished producing some tracks for. Another crazy moment of live TV cameras and fans everywhere. I’ve also worked closely on the entire music mix for Michelin star chef Michael O’Hare for his famous restaurants, which are a unique music and tasting experience – and have also worked closely with the Picasso family in their residence and also LA fashion designer Johny Dar in fashion show events around the world, so really lucky to have worked with people outside of the music industry too. What a fascinating journey so far!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m currently mixing a new Snoop Dogg record, I’ve just finished cleaning up his vocals which is always exciting, and working on some truly gripping tracks with Izzy Bizu for her new album which is sounding incredible. I’ve also been working the last year on a new triple production album which I can’t wait to reveal all very soon.

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

A: I’ve worked in the industry for many years so have built up many contacts with other professionals, labels, session musicians etc and have seen quite a few I know on here but def don’t want to miss anyone out. Many things are genre specific, so if there are any particular pro recommendations you are looking for feel free to get in touch and will be happy to help :)

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: 100% both! Some of the plugins I have now are absolutely mind blowing, I love using them but you need the principles of the analogue approach to ensure you really understand what you’re doing with them. 

I remember having to save and recall entire mixes on huge analogue desks and even tape machines, it was such a timely process, but now you can do it with a single click. It’s much easier to get a nice lush sound or the specific musical vision of each artist. Any track you send me as a reference, I can almost always match exactly nowadays because I have such an array of amazing plugins fusing with the older analogue world.

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

A: I will always listen to / read any notes you may have - remember your work is also my work, it’s a collaboration so I always want to do things to the best of my ability for you. Also feel free to give a many tweaks / notes you may like, many of these things take only a few moments to tweak but will last a lifetime. I truly understand and appreciate your time and funds are important, some artists sleep on friend’s coaches and go hungry in order to fund their music career, I take my work seriously and want to try and make each artist I work with as much chance of success as possible – your success is also my success :)

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love seeing people’s faces when I play them my mixes or productions, as well as witnessing such a small idea flourish into a big radio hit. Quite a few times I’ve witnessed artists sit down and cry tears of happiness after I’ve helped make their musical vision come true, which is always a really special moment - you don’t tend to forget how much it means to people. Hearing cars drive passed playing music you’ve worked on is also a fun buzz, or big clubs pounding those tracks you’ve spent many hours working on and see everyone dancing. It’s a really emotional industry to be in, very powerful and deep on a spiritual level too, so I always work hard to achieve the best results possible.

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

A: Most people generally ask me who my favourite person I have met or worked with. I’m not generally a person who gets massively star struck, but some of my favourite moments and stories are meeting / working with Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones), Flo Rida, Pharrell, Jessie Ware, Basement Jaxx, John Holt, Horace Andy and one of the funniest people to work with is Big Narstie, he has us all rolling around in stitches at the studio. Such a big personality and all round great human with an incredible memory for lyrics – he would often get me to play a track on loop and create the entire track of verses and chorus in his head and then just lay it all down in one. Incredible!

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

A: I think many general music fans don’t quite understand how important a mix engineer or producer can be, they are mostly invisible to the 99%. But the 1% realise the power that creatives have behind the scene which then fuels the 99% to fall in love with a track or artist. The payoff is great though - it’s exciting hearing a whole club or audience dance or sing along to something you’ve helped bring to life.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I usually like to ask for any notes they may have on the way they would like the record to sound. Sometimes you may need the whole thing to sound bigger and better, other times you may already love the original demo and just want it to sonically meet up to other commercial records. Both are great, just the more info regarding your vision the better :)

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

A: - My Macbook (with hundreds of thousands of synth sounds / drum samples etc) - My Earphones or Headphones (so I don’t have to listen to the inbuilt speakers) - My Massive Funktion One sub woofers / speakers - My whole drum kit (I’m allowed to bring the sticks too, right?!) - My Fender USA Strat guitar (a special custom build). Absolute beauty.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Big bass, super clarity and dynamic 3D style mixes, with a lot of depth and emotion. I like things to sound great on great big sub woofers as well as small earphones.

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

A: Most of the artists I would love to work with have sadly passed away – such as Bob Marley, Tupac or Biggie, but the ones still here would be Eminem, Damian Marley, Zac De La Rocha (Rage Against the Machine) and Skrillex or Diplo. I’m not just a fan of their music, but I also believe I could add something different or special to their sound.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I tend to find great mixes usually come from great production. This is the main foundation to getting a great result. For example, instead of using 10 different synth stacks, maybe use 1 or 2 well picked synths. More layers doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger sound, in fact it can be quite the opposite. Remember to respect the space in a song, and the less stems inside the track means the more you can “fatten up” the track and make it really bounce. If you listen to how little elements Dr Dre would use, or even sometimes Diplo or even Anyma. Sometimes it’s just a well picked out instrument and the rest just grooves around it. Usually I find the main thing is to make the listeners head bounce to a track, or help feel a certain emotion or time to think.

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

A: I am one of those industry creatives that love working on a variety of genres because I loved so many different styles growing up. From hip hop to house and jungle and reggae – I’m primarily a lover of big basslines and all about the rhythm / groove and exciting vocals. In the commercial world of chart music, I have been lucky enough to work with Ed Sheeran, Jessie Ware, Delilah, Flo Rida, Basement Jaxx, Example, Skream. I have also made a name for myself working with some of the top legendary reggae artists – John Holt, Horace Andy (Massive Attack), Julian Marley, Luciano, Earl 16 (Leftfield), Junior Dan (Gorillaz) and The Ragga Twins (Skrillex). Some reggae artists from Jamaica nicknamed me “The Dandadda” and many reggae artists often come straight into my studio when they fly into the UK. In the classical world, I have produced / mixed for Laura Wright and performed with her at Twickenham Stadium for the England Rugby World Cup. I have also worked with award winning composer Nitin Sawhney and composed music for my personal hero Sir David Attenborough.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Trust, dedication, strong work ethic and a lots of patience – as well as technical knowledge of plugins and skills in identifying certain muddy / harsh frequencies to ensure a smooth mix or production. In the past, I have often been asked by various labels and management to change the arrangement or sounds as I feel best - this is a badge of honour as they trust my ears and expertise to deliver the best possible results. I’ve worked with many hit artists worldwide, from London to LA, New York and Ibiza with a whole variety of genres.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to focus on the intricate details of each track, and am highly organised with all my files - colour coding all stems to make sure nothing gets lost or overlooked. I usually like to listen many times to any demo mix sent to me, so that I can really understand the track and what the artist sounds like sonically. Once set up, I like to A/B each section to the demo to make sure I’m not missing any details / stems, then once finished I like to play my mixes in the car, different rooms / speakers and of course my earphones / headphones making sure it translates well it different environments. Once I’m happy, I then will send to clients. Even though records get mastered after mixing, I don’t like to rely on mastering to get that finished sound, so I will use an exciting array of saturators, exciters and limiters etc to really boost the record to sound like it’s already mastered for release. This helps not getting any surprises when getting the final masters are sent back - in fact, many artists / managers / labels will tell me they can’t really tell the difference between my mixes and the masters, so that’s always great feedback to hear.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a brilliant studio space in south London where I have full control and access 24/7 without having to share a studio, so I can work around the clock delivering deadlines. Gear includes everything from Neve 1073 pre amps to Neumann mics and Urei 1176 compressors. I’ve recently just upgraded yet another £15k of state of the art plugins and synths etc to ensure I have the very latest modern sounds / reverbs / FX, as well as great quality vintage circuity. The tech you can get now is absolutely mind blowing.

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

A: I’ve always loved the type of records that appear timeless no matter how many times you play them they still sound fresh, exciting or moving – from Bob Marley to Dr Dre to Hans Zimmer. For me that is when you’ve found that rare musical gold.

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

A: As a massive music lover of many different styles, I mostly mix and produce a whole variety of genres. Sometimes the artist or client will depend on me to make their record sound “more expensive” or “more exciting”, so this is where I specialise – either polishing a mix into something great or just elevating the whole sound. Or if additional production is required, then I can replace entire drums, bass and strings etc with the latest state of the art / top of the range sounds.