Produce, Mix, Compose, Bass

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm decidedly groove-first. No matter what kind of music I'm making, I want it to feel good. I want the listener to feel passionate and moved, even if they don't exactly know why. Style and genre are secondary—they're the clothes you create to dress up the passion of your music in a way that speaks for you without words.

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

A: These days, it's that AI can do it just as well or better. The trouble with AI is that it feeds on music that already exists and makes the best copy of it possible. That forces you to do what's already been done. What's the point of that? For millennia humans have used music to communicate with each other, find meaning, and tells stories. No robot can help you do that as well as another human being.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I usually start by asking an artist how they want their listeners to feel. Taking a look at the end-results starts things off with a broad overview that helps guide us through the process. After that, we go from the macro to the micro: What kind of history, emotions, and passion are you bringing to the project? And then finally, we get down to logistics: style, instruments, and performance. The bottom line for me is the human aspect. That's what makes every piece of music special.

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

A: I started making music when I was 15. I fell in love with bass, played for hours and hours a day and eventually went to music school in Philly. From there I established a career in jazz, rock, and R&B. After moving to NYC, I joined a band and signed to Atlantic Records. We toured and recorded for many years. From there it was on to being a freelance bassist for many different artists. I began transitioning into producing, mixing, and composing during that time. And when the pandemic hit and touring totally stopped, I moved into those thing full time and never looked back. I feel incredibly lucky to have worked with some of the best artists around.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: When it's time to make sure the feel is rock-solid, I solo each track (vox, guitars, synths, bass, etc.) along with the main drums and make sure it's grooving. Groove is about way more than the traditional rhythm section. If you listen to a Michael Jackson vocal by itself, you can hear how rhythmic it is, and how much that helps make the whole song feel good.

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

A: I'm drawn towards anything with an undeniable groove. I tend to create songs on top of EDM, house, and hip-hop grooves. The magic happens when you put something brilliant on top—pop, synthwave, Latin, Jazz—it all sounds amazing.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Communication. That's what it's all about, right? You want to speak directly to the listener, say something worth hearing, and inspire them not just to listen but to become part of the art you created. Do it right and the music becomes a shared work, owned just as much by those who love it as those who created it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Passion. There's more music out there than ever before. The tracks that rise to the top have an X-factor—a quality that inspires true emotion and keeps fans coming back again and again. My art is creating that inspiration.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Step one is listening: listening to the original idea of a track and to the artists who've created brilliant music that sounds similar. From there, we collect sounds, loops, and recordings that feel like they're already part of the whole. We go for an airtight groove. It doesn't matter what kind of music it is, it needs to feel good. The sculpture is already in the marble, we just need to set it free. Vocals and groove usually get the most attention. We build everything else to support them. I love the process. The journey is the destination.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I love the flexibility of digital, so I've built up an amazing library of synths, samples, loops, and FX. I have a thing for classic synths, which I get from Arturia's amazing collection. My hardware is all UAD, and their incredible reproductions of legendary EQs, compressors, etc is a part of my regular workflow. At the center of it all is Ableton Live. I've worked with all the others in the past, but Ableton simply feels more creative than the rest.

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

A: I love artists who challenge themselves to create every aspect of a song or record. Prince is the classic example—he had his hands on everything and you could hear the result in the way every shred of his art supported a long, winding story. These days, it's artists like Fred Again..., Porter Robinson and the late, great SOPHIE who have really created something special.

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

A: Working together to bring a song from initial inspiration to release-ready master. We can start as small as a simple melody or as developed as a full demo. From there, we work together to create and record everything the song needs—we bring it to life together. When it's ready, we mix, master, and set up distribution.