Mixing +Creative Services

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

A: I worked on an electronic album called Ghostland by ELMS. It was a straight up mix job, but the songs where excellent and I was given a lot of creative wiggle room in the mix process to go outside the box and create an atmosphere from scratch. I think that album turned out very well and I'm particularly proud of it, as is the client.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have an pop/irish traditional E.P. I'm working on this fall, as well as a new album for a metal band called Mokomokai that is currently in pre-production. I just finished work on engineering a heavy psychedelic record for a local college band that just went off to another mixer last week, and some pop mix work for another client next week.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog and digital. All of the strengths of both with none of the weaknesses.

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

A: That I will put your artistic vision at the forefront. I'm not interested in making something that I like the sound of at the expense of your intentions. At the end of the day this is a service job: if you're not happy, I have made a mistake somewhere along the line and will go back to fix it until you're happy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to work on music every day. That's the dream!

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

A: That gear is more important that experience. I have some gear that I wouldn't want to be without, but I feel I could make a better mix now with stock plugins, than I could have 5 years ago with some of the more expensive hardware pieces I work with now.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What do you want this to sound like? What are you favourite artists or albums? What's a song that sounds perfect to you? and please, send me some reference tracks!

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

A: Don't wait until you're "ready;" get a professional engineer involved early on. Even just having a mixer or producer lined up to work with can help speed up the creative process by having some skin in the game. I find that when people wait until they have everything figured out, they tend to wait forever.

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

A: I have a Sunn Model T amplifier from the early 70's that is a prized possession. My modified Black Russian Big Muff has a lot of mojo. I have a weird Shure mic mixer with a built in limiter that I bought for 50 bucks that is sort of a secret weapon in mixing. My old Toshiba 2 track reel to reel sounds awesome as a proper analog slap-back, and the pre-amps are amazing on drum transients for vibe while mixing. And probably my Yamaha P-2200 power amp for my monitors-- it just sounds incredibly detailed and quick for transients and is a pleasure for mixing.

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

A: There's not really a famous artist I fantasize about working with; I'm most interested in new sounds I've never heard before, and so I really enjoy working on off-beat or indie projects that are outside the mainstream. That being said, I've been really enjoying the production and songwriting on the last few Tanukichan albums, so I'd be interested in working on a project like that some day.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Keeping the process moving. A lot of time artists can get bogged down in details and lose sight of the finish line. It's important to make time for creative experiments, but when writers block or other frustrations set in, I pride myself on regaining the creative mandate and getting things headed back in the right direction.

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

A: I started playing music in highschool, and took to it immediately. I spent the next 18 years teaching music, while also working in live sound and getting a degree in philosophy. I started recording myself in my mid twenties, and by my thirties I was getting asked to record and mix music for other people. For the last three years I have been working as a music producer and mixer full time.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Modern primitive. I'm obsessed with the old ways of doing things and learning from the limitations and innovations of the days of fully analog recording. At the same time, I work in and embrace all that digital has to offer, from surgical editing, sampling, convolution, to experimental plugins and processing tochniques that could never be recreated in the analog world.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If it makes you want to move your body, you're on the right track. How a song makes you feel is more of a hook than how good the mix sounds.

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

A: I tend to work equally in rock/metal, electronic, and folk music. I would say rock/metal are a strong suit for me, but I enjoy listening to and working on all sorts of music, as it keeps things interesting for me and I enjoy operating outside my comfort zone.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think I bring interest to a song from start to finish. This starts from the writing stage, making sure the parts flow well from section to section, and trimming any fat to ensure proper pacing of the arrangement. In mixing I try to find whatever if most exciting in every moment and bring that to the forefront, so that the song is always commanding attention from start to finish.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I'm receiving tracks to be mixed I load the files into my DAW, and begin organizing the different tracks by function, finding the bass elements and percussion first. then I try to do a rough volume balance of all the elements together, and experimenting with panning. Once I have those roughed out, I get the low end elements and percussion working together rhythmically, and begin hemming everything else in around that foundation. I spend a lot of attention to automation in the final stages to ensure every detail shines as much as possible.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a hybrid studio setup, meaning I use a combination of software and outboard hardware during the tracking and mixing stages. I find this approach gives me the best of both worlds, especially when it comes to compression, which I personally prefer to do in the analog domain whenever possible.

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

A: I am a big fan of the mixing and engineering work of Andy Wallace, who favours serving the source material rather than trying to impart a particular sonic signature onto the work. I have an affinity for 70's era rock music, and came up playing in metal bands. In terms of production, I am a big fan of all sorts of production techniques, from EDM and Hip Hop, to orchestral recording techniques and everything in between.

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

A: Clients usually have a song or a set of songs written that they want to turn into the sort of recording they themselves listen to for pleasure, i.e. a commercial, radio ready release for their genre. I work with them from the pre-production and writing stages, right through to the final mix and master to bring their creative ideas to fruition.