Hands On Production/Recording

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

A: I recently finished an experimental electronic EP which won me the Audient prize for 'Creativity in Music Technology.'

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently working on improving as a producer and engineer, trying to get out of 'auto-pilot' production and really make music I believe is interesting and special in some way.

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

A: As of yet, I have not been in contact with other professionals on Soundbetter. However, some of the local producers and engineers I work with are also on soundbetter.

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

A: i promise to deliver the project at the highest level I can.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: For me, Soundbetter is a really great opportunity for me to work with talented musicians from around the world. It also feels great building genuine connections with people you respect and enjoy working with.

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

A: Alot of clients ask about arrangement help, which is something I offer and am happy to help with.

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

A: That mixing cant be a creative process.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What influences you? What is the song about? What is the your favourite part of the song?

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

A: Feel free to ask as many questions as you want. It's important you are confident in my ability before you hire me. I try and schedule a video call with every client to clarify as much of my process as possible.

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

A: Laptop, Prophet Rev-2, Apollo X4, Sennheiser Headphones, Moog M32

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

A: I have now been producing professionally for 4 years. I am currently finishing university after which I intend to work full-time as a producer or engineer in either music production or the media industry.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Dark but melodic, Bass driven Currently my music is sitting in the realm of electronic music using a lot of darker sounds. I especially saw and Reese basses as they bring so much character to pop music and contrast well with vocals.

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

A: Flume, although he makes a different style of music to what I currently enjoy making, he is such a huge inspiration to me and I love how unique his approach to music.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Have a reason for your decisions. Do not layer if you just feel like it needs to be bigger, dont use three snares because you watched a youtube video. If you are going to make a production decision, be confident in why you are making that decision.

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

A: Currently I am working mainly on hip-hop, alt pop and electronic pop. I am really enjoying the darker side of musical styles at the moment so working on alt pop music has been really enjoyable.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a a strong technical and creative understanding of sound design and production which translates into my production and engineering. I also enjoy to produce vocals in a unique way brining new timbres to production that may not be considered 'standard.'

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Currently, I tend to start with a sound that inspires me (usually a synth patch) or a chord progression and go from there. I try to start with something special or unique to me which really helps with my creative process. That being said there are no rules so sometimes I start with ambience, or just layering random sounds.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: As I move around a lot I have a small portable set-up which consists of top of the line synths (Prophet Rev 2 and Modular), interface (apollo x4) and headphones (Sennheiser). However, I have access to professional studios which I use for mixing and mastering work.

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

A: Artists that have unique sounds like Flume, EDEN and JOJI really inspire me. I am a huge synth nut and as such productions that use interesting sound design.

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

A: Recently I completed a remix for a client on Soundbetter. Originally he sent me the vocals and he wanted me to make a dubstep remix. However, the original song was at 100bpm which made this pretty much impossible. I managed to create a fusion between house and dubstep which the client really ended up liking. I was also veryh happy with the final mix and master. Overall it was one of the most professionally produced tracks I have worked on.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently, I am working on my own debut ep consisting of electronic music. I am also foccusing on the rapper I produce and engineer for trying to grow his project. Finally, I will also be assisting in the mixing of a rock and electronic album.

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

A: As of yet, I have not been much in contact with other professionals on Soundbetter.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog synths have an amazing sound. However, in this day and age digital is where the industry is and it's important to be compatible with as many people and systems as possible. Digital workflow allows for more effective collaboration and workflow.

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

A: I promise to take the clients vision and use it to create - using my own personal style - a great piece of work for the client

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: For me, Soundbetter is a really great opportunity for me to work with talented musicians from around the world. It also allows me to practice all production skills I will need in the future and I can say with confidence that Soundbetter really has improved me as a musician and producer. I get great satisfaction from producing great music for other people that they are really happy with and Soundbetter really makes this easy.

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

A: Questions vary from client to client. However, I often get asked if I offer packaged deals. The answer is yes, I offer discounts if more than one track is commisioned from me.

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

A: That mixing is easy, most people I meet do not realise how much of a detail based, gruelling process mixing really is. However, it is also incredibly rewarding to get the mix just right.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Usually questions about what mood and style they want to convey through their music and what their inspiration was. This helps me get in the right mindset to write a song that the client will love.

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

A: Feel free to ask as many questions as you want. It's important you are confident in my ability before you hire me. I can provide short audio clips for all manner of things.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is quite versatile as I produce several different types of music. I have also studied several different kinds of music at school. This mix of influences creates for a commercial sound with a few twists here and there to give the tracks interest and a personal touch. I also enjoy combining both bass heavy and melodic music to get both the heavy hitting sound design and the singing top lines you get from each respective style.

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

A: Most likely Skrillex. In every song he has written there is always something unique about the track which expands his own personal repertoire. Also, he has truly amazing production skills which I am sure I could learn something from.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: LESS IS MORE. You do not need to put every channel through five mixing busses to get it perfectly compressed, when done tastefully the imperfections in music are what makes it interesting.

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

A: On SoundBetter I am usually hired to write Trap, Dubstep or other Bass music. However, in my own time, I also enjoy producing future bass and electronic music (future chill, chill trap etc.).

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My focus during production is always the writing. Creating interesting themes and melodic motifs is the most important part of a song to me and as such, I spend a lot of time creating an effective theme which fits the mood of the piece.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I believe I have quite a new and modern sound when it comes to production and that helps me produce commercial sounding music with a unique twist. I am also a classically trained pianist so creating great melody lines is something which I have always focused on.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I write music I tend to start by creating a backbone for the whole song. I write out the chords/ideas for the chorus and verse and then build the track from there. After the ideas are laid down I will start to design sounds for the different sections and layer them with other sounds. I usually mix as I go and then do a final clean up when the whole track is finished.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Currently, I work mostly in my room which, is soundproofed and is fitted with Yamaha HS8. I use a UAD satellite and a Softube console one for mixing. I record everything using a prophet rev-2 hardware synth which I either use as an instrument or as a MIDI Keyboard. However, next year I will be studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where I will have access to there professional mixing, mastering and recording studios.

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

A: At the moment I mainly work on demos and take them through the full production timeline, from writing to mastering.

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

A: Artists that have unique sounds like Flume or NGTHMRE inspire my work and my quest for my own personalised sound.

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

A: The most common work I do for clients would have to be remixing. They send me vocals and stems, and I remix it with my own style.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog synths have an amazing sound. However, in this day and age digital is where the industry is and it's important to be compatible with as many people and systems as possible. Digital workflow allows for more effective collaboration and workflow.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My focus during production is always the writing. Creating interesting themes and melodic motifs is the most important part of a song to me and as such, I spend a lot of time creating an effective theme which fits the mood of the piece.