Alt Rock Mixing Engineer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on an album with Enjoyable Listens. We are looking at the balance between optimism and yearning in the sound of the music. It's early days right now because the recordings are ongoing. I have some Mastering with Jordi Alkema. I have an LP project with a guy called Phil in Sydney Australia and have nearly finished an EP with Ella Fence on the Gold Coast. I have an ongoing solo project with Fin O'Brien of The Jacques. Let's not forget Waking Millie which is an ongoing production/writing/mixing project with Bryony Henry. I am a little way into the next Shields LP which is heavy on the post pro, I even sing on it. I just found out there is to be a third Fractured LP, so I will go into the studio to so that in September. I have been sent two new songs by Darcey Smurfit to make into something special. we go to the studio in August.

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

A: Steps! Steve Albini was asked this question in an interview and I was surprised to have so many cross overs with him. I think he'd fancied making edgier and honest recordings of bands that have become quite studio slick. One was ZZ Top, and I'd always fancied making a live edgy LP with them. They are a brilliant trio who have become like cyborgs in the studio. Obviously there are many reasons this will never happen. Are Man or Astro Man still going? I would love to bring the aesthetic of Lee Hazlewood to a French artist called Halo Maud. She is a deeply original and talented artist and I'm sure I could bring loads to that table.

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

A: I would need to go hunting and in order to cook a good meal so let me think...? I guess if I had a Fairchild 670 I could drop it on something to kill it. an API2500 might work a bit like a boomerang if I bent the corners a bit. For hand to hand combat a DBX160 is a sturdy brick shape, I could make decent fire pit with a plate reverb, and for simulated conversations I could talk back to myself through a BEL BD80

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

A: There are many, but maybe I should pick the track Ramona that is the one I am allowed on this site. It contains all the things that I purport to think and know about, managing the balance between a difficult alt rock band and radio gold. I Produced and Mixed. It comes out in September and I hope it gets the attention it deserves. I'm proud of it because it was so difficult to do but sounds so fresh and easy. I'm off to drop a compressor on a Bison now-needs must- Bye and see you soon x

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

A: I'll take a look. It's like an Arc isn't it. I think saw George Shilling on here and some of my ex students. I'm sure I'll bump into them in the lobby at some point.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I told you already in Studio Set up. I think if a recording has begun it's life in the analogue domain (they have to) and is heading ultimately for the digital, you always have both and there is no why? please don't get me on to running the audio through a shitty tape machine in an attempt to be more interesting, I can't bear it!

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

A: Reliability, honesty, and an exit ramp if it's not working.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Actually doing it. However I did have the partner of a musician introduced to me at a a live show. I'd worked with both bands on stage. She told me that everybody in the bands felt completely different about themselves: more confident, more valued, increased self worth, happier! and that my work was why. I would say that's a fine reward for doing my job.

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

A: I think people want to know where the line is drawn in the collaboration. Often people behave as if they are going to the vet to hand their pet over to the surgeon and wait for the call. They are often surprised that I want them to be at the centre of the process. So it's not a sentiment that often forms as a single Q+A but is a question that through discussion is answered in kind. On the other hand, my favourite colour is a kind of blue if that's what you were going to ask.

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

A: That I can solve the problems without being allowed to solve them.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: what's your name. Can I hear your music. How much money have you got.

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

A: Talk to me about what you're doing and where you're going and see if I understand you in a convincing way. Have a listen to my work to date. Sometimes people ask for a speculative mix, but tbh there is something valueless about a demo version of a mix, because it's starved of the oxygen of commitment by all, so is just a vapid balance of the instruments.

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

A: Drummer-Art School-banjo player-carpenter-studio assistant-studio engineer-studio producer- back to studio assistant-back to studio engineer-freelance recoding engineer-freelance music producer-mastering engineer(brief)-mixing engineer. I've been doing this for ages!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I get to the heart of the matter and then begin. There is a lot of discovery along the way. Not everybody likes that. Some do. My style is thorough and diligent at my end and somehow effortless at the clients end. It's like being flown.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Assuming you're technically competent, take a step back and allow the music to talk to you and allow your imagination to get to know it. Some part of your brain has to call the shots, and it's not the bit that knows what to do technically although that bit will end up doing all the work. You have to be able to answer the question:" we are gathered here today in order to ...." and not just add treble to something to enjoy the shiny sound it makes. I'm all for a playful methods though. The world is full of quotes by giants like Picasso who say how they tuned into a child like state and let themselves off the chain, but the only liberated artists we seem to remember are those that also possess years of experience and expertise. So my tip is: bring those qualities to the party, let the artist build sandcastles while you slip some quick setting resin into their bucket.

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

A: Alt Rock on the whole. I seem to know what the proportions are for an alternative view and a palatable sound for a broader audience. Everyone I have worked with has ended up with more fans so the marriage of those qualities seems to be good news all around. I'm not afraid to engage with twisty ideas or paint in less obvious colours. Steps have that covered!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: According to my endorsements it's understanding the song, the artist and the path to a great sound for them. Every job is different so requires brand new thinking (if possible from everybody). Interesting music contains contradictions and ambiguities and I like to engage with those qualities. There are juxtopositions and imperfections in music which I would celebrate, which is why I am unlikely to get a call from Steps.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Once the reasoning for the music is understood, it becomes like an archaeological dig to uncover the original intention of the piece and open it out. I like to think of my self as a liberator more than imposing my perspective on the music. I definitely bring a lot of experience to the music, and hopefully a lot of the right emotions. My endorsements seem to have a common theme that I'm good at refining parts and sorting out the songs for better. I'll take that. Even if we are talking about mixing the open nature of modern recording means it not too late for a better bass line or spooky keyboard rather than applying a constipated FX chain to a poor part.

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

A: I've always flown the flag for anyone who wants to have a go. I loved Florian Schneider for binning his flute, Dave Greenfield for sailing in Longships, Joey Ramone for seeming to catch my 14 year old eye and for a while being to tough to die, Lenny White for channeling his inner hurricane, John McKAy for showing a different way, DEVO for devolving, John Coltrane who was never plain, John Barry, Ennio Morricone and most of all Bernard Herman. Music is hard to do well no matter what kind it is. I loved the work of Tony Hoffa in the naughties, and still strive to understand Chris Thomas who has a different language in sound to everybody else. John Punter made the Japan records sound incredible. In a more contemporary sphere I'd single out Theo Verney who has a distinct sound that's great on the radio. David Wrench makes wonderful recordings and mixes well. Phil Bulleyment does great work too. There are plenty. I try not get to down about it!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: You can't do anything until you understand the client. This is true of Production but also true for mixing. On the whole people are naive about which bit of the process does what, and after 30+ years in the industry it's easy to lose sight of the fact that seasoned practitioners become more and more esoteric as there expertise becomes more and more granular. After multiple runs through the sieve our daily concerns become understandable to only a tiny hand full of practitioners. The artist will likely be trading on a desired feeling, and for better or worse you have to tune into that and not bother them with process they are now part of. My advice to myself is therefore: Better let them do the talking and find out what they are all about. Try not to be a character from Viz Comic ( Nobby Producer and his friend The Transducer). Often people are surprised and perhaps disappointed when you can identify influence, so I try to keep it to myself. Nobody likes a smart arse. The difference between the clients is the only difference you have, so make the most of that difference. Returning to practical concerns, once we gain a broad agreement on why we are all here I do some scenario mixes, and that starts a conversation based on reality not dreams. As we establish what we do like and lean into it ibecomes possible to finish the work. Lot's of people can mix, but the trick is to mix relevantly.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My results seemed to get better the more simple my set up became.I mixed an Lp in my kitchen with only my dog for company and realised it was way better than the work I'd done in commercial control rooms. I sold all of my outboard and mics and ploughed the returns into software. I have had a chance to do real A/B comparisons with plug ins and physical gear, and there is no difference that is greater than the good or bad choices one makes when working. Dave Hill added HEAT to pro tools as a poignant goodbye. It's the only "desk sound" emulation that really works. Since that came along I'm done with searching for the analogue dream in digital. So I have all the software (Manley, Neve, Avalon...) of the best hardware, a Quad 405 amp and a pair of PMC DB1i plus a sub. The most important thing is the acoustic treatment of the room, which I have done extensively.I have a personal relationship with Shaun Greenlees at WSBL which I try not to brag about. he sells me PUNF foam off cuts that are enormous nonetheless. I take my work to Metropolis regularly for mastering, and when I get there my mixes sound just the same in their crazy high end monitors. I'm satisfied my system works. Of course I may be totally deluded, but being deluded is a necessary part of getting on board with music in the first place. People who don't do music regard all of us as hopeless dreamers, until we get one away, and then we are labelled as lucky.

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

A: I commonly work for people who create guitar based music, but sometimes create all the music myself around a song or sketch demo. In either case I will be the mixer. Clients send me their sessions or raw WAVS, we discuss the ambition at length and then I start to work up scenarios. If those are the right idea we run to the finish line.