Music & Film Audio Engineer

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

A: Recently I was the entirety of the Post Sound department on an Indie Feature to premiere on BET. It took a lot of work, but it came out very nicely, and I'm excited to continue evolving.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently I'm Mixing an Indie Feature as well as producing an Abum for myself.

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

A: Not at the moment, but I believe that will change in the future.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: "Both" really is the answer, in my opinion. A choice of one over the other depends on the capability and flexibility of either in the sitution you need it for. They both offer characteristics that help the other sound better than just one of them alone.

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

A: I promise to be a reliable asset to you and your creations, delivering High Quality, Professional mixes to bring your ideas to life!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Being able to make creative decisions and contribute to the collection of art in the world as opposed to being on autopilot somewhere I don't want to be doing everything I don't want to do.

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

A: There is no one question I get asked frequently.

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

A: Having every plugin or every bit of gear possible gurantees the product will be great. The gear is only a tool, and understaning how that tool can be utilized, even in ways for which it was not intended, to make something great.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask for deadlines, gear specs, details about the recording environment, and the intended outcome as it exists within their mind.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Cerebral

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

A: I can never answer this question succinctly when asked; I just want to create something transformative, when collaborating with an artist and the list of those whom I feel could assist to the end of that goal is evergrowing, but I do want to master the aspects of my own self expression, at least the best of my abilities, before that point, to ensure I'm able to pull my part of the weight that comes with innovation and transformation.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Attention to detail and the patience to address the smallest of them to aid the whole project.

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

A: Know what your looking for or, if you're unsure, be unafraid to ask so the process can be streamlined in giving form to your ideas!

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

A: Not that they'd be very useful on this island, but I'd bring my macbook, scarlett 2i2, my 6 Slot 500series lunchbox, sennheiser mkh-416, and Beyerdynamic 990 headphones to record the sounds around me for ambience and as a challenge to make music out of their modulated signals.

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

A: My goal is to be an Artist/Creator across mediums with Sound inspiration from it being constants within each. I started on this path in 2014.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always feel the track using your body and ears to guide you, and then back that feeling up with, Gain Staging, EQ, Compression, all the bells and whistles, to ensure a great feeling track that moves the listener while adhering to a loudness standard for that genre.

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

A: As a result of the music industry climate, I have most encountered Pop, Hip Hop, and dance music, though Experimental Pop, Hypnagogic Pop and genres that crossover with Electronic Music are my favorites to work on.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A unique perspective on sound within longitudinal space as well as a unique skillset from both mixing Music and Film that can be carried over to either of the other genre.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: In both Music and Film, I focus on meticulous cleaning of the recorded performances to allow for more precise application to the overall mix and sound field before making micro adjustments to gain to ensure clarity while maintaining the inteded emotional dynamics of each performance. Then focus shifts to building the space in which the Vocals/Dialogue sit, joining the elements as a family and leading to a more immersive, enjoyable, and repeatable experience.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Two Yamaha HS7 Midfield monitors (L,R), Kali Audio IN5 as dedicated Center channel, Yamaha HS8S Subwoofer (LFE), Two Yamaha HS5 Surrounds (Ls,Rs) routed with SMPTE Configuration, Complete IZotope RX Audio Editing and Restoration Suite as well as Waves Murcury & SSL bundles, and Soundtoys full suite for Music/Soundtrack Mixing and Mastering.

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

A: In no particular order: Imanu, Flying Lotus, George Clanton, Kendrick Lamar, Aphex Twin, Adam Bosarge, The Glitch Mob, Michael Jackson, Soichi Terada

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

A: I mainly Sound Design and Mix Feature films, Mix and Master songs, as well as Dialogue and Vocal editing and restoration!