Indie-Pop-Rock Producer

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

A: My EP, it's completely DIY and I learned a lot about myself and music production in the process. I hope to fully release it soon but my first and oldest song "A Siren Song" by hellenaH is available on Soundcloud and Bandcamp and there is more to follow soon.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on my original EP and hope to release it soon. So follow me on SoundCloud and Instagram @hellenaH_music and reach out, I am happy to hear from you!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I like to mix both. I play piano and guitar and bass. I like to include live playing in the songs I produce. I think that immediately sound less robotic and more human, even when edited. I do think that digital works absolutely fine for many genres, but there is more authenticity in analog. When it comes to mixing and sound design I use mostly digital tools. I have a background in computer science and besides the obvious benefit of signal processing courses (thankfully audio is a signal) my coding skills also give me additional freedom in exploring sounds and tweaking stuff in unexpected ways.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Getting to be creative in a world that seems to be flooded with slop. I am here to fight the slop.

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

A: Unfortunately, I have met people who think I don't believe that I make my original tracks all by myself. I have files to prove it.

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

A: Reach out! I am very easy to talk and I listen very well.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I think I a bit of a drama queen when it comes to music. No matter what the song is about, I want the listener to feel the emotions behind it.

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

A: This is a hard question. I think I would say AURORA, because she seems to be an honest, fun and insanely talented person. I love her TOMORA collaboration, as well as the Bring me the Horizon feature and her original songs as well.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: My violin teacher in high school taught me to play the breaks and breathe. I think it is very important to play with silence and create dynamic changes to allow each song to breathe as well.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Short answer: My heart and soul! I want to find what the song needs to live and breathe and deliver that. This sometimes means that I need to have to give it all of my passion and have absolutely no ego about it at the same time. I can do that!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to really do a deep dive into what is already there first. Try to understand the intention and the motivation of the song. If I wasnt sent any reference tracks, I will go search a couple songs that fit the mood and see where inspiration takes me. I do like to lay out a basic chord progression and rhythm first to get the feel of the song right and then start to make changes and add hooks and details.

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

A: I am inspired my Matt Bellamy from Muse, I absolutely love his vocals and I love the guitar riffs and the piano arpeggios just as much. They also have a lot of quirky details in their songs, incredible backing vocal layers. So much fun.

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

A: I produce songs from scratch or with reference tracks. I am very collaborative and I can also assist in topline writing, arrangement and composition.

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

A: That I will listen closely. To the music, to the lyrics and to what they have to say.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What inspired you to write this song? What did you feel when you wrote this song? What do you want the listener to feel?

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

A: 1. Acoustic Guitar 2. Capo 3. Set of Strings 4. Set of Strings 5. Set of Strings Just in case I am going to have to stay on that desert Island for a long time.

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

A: I am self taught, because I wanted to see my own creative vision come to life. So I am relatively new to this, and I will always keep learning.

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

A: So far I have worked on my original songs. They span multiple genres but I would describe most of it as indie pop rock. Some songs have a stripped down acoustic version as well, which goes more into a singer-songwriter/ folk direction. I also really like rock music, so I like a deeper darker sound as well.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I am a good listener. I have always heard songs in the radio as different tracks and I learned to add tracks in my mind. Makes every techno party more fun in my opinion, but the best part is that I learned the skills to transfer these tracks in my mind into audio that you can listen to.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a small homestudio setup with Ableton Live on a PC and a Masterkeyboard. I can also record keys from my E-Piano, E-Guitar and E-bass, or Acoustic Guitar and backing vocals through a Condenser Mic.