Soulful Mixing, Producing

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

A: https://soundcloud.com/upper-reality/sets/upper-reality I did the whole thing except for the mastering (even the cover art) -- and was really happy with how it turned out.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A remix for a singer.

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

A: No but again I'd definitely recommend clients shop around

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Analog is a cool selling point but when it comes down to it it's more of a posh-talk ploy. Same as "wav" vs "mp3" -- I bet you can't tell the difference but you tell all your friends it's a big deal.

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

A: I'll give my all to make your project pop.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Listening to different things and learning more about my craft.

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

A: "can you put, like, a frog sound in there?" Nope, can't do that. "can you do it for --" I can do it for the amount I advertised. "How many revisions?" 2 free ones

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

A: I have an Economics degree, if that says anything. But I have been doing this consistently despite all other outside conflicts for 8 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Soulful, jazzy, but still versatile.

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

A: SZA, because I feel like we would make sense together

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't waste your time collecting sounds. Just start creating and keep creating.

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

A: R&B and Soul music

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Pitch Correction and creating a "fullness"

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Soul. Also timing, perfect pitch, and a perfectionism that won't let me submit anything less than a beautiful song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Everything depends on the song. The fundamental thing I do each time is listen.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have an at-home setup, using Ableton and Waves Plugins for mixes.

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

A: Iman Omari is an incredible producer. Timbaland has a reputation for being very particular about the types of sounds he uses so I am partial to him as well. As far as mixing goes, the mixers from the old analog days that did the Motown sound accomplished some complicated things that people with high-tech technology can't even figure out nowadays.

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

A: I mainly do mixing, vocal editing, and percussion work.

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

A: That any two of us are the same in any way.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What genre are you looking for? And how much creative input do you want from me?

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

A: Definitely ask them to do a trial to see which mixes you like. Also try not to seek out a mixer or producer on a time crunch--it's easier for us to push money out of you

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

A: My computer, my keyboard, my interface, and my 2 speakers.