Remote Mixing & Mastering

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

A: Why is the mix so soft, it doesn't sound as loud as the music on the radio. My answer is always it's a mixdown not a master it suppose to be at lower levels.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I don't know I'm usually flexible and can adjust very easily and very quickly so it depends on the type of track I'm working on and what style it requires me to bring.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: That's a hard one but I'd have to say mixing.

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

A: I worked on an EP called Question for an artist by the name of WaynoZ the DJ, that was the latest project I worked on, I'm partially proud of that project because not only was I featured artist on the project but I mixed and mastered the entire EP which was my best work to date. I learn't so much from working with all the artists on that EP and I made a lot of bold mixing decisions which worked and the artist loved it - everyone who heard that EP complimented the mixing and mastering on that EP.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on my first retail project that will be dropping in the first quarter of 2018.

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

A: Have an idea of what the final project will sound like & record your parts with the end in mind.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What sound are you trying go for? What inspired you write this song? What were you feeling when you wrote it & when you recorded it? In what environment do see this song playing?

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

A: I studied a Bachelors degree in Financial Management and was a project financial administrator for a year, but I've been in music since the age of 8. I learn't piano and from there drums and I've been drumming for 15 years now and then branched out into making music as a rapper which was around 2010, 3 years into being a rapper I was interested in producing my own music and from the the passion grew. I've been mixing for about two years now.

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

A: I usually do mixing and mastering for clients I've also done recordings as well.

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

A: Graham Cochrane, ill Factor, Curtiss King, Ruslan, Kemvo, Aha Gazelle, Kaleb Mitchell, ill Mind, Alicia Keys, Anthony Cruz, Eric Kingsley, Kishon Flow, Joey Jewish, KB, Swade, Cardec Drums, Giraffage, Foggieraw & Oh Gosh Leotus.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Top Down Mixing, it only changed the way I mix, it helped me push out better quality mixes faster.

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

A: Julian...JML Mastering

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I will start by grouping the tracks and assigning them to a bus from there I will begin to edit the tracks e.g. cleaning up vocals and taking out any distractions. once I'm done with that I will do a 15 - 20 Min static mix (where I just adjust volume faders), from there I usually take a 30 Min - an hour break and then will just listen to the track and assess my mixing decisions, after that I like to stop working on the track all together and I'll open up the project the next day or even later that day and have a listen to it again just to hear what I've done and if I like my decisions. Thereafter I begin mixing with EQ and Compression, I love "top down" mixing so I will first apply EQ & Compression to the master fader, from there I move to the bus channels if needs be I will apply EQ and Compression to the individual tracks. once I'm done with that I'll take a break, come back and listen to the track again and reference it to a similar track, I'll then pick up on some of things I like in that mix and then try and apply what I noticed to the track I'm working on. After that I will add reverb and delay to just add clue to the track, from there I usually send a mix down to the client and ask them to take notes of what they like, what they don't like and what they want me to add to the track. from there I adjust the track to the clients preferences, once I've adjusted the track I will then sweeten up the mix and I will send a final mix down to the client and if still require more adjustments I will adjust till they happy. When that is done I will then master the track for the client unless have someone else to take care of that process.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, because most of these plugins and such on DAW's have been made to replicate analog equipment so plus digital is more convient and efficient (well at least for where I am in my career).

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

A: That as long as you are happy I'm happy and that I will not stop until you are happy and get the track you imagined.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the technical part of it, frequencies, transients and all that geeky stuff and I love explaining to an artist why I made the decisions. I also enjoy working with different people because I learn new things from that individual even if they don't realise that.

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

A: Graham Cochrane, Just because I've learn't from watching him and would love to work with him or just sit in a studio with him to experience his work flow on a track first hand.

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

A: My Laptop, Microphone, Headset, Maschine Micro & Interface

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

A: Hip-Hop & Pop

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a 15 inch Macbook Pro with a 24 inch Monitor, running Logic Pro X, with a Focusrite Solo Interface and a pair of M-Audio headset - along with a NEAT Worker Bee Microphone and a Native Instruments Maschine Micro.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Pureness of sound

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

A: That everything can be fixed in mixing, which isn't true the mixing engineer can only work with what they giving, so if the recording was bad then there isn't anything much I as a mixing engineer can do.