Recording and Composing

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

A: Karma's Lab - self titled EP I made this record as my graduation project. We had 3 months to finish the record. In this time I spent a couple of days just miking a guitar cab, just to figure out what every mic position does. The same goes for drum miking and mixing. From this recording project I have learned more than any education could offer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A lot of different things actually. A singer-songwriter record, a hiphop record, and also I started writing some of my own material again.

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

A: Joram Pinksteren does a lot of remote mixing

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: BOTH. I don't want to edit analog, and

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

A: I'l always do my absolute best to make the music as good as it can be

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The total creative freedom and being able to make a living from music. Also the combination of technology and music is a win for me.

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

A: They usually ask me to look into their songs and figure out what could be improved

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

A: That I'm more an engineer, or a producer. I'm equally adept at both.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask them what they want their product to be, and what they want to do with it. If you set a goal you can make that happen

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

A: Send me an e-mail with your ideas, even if they're not fully developed. I can help with that.

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

A: Gonzo Audio tube mics Computer + DAW SSL converters Philips Preamps

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

A: I started out as a drummer and songwriter in a couple of bands, and ended up as a record producer / engineer / composer. I've been recording music since I was 17, and playing music since I was 8. Right now I'm 27, so do the maths! During my time in university I got two bachelor's degrees: - Music Technology & Production - Music in Education I started my own recording studio 'Tamminga Music Productions' and started teaching music in high schools. Right now I'm only working as producer / engineer / composer.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Ballsy, Open, Balanced, Hi-fi, Dirty

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

A: Radiohead sounds like a band I'd like to work with. Mainly because every record sounds different and a lot of boundaries of what music should sound like are discarded.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Follow your gut feeling and throw away ideas when they don't work

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

A: Mostly bands and singer songwriters. It ranges from Hiphop to Metal to Classical. I like a lot of music

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Working with people

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I can pull a song apart and find the good bits, while discarding what's not so good. It's important that the 'soul' of the song stays intact!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It depends on what I think the song needs. The song dictates the work process.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I'm all about using whats good about the analog world and the digital world. I'm using a soundtracs solitaire 40 channel console of which 24 channels are filled with AD/DA and 16 with analog tape. Together with a couple of great vintage preamps and compressors, I'm happy with my setup It's about creating a workflow that's quick and easy but doesn't make any compromises in sound and vibe. I'm a big believer in having great monitoring. That's why I'm listening on 3 sets. One is extremely detailed, one is your typical yamaha setup and the third is as crappy as I could find.

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

A: I'm inspired by people looking to bring something else to the table. Fresh ideas are great. Think of people like Nigel Godrich, Brian Eno, Andy Wallace, Butch Vig and Tchad Blake

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

A: Most often bands hire me to record their EP. This involves producing, recording and mixing. When I'm doing all these tasks, mastering is delegated to a capable engineer.