Music Producer and Songwriter

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

A: A mic, a recording device, a guitar, a great pair of headphones and a bottle of gin.

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

A: I started in this business back in 1992, and have since then developed my career working in several studios in Sao Paulo, then starting my own production company in 2005. 80% of it was devoted to advertising music - my bread and butter - and the other 20% devoted to record production and film scores.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Footstomping and easy.

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

A: Prince. For me he was a master of songwriting as well as a freaking awesome producer/arranger. It would have been such a privilege to watch him work. Sadly he passed...

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Never interrupt a take, no matter what. Unless the studio is on fire, let the artist or performer surf through the song and feel the whole thing. I've seen a lot of people stop recording because of a minimal mistake and ruining a great take, or even ruining the whole vibe in the session.

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

A: Pop, Rock and Hip-Hop in song production and advertising. Some cinematic stuff for advertising and trailers.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I tend to feel when something is strong and has potential, and have used this gut feeling a lot, with great results. That's not necessarily a skill, but it can be trained and developed to help improve your work.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A point of view. In my opinion songs are narratives: objectively or subjectively speaking. One of the first things I do when writing is setting up a point of view, the perspective from which the song will be built upon.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I usually sit down with my guitar and try to lay a basic musical structure. Then I'll go into putting the track together, going through libraries, samples and playing guitars, bass, keys, percussion etc. As I write/produce I tend to kinda mix as well, already shaping up the sounds. When the musical idea is complete I go into the mixing process, which in some cases can be done by a different person, to bring a new vibe to the project.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I've become kind of an "in-the-box" producer, due to my advertising work - which usually asks for a lot of recalls and modifications. So my basic system now is a Mac running Logic and Pro Tools, and a bunch of plugins. I used to work with tape recorders and SMPTE sync throughout a MIDI rig back in the 90s, but I've abandoned that. For mixing songs and albums I tend to go for an analog console. In this case I do rent the studio to do so.

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

A: I'm frequently inspired by the 60's work of David Axelrod, Henry Mancini and the omnipresent producer in any producer's top 10 list: George Martin. But I also love Rick Rubin's work, as well as Just Blaze, J Dilla and Andy Wallace.

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

A: As a producer I develop the musical landscape in which the artist's narrative will be laid on. I've been doing a lot of Rap and Rock songs lately, but I'm comfortable working with other genres, such as EDM and specially Pop. On the advertising side I compose and produce original music for the most diverse clients. This means genre is not a barrier, since each campaign has a different character and needs a different approach from one another. I can write lyrics, write toplines, write the whole song, compose a soundtrack, record and mix. I also do a lot of sound-alikes and recreation of licensed famous tracks.