Award-Winning Mastering/ATMOS

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

A: Sufjan Stevens "Illinois". The mixes were very varied and needed to be brought together as an "album". They needed to be clear but yet full and "rich" sounding. Our processing with Analog equipment allowed all the details to be heard while retaining a full sound.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Usually a variety of music, which is not uncommon for a Mastering Engineer. Working on Atmos mixes for many new artists so they can gain playlist status on Apple, Tidal and YouTube playlists.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Hybrid of both. Each has an advantage. Analog is lush, warm and "real". Digital is precise and has endless automation possibilities..

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

A: To make your music consistent with "professional" releases.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love helping make an artist's music sound exciting and enjoyable to listen to. Music that does not have a good spectral balance with proper dynamics can unfortunately feel like a demo. Curators and reviewers are used to hearing music that has been professionally mastered. We offer the indie that same impact.

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

A: We get asked to balance the overall tone and dynamics of a mix so it feels comfortable compared to other albums on streaming services.

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

A: People think we're too expensive because of some of the credits we have. We're indie too - always have been.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Who are your influences? What albums do you think properly represent the vision of an artist in your genre.

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

A: Check their credits and make sure you can get on a call or zoom to discuss your project. We suggest sending us any mix in progress and we'll give it a preview to be sure it's being exported properly, and there are no problems that might be obvious to us.

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

A: I've been Mastering for over 25 years and have been helping indie music sound competitive with Major Label releases. I say competitive because all artists are competing for listeners, so you have to use all the technology available to gain an advantage.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Clear, Full and Dynamic while maintaining the original musical concept.

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

A: I love working with artists at the beginnings of their careers. Look at our credits. It's about helping make their music sound comparable to the more expensive major releases.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Do not over-compress or limit your mixes (or basic tracks). Dynamics are a very important part of music and makes the music more listenable over time. Over-compressed music is tiring to listen to.

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

A: All styles. Singer-songwriter, Indie, rock, metal, experimental.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: An objective ear to hear your music - and a track record of making it accessible.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Clarity and fullness while giving it an overall professional sound.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I listen for what's "right" about a mix or song and work toward finding what's preventing that from being the best it can be. Usually this means listening through the song once to find what's unique and identifiable. While making sure the best parts come through, usually the problems get minimized.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Hybrid - Using Analog and Digital processing in an accurate control room.

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

A: Sufjan Stevens, Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan, Angel Olsen, My Brightest Diamond, MCR

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

A: Mastering (all formats) and Mixing for Atmos / Spatial / Immersive.