Emmy Winning Mixer / Producer

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

A: Sonic Sea, besides obviously feeling good about winning an Emmy for that score mix, I also think it's a fantastic film that tells about noise pollution in the ocean. Check it out, very informative. Another one is an animated musical that will be released in 2019. It was a ton of fun to work on and to participate in some of the songwriting sessions. I'll post more info when I am allowed to.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A few things for HBO and Netflix, I can't say what they are. Have a Jazz recording session coming up and a rock song mix for a Russian thriller film. I really love my life =)

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

A: Roxana Line - fantastic songwriter, one of the coolest people I know. Dave Collins - outstanding mastering engineer.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Because each does their own respective thing better. Like practical vs digital VFX in film, why only use one?

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

A: I promise that you will have a fantastic experience working with me. Both you and your music with be treated right. And I promise not to bore you to death techy stuff if you are not into that, yet to explain all the little details about what I do if that's your jam.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Job? What job? :) I love the creativity and I love the people, seeing happy clients that are excited about their music is priceless.

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

A: It's usually about how to deliver stuff and the answer is different based on the platform they are working on. Just get in touch I have cheat sheets for any DAW imaginable to get tracks to me in the best way possible.

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

A: This one didn't happen to me personally, but to a fellow engineer, and it's priceless: "What do you mean you record music for films? There is music in movies?"

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I try to let them speak first because often they already know what they want and how they want it, so then my job is to make sure they are happy. But if I sense that my client needs some guidance, I am very glad and happy to help and I'll talk them through my process so that they know exactly what we are going to do and then we go from there.

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

A: Don't hesitate to reach out. Remember, it's your music and if you are not happy with one person, you can always find another one that will be perfect for your project. But never hesitate to give somebody a shot, because you never know, it might just be the best decision you've ever made.

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

A: 1) sm57, because you can not only record with it, but because you can also use it as a hammer and those are useful on a desert island 2) 1073 Preamp because you can never have too much mojo 3) 1176 Blue face compressor because local bands are probably going to be fairly aggressive and if they don't eat me alive, we'll probably need one of these to track the loud vocalizations. 4) Macbook Pro - because they are solid little machines. Mine has served me since 2011 with no issues whatsoever, I've upgraded it and it runs 150 track sessions with no hiccups. It's magic! 5) Pro Tools HD - because I'm a ninja ;)

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

A: I've started in a band when I was in high school/freshman year in 2007. I was a lead singer and guitarist. Looking back, our songs didn't even suck all that much, but I quickly found out that recording music was more fun than writing it, so I started working with local bands. In 2011 I went to a recording school, in 2013 was already working at one of the top scoring facilities in the world - Remote Control Productions. Won an Emmy for one of the scores I mixed there in 2017 and now I work at a postproduction facility and produce records independently.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Musical :) Is that cheating? I mean, I've done tracks that were loud in your face aggressive and I've done some that are dark and mellow, almost haunting. It's about the song. I let the music tell me how it wants to sound. 9 out of 10 times artists agree with my observations, so I guess I am doing something right.

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

A: Panic! at the Disco would be cool! I love how musical Brendon's approach is, I think he would be a fantastic artist to collaborate with. Muse is another band I love. I think me and Matt would be able to go on about conspiracy theories for hours :)

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Do some crazy stuff with your music all the time, to keep the listener's ear interested, but never overdo it, because that can take away from the song itself. And know that there are no limits. I've recorded endless hours of music with minor seconds hidden throughout and it never felt wrong or weird, because the artist knew what they were doing.

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

A: Rock and film scores. But I love when occasional jazz or pop project comes in. I love the variety.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Interpersonal communication :) No seriously, you can't work with someone in a dark studio 10-15 hours a day if they suck to be around. Luckily I am naturally a very diplomatic person, so it's super easy to be around me.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: This depends on a song. There are a few artists that I work with on a regular basis, that don't need me to do anything to their music because it's already incredible. So, in those cases, I just mix the music and that's it. When additional production is needed, I can do anything from additional guitars and pianos to complete reharmonization. I am in love with songs that have odd rhythmical elements to them, so sometimes I talk to the artist and we do something that gives their song a slightly different feel if they're up for it. Just listen to the music, it'll tell you what it wants to be.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If the budget allows I hire an editor to do session prep and then get into mixing, this way I can be very fast and get great results instinctively. But mostly I edit everything myself, so what I do is I take 1 day to edit a bunch of different songs and a separate day to mix them, this way I can keep left and right brain activities separate.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work out of several different studios in Los Angeles, one of them has an old API console, the other one SSL 4000 E. My personal setup is hybrid and includes SSl, API EQs, 1073 style preamp, a couple of compressors + Softube Console 1 and Avid MC Control DAW controllers. As far as software I have Pro Tools HD, Reaper, Logic 9 and X as well as Cubase 9 Pro, so I can work with projects from any client regardless of their weapon of choice.

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

A: John Feldmann, John Fields, Chris Lord Alge, Alan Meyerson

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

A: Recording and mixing.