Actual Grammy-Winning Engineer

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

A: The Clark Sisters — Live — One Last Time. I was the engineer on the record, and it's earned me my Grammy statue. Being part of a project of that caliber, with those artists, and especially at that stage of my career, is something I'll always be proud of.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A different genre, with a different client, every day. Increasingly that includes Dolby Atmos projects — it's where the industry is heading and I've been deep in it for a while now.

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

A: My laptop, my HEDDphone TWO, Pro Tools, iZotope RX, FabFilter Saturn. Honestly could still deliver world-class mixing and mastering with that stripped-down setup.

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

A: 25+ years: from amateur, university, intern, assistant, staff engineer, freelance engineer, studio owner (Chicago, 2016), London (2026).

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Musical first, technical second. I'm not interested in making records sound over-processed, but I do want them to sound like the best version of themselves. Genre-agnostic, detail-obsessed, ego-free.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Files in, critical listen first. I want to understand what the track is before I touch anything. Then I work, deliver, and communicate clearly at every step.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I operate a dedicated Stereo + Dolby Atmos mixing and mastering studio in London (Coda Room London) and a full recording/mixing studio in Chicago (Coda Room Chicago). London is my primary base, with an Audient Oria Atmos interface, Kali Audio speakers, and a fully treated and trusted room. Chicago handles a lot of recording sessions and production work.

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

A: Mixing and mastering keeps me busiest, with a growing amount of Dolby Atmos work. Recording is great, but only when it's the right fit.

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

A: Most commonly I'm asked regarding ADM / MFiT : - "Are you an Apple Digital Masters / Mastered for iTunes certified engineer?" - “Will this master also be acceptable and sound good on the other streaming platforms beyond just Apple?” Answers : - Yes, I am a certified Apple Digital Masters / Mastered for iTunes engineer. - Yes, of course my masters are 100% fine for Spotify/Tidal/Apple/YouTube etc all platforms, but specifically with Apple, it means that if you choose to let your distributor know when you upload, they will include a badge stating that it is a certified master (meaning a certified mastering engineer who's been approved by them did the master). Additionally, beyond the full quality 24 bit .wav, the .m4a reference file that I send is the exact format, codec, and settings that Apple will encode themselves, so it's a way of knowing EXACTLY what it'll sound like on that platform. (The other streaming platforms do not have similar programs, however there are no drastic differences in specs from one platform to the other, but all platforms do look for different LUFS volume standards, unfortunately). Long story short...it's nothing to be concerned about-- But if you have more questions on it, I'm happy to answer :)

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: The experience that comes with being credited on 32 Grammy nominations. Knowing when to add a bit of extra flavor and when to be much more subtle.

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

A: Check their track-record, and also pay attention to how quickly they respond to your messages.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I personally think that with GOOD (and well-upkept) analog gear, I can often achieve the desired sound quicker. However, to then document the gear settings and to then inevitably have to recall the gear settings for mix tweaks at a later time, the overall process is actually slower than staying in the box (digital). Also, analog gear in general is much more susceptible to unexpectedly causing issues. I love analog gear. I’ll record through every bit of analog gear that’s at my disposal at the time, absolutely, but for me it just does not make sense to mix that way any more. Sonically, when a mix is done by a pro, the end listener will never know (or care) whether it was done analog or digital. It’s just a preference, not “right” or “wrong’ – but analog mixing is not part of my workflow anymore.

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

A: I sometimes run in to clients who confuse the difference between the mixing and mastering process. So, mastering is the last phase of the process, done with the 1 stereo bounce from the mixing phase...whereas mixing is the process of blending every single individual element (by volume adjustments, panning, eq, compression, reverb, effects, etc) into 1 stereo file.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is YOUR goal? How can I help your music reach its full potential?

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

A: I will deliver world-class treatments for your most precious work!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The blending of the tech with the creative. I get to play my part in the creative process by utilizing the tech tools in both traditional and non-traditional ways.

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

A: The Japanese House has such amazing production, and authentic emotion in her songwriting.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: 99% of the time, DO NOT PUT A LIMITER ON THE STEREO BUS WHILE MIXING! That is part of the mastering process. Mix while you’re in the mixing phase, and master while you’re in the mastering phase. Just cause it’s louder at the moment, does not mean it actually sounds better. Hear me now, believe me eventually.

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

A: EVERY genre.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Bringing an artist's vision to life, on time, and within budget.

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

A: Nigel Godrich has always been my favorite producer/engineer. Musicians/bands/artists are too numerous to name!