Juno Winning Producer Engineer

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

A: I did an album with Made Wade called The Mind Full in 2018. I particularly proud of this record because Wade really pushed me out of my comfort zone in terms of production style, and it helped me grow a lot. You really don't know if you're capable of something until you try sometimes, and this is a good case of that. I found that my classic hip hop instincts are growing and mutating into something wonderful and new. This can be seen on his song "Sippin" which uses a throw back sample over some modern hip hop inspired drums. It's always fun experimenting with new ideas, but sometimes I need that little push to get there. Thanks Wade!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm producing a full length album for Eternia, another EP for Made Wade, working on a new album of my own, and also producing for a number of other artists in Canada, the U.S.A. and Australia.

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

A: I know many producers, artists, and engineers, but I don't know anyone who is using this service as yet.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I'd love to say both, but I think I'll choose digital because that's where I've spent most of my time. From samplers to DAWs to mastering suites, it's my job to make the digital as warm and analog sounding as possible. Our digital tools have come so far along now, that it's possible to get a warmth out of the box that you couldn't 15 years ago. It does take an ear and some expertise, but that's half the fun of creating. I'm always paying attention to what other engineers are doing to get their sound crispy, clean and warm, and I am always altering my approach slightly to get the best sound possible.

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

A: I will work as hard as you do, and promise to give my attention to your song and handle it as if it were my own.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love people, and I really like being a part of a project. There is a set of skills I bring to the table, but I don't want to control the creativity of the artist. I really like to contribute to the artist's song in whatever way possible, helping it become the best it can be. It's hard for me to separate production from engineering from songwriting. I love all of them equally. I guess you could say the thing I like most about my job is the diversity of it all.

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

A: Q. Can you get me a feature from Shad? A. No. Q. Can you remix my song? A. yes absolutely. Here is my fee for your project. Q. Can you remove my vocals from a stereo mix and put them on another beat? A. No. Q. Can you work within my budget? A. Maybe. It depends on the work, and the size of the project. I'm more likely to give discounts to project work, rather than one song at a time. Q. Can you teach me to mix my own song? A. No. This isn't a skill you can learn overnight. If you're serious about becoming an engineer, I can give pointers, but not full lessons.

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

A: That anyone can just pick up and become a great producer or engineer or songwriter. I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm still learning new things about how to be better at each. There is never a time where you stop learning, and never a time when you have "made it" and can kick your feet up. Its an adventure, but it takes a lot of hard work. Nothing in the music industry is handed to you, you gotta go get it!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How long have you been making music? Who have you worked with in the past? What are you career goals? Who are your major musical influences? Why do you make music?

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

A: Ask questions. I'm always available to answer questions, and welcome inquiries. There really are no stupid questions, and work like this can need some clarification before going forward. I myself have a list of technical requirements that the artist needs to comply with before working on things like mixes or mastering, so I fully expect the artist to require info of me also. also, be humble. There's nothing more off putting than a super talented person who thinks the world or the industry owes them something. Talent is a small part of the game. Attitude and hard work make up the larger part of what it takes to be a quality artist who a producer wants to really give their time to.

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

A: My SP1200, My Mac Tower, My MPC2500, My Turntable, My Z2 Mixer... and hopefully a ton of vinyl.. if they'd let me get away with that. I'd say pen and pad, but I think I could create songs and memorize them without writing them down if I was all alone for a really long period of time.

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

A: 20 years ago I was just having fun making beats and writing rhymes. I wasn't really taking things to seriously until I went to record a couple of songs for fun. That day I saw what the engineer was doing, and was fascinated by it all. It was then that I decided I really wanted a career in music, and over time I have done my best to grow in whatever ways I thought would make me a better artist all around. I have been producing for 2 decades, and engineering seriously for about 15 of those years. Over the course of that time, I have been songwriting, singing, and performing live.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is influenced by a wide range of producers spanning a few decades. From old school acts like KRS one, all the way forward to artists like J Dilla, Mac Miller and Anderson Paak. My influences have really shaped the way I hear music, and given me a good ear for sounds, but I do my best to inject my own personality into my creations. I have been told that I have a distinct trademark to my sound, and I try to ride the line between familiarity and innovation. It's really a classic hip hop influence with a soulful modern twist.

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

A: I have worked with famous people, and not so famous people. The not so famous people are (usually) more fun to work with. I want to work with the passionate artist. The person who truly feels like their life would have a gapping hole in it if someone took away their music or talent. Helping that person get their music into the ears of the world brings me great joy and satisfaction.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Sure! If you're sending files to a mix engineer, label them clearly. If you're a beat maker, consider adding the tempo of your beat to the file name, and include your producer name always. / Compression and Limiting are our friends, when used sparingly, or within reason. Watch out for digital distortion! As an engineer it is my pleasure to make your files/sounds louder and more meaningful, but when you saturate or hard limit your sound too much, it hits the ceiling and there is very little I can do to make the sound tolerable, much less inviting to listen to. Distortion has it's place in music, digital distortion does NOT. / last tip - read, read, read and read. And when your'e done reading, read some more. If you can't get into reading, get into podcasts. There is SO much more knowledge out there!!!

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

A: Hip Hop / R&B / Gospel are the main genres I work on. I have mixed both classic hip hop and more modern trap also. I hope to work on more electronic music going forward, but I'm open to work with any genre of music, with exception of Country and Opera. Why? I just reeeeally don't like those 2. lol

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill might be pitch. I'm not sure if I have "perfect pitch" but I do seem to catch a lot of pitch problems in files that the artist themselves haven't detected. After correcting the problem, they artist goes "ahhh! I'm so glad you caught that". I had a client today who sent me a large batch of vocal files. My immediate impression of the files was that there was a certain set of frequencies missing. I contacted the client, and she told me that the engineer who tracked the vocals had the same concern, but she hadn't noticed. I was able to find a work around to correct the feeling of a sonic hole in the lead vocal, and bring some warmth back to what was a very tinny, and offensive high end in the vocal file. Not the funnest part of my job, but it felt great to be able to supply a solution that worked. She's super happy with the song now.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My experience is the main thing I bring to a song. I have worked on so many records over the years, and with so many artists that this experience is what tends to come in handy the most. Secondarily, I bring my ear. That sounds weird, but like with anything, there are unteachable nuances in the trade of sound engineering, sometimes I can't even vocalize what I'm hearing, I just know how to get the sound that I want. That ear isn't only for the music, it's for the artist I'm working with. They have specific things they want to get out of their track, and it's my job to hear their concerns, and bring their ideas to life. It isn't always easy, but I do believe it's always possible.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Mixing - My process has a lot of steps, so I'll skip ahead to the important ones. Checking files. Being sure the files I'm working with are up to spec is super important to me. I work in 16 bit or 24 bit, so I'm not worried there, but taking a look at where the meters bounce on a few specific files from a client usually give me a clue if I need to do an overall processing of the wavs before getting the channel strips and track stacks figured out. Normalizing can play a big part in that process, depending on how hot or cold the signal from those initial wavs is. I then decide which stems need to be stacked, and which need to be bussed. After everything is in place, named, coloured, bussed etc, I save the project, and then begin balancing some of the levels. I like to start with drums, moving low end to high end, finding the basic level, then adding processing before coming back to leveling again. This process repeats itself a few times in the course of a basic mix.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I keep things simple these days. I use very small rack of outboard gear. That rack used to be 3 times the size, but for what I do, many of the essential tools are inside the box. Although I'm equipped to record a full band in my space, so much of my work is with solo artists, and digital compositions, that I rarely find myself in a place where I don't have the tools to get the job done. Aside from mics, pre-amps, and monitoring, all of those tools are digital. I make the most use out of Waves plugins, but I'm also very fond of some of Logic's stock plugins as well. So well, in fact, that for nearly 10 years of mixing records, I never used more than 1 or 2 third party plugins, and still won awards for those mixes. There did come a point where I found I wanted more toys to play with, so instead of investing in hardware (that can become old and redundant) I invested in software (which is constantly upgrading). One of the places I spent the most money in my studio was in acoustic treatment. I am so glad I spared no expense. My control room and booth are both treated with Auralex, with approx 80% coverage. It is a very nice spot to sit and work, and I have a very clear ear on what my clients provide me with. If I spend more money on gear, it will be first ear-marked for monitoring. I'm always curious about how different near field monitors sound, but for now my ear is tuned to my HS-80's. Brighter than my previous BX8a's and more bottom end than my previous Yorkville YSM8s'. To check translation, I'm going from the studio, to airpods, to car, to home stereo.

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

A: Alan Silverman, Bob Power, Chris Lord Alge... these are the kind of guys I admire who have mixed some amazing records. As far as music goes, I try not to let my tastes and preferences decide how passionate I'm going to be about working on a particular project. I love classic hip hop, and that is where my experience is, but I find when mixing different genres of music, there are different problems presented, and figuring out answers to those problems is a big part of why I love my job as a mix engineer. Every project is an opportunity to put my knowledge to work, accomplish something beautiful for the artist, and grow as I move forward. Every experience brings along with it an opportunity to get even better at what I do.

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

A: The majority of work I do is production and engineering for classic hip hop artists. Beats, Mixing, and Mastering is what takes up most of my time in the studio.