A Billboard chart mixing engineer, official Mastered For iTunes (MFiT) mastering engineer and producer. Born and raised in London, England now living and working in Houston, Texas with my own full service 1200 sq foot studio. I work globally over 5 continents and 15 countries and often work in diverse art forms across several genres.
Born and raised in London, England now living and working in Houston, Texas. Calvin is a former Nightclub DJ and producer who had been called away from The Ministry of Sound nightclub and is now equipped with a full service private studio to record, mix and master creative musical art from various genres, styles, and production approaches on 5 different continents,12 different countries globally. He is CEO of ToneCrafters, a Billboard chart mixing engineer and a Mastered For iTunes mastering engineer for Coffey Anderson, God Over Money, Sherwin Gardner, InderPaul Sandhu and more.
"I would like to say the I specialize in hip hop, soul, reggae, but I get a lot of folk, country, gospel and rock. In all honesty, I love music so much, It doesn't take much for me to get into anything."
Calvin's approach to production may seem simple but his job is to "extract whatever is in your mind and serve it..hot!" Calvin's ability to bring out the best of new and established artist makes him the fastest growing industry producer/engineers. So, if you got something good going let him know, he is really big into collaboration...let's get cooking!
Send me a note through the contact button above.
Credits
AllMusic verified credits for Calvin "Food" VenusInterview with Calvin FOOD Venus
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: im producing hip hop with soul and Americana all with live instruments!
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: smirk...10 tracks. 5 mixes 2 productions and 3 masters.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Dennis Holt. A supreme Nashville drummer!!!! He is like me. 48 hours and you got drums!!!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: im an analog guy in a digital world. im hybrid...always and forever.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: you have my heart, soul and prayers in every track
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: serving you. genuinely I do...im on your side, when you win, I win.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can you really do it in 48 hours? Yep, sometimes its done in 24...but there is no need to rush good music.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Im a black Brit of Caribbean desent....yep I can do a straight up country song.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What do you want, what do you REALLY want?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: No engineer is the same, so lets talk, listen and before we move on...yes everyone wants the song done tomorrow...but trust me, I work fastest when we both are shooting the same direction.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Computer, Speakers, Table, Chair and a cup of tea! Tea is the secret!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: boy let me see. I was a DJ for 12 years, became a producer but fell in love with mixing. Been doing that for 15 years in London, I was doing primarily soul and hip hop. Moved to America and vowed I would never be type-casted again. I don't have a favorite style of music and it reflects in all the music I do.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I love a balanced colour with tones, up and down, left and right. I automate A LOT...no two verses sound the same and no 2 choruses are the same...I love to take the audience on a journey.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I love to work with introspective artists...they are tormented with ideas in their head and I love going in and trying extrapolating that.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Learn everyone you work with, their decision process, their quirks, their dislikes, their dreams and love everything about them. This ALL goes into the production, the decisions, the attention to detail. and The right mic is the one in your hand lol
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: hahaha, thats a good one. Today's slate is typical.... I got 2 x Americana, 2 x RnB, 1 Hip Hop, 2 x Pop, 1 Folk and a Country song.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Learning to no when to stop. Even a top chef over-cooks a meal every now and then.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: The mood and the message. No one is supposed to care about the engineer...the audience cares how your song is the soundtrack to their life.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I start with your playlist, ask enough questions about you, your brand, your audience and where you trying to go. THEN I turn the power on and deliver on what you ask. We not trying to hear me...we trying to offer your baby on a platter.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Its a hybrid studio, I have preamps and tape machines, an assorted of microphones...but the thing I appreciate the most is my ears.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Man, there are so many out there. I love underrated engineers like Bob Powers, Russell Elevado...look them up!
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: 50% of my work comes from outside of the US. What'f funny is my UK clients want a US sound and my US clients want a UK sound. As a Brit living in US, with Caribbean heritage...you a blend of everything...I guess its an honor that people can hear all those influences.
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $250 per song
- Recording StudioAverage price - $500 per day
- Post EditingAverage price - $200 per track
- Vocal compingAverage price - $40 per track
- Podcast Editing & MasteringAverage price - $50 per podcast
Send me a iTunes/Spotify/YouTube playlist of your closely related musical tastes
Send 24 bit 48kHz wave stems.
Expect a 48 hour turnaround (except on weekends) and between 2-5 revisions.
No Refund
- MCI JH110 tape machine
- Otari MX 50/50 tape machine and Teac 4040 Tape Machine. Slate VRS 8
Ask for "New Artist", "Stay At Home" and "EP and Album Bundles"
