DFRNC Productions on SoundBetter

The Sonic Wolf. That's what everyone calls me. Nah, I'm kidding, that's just what I call myself. Still, I feel the name fits for me, cause I love to utilize space in anything I record and take advantage of the stereo image given to me. I'm the go-to contact for developed and in-depth mixes and creative recordings & production.

Everything, including music, has the bread & the butter. Well, mixing is the knife that spreads the butter across the bread. Stupid analogies aside, mixing is what balances all the instruments and tracks in a song and makes everything sit nicely in a stereo image. If a song isn't mixed, well, prepare for everything to sound like ya just made it in your auntie's dust owned garage. With experience mixing in multiple genres, I can help make sure your song is in peak condition and ready to be sent for mastering.

Having trouble building a good rhythm or beat? I have been both a drummer and percussionist for nearly a decade and have a good understanding of how beats can be both mimicked and unique. I would be happy to make sure your song has heads bopping.

I have an assortment of mallets for different sounds, high-quality samples and loops, drumset, drum sequence machine, an octapad, and more.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

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Interview with DFRNC Productions

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Be specific in what you want from your providers. I'm going to be blunt: there is no point in spending this kind of money on someone's help if you yourself don't know what you want. Simply saying "Hey, make a hip-hop beat for me", and then getting back something you don't actually like is on you. Most of your choices in providers are experienced musicians, so they are very detailed oriented. The more you have described in what you want, the better, that way you aren't left with something you don't enjoy, and the provider doesn't feel bad for what she made.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been a musician for 16 years, but I've done music production and mixing for 2 and a half. I am a striving independent artist and producer, and will eventually have my own record label/collaboration brand.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: At the moment, it is still a mix of everything. I am heavily inspired by classic R&B and Hip-Hop, but I also stray towards a tropical, chill setting with the music that I make, or at least when I start off.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Trust your ears, and trust your gut. When it comes to your ears, especially when you are mixing, use them to your advantage and simply get the sound that you want out of your instruments or your voice. It's good to know the fundamentals and have something to look back on, but it is just as important to venture out and try new techniques. I rarely stick to the "correct" way of mixing (knowing where what goes in the frequency range); I simply play around until I get the sound that I want. Your gut is telling you what the song should be, now don't stop until it sounds the way you want it to. You don't need 60+ tracks to have a developed song, and you don't need 7+ plugins on each track to have a complete mix. Keep it simple, keep it fun. Take constant short breaks though; even when you are trusting your ears, they can still play tricks on you if you listening to the same thing for too long.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: This project that is presented, Blacked Out, is something that I am crazy proud of. It was for the BLM movement, and as an African-America, many of the things described in the song I can relate to. I did everything along with my friend $hey except for the mastering, and got the song ready to go in 2 weeks, which is record time for anyone when it comes to music.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Currently working on a new song with a friend, and we are thinking about sampling an old jazz song. Maybe "So What?" by Miles Davis?
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: One person, simply because I am a fan of her voice, is Alessia Cara. Her songwriting has an authentic vibe that I think a lot of people seem to miss, and that voice of hers is simply impeccable. Another that is an inspiration, and because he's from the same city, is Chance the Rapper. While I don't listen to a lot of his music, a lot of his success is self-made, which is what I adore to have. One person I'd want to work with simply because of curiosity is Travis Scott. I've never been a fan of his music or trap music for that matter, but I think that's only because I don't understand it, so I'd love to sit down and watch the process.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Very minimal at my home. Laptop, Focusrite 2i2, dual Yamaha H5 Monitors (speakers), Alesis 49 Key MiDi, and Audio Technica M50s. For the recording process, I have a Mapex drumset, Ibanez guitar and bass, Yamaha keyboard, Scarlett condenser mic, and a Shure SM7b. I primarily work in Logic, though I am also proficient in Ableton (this is not available to me at the moment, however).
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I listen to a bunch of different people, so my inspiration constantly changes. For recording, a band called Sidewalk Chalk is a huge inspiration for me. They are a small, Chicago based band that is very real with their recordings and songs. They don't rely too much on digital sounds, which is nice from time to time. Production-wise, 6ix and Logic are both big inspirations, along with Chance, Kanye West, Chad Hugo, Q-Tip, J-Dila, Thundercat, and…I could honestly go on.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I primarily do mixing for most people, as many come to me for advice on how a song should sound. Once I give them some tidbits, I then ask if they want me to make these adjustments to their songs.