Singer / Songwriter / Lyricist

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

A: I put in a great deal of effort to all my productions and songs, and do the same when helping other artists out with their projects. I am extremely proud that recent production for "Sweeter Days" by Libee was featured on BBC Radio in England in 2020. My roles involved cowriting, arranging, lyrical adjustments, recording vocals, guitar, keys, programming drums, & mixing (mastered elsewhere).

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have just submitted a brand new track called "Above this Planet of Ours" to Abbey Road studio for a songwriting competition, which is another full production using guitar, voice, keys, drum programming, backing vocals, mixing and mastering.

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

A: I am fairly new to the platform, I'll amend this answer as my network on the platform grows!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I think we are at an interesting time for digital replications of analog technology. I use plenty of waves plugins which attempt to emulate all sorts of analog gear, and I believe a lot of the time the results are extremely useful. It is certainly saves on space and money to collect the digital plugins of things too! However, I do still think analog sounds better...

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

A: I promise to work my hardest to satisfy the goals of your project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Not only do I love to create new music, but I love to collaborate with other industry professionals too.

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

A: Most people think I do not mix or master my own music which I take to be a compliment. I attribute my ability to doing these things as a result of years of training, collecting the right equipment for the job, and a strong passion for writing and releasing new music as frequently as possible.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Project timeframe, project aims, release objectives, whether there are any specific songs to reference.

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

A: Please be as clear as possible with what you have in mind for your project, with detailed timespan for the job so I can be sure to tackle it in good time. It would also be helpful if you have examples of other songs which you would like me to imitate.

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

A: Guitar, laptop, interface, speakers, microphone. I assume that a power source plus cables to connect everything can be found on the desert island!

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

A: I have been working as a performer in bands and as a solo artist for over a decade in London, having played some of the capital's best venues. I have been the lead songwriter and singer in all projects I have performed in, and have had music aired on Lauren Laverne's BBC radio show. Alongside this I have been producing music for myself and clients such as up and coming artist Libee.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style style is usually between retro, folk and shoegaze indie rock.

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

A: I would like to work with Finneas or Kevin Parker just in order to see what secrets they have when approaching their writing / instrument tracking.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Using Melodyne 5 as a tool for de-essing a vocal take is a really fabulous way of controlling the harshness of higher frequencies on a vocal line. Trackspacer is also a great tool for ducking frequencies on instruments that share the same frequency spectrum as the vocal line, thus creating better clarity of vocals in the mix.

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

A: I work across the genres of folk, acoustic, indie, rock, & retro.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My ability to take an unfinished song, tap into the vibe and help deliver a finished song in keeping with the original aims of the project.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: As can be heard from my uploaded track "Children of the Setting Sun" I bring a strong sense of melody to my songs, with feel good, cool lyrics, and interesting guitar textures ranging from rocky to ambient. My vocal line in this song is especially anthemic during the chorus lines, and live this is a great tune that doesn't fail to get people singing along. If you want that at your shows, give me a chance to write that vocal hook ;p

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I have done topline vocals in the past, I begin by simply digesting the instrumental for a number of listens. I will then click record and try several initial takes without lyrics to develop melody. I will then gradually finesse the lines and start bringing lyrics into the project, all the while refining the lines. When I do productions for people, the work usually entails recording an Artist's song from scratch (as with "Sweeter Days by Libee"), in which case I usually try to settle on a tempo before anything is recorded. Second step is to map out all sections simply on guitar, so ensure the arrangement is overall a sensible length, and that we get reach chorus one in at a sensible time (usually like to aim for about 45 seconds). Once the structure is fixed, I can record the entire take of guitar, then get the artist I am working with to record several takes of their track. The other instruments follow so that the artist is always the focal point. The mix then happens to ensure everything is balanced and sounding nice and clean.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: From my soundproof studio in South London I run Logic Pro X, to record vocals (with a selection of mics), piano (with my state of the art Nord Electro 4), guitars (with my collection of Fender Telecaster, Fender Stratocaster, Fender Precision Bass, & Takamine acoustic), synths & drum pads (with my Impulse 61). I own a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 interface which allows me to have all instruments connected and levels setup to allow for quickly switching between instruments to build up any composition with speed.

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

A: I am inspired by other artists who enjoy having total creative anonymity over their projects. It isn't always the best course of action to work like this, but some artists just really know what they want and how to get the sound they like. Tame Impala's Kevin Parker is someone who I admire greatly for this.

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

A: As a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and a producer I have helped artists out in many ways including recording, songwriting, lyric writing, arrangement suggestions, mixing and mastering, guitar, piano & vocal input on tracks. My recent success with Sweeter Days on BBC Radio was a song which I played all instruments (apart from the lead vocals), and fully mixed the track, so I ended up playing guitar, bass, keys, programming the beat and mixing the various elements together.