Mix, Recording, Vocals

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Finishing scoring an animated short film (chiptunes) and writing my 5th dawless record.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Pure analog is kind of annoying there are serious limitations to it. Limitations aside, the *sound* of analog is just fantastic from synthesizer to summing bus. So I use both - I mix in the box and I run things through analog processing. I like to use a mix of analog and digital synthesizers too though for similar resaons: digital synths have lots and lots of features while analog synths don't... but analog synths sound soooooooo good.

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

A: That we'll do our best and get a good sounding record.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Making music

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

A: That we're gonna just 'fix it in the mix'.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like to ask them a lot about what they're going for in the piece. Usually I like to do this by having them create a playlist and discussing the different songs and things I hear in those songs. This is the main thing in order to interpret what the client wants.

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

A: Make your song as good as you can. Make your singing as good as you can. Do all the preparation steps. And remember: garbage in, garbage out.

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

A: idk, a fridge, a stove. lol. I can't live without any of my gear.

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

A: I audio engineer as my second job and have been for years and years - simply due to passion. I've had a few paying gigs and collaborations. I'm currently wrapping up my fifth album and scoring an animated short film.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Authentic.

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

A: Bonobo, cause, he's the best. I'm so impressed how he does his digital production and then tours with an orchestra.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Program dynamics into your midi and velocity modulate your synths for that extra life.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My job is, usually, to help the artist realize their vision. Keeping the vibe right, making sure the flow continues, bouncing ideas are all super important to me. Occasionally I'll make a musical suggestion too.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Prep: - We pre-produce your song and discuss what you'll need to deliver for a good mix (it's more than you might think) - I do session prep (2 hours) - We iterate on your stems until they're ready for the recording or the mix - Recording session -- we usually do an afternoon or a day (4 or 8 hours). We go until you're done, double takes and everything. If you're not recording anything, skip this step - Vocal processing -- If there are recorded vocals, I'd recommend these steps: -- Vocal Comp -- Vocal edit/cleanup -- Vocal tuning (manually via melodyne) - Mix - Iterate on the mix two or three times You're responsible for mastering, or I can louden it for you but it's not the same as getting an engineer to do it.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a private music studio within an art collective. My studio is a 14x14 treated environment with a 5'x4' sound isolation booth where I record vocals. I record and mix into logic using analog summing for warmth and definition in the mix. My monitors are Nueman 310a's - and they are fantastic. To compensate for the remainder of the room, I always mix through some room correction software that gets me the last bit of the way there. For vocals I have my favorite - a Shure SM7B (Michael Jackon's mic from thriller), which is a warm full dynamic mic. I also have a small and large diaphragm condensers mic for those who want less body and more breath. You can always rent a mic if you have one you're really wanting to use for your record.

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

A: Personally I'm inspired a lot by Peter Gabriel, from music composition to audio engineering, he's really impressive. I love Bonobo and lots of chill out. I'm also really into idm artists: Orbital, Boards of Canada.

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

A: For other people I do vocal recordings, vocal processing and mixing, with the occasional guitar or something thrown in.

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

A: IDM and Folk/chill.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Attention to detail.