Producer / Mixing / Mastering

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

A: I'm especially proud of a recent project I worked on with a very talented singer named Sylvie Cox - I'm proud of it because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and ended up sounding amazing

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished two Vanic EPs that I'll be releasing shortly

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

A: Not currently

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital - There's so many good emulations of analog gear now that the gap is less and less noticeable, its far important what someone can do with their tools now than the tools themselves in my opinion.

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

A: You will love what you get, I'm sure of it.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I LOVE audio. I like making things sound good. It's that simple. Aside from that, I'm grateful to have a job where I can set my own hours and do what I love doing.

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

A: I'm not sure!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What exactly are you looking for?

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

A: Be clear with what you're looking for so we can both decide if I would be a good fit - I'm happy to admit when I'm not the guy for the job!

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

A: All I need are my computer and monitors - so perhaps a VST list would be more useful. I couldn't live without fabfilter plugins, soundtoys plugins, and more recently I've been liking the plugin alliance stuff and some from acustica audio.

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

A: I started by producing music for myself (poorly) and kept at it for a long time - it became my career and I am still currently producing music and touring and playing shows as Vanic. I've been producing for over 10 years, and mixing and mastering everything myself, and in the last few years I've really focused on mixing and mastering and now do that for other people as well.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My personal style is EDM with a focus on vocals and melodies - the genre ranges from trap to house to dubstep. However I produce a lot outside of this style for other people.

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

A: I'm very fortunate to have worked with a lot of the people I would want to! And aside from that, I enjoy working on music for the music itself, and have no real idols or wishes to work with anyone specific.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't overproduce - a song is built on one or two main ideas. Focus on the main ideas first and when they're strong the rest of the song will fall into place.

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

A: My specialty is EDM, but I work on a lot of pop. The crossover tends to be diminishing these days anyways, as pop music becomes more electronic and as a lot of EDM includes strong pop style vocals.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: In production, my strongest skill is a solid foundation of music theory - I can quickly write out strong melodies and chords that complement any vocal.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring whatever is needed! I have strong writing (except for lyrics) and production skills, and also strong mixing skills. I've been producing for well over a decade and am able to quickly produce any electronic style of music.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: This really depends on the job. Production is its own beast and depends on what the client is going for. Generally though, my process starts with listening to the clients work or reading their message and really trying to wrap my head around exactly what they want and determining if I'm the person for the job. A lot of engineers (my former self included) tend to do what THEY feel like a song needs, rather than what the client wants, and I'm mostly focused on avoiding that from the beginning.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is located in Denver - I have a treated room with Dynaudio LYD-48 monitors. I am currently doing all of my work in the box.

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

A: I've always been a huge fan of skrillex, flume, and illenium. In some form or another, all of them have heavily inspired and influenced my work.

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

A: My full time gig is producing music for myself as Vanic. After that I produce music for other people in a variety of genres (mostly pop, electronic). Recently I've started mixing and mastering professionally for many high tier artists - mixing has really become a passion for me.