Benjamin James

Producer / Songwriter / Mixer

Benjamin James on SoundBetter

Vietnam and UK based record producer, song writer, mix engineer and multi-instrumentalist.

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Interview with Benjamin James

  1. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  2. A: I'm currently in the writing stage of an acoustic album with one of my UK clients. Later this Year we will go into the studio together to record everything. On top of that I have multiple other production projects on the go for Vietnamese artists.

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

  4. A: I promise to love and nurture our creation as much as you do!

  5. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  6. A: Don't stress over perfecting one part to the point that your flow grinds to a halt. Get the idea down, leave it and move on. If it doesn't feel right the next day then it probably needs revisiting but 90% of the time it will be right. To summarise; trust your instinct, or more importantly, don't allow yourself the opportunity to second-guess it!

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

  8. A: I would say that I mostly produce within the ever-changing genre of pop, but I have done a lot of work with singer / songwriters and, on the other end of the scale, plenty of rock bands too.

  9. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  10. A: Vocal production and post-production is definitely one of my strongest skills and something that I am most known for. That and production and mixing of course.

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

  12. A: I am mostly hired as a producer and deliver the full package of recording, arranging, production, vocal production and mixing. Second to this, my next most common role is that of vocal production.

  13. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  14. A: Depends on the project requirements and budget... Of course we would all love to make a record on a vintage Neve desk and mix it through the best hardware available but does it make or break a song? Not at all. I am comfortable and more than happy working in either medium and will always give honest advice as to which option is best for my clients.

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

  16. A: Make sure you click! You're going to be spending a lot of time working with this person on something very close to your heart so you want to be able to enjoy the process and feel comfortable with them.

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

  18. A: My acoustic guitar, a notepad and pen, penknife, a water purifier and a satellite telephone.

  19. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  20. A: I work out of my home studio for remote production and mixing jobs, and have access to several very well equipped recording studios for vocal production and band tracking jobs. My home setup is mostly in the box: a Macbook Pro M3 MAX running the latest Pro Tools Studio, Universal Audio Apollo TB interface and a couple of different pre-amp options. Industry standard plugin list, no need to list them out!

  21. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  22. A: Working with so many creative people, each with their own influences and inspiration. I have learnt so much more about music from this process than I could ever have learnt on my own. I also like that each project requires a different approach and challenges me in new ways.

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

  24. A: These days, when people talk about music production they think of beat making and electronic music but to me it is so much more than that. It's listening to an artist's music, understanding their vision and helping then translate that to a record. It's pre-production, its arrangement, it's careful consideration of instrumentation, filling in all the gaps that the artist cannot and it's making sure that all the pieces of the puzzle are in the right place by the end of the process. It is also project management, and creating a comfortable and positive environment to enable the artist to flourish creatively and produce their best work. THIS is production, THIS is what I do, and THIS is what I love!

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

  26. A: I started studying classical piano from the age of eight, graduated from university with a degree in guitar, spent seven years as an artist, self-producing the band's music and touring the UK, Europe and the USA. When the band ended in 2014 I started to produce for other artists which I have been doing full time now ten years.

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