House & Techno Music Producer

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Q: Why doesn’t my music sound as good as the pros? A: There are many factors that equate to an amazing mix, generally the most common issue is a cluster of sounds that busy up the mix. Selecting sounds that sit in their own frequency range is usually the answer. Another common mistake is to use too many sounds. Select the most important and work on letting them breath in the mix. Q: Why doesn’t my kick and bass have definition? A: The most probable cause is overlapping frequency’s, quite often less is more when it comes to low end. Working out if you want to prioritise the sub content from the bass or the kick is the first stage. Selecting sounds that sit together properly is also very important. Once you have a cohesive kick and bass you can start looking at muddying frequency’s that sit below 30hz. Q: Why is my mix fatiguing to listen too? A: If you’ve checked that your sounds are sitting nicely in their own frequency space and the mix is still fatiguing to listen too, usually the problem lies in the stereo field. Although widening up all your sounds may seem powerful when producing, a well defined mix will be balanced properly from mono to wide, giving space and depth to different areas, usually only giving extreme width to one or two parts. Q: Why does my track distort when I push it to commercial volume with limiters? A: You can’t achieve a powerful and loud track by just slamming compressors and limiters on the mix buss, this will just destroy the source material. A powerful track comes from powerful parts, understanding the processors you use is essential and using the correct gain staging methods to hit the sweet spot of your plug-ins is also very important. Dynamic control is also a major factor that needs to be thought about.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I first inspect the track from the client, listening on different monitors/headphones and running it through a spectrum analyser to establish mix issues. I filter the track to hear what’s happening in the sub 120hz frequency range and do the same process for the top end. I ask the client to supply me with relevant reference tracks and I then make my comparisons, by this point I will have established which areas of the mix need work and relay this to the client so we can proceed with the next steps. For ghost writing/ remixing etc, I’ll work with the client to understand their vision and listen to relevant reference tracks. Often clients will have a vocal or a sample starting point and we go from there. In the studio I usually start with the melodic content or the point of the track whether it’s a synth, sample or musical idea, I start to think about bass at this point. Once I have these elements I can pitch my drums correctly and start crafting the kick to fit the track.

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

A: Probably that we’re prepared to work for drink tokens or career prospects.

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

A: Not currently.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Mostly I work in digital however I like to include at least one analog source usually, I’ve invested heavily in UAD as I feel their plug-ins really capture the spirit of analog hardware and also give you the flexibility of using multiple instances. Generally my low end will be fed through an analog compressor as I feel it adds a depth that is hard to achieve digitally.

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

A: Every project I work on is as Important as the last, it’s really important to me that clients are happy with the work and excited about the outcome!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Depends on my role within it and what the client requires, but I will always bring every ounce of my knowledge, passion and experience.

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

A: I was commissioned to make a down tempo soundtrack for the Olympus cameras ‘Pen Art Edition’. This was a particularly exciting project, it involved creating a soundscape for a video that was documenting an artist painting cameras and Vespa scooters.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m always working on multiple projects, currently I’m creating a line of Tech House sample packs for System 6 Samples I’m also assisting clients with furthering their productions and working on a new EP for Lowering the Tone.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I absolutely love the challenge of taking a clients idea and turning it into a ‘club ready’ track. It’s rewarding on so many levels and it’s even better when the client goes on to sign to the label they’ve been targeting. Every track requires a different process so it’s never boring and I only work on genres I’m passionate about, therefore, every day in the studio is a great day!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you looking to achieve from the mix? Are you trying to sign to a particular label? Do you have a selection of relevant reference tracks (preferably from the label you’re trying to sign too). What are the most important elements in your track?

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

A: Check your audio stems before sending, make sure they are bounced at high quality 24 bit minimum and the requested sample rate by the engineer. Check there is no blank audio in the stems, this happens a lot and makes files much larger to send about. Check your stems thoroughly, have you grouped them as the engineer has requested? Is all the automation correct? Have you taken off the mastering plug-ins you had on the mixbuss? Have you made sure the side chain kick is still active but inaudible before bouncing certain stems? All these things will save time and money as having to rebounce and send stems is time consuming.

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

A: 1. iMac 2. HD25 headphones 3. UAD Apollo/Sattelite 4. Korg Monologue 5. DBX 160x

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is a melting pot of Tech House and Techno with elements of Old Skool Rave and Trance.

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

A: Steve Lawler would probably be my first choice, he has so much experience in the industry and knowledge of the scene plus his production style is amazing!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Pay close attention to midi note/sample lengths. It’s a big part of keeping an uncluttered and cohesive mix. Tight and short drum parts leave lots of space for other elements and help to keep the track dynamic.

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

A: I’ve been producing music from the mid 90’s, in the early 00’s I started a Hard House live PA with a good friend, we played many venues around London which was a great foundation in the industry. I started releasing Tech House/ Techno in 2010 and since then have released over 100 tracks. I started doing ghost writing for clients in 2014 and producing sample packs for labels. This lead to me starting my own audio samples label System 6 Samples which I currently distribute through Loopmasters. I started getting requests from friends in the industry to mix their music and have been helping producers to get music finished ever since.

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

A: I work exclusively within the brackets of House and Techno, whether it’s deep/melodic or progressive/driving right through to funky and minimal and everything in between.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is probably fixing music. Sound swapping and mixing with the goal of achieving the required vibe for the specific genre.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is located on the South East coast in the UK. I run Cubase as my DAW and often use Reason rewired. I have a UAD Apollo Twin and Octo Sattelite which powers a wide range of UAD plug-ins, my favourites being Ampex Tape, Neve 33609, Pultec EQ’s, Shadow Hills, G Buss , EMT 140, Precission Enhanser and many many more. I compress and drive my kicks and sub bass through an analog DBX 160x. Most of my synths are digital and I have a wide range, however, I now mostly use Serum. Hardware wise, I have an E-MU Planet Phatt, Korg EMX, Korg Monologue and a Sub Zero midi keyboard. I mix on Mackie HR824’s and reference with Avantone Mix cubes.

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

A: Big question! I’m mostly inspired by artists that create an amazing sense of space or have unique production styles, artists like Niteplan, Detlef, Steve Lawler, Wheats, D Ramirez, Nic Fanciulli, Dense and Pika, Fisher, Matt Sassari and so many more.

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

A: Most clients I work with have a foundation for their tracks. My usual role is to replace sounds if areas of the mix are clashing. I often rework the low end, either creating new kicks and sub bass or reworking the frequency’s below 120hz to get a coherent and balanced mix. Often, similar work needs to be done to the hats and tops, replacing sounds or using a variety of techniques to get a full, tight top end, all the while keeping an eye on the stereo field to maximise the depth of the production. Once the sound selection is finalised I’ll do a mix down. For other clients it’s more ghost writing or working ideas into fully fledged ‘club ready’ tracks.