Producer / Songwriter

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m working on records across a spectrum of genres all the way from pop, indie to alt rock, and ambient.

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

A: Stefan Skarbek

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Project by project, sometimes both, sometimes one or the other.

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

A: To stay true to their vision of what their project should be: how it should be perceived, presented and how it should sound.

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

A: Vocal correction software makes bad singers sound good.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What don’t you want to say or do? How don’t you want to sound?

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

A: Suggest every single idea you have: even if it feels cheesy or uncool - always suggest everything - there are no bad ideas.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Raw and authentic.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If you learn a pair of headphones - you can work on music anywhere, anytime, anyplace. F the haters.

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

A: Alternative pop, pop-rock, indie rock, alt rock

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Song concept, melody, structure

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A pop-sensibility, rooted in alternative music: I love giving a pop song more grit, or adversely, making a gritty song more pop.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: This of course changes for each and every song and project I work on! Typically, nothing gets tracked or recorded until the song is sounding great as a voice memo with just a singer and a guitar. Structure and melody feel like immediate priorities: lyrics can be fleshed out and finalised as we roll. It always feels important to me that they evolve throughout the process, even if they end up back where they started. Once there is a song that feels great in its most quintessential form, I usually take the track away and deep-dive sounds, tones and production ideas so I can present a rough idea of what I’m thinking to the artist - and we build from there.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is designed for (but not limited to) writing, tracking and mixing. I am currently running Genelec speakers for accurate monitoring and a UAD Apollo interface for high-quality recording and mixing purposes. I have a wide selection of guitars (Fender, Danelectro, Taylor, Gretsch) and a vast arsenal of plug-ins (UAD, Soundtoys, Waves, etc.). The studio is fully acoustically treated for both tracking and mixing and based just south of London: I can work remotely or in person, and also have available studios in London and Los Angeles I work from frequently.

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

A: Dan Nigro, Rich Costey, Andrew Wells, Tim Armstrong

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

A: I’m most commonly involved from a song's genesis as a writer, all the way through to final bounce as producer/mixer. I am keenly focused on song concept, melody, and structure during the songwriting process, and when producing - having toured extensively - ensuring songs resonate emotionally on record and make a lasting impact on stage.