EDM Stem Mixing & Mastering

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would say my style is energetic, punchy with heavy groove. I make a broad amount of music within the genres i focus on. From big driving melodies to hypnotic grooves.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Adding an unsynced phaser on a parellel send channel, mixed into your kick can create an analog feel synonomous with the vinyl mixing pop. Great for making your track feel more organic if done with the right amount of effect.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring over 20 years of engineering experience and a keen ear for detail. I help artists take their stems and transform them into powerful, club-ready tracks while keeping their original creative ideas intact. My mixes hit hard on the dancefloor and translate perfectly across all systems.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I start by listening to the client’s reference tracks to understand their vision. Then I stage the stems and focus on clean EQ, precise compression, stereo width, and saturation as needed. I preserve the client’s creative work while enhancing clarity, punch, and depth. If mastering is needed, I balance loudness and dynamics using techniques such as parallel compression to deliver a polished, club-ready record. Clients then listen and if they need any changes i offer revisions.

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

A: Please send me your stems as recommended in my introduction document. I can give the best possible mixdown this way. For example, separate stem for hats and separate for rides, so I can tune the top end correctly.

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

A: I have been producing music since 2005, starting on Cubase and then moving to Ableton Live in 2012. I have produced a lot of music over the years and running events performing my music to crowds.

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

A: I’m inspired by Chris Lake, Jay Lumen, Andy Mac from AMPM, BK, Paul Maddox and Dom Sweeten. Their sound design, and production/engineering precision shaped the foundation of my releases and continue to guide the level of quality I aim for in my mixdowns and masters

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

A: A Remix I worked on with Eamonn Fevah under my alias Malcolm Jack for Mark James from Two Tribes Records, it's a house remix of Mark James - Summertime which I thoroughly enjoyed co-producing and engineering. The EP released on Two Tribes Records went to number 1 in Beatport dance charts.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Sugapunk artist project - producing house and techno genres and performing events. Working on new music for my private hard house subscription where I offer music exclusively for 12 months, and my primary focus is mixing and mastering for clients with a dedication to job completion at a high standard in reliable turnaround time.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: With the advancement of music production tech, I would have to say digital. It's what I know and have used for years.

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

A: To do the best of my ability to get the tightest production/engineering possible, as stated above i am dedicated to your track and am reliable with leadtimes.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Working with music and seeing happy clients' reactions.

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

A: How do I send you my stems? I have a ''How to send me stems document advising the best way to send stems. I recommend clients read over before bouncing their audio down. I also get asked about loudness vs balanced dynamics, I always answer with a balance between both. Punch with full dynamics. I achieve this with care of headroom/eq and parallel compression with the right amount of limiting.

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

A: Probably the time taken getting a master to be final. The last cherry needs careful placement. I am very clear about my work, I offer stem mixdowns and mastering. Creative work is not something I offer clients.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How many years producing music? What reference tracks would you like your track to sound similar to? Do you need help with grouping stems in the right way? I can help you on your journey in music production sorting out that final process to give you more time in creative mode.

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

A: I usually work on electronic music genres, including house, techno,.hard house, and hard trance.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is achieving a solid, punchy low end, honed through years of working on my Manik (NZ) releases. Combined with over 20 years of experience in mixing and mastering.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run Ableton Live 12 with a wide range of third-party plugins including synths, effects, and dynamics processors. My main workstation is a powerful PC, paired with Yamaha HS8 monitors for accurate mixing, and a 2.1 Roland Cube setup for testing mixes in different environments. For headphones, I use Neumann NDH 20 (closed), Roland RH-A30 (open) for broader tonal reference, and AKGs for harmonic accuracy.

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

A: My services include stem mixdowns, and mastering — taking their finished projects and giving them the clarity, weight, and punch needed for a true club-ready record. I apply the same technical approach and standards I use on my own releases.