Pop Producer, Mix, Dolby Atmos

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Understanding what the public wants, not what you want!

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

A: I use to work on Pop and Hip Hop tracks, but on my side, I did several soundtracks, classical and jazz stuff.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: The taste and the stomach.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I really like working in a hybrid model, by combining analog and digital. My set-up is: PC / Mac Pro Apollo A / D converter D / A Black Line Audio Sparrow DAC Avalon 747 UA 6176 Shadows Hill MC Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso Satellite UA UAD Plug-Ins - Waves Bundle - Fab Filter - McDSP - Izoptope - AudioEase etc ... Speakers: ProAc - Adam A7X - Genelec 8020 - Euratone Avid Artists Controller NI Maschine Crane Song Avocet Keyboard Yamaha s90 ES - Fender Telecaster - Martin D28 Acoustic Guitar Neumann U87 - Brauner Phantera V - AKG 414 - Beta 58 - 57 Sm

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Working in LA on a very nice project, based on Burt Bacharach songs and performed by some of the biggest musicians of the world, such as Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, Darek Oles, Michael Stever etc...

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love when I feel that I'm surrounded by colleagues and clients that are trusting in what I'm doing.

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

A: I worked as arranger, musician and engineer with an artist called David Ekerot. I loved to work with him because he had very clear ideas about how things were going and almost always (or better ... always) I agreed with him. In fact I love every single note and frequency of what I did.

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

A: Absolutely yes: Max Carola is a good and experienced engineer! "Musica Per Il Cervello" is a very cool and furnished studio and Caduceus Mastering by Lad Agabekov who is a genius about mastering.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both.

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

A: I use to say: "If you don't like what I'll do, I will pay you the same price".

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

A: Usually they ask me if they can retain some ideas that instead I thought I'd take off. I reply that the producer have to leave the artist do much of the work and does not interpose as long as he does not feel it necessary to do so. The producer is ultimately an outer ear and emotionally less involved than artist.

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

A: Every musician who plays in a song would like his instrument emerge into the mix, just like his instrument is the main one, but they do not understand that each of them is at the service of the music and of the listener. It must become listeners after being a musician.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What goal have you fixed and what you expect from this work together.

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

A: To be guided, but above all to listen to the song which referred to me, trying to forget about hearing the previous demo version for hundreds of times.

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

A: A Mac Book Pro - UAD Satellite - Black Line Audio Sparrow DAC - ProAc Speakers - Master Keyboard.

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

A: I studied at school and then I tried to learn from my idols and simultaneously put into practice the study at work, most of the time I was crap, but it was useful. All this for over 20 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Intriguing and elegant.

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

A: All artists that doesn't know that there is a star inside of them, my challenge is to make them shine.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to bring a sound that is unique and never heard, trying to figure out what the market is looking for at the time.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I listen to the song that the customer submits to me several times, then I try to give a shape, create the dynamics that are needed, looking to better interpret what does the author of the song and what it would convey to the listener.

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

A: All those who try to do something that does not look like too much to things already heard. Even a simple kick sound must have its own personality because it can fascinate.

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

A: I try to give my outer ear to figure out if there are "holes" or parts of the song that might work better, trying to get to the top.