Alt Rock Mixer & Producer

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

A: I started playing in bands (Millhouse, Symbiosis, IONS) and gradually moved from performing to producing and engineering. With IONS I sang and wrote lyrics, and our last album Counterintuitive found a real audience that's still growing today. My solo project motko is where I took over the whole chain, from writing to mixing. I recently completed the Mixing Intensive at Mastering.com, and today I focus on helping other artists finish their records.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work in Logic Pro with an RME Babyface interface and an SSL UC1 controller for tactile, screen-free mixing. I mix on Sennheiser HD 6XX headphones and check every mix on professional monitors in a studio room. I also have access to a professional recording studio and a session drummer for projects that need live tracking.

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

A: Two projects stand out. First, my solo work motko — specifically the debut album "home." I produced, recorded, mixed, wrote, and played everything myself except the drums. Having it mastered by a fellow alumni from the Mastering.com Mixing Intensive was the finishing touch. Second, the band IONS — I sang and wrote all the lyrics there. Our last album Counterintuitive resonated beyond what any of us expected and the band still has a healthy and engaged following today. Both experiences shaped how I think about music and what it can do.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Finishing and releasing my debut album "home" under my solo project motko, while opening up to working with other artists on their records.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Mostly digital — but with intention. I use the SSL UC1 controller to keep the workflow tactile and away from the screen. I picked up a "less is more" approach from the Mastering.com Mixing Intensive that changed everything. I use analog only where it genuinely makes a difference — like tracking drums through Harrison Mix in the studio. Otherwise I trust the digital chain and keep it clean.

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

A: Radical transparency and radical honesty — always. I will tell you what I think, even when it's uncomfortable, because that's the only way to make something genuinely good. And I will always serve the song, not myself.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The moment when an artist hears their song back and it finally sounds the way they always imagined it. That's why I do this. To help others.

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

A: "How many revisions do I get?" — 3 free, then $15 each. "How long does it take?" — 7 business days from receiving stems. "What format should I send files in?" — WAV, 24-bit, one file per track.

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

A: That mixing and production are purely technical jobs. The most important part of what I do is listening — to the artist, to their vision, to what the song is trying to be. The technical side serves that, not the other way around.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is this song about for you? What do you want the listener to feel? What's the one thing you never want to lose in this recording? Who are your reference artists? Do you have a reference mix or demo that shows the direction?

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

A: Be honest about what you want and don't be afraid to say when something isn't working. The best results come from open communication. Also — send reference tracks. It saves time and gets you closer to your vision faster.

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

A: Logic Pro, RME Babyface, SSL UC1 controller, a guitar — and Lenka, my girlfriend. She's always my first listener and gives the most honest feedback I could ask for.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Honest and restrained. I operate on radical transparency and radical honesty — with myself and with every artist I work with. I don't over-produce. I look for what's already working in a recording and protect it. If something doesn't serve the song, it goes. Less is more.

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

A: Any artist who has something real to say and isn't sure how to say it yet. The project doesn't need to be famous — it needs to matter to the person making it. That's what makes the work interesting.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Less is more. Every element you add is also something fighting for space. The best mixes I've heard — and the best ones I've done — came from removing things, not adding them. Finish the song first, then get out of its way.

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

A: Alternative rock, indie, alternative. Music that's built around real performances and wants to feel honest and alive — not over-produced. Music that surprises me.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Music imagination. I can hear a fully arranged song in my head — every instrument, every texture — before a single note is recorded. I've written entire compositions mentally and transferred them into the DAW. I retain music quickly and naturally, which means I can work with a song the way you'd work with an idea — turning it over, reshaping it, living inside it before touching anything.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A fresh perspective and genuine curiosity about what the artist is trying to communicate. I don't have a signature sound I impose — I try to find the sound that belongs to the song. Every project is its own world with its own rules.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First we talk — about the song, the vision, reference tracks. Then I ask for stems in WAV 24-bit. I do an initial mix and send it back with notes. You give me feedback, we do up to 3 revision rounds. Mastering comes after the mix is approved.

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

A: Producers who put the artist at the center of the process — where the job is to draw out what's already there rather than impose a vision. Sonically I'm drawn to records that feel lived-in and honest, where you can hear the room, the performance, the human being behind it. My listening world spans a wide range — QOTSA, Tigercub, Father John Misty, Balthazar, Karnivool, Deftones, De Staat, Elbow, Failure, Jeff Buckley, Tamino, Korn, Leprous, Anderson Paak, Faith No More, NIN, Saya Gray, Radiohead, Ulver, Oliver Sim and many more. That range informs everything I do.

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

A: Mixing — taking recorded stems and shaping them into a cohesive, powerful, release-ready mix. Often combined with creative conversations about arrangement, lyrics, or direction when the artist needs that kind of collaboration too.