Lead vocals, BVs, songwriting

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

A: I have more examples of work, singing different styles of music. Just ask if you'd like to hear more!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working with a number of different producers at the moment – there is a lot of unreleased material waiting in the wings. Hoping to release some new music in spring 2018, its been a long time coming.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analogue often offers more depth and warmth than digital – more presence. I often find that if I'm writing a track digitally, I have to add lots of instruments to make it sound good. Once I replace some of those parts with analogue sounds, I find I need a lot less. But I like both analogue and digital.

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

A: A lot of people have asked me if I do soul – I don't think of myself as a soul singer. I think the way I use my voice is closer to jazz.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is it that you're looking for? Stylistically / in terms of production / in terms of arrangement or songwriting. What timescale are you working to?

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

A: 1) a dynamic mic 2) a bass guitar 3) a bass chorus-pedal 4) a laptop (with a music program on it) 5) an audio interface.

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

A: I've been writing songs seriously for 8 years. I started off by writing songs, lead singing and playing bass in a band called Ruby and the Vines. Since then I've collaborated with different people as well as worked as a session vocalist and bassist. (Credits are in my profile)

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Its terms of the music I'm producing at the moment, its a mixture of electronic music and neo-soul (so future-soul, I guess). In terms of my writing – I love to use lots of vocal harmonies, melodic basslines, paddy-synth sounds and electronic drum sounds, with a little bit of jazz harmony thrown in (just a little).

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Layering live drums with electronic ones to give them a punchier sound. And in fact, just layering sounds in general – a blend can give the sound more character.

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

A: I work on a real mixture. The projects I'm playing for at the moment span experimental-cuban-jazz, to trip-hop, to neo-soul, to house music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Laying down harmonies and delivering intimate lead vocals. After that, writing melodic basslines and delivering powerful vocals.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Rich vocals harmonies, intimate vocals, catchy synth-lines, some originality.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Either it will start with a melody I start singing in my kitchen (always the kitchen, for some reason), or it comes to me in a dream, or I stumble upon an idea whilst practicing bass guitar. After that, I usually work out some chords to the melody and then start building a track (and a song) around that. Synths and vocals are usually the first things to be laid down, on top of a simple drum beat. And the track develops from there. I love to bash out all my ideas as quickly as possible, to get a shape of the arrangements and the different parts while the inspiration's there. And then I go back and refine all the sounds, or take bits out.

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

A: I love to listen to music and production by these guys: Solange / Soft Hair / Thundecat (Flying Lotus) / James Blake / Jordan Rakei / Hiatus Kaiyote / Le Son

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

A: Vocals – both lead and backing.