Mike Snow on SoundBetter

Let me put a live horn section on your recording and help bring it to life.I play most brass instruments plus Akai EWI wind synth and harmonica. I also layer backing vocals .You get several musicians for the price of one with me. I use an assortment of mics to give a nice sound variation.

I'm able to play in pretty much all styles. I can arrange and lay down all the parts for a complete horn section and do solos as required.If you're not sure what you want; I'll do the arrangements for you at no extra cost. I play straight and cross harp harmonica too and can embellish and solo. I am a singer too and specialise in layering backing vocals. I cut my chops playing in brass bands and then jazz big bands. My first pro gig was with Supercharge who played at huge festivals such as Reading and Glastonbury and backed up top American and UK blues artists.I then did session and live work all over the UK and Europe as part of a horn section, playing on TV and radio commercials and also with the likes of Ruby Turner and Climax Blues Band,
I spent a year teaching trumpet whilst I put together my own band. I front, sing, play trumpet,harmonica, drums, trombone, EWI, keyboards and guitar in my band which has released several albums and toured all over the world and recorded at Abbey Road Studio in London.I've also had a BBC Radio 2,Terry Wogan record of the week.

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Credits

97 Reviews - 22 Repeat Clients

Endorse Mike Snow

by Ryan M.
Verified
Another tune elevated to the clouds by Mike, look forward to many many more songs with this wonderful human!
by Jason
Verified
easy to work with, gave more horns than i bargained for at a good price. sounds great
by Nick C.
Verified
Great work and easy communication. Highly recommend
by Ryan M.
Verified
He takes a song and blasts it to the next level. Look forward to having him on future projects if he's available!
by skemmers
Verified
Mike was reliable, communicative, and open to feedback to make sure we honed in on just the right vision.
by Nick C.
Verified
Great communication and to work with. Definite recommendation from me!
by George M.
Verified
I asked Mike for a trumpet for my song and he recommended A Horn section. He delivered what he suggested and It sounds amazing.
He injected more life into the song and I'm very pleased with the result.
The arrangement for the horn section was superb!
I can't wait to work with Mike again.
by Ena M.
Verified
Mike is such a great performer to work with, this is the second time I called him, and most probably not the last one! . He takes his time, he is patient and dedicated and he doesn't force things until he feels the work has been delivered as expected... I recommend him 100%!!
by Joshua K.
Verified
This is my 3rd time working with Mike and he always exceeds expectations. Highly recommended!
by Jeff O.
Verified
Fantastic tone, professional execution and incredible communication to boot. HIGHLY recommend
by Chris Cron
Verified
I've hired Mike a few times now and every time I'm marking the job complete with a smile on my face. He's imaginative and a great player. Always a pleasure.
by Stel Furet
Verified
Mike was great to work with and delivered some amazing horns. Very creative.
by Eric T.
Verified
Mike is great! Great performance and additions I didn't think of! My song is happy now. :-)
by Rafael C.
Verified
Second job with Mike, now he is my habitual collaborator for brass sections due to his quality
by Doug H.
Verified
Mike was awesome to work with. He exceeded my expectations with very little direction from my end. My cover track has way more depth to it since he laid down his arrangements. Thanks Mike!
by Ryan M.
Verified
Mike is now my go to horns persons!
by Florian
Verified
Mike did an awesome job recording trumpets, trombones, fluegelhorns and saxes on eight tracks for me! He also helped with the instrumentation and the arrangement. Quick turnaround, easy and clear communication. Can't get any better!
by Ryan M.
Verified
he brought the goods and he brought them fast. Will be back for more
by Len
Verified
I've done a few tunes with Mike. He is my go-to guy. Delivers great stuff. Even with little direction, he's able find what a song needs.
by Richard D.
Verified
Mike was great. Very professional & easy to work with. He did a first take after hearing my demo, and then I asked him to ad some new ideas I had. Mike also came up with some great flourishes on his own that I used. I would definitely use him again for horn parts on my songs.

Interview with Mike Snow

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I recently worked on a rock tune for a guy call Shaw Shaw from Montreal ,Canada. He was after slightly different sound so I had to re explore my usual harmonic structure. I played all the horns as usual but I had to slightly re invent myself. A nice challenge.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I’m working on an Afro beat funk tune for a return client who lives in Norway.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Singer Ben Botfield and as clients, pretty much everyone I’ve worked with.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital for convenience but analog for warmth. A combination of both.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: My promise is that you’ll be totally satisfied. I’ll keep working until you’re happy.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love playing on recordings of so many different music styles. It also gives me a real buzz communicating with people from all over the world.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: The most common question is would you lower your price per song if I commission you to do more than one song? My answer is usually yes.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Sometimes clients may not realise that everything has to be tracked several times on several horns . This takes much more time than people realise.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I usually ask my clients if they have an idea influenced by another artist so that I can reference that artist.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Listen to my demos, read my reviews and take a leap of faith.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: I would take my trumpet, flugelhorn and trombone plus my guitar and harmonica.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started out in brass bands and orchestras. I learned to improvise from an early age. I also learned drums and played in rock bands before going pro as a trumpeter with a top UK touring band. I became a session player back in the 80s and have been doing this ever since.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I think I’d describe my style as empathetic.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Alto saxophonist, Candy Dulfer would be someone I’d love to work with because she’s someone I practice to occasionally. Her music has a great groove plus it’s great to improvise to.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: I use reversed phasing to avoid phasing when double tracking.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I work on such varied genres of music that there is no “usually”. I love all styles of music so every project is welcomed with open arms.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Is taking the client’s idea and running with it, either by embellishing it or coming up with ideas that fit perfectly with th over all concept.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I can articulate any preconceived ideas the client may have a and give them the authentic feel that I think they’re after. I usually add some ideas which the client can either use or discard. Better to have too much than not enough.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I send my clients a quick demo and if they’re happy, I then record all horns and track as necessary. I record all the parts using trumpet and trombone first and then replace some of the voicings using other horns.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My studio is a soundproof room at the top of my house. I use various mics, ranging from Neumann KMS 104 to Sure SM57. I use Logic Pro X software and Allen & Heath QU16 desk.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: For soul and funk, it would be Tower of Power, James Brown and Earth Wind and Fire. For more rocky stuff, Southside Johnny, Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago. Count Basie and Buddy Rich for big band jazz.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I would say that it’s clients who have the odd song they’ve written and can hear the necessity to add a few horn licks. These clients often come back because they can suddenly hear possibilities for other songs they’ve written.