Mix Engineer

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

A: This Is Living - Manic Mc (Ft. Kosher & C.REM), This project was very fun to work on and it was featured on the Charlie Sloth Show on BBC 1Xtra radio and it won the 'Gas Of The Week' song award. This is a song on Manik Mc's Debut Ep 'Midnight Express' I was a co-producer and mixing engineer for this project.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on a 6 track EP project with a singer/rapper duo. I have been a producer and engineer on the project, also getting session musicians to come for recording sessions.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I would ask them to provide me with a reference song to gauge their vision for their music. and i would ask if there is any particular styles or feeling they are trying to achieve.

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

A: Macbook, UAD Apollo, Moog Synth, Neve Console, SM9 Moniters

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

A: I studied music production and engineering at university, I have been producing for over 10 years and have been engineering since 2013

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would say that my style is very soulful and raw. I like bass heavy music so i always create a smooth round bottom end in my productions or any work i engineer.

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

A: It would be a dream come true to work with D'Angelo.

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

A: I am inspired by the production skills of the likes of J Dilla, Pete Rock and many others like this. From an engineering standpoint, i am a big fan of Andrew Scheps' work

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

A: I would recommend Alex Burr - A Cut Above London. I use his for mastering on my own music and he always does a fantastic job.

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

A: We promise to work tirelessly until our clients are one hundred percent satisfied with the outcome. We pride ourselves in our work and intend showcase that every single time.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Although there are many sonic qualities to analog which make it stand out sonically, the downfalls of recall ability to work on several projects at a time have made us stray more towards a digital setup. Plus, the incredibly accurate roster of analog emulations we have in the modern age help to create a best of both worlds situation.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: This job is something we are all genuinely very passionate about and allows us to do our work with an unhindered sense of gratification. Doing what you love for a living doesn't feel like work at all.

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

A: Most commonly, customers will ask for a severe price reduction on our services. We are open to negotiate our prices within reason, depending on the size of the project we are provided and our relationship with our clients.

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

A: The biggest misconception is that anyone can do what we do in a simple bedroom studio setup. Having an acoustically balanced room, good monitoring system and an engineer with experience and a good ear will always provide you with a more professional sounding result.

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

A: Don't settle for the cheapest option when it comes to searching for an audio engineer. A lot of the time, the quality of the end product is reflected in the price tag and usually the cheaper the service, the lower the quality. Try out a number of providers and make sure that they are giving you the quality you deserve before settling.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Experimentation is key to unique productions. It can be very helpful to listen to genres outside of the one you are trying to create. It may provide an insight into new techniques, melodies and syncopations that you may not have come across while just listening to a specific type of music.

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

A: Typically, the genres we work on are Hip-Hop and R&B, as this is what the majority of our client base has consisted of. However, we are open to any and all styles of music and will bring the same level of quality and expertise.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Our strongest skill is that we are not happy until the artist is completely satisfied with the outcome of the work we have done for them.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: We bring a fresh perspective and years of experience to ensure clarity, balance and punch to every project we work on.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically, we communicate with artists to find out exactly what they are looking for with their work. We stay in close contact throughout the entire process to make sure we are staying on track to achieve the desired outcome for all of our clients.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Our studio was custom built from the ground up to be a creative space for young aspiring artists. Root 73 as an organisation helps creatives of all artistic backgrounds to achieve a common goal; we facilitate, produce, organise and engineer creative processes to achieve a desired outcome for the artists involved. We are located at the Total Refreshment Centre in Stoke Newington, Hackney. We have a main studio along side a small living room area with a few amenities to ensure our clients are as comfortable as can be.

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

A: We work thoroughly with our clients through the mixing and mastering process to ensure the that outcome is the highest quality sonic experience.