Services
Six things. Most projects need three or four of them. I work as a heavy music producer and mixing engineer out of Sydney, in the room or remote.
Who I work with
PROGRESSIVE METAL·METALCORE·POST-HARDCORE·HARDCORE·ALTERNATIVE·ATMOSPHERIC HEAVY·EXPERIMENTAL HEAVY·AND WHATEVER YOU'D CALL THE DOCUMENTARY SCORE
If the guitars are heavy but the record needs space, dynamics and ideas, we'll probably get along.
I've made records with bands in Canada and Singapore that I've never been in a room with. Drums are the only part that really wants a proper room, and pre-production happens on a call either way.
I've made a progressive metalcore album, a punk single that was supposed to sound rough and does, and a documentary score. I was trained as a composer, so my first instinct is the arrangement rather than the plugin.
I can take a record from first demo to final master, and that's when I'm most useful. But if you want different ears on the master, or already have a mix engineer you trust, tell me where you actually need help and I'll join there.
Vocals
I sing on every record my band puts out, cleans and harshes, so I know what a fourth take feels like when your throat has gone. Most vocal sessions fail because someone pushed for one more take.
01
Co-writing and song doctoring: if seven of your eleven songs are finished, I'll tell you which seven.
02
Arrangement, structure and performance: the decisions made before anyone hits record, and most of the job.
WHAT PRODUCTION ACTUALLY MEANS
Most of the money in a record gets spent on tracking and mixing, but most of the difference gets made before either. Production is arrangement and performance: what order the sections go in, which parts are fighting each other, whether the chorus arrives too late, and whether a song is finished or just long. It's the least visible part of the job and the part that changes the record most.
03
Drums want a proper room, so those happen in person; guitars, bass, vocals and everything after can be tracked wherever you are.
The best takes usually happen with someone else in the room. Knowing when a performance is there, and when to come back tomorrow, is easier together than over a file transfer.
04
I'm a vocalist, so I coach the take rather than just capture it, cleans and harshes.
05
Balance, space and dynamics.
06
The last decision, made by the person who made the first one, and cheaper if I mixed it.
Pricing depends on song count, production scope and tracking. You get a fixed quote before anything is booked.
I'll tell you if a song isn't finished. That's what you're paying for.
How a record gets made
01
Thirty minutes, free, no obligation. You send demos and three reference tracks beforehand and I'll have listened properly. I'll tell you what I think the record wants to be, and whether I'm the right person to make it.
02
The part that decides whether the record is good. We go through every song, section by section, and argue about arrangement. Some songs get shorter. Some get rewritten. One or two usually get cut.
03
Drums in the room, everything else wherever suits. I'd rather spend a day getting one take right than comp forty.
04
Its own stage, because it usually needs one. I'm a vocalist, so I can coach the take rather than just record it. Cleans, harshes and everything in between.
05
When I do both, the master finishes an idea rather than rescuing one. Three revision rounds included. If I've missed the brief we agreed, I'll keep working until it's right, at no extra cost. If the brief itself changes, we agree the extra work before I start it.
06
Masters for streaming, vinyl, CD and cassette, plus your session files. The record is yours. I keep a backup for five years in case you need it.
Revisions: three rounds included at mix · Turnaround agreed up front, in writing
Tell me which of the six you think you need. If I disagree, I'll say so before you pay anything.