Production

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MUSIC PRODUCER? PRODUCTION? WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?

These days the role of the Music Producer is quite open to interpretation. For me I see it as a blend between creative director, advisor, project manager, music software expert, and muse.

I’ve always been fascinated by producers. Brian Eno, Nigel Godrich, George Martin, Dan Lanois, Trent Reznor – I’ve researched all of my favourite producers down throughout the years, learning as much as I can about them and their skills. Some things my favourite producers have in common are a definite “touch” of their own, a deep knowledge of music technology, an ability to work with very different artists, and a desire to create something new.

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU AS YOUR MUSIC PRODUCER

HAVE A LISTEN - CLICK TO PLAY

Don't Want To Let You Down Fiach Moriarty

Ceiling Poem North Atlantic Oscillation

Fear Of Flight Paddy Molloy

Fold Avril Whelehan

I believe that no matter where you’ve pitched your tent on the musical landscape, My production skills can help you create great recordings that better reflect your vision of how you should sound.

Singer/Songwriters.
I can help you capture your performance, flesh out your song arrangements if that’s what you want, and I can offer advice in developing your own unique lyrical and tonal voice. You might need help in getting access to better equipment, or sourcing session musicians, and I can also help with that.

Bands.
I can make sure you sound exactly how you want to, and I would get you thinking creatively to produce music that stands out as being uniquely yours. I can talk to you about studio techniques to get any specific sound you are after, and I make my full arsenal of guitars amplifiers and effects available to you. We would also make sure your songs are as good as they can be, and that you all play to the best of your potential.

For those into electronic music…
…we can work together using my vast collection of synths and machines to make something new and interesting. I’m a big fan of Ableton Live and Ableton Push, and am an expert with both. I’ve also been using Native Instruments Maschine since it launched. I am well versed in the use of all the NI synths, so we can definitely set you up with all the sounds you might need!

Of course maybe you are a bit of all of these things; we would start in preproduction working out what we are going to do, how you want things to sound, what needs working on. Then on to recording, which might involve a few studios or just one, as well as some programming if there are electronic instruments involved. Then it’s on to mixing in my studio Whitespace, followed by mastering with an engineer of your choice.

There’s so much to being a producer that I couldn’t possibly get through it all here, so I’ve outlined the major production points for each stage of the recording process below.

FIRST UP - PREPRODUCTION

Before we ever begin recording, I get you round to Whitespace for preproduction. You may not have come across the notion of preproduction before. The idea is to have a series of meetings before starting the project to nail down a few things, making the rest of the process a lot easier.

We look at your songs and make sure they are the best they can be, lyrically and musically.
We make sure the songs “flow”, talk tempo and click tracks, how best to approach them.
Do we have, or have we access to, all the instruments, equipment, software and locations needed for the job?
Is there a sonic vision for the project? If not, and there should be, we establish it here.
Do your songs have appropriate, interesting arrangements?
For bands, I look at the rhythm section and make sure there is nice interplay between drums and bass.
We talk all things electronic, make sure we have the right palette of synths set up to use.
We can also talk strings, the use of a quartet, cost, and all of that good stuff.

By the end we would have a very clear vision of what we are going to do, how your finished record should sound, and how much it should cost. We would also have sessions with guide tracks and clicks (if needed) ready to go. Of course there are many other aspects to preproduction, so do get in touch if you have any questions 🙂

PRODUCER'S ROLE WHEN RECORDING

When we go to record, here are some things I do as a producer:

Make sure we are getting the right vibe during tracking. Headphone mix, sounds, atmosphere.
Offer help, tips and tricks to guitarists and bassists based on my 20+ years of gigging and recording.
Focus the session on the job at hand, but allow room for improvisation and creativity.
I make sure the microphones are set up with a view toward the final mix.
I’ve also got some clever tricks for helping vocalists get the very best takes, with excellent pitch and vibe.

Recording acoustic guitars, M/S, with Avril.

PRODUCTION WHEN MIXING

During mixing, I make sure we are getting where we want to be sonically, using the ingredients from our recording sessions and the correct mix tools to get there.

Many decisions get made in preproduction that only really take in mixing – stereo mic use, double tracking, layering. I make sure things get used the way they were intended.
It is important to mix in a style appropriate to the genre. We might want to emulate the setup of the eighties or early nineties where we stick to virtual versions of real world equipment – desks, EQs, compressors, reverb units.
Or, we might want that as a basis, but with modern plugins for surgical processing as is generally done these days on expensive recordings. We might go very edgy and modern with lots of the latest breed of vocal and instrument processors, but feed it back through analog emulations for warmth.