Audio Portfolio
Chamber Music
The following demos showcase a wide variety of live performance and chamber music recording styles and techniques. I am also a performer in a few of these, playing either the Wii Remote with the VT Laptop Orchestra, or electronica with the VT Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Remote recordings in the field present unique sets of challenges, like developing a thorough plan, coordinating with the venue, and working in a new environment under short time. I’ve chosen to create demos for this category to showcase the diversity of live and chamber recordings I’ve conducted over the more recent years.
Jazz
The following chosen singles showcase the work of various talented musicians across multiple jazz combos and bands both on and off campus. The biggest challenge I faced when producing jazz music in the studio was the recording and mixing of a conglomerate of both rock, and orchestral instruments all very close to one another. The use of polar response characteristics, along with the combination of packing blankets on the floor, stands to hang them on, and foam all helped to isolate a large number of loud acoustic instruments in a small space.
Rock
The following chosen singles span a vast range on the rock spectrum from rockabilly and soft rock, to surf/psychedelic and hard rock. Producing different styles of rock music presented unique challenges in the sense of creativity and diversity. These songs showcase especially interesting moments that I helped create as a producer, from guitar overdubs and post-effects to vocal effects and keyboard licks. Focusing on tone and experimenting with mic placement and technique before tracking was crucial to producing these tracks. Using a loudness target on the master of each track really helped find balance issues in these mixes to get the best sound from each band.
Solo Artists
The following chosen singles took a different approach than the other projects on this page. Hector Padilla is a multi-instrumentalist that I recorded in his house, with reserved studio gear. It was a fun challenge to overcome the loud noise floor of his vintage gear coupled with the sounds of neighbors and a busy street. These grooves are so funky, even the cat sang along. I have also chosen to include a recent electronic production of my own: a remix I made of an original song by my friends that I also worked on as the mixing engineer using the API Vision, and then completely remixed in Ableton.
A Cappella
The following chosen singles are a diverse set from the same co-ed, on-campus a cappella group: TechNotes. Scheduling, recording, and mixing an a cappella group presented a unique set of challenges to both the vocalists and myself, the producer. Planning and deadlines were the key to success for this project. As I produced each song over the course of the past two semesters, I started to develop a solid workflow for producing professional quality vocal tracks in the door. This more efficient workflow helped minimize corrective editing time, thus streamlining the mix process. These last two songs showcase a mix of various soloists, textures, and added rhythmic effects I helped accentuate as a recording/mixing engineer and producer.