S
What advice would you give to
aspiring Producers? What sorts of
things should they be doing in order
to propel themselves forward in a
very competitive industry?
Just work with as many people as possible.
You learn so much working with others as
everyone has a slightly different workflow
or way of doing things. Connections are
also everything in this industry, you never
know what will come out of one random
session, or who that person will be able to
introduce you to. I would say offer to work
for free for a producer or engineer, as it can
be a pretty lonely job so most of them are
happy to have some company in the studio
and share stories and tips. Also try and find
some people you can use as soundboards
to get advice from and feedback on tracks
you are working on, it’s so important to talk
to people if you are struggling or unsure
what to do next, or are just looking for some
feedback.
Sid Batham’s ‘All Lies’ Produced by Sigala.
Photograph taken by Rachel Wilkinson
SIGALA
How difficult has it been to get to the
standard of producing that you are at
now?
I’ve been honing my skills for about 10
years now and will never stop honing. Most
of what I’ve learnt has come from hours
of watching YouTube tutorials and just
experimenting and making music by trail and
error until something sounds good. I wouldn’t
say its been that difficult, just a massive
investment of time.
How do you build your sample
libraries, and what are your ‘go to’
plugins?
How does the process of being a
producer work, and how have you
built a good portfolio of tracks you’ve
worked on as well as artists you’ve
worked with?
Bruce Fielder, otherwise known as Sigala is an up and coming London based Producer who is
already making waves in the Music Industry having only just completed a degree in Commercial
Music from the University of Westminster. Fielder has already worked with some big names
including Adam Noble, Nick Brine, and Tayo Hendrix, as well as composing and producing music
for Channel 4, Sky Arts, and The Voice UK. He has also recently Produced Singer Sid Batham’s
debut EP ‘All Lies’ which was featured on the renowned online music blog ‘Record of the day’. We
asked Fielder some questions about what it takes to be a successful Producer.
If I’m working with a producer I usually do
some sample swapping and get their main
libraries and share my own in return. I have
a whole bunch of plugins and try and switch
it up to keep things fresh, but there are a
few soft synths which I always use, things
like Massive, Omnisphere, Waves Elements,
and some amazing sounding piano plugins
called Imperfect Samples. When it comes
to processing, there’s so many to choose
from and most of them do pretty much the
same thing so its whatever you’re used to.
When it comes to doing something a little
different I love the Sound Toys plugins for
crazy delays, and sausage fattener is my go
to plugin for a quick fix fat sound for synths,
kicks and on my master bus.
When I first started taking music seriously
I would work with anyone and everyone I
could possibly work with, and tried to be
as open minded as possible. So I started
building my portfolio like that, most of
which I wouldn’t play to anyone now. Now I
work closely with a few publishers and they
organise sessions with great writers, which is
how I have been building up my portfolio.
When it comes to working with artists I
am much more picky, and only work with
people I really believe in, I have to share their
passion otherwise its pointless.
What made you want to be a producer?
I have always been a bit of a computer geek, so when I discovered things like Techno Ejay and
Cool Edit Pro I was amazed by the sounds that you could create, and would spend all my free time
making terrible music. I never really saw music production as a career for me, it was just a bit of
fun, I wanted to be a rock star keyboard player. It wasn’t until I went to music college and got some
positive feedback from some people that I actually realised I had a skill and could make a career
out of it one day.
Interviewed by Rachel Wilkinson
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