Artist Snapshot: Tommy Nutter (@itstommynutter)
Thank you for doing the Artist Snapshot with us.
We want to create a unique post about yourself and learn about your creative process, products you use, and skills you have learned to position yourself as an artist, teacher and entrepreneur.
(DISCUSSION W/ TOMMY NUTTER)
CREATIVE PROCESS
I'm always thinking of new sounds and concept for music. Even when I'm deep in conversation with people I often have a beat going in the back of my mind. This means I'm easily motivated, but the hard part is having the time to let that motivation do its thing.
I'm one of those people who doesn't read instruction booklets, and who would rather sit there for hours figuring out something on my own than watching a tutorial, so a lot of the skills I've developed have been problems that I've come to know how to fix not by learning from others but through trial, error, and inspiration.
That being said, once I figure something out, I tend to stick with it for a while to fully explore its capabilities.
I tend to think more clearly about music and concepts when I'm driving. I don't listen to much music in the car but in a way I'm constantly listening to the music in my head making changes and trying out new sounds, then when I get back to the studio its either all forgotten, or I'm in the mood to bang it out on the MPC.
My studio setup right now is a custom built PC with more Hard drives than I could ever want and a high end skylake processor. I run the Komplete Audio KA6 interface with my MPC and turntable, and a M-audio Code 61. One of the most important things to me is good reference monitors. I use the Maudio BX8 which I've come to know inside out over the past couple years. I also have a small cube speaker, multiple earbuds, a 2.1 Logitech speaker sub system, and my car parked just outside so checking the mix on multiple sources is never a problem. I also have my guitars and my guild starfire bass, as well as drumsticks, a coffee can shaker, a Kick drum and other little bits of percussion.
I see people drawing in midi notes all the time on the Internet but I could never do that, I need hardware for sure.
photo property of @itstommynutter
photo property of @itstommynutter
this Image branded/property by : @itstommynutter
VERSATILITY
If my most recent piece of work isn't my best then I feel like I'm either going backwards or I'm not putting in enough effort. I don't have a set thing I like to work on most, as I'm inspired by so many different things. However I want to acknowledge that for me this can be a bad thing. I find it hard to niche down in one certain area so I feel like my progress in making sales or appealing to certain markets is definitely hampered by this. In some ways its a good thing that I can be so versatile but in terms of business its quite hard to know who to target. I think I get the most satisfaction out of mixing someone's song and completely blowing them away with the mix, more than I do making a beat and then mixing it and hearing the finished result.
ALWAYS LEARNING
I feel like I'm always learning, I feel like I've got so far yet to go, and the weird thing is, with mixing, you can be satisfied with your mix at any point in your career, and have no idea what could make that mix better, but someone like pensado or Greg wells would be able to hear things you don't even have any idea of. That's what excites me, if I'm happy with where I'm at now, just imagine how happy with myself ill be in ten years.
image property of @itstommynutter
keep LEARNING
This is the methodology I want to bring to my viewers or followers, to be happy with where you're at, and to keep learning so that enjoyment grows over time. I think having an understanding of the concept behind how things work, rather than specific instructions on how to configure specific plugins etc only serves to make you learn faster and develop a better knowledge of sound engineering . See Example Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0EDJW48q-E
I upload a beat every week to youtube and facebook, and it has buy links to my beatstars store itstommynutter.beatstars.com. Link Here https://itstommynutter.beatstars.com/ I've sold a few online, but I'm the worst at business and marketing and feel I'm still in the early stages of trying to learn how to make money on the web from leasing beats. I also try to upload either a cooking video or some type of tutorial or vlog.
As for mixing and mastering I get a lot of work from freelance websites such as fiverr Link Here https://www.fiverr.com/itstommynutter/mix-and-master-your-song-or-instrumental?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true and I work with local artists who come to record at my home studio. If people need mixing and mastering, looking for crisp vocals and luscious reverbs, hard hitting kicks and deep full bass, they should visit itstommynutter.com Link Here https://itstommynutter.com/ and listen to the portfolio. I have all my prices listed and do special discounts for Albums or Demos.
I also try to write a blog post every now and again and make them a little bit different than your usual music blog. I try to be quite philosophical about the whole thing. Link Here https://itstommynutter.com/blog-2
"I consider myself a creative person, on a journey with music by my side, trying to enjoy and learn as much about music as possible whilst fitting in real life problems like needing money to live. My journey leads me to meet people, and its so great to meet and talk to people who are similarly engrossed in this whole music thing, so if I can be of any assistance or help then I guess I'm an educator, but if left to my own devices I'm most definitely a producer, but that doesn't necessarily mean quantity over quality."
I've been making beats for 4 years now, and learning to mix and master properly for about 3 and a half years, although I've been songwriting and playing guitar since being a young teenager. In my late teens I was also in a few Pop Punk Bands and acoustic projects.
MIXING AND MASTERING
If people want their song mixed or mastered its important for me to get the price conversation out of the way first. If I get a client who starts his story telling me he's had car troubles this month so cant afford to spend more than $25 to get his song mixed, then I plainly lay out what he's got to expect for his $25. More often than not, this guys songs are all about getting money and popping bottles.
Once were past that stage and hopefully I know the client takes their music career seriously, i like to get some of examples of the sounds they like, the artists they aspire to, and any inspirations or expectations they have about their vocal and the sound of the instrumental or drums.
IMAGE BRANDING BY TOMMY NUTTER @ITSTOMMYNUTTER
M&M PROCESS
I usually do one mix after that and send the client a quickly mastered mp3 to gauge how they feel about it and if they have any further instruction. Sometimes they're completely happy, other times they just ask for small changes.
After that we repeat the process until they're happy, and I leave the mix for a few days before checking and mastering (if I'm doing the mastering too). At that point ill also make bus compression decisions depending on if the mix is getting sent on to a separate mastering engineer or not.
When the job is done, usually the client and I will continue to speak about their upcoming projects, what their plans are, and who they're working with at the moment, and usually I end up getting a little repeat business further down the road.
I do enjoy learning about my clients and I get to hear a lot of new styles of music and get to gauge what sounds people are into as well. Its very interesting to me and also helps out a lot with the music production side of things.
music
I've always been a fan of pop punk, which led me to unplugged sessions where id see amazing artists doing live raw performances of songs I already knew. I saw how songs could be changed and given different senses of intimacy and reality and just fell in love with acoustic singer songwriter type stuff. I love the new childish gambino album, it reminds me of pink floyd and the doors, but I still enjoy listening to korn every now and again.
There's also mainstream songs and Pop songs that I love, so I don't think I have a specific genre I listen to. As for hip hop, I will say that I've never been a lyrics kinda person, I tend to listen to the music way more than the lyrics, but even if the tune is bangin, I still cant stand certain tones of voice and find them unenjoyable to listen to.
Image property of @itstommynutter
WALK-IN SONG
I think it'd have to be superman by goldfinger. The brass in that makes me so happy and giddy, its just a bangin song for a real good happy time. All my friends would be there high fivin me, everyone would be smilin and eatin hot dogs and pizza. ye that'd be awesome.
MENTORS
I think elon musk is on the right track to better humanity, and I think neil degrasse tyson is doing his thing to keep us smart, I have people who I really respect, but I think my main thing I look up to is my own plans. Every now and then I get a notepad, I draw a little stick figure in the middle, and lots of lines comin from it, and I write down what I want or what I want to achieve in the following months. It helps me focus and I get to decide my own future.
APPRECIATION
When working with an artist I'm looking for how devoted they are, and if they are in it for the passion of the music, or they just want the lifestyle. That usually defines how much work they wanna put in, but people are weird creatures, it takes me a while to figure them out.
DAY IN THE LIFE
A typical day means waking up at 9am, drinking two coffees and watching youtube for an hour before I can function properly, then I start working on mixing for clients, taking breaks in between to do my correspondence or work on my website. Usually whatever project I'm working on takes however long it takes, and then I eat. Sometimes I forget. Then at about 9pm I'm usually in the mood to make a some beats or work on some beats that need finishing, and I get to bed at around 2am, although the big reference monitors have to go off at about 10.30 as I live in an apartment.
PERFECT DAY
My perfect day would be spent mixing for major artists, still within my own home studio, but knowing that Im getting paid for my time means that id be able to put my everything into that mix, and at the end if I blow them away with the mix then I feel like I've accomplished greatness and I feel validated for the hours I've spent learning and grafting, and feel thankful that the time spent has made someone else so happy.
Image property of Tommy Nutter @itstommynutter
where may we link up and follow your content?
TOMMY NUTTER OUTLETS
Buy/Lease Beats Instantly: https://itstommynutter.beatstars.com/
Mixing and Mastering: https://itstommynutter.com/
Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChBzUxb8kzrNURO9ebC9xjg
Email: info@itstommynutter.com for exclusive enquiry & questions
Twitter: https://twitter.com/itstommynutter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itstommynutter
Instagram: http://instagram.com/itstommynutter
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/itstommynutter
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image property of tommy nutter at @itstommynutter
image property of Tommy Nutter @itstommynutter
image property of @itstommynutter
image property of @itstommynutter
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