Music Producer and Teacher specialising in DJing / Production in electronic music styles, music theory and instrumentation.

Find out more about Tim

• 1) When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  I picked up the guitar at around 7 years old. Growing up at the time when indie bands like Arctic Monkeys were at the forefront of music. My mum has great taste in music and so various genres through indie, rock, punk, dance and disco were always around to be absorbed, which instilled an interest and appreciation for a lot of styles - which I'd later develop in the production and DJing world.

• 2) Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  The groove of disco music and dance music has such a non abrasive quality to it that allows me to listen to it day in day out. It provides the audio bed for most if my days. Acts like Fred Again, Jamie xx, Maribou State and Jungle are my current favourites.

• 3) Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  DJing is a skill in itself and an art form, but the basics can be mastered with some determination and passion. This provides the bed for creating your own music which is a much more difficult and all encompassing task which has elements of DJing, technology, music theory, instrumentation that all need to be combined with a love and direction for what you're aiming for. This is no easy task, but from 15 years experience in the field I have a plenty of ways to cut the learning curve and get you good fast.

• 4) What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  Every instrument has its own difficulties which can only be mastered through determination and consistency, but I'd count 'The Studio' as an instrument which is the ultimate instrument as it combines skills of many areas in order to come out with the finished product.

• 5) What are your keys to success?

  Passion for music and having a clear vision for what you want. A lot of my students come to me with a gig or event in mind that they might be preparing a DJ set for. I've found that this is a great motivation for students to practice consistently with the right mindset.

• 6) Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  Alex Turner - His lyricism has provided so much to me as a musician over the years and I believe him to be one of the coolest dudes in the world. I think he'd be a lot nicer than you'd expect. Would love to ask him questions about songwriting.
  
  Nile Rodgers - This guys groove and history speaks for itself. The amount of amazing artists he's worked for is second to none. I bet he's got some amazing stories from the 70s.
  
  Quincy. Jones - Similar to Nile, Quincy is one of my heroes. He's worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and is just the best of the best. I'd love to discuss with him his thoughts on mindset, attitude and the more personal element to music and life.

• 7) Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  Two of my lecturers at music school were teaching the same class, they had quite different ideas about how to teach music production for a particular module. The module was recording a live band. One of the lecturers was teaching how to record everything to a click track and get everything perfectly in time, whereas the other very much disagreed and said that it would ruin the recording and feeling of the band. This taught me that different opinions and ways of approaching creativity are absolutely fine. Music has no set rules, don't be intimidated but more experienced folks and follow your heart.

• 8) What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I always want to put the music first. I want to always hold onto the idea that the reason I got into music in the first place is because of the way that music makes me feel. When creating music, it's important to hold onto that, and use techniques to achieve that - rather than treating it as an olympic sport in which the fasted moist technical player wins.