» waxfigures@proton.me «

:\\ CREATIVE REEL

:\\ PROYECTOS

▸ WAX FIGURES - Composer, Songwriter, Recording Engineer, Vocalist, Producer, Mix & Mastering Engineer
▸ BODY OF WORK from my time at Berklee School of Music

▸ WAX FIGURES - Composer, Songwriter, Recording Engineer, Vocalist, Producer, Mix & Mastering Engineer
▸ SELECCIONADAS de la Escuela de Música Berklee

:\\ GENERAL

:\\ EXPERIENCIAS

▸ Masters in Music Production, Technology, & Innovation - Berklee School of Music
▸ Pro Tools, Ableton Live Suite + Max 8/Max 4 Live, Fruity Loops Studio, VCV Rack
▸ Software & hardware plugins, including those developed by major manufacturers.
▸ Microsoft Office Suite & Adobe Creative Suite products
▸ HTML, CSS, & Javascript

▸ 10+ years experience in music production, working with DAWs
▸ 10+ years software troubleshooting, 5+ years hardware repair
▸ 10+ years concert percussion, classically trained with a focus on keyboard
▸ 4 years administrative work for my Bachelor's University (ask for details)

▸ Signal flow, audio engineering, mixing, mastering
▸ Audiovisual installation, configuration, repair
▸ Experienced in studio environments & with handling studio equipment
▸ Computer building, repair, & networking solutions/installation
▸ Detail oriented & quick to learn

▸ Máster en Producción Musical, Tecnología e Innovación - Escuela de Música Berklee
▸ Pro Tools, Ableton Live Suite + Max 8/Max 4 Live, Fruity Loops Studio, VCV Rack
▸ Plugins de software y hardware, incluidos los desarrollados por los principales fabricantes
▸ Productos de Microsoft Office Suite y Adobe Creative Suite
▸ HTML, CSS, y Javascript

▸ 10+ años de experiencia en producción musical, creando música con DAWs
▸ 10+ años en resolución de problemas de software, 5+ años en reparación de hardware
▸ 10+ años de percusión de concierto, formación clásica con especialización en teclado
▸ 4 años de trabajo administrativo para mi licenciatura universidad (pídame más detalles)

▸ Flujo de señales, ingeniería de audio, mezcla, masterización
▸ Instalación, configuración y reparación de equipos audiovisuales
▸ Experiencia en entornos de estudio y manejo de equipos de estudio
▸ Construcción, reparación e instalación de computadoras y redes informáticas
▸ Detallisto y aprendo rápido

* :// Prospective employers may notice I fail to provide my full legal name or intimate contact information beyond a general attached e-mail anywhere on this site. I was brought up during a time when parents still told their children not to give out their names online. This is a public hub for my work, not a Linkedin account, and I value my privacy.

* :// Los posibles empleadores pueden darse cuenta de que no proporciono mi nombre legal completo ni información de contacto más allá de un correo electrónico general en ningún lugar de este sitio. Crecí en una época en la que los padres todavía decían a sus hijos que no dieran su nombre completo en Internet. Este es un sitio web público para mis proyectos, no una cuenta de Linkedin, y valoro mi privacidad.

» waxfigures@proton.me «

Depiction

▸ WAX FIGURES is the personal project of ██████ █████████. You will call me Mel.

▸ Predictably, its name stems from the phenomenon of celebrity lookalikes as preserved in museums for spectacle. These figures can provoke feelings of unease within humans. Ultimately, that's really what the project is about-- making something which sounds familiar, identifiably so, yet which remains outside the realm of comfort or ease.

▸ Still, the work comes naturally to me. I'm making the kind of music I like to listen to, and would like to hear more of in the world. Nevertheless, I'm someone who has struggled a great deal to connect with others. I've been told, and treated as if, I'm not "quite right". I look, speak, and move like a human, but something about me, something subtle or subconscious, sets me apart in the minds of others. An imitator, an outsider looking in. It's been terribly lonely.

▸ Music by, and for, outsiders looking in. Gentle pop for the uncanny valley.

▸ Sonically, I draw from a bed including the work of James Kent, Trent Reznor, Pete Burns, HEALTH, Depeche Mode (who hasn't?), John Carpenter, and acts like Clan of Xymox or DAF. I mostly enjoy industrial, synth, myriad post/cold/dark/gothic sensibilities touched by the certainty of steel, and these tastes inform the music I like to make. You can learn more about my tastes here.

▸ Just as well, I find myself called to the sculptures of Nancy Grossman, the photography of Xuebing Du, the monolithic illustrations of Hugh Ferriss, and H. R. Giger's legendary body of work.

▸ WAX FIGURES es el proyecto personal de ██████ █████████. Me llamarás Mel.

▸ Como era de esperar, su nombre procede del fenómeno de los dobles de famosos que se conservan en los museos como espectáculo. Estas figuras pueden provocar sentimientos de inquietud en los humanos. En última instancia, de eso se trata este proyecto: de hacer música que suene familiar, identificable, pero que permanezca fuera del ámbito de la comodidad o la facilidad.

▸ Aun así, el esfuerzo me resulta natural. Hago el tipo de música que me gusta escuchar y que me gustaría oír más en el mundo. En cualquier caso, he tenido muchas dificultades para conectar con los demás. Me han dicho y me han tratado como si no estuviera "del todo bien". Parezco, hablo y me muevo como un ser humano, pero hay algo en mí, algo sutil o subconsciente, que me distingue en la mente de los demás. Un imitador, un extraño mirando hacia dentro. Ha sido terriblemente solitario.

▸ Música por y para los que miran desde fuera. Música pop suave para el valle inquietante.

▸ Sonoramente, me inspira la música de James Kent, Trent Reznor, Pete Burns, HEALTH, Depeche Mode (¿quién no?), John Carpenter y grupos como Clan of Xymox o DAF. Me gusta sobre todo la música industrial, de sintetizador, y una miríada de sensibilidades post/cold/dark/gothic tocadas por la certeza del acero, y estas preferencias informan la música que me gusta hacer. Puede obtener más información sobre las cosas que me gustan aquí.

▸ Igualmente, disfruto con las esculturas de Nancy Grossman, la fotografía de Xuebing Du, las ilustraciones monolíticas de Hugh Ferriss y el legendario arte de H. R. Giger.

This page includes projects completed in fulfillment of my
Master's degree with Berklee School of Music in Valencia, Spain.

There were more, but these are the ones I've chosen to showcase.

:\\ PEGASUS PROJECT - "FREE"

---

▸ Each fall semester, MPTI students at Berklee Valencia team up with a student from the contemporary performance concentration in order to compose, produce, and record a finished product for said performance student. This project is dubbed PEGASUS. In my year of attendance, I was chosen to be the lead recording engineer for A.B., with O.B. acting as lead producer. This was my take on the project's final mix.

▸ A.B. was a guitarist with an interest in rock/punk/metal, and these interests aligned with those of producer O.B., who would end up songwriting and performing vocals for the project, in addition to having the final say with the project's mix and master. M.W., a drummer from the performance concentration, was brought in as the percussionist, MPTI peer A.R. recruited for rhythm guitar, and another MPTI peer, T.M., performed parts for bass guitar. I filled in all synth parts afterwards, recording them with software plugins from within the box.

▸ All components were recorded over a series of multiple sessions, in different studios provided by the School, spanning multiple weeks. I was present for each of these sessions-- in addition to practice rehearsals-- and personally responsible for engineering all captured material.

▸ A series of SM57s and two Royer 121 overheads captured all percussive material. A '57 and '121 captured each respective guitar cabinet-- an Orange and Fender-- with the addition of DI into Pro Tools. A series of Coles 4038 microphones captured room information from the isolated drum and guitar amp rooms. The guitarist A.B. and rhythm guitarist A.R. provided their own personal pedal boards, the signals from which were split between DI and amp routing. In later Overdubbing sessions for both Rhythm and Bass guitar parts, all material was captured via similar DI and dual '57/'121 amp cabinet setup, from smaller rented studios this time. In each case, signals had similarly been routed into on-site hardware plugins available in each studio, typically only through a compressor or amplifier.

▸ My philsophy regarding the selected recording equipment had intentionally been kept simple; all of the mics used were mass-produced and easily acquired, reflecting the sensibilities of the selected genre. They'd been selections one might find at any public venue, and the parts I was recording for necessitated little nuance nor sensitivity. The dual '57/'121 setup was chosen to afford our producer some flexibility in sound preference when comping.