We met up with the producer and songwriter Mick Schultz, to talk about his songwriting process and his use of our plugins. His most notable accomplishments to date include the production of Jeremih’s debut and second albums, including the multi-platinum hits "Birthday Sex", "Down on Me", and "Don't Tell 'Em", as well as the platinum hit "Replay" by Zendaya. He has also produced for artists such as Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, SoMo, Jenna Andrews, and Jessie James.
Mick was kind enough to create a set of custom presets for BYOME which you can download free!
To start, tell us about your Studio, your working environment – what’s your philosophy?
My current studio that I`m in now I built from the ground up with an incredible architect by the name of Peter Grueneisen (Nonzero). It was designed to be the ideal space for not only myself to produce and make music but to also have an artist come in and feel at home. I wanted a creative space that had literally no limitation on what you wanted to do or record. My workflow has a blend of many approaches that I`ve picked up over the years. I love working in the box because I can really manipulate sound in the most creative ways and literally have no limitations. I spend a lot of time doing sound design making drums and samples that I can use later when I want to focus on producing a song. When I`m with an artist I focus on getting something inspiring enough to write a song around it. Once the song is there I then go back in and produce around the song. This approach allows me to add what the song is asking for without over-doing it. I tend to mix in hardware and analog synths later in the process when I`m focused on the details but I always add plugins to warp the sounds and create something fresh and new.
Let’s talk about the BYOME plugin - what do you like the most about it, and how do you integrate it into your production workflow?
Using plugins that spark creativity and ones that can create random new ideas and sounds are super important for me. BYOME has so many different and diverse ways of processing and getting effects that it’s always exciting for me when I dive into it. I love adding it to a simple sound and then searching for something really left of center that can redefine the whole song. Sometimes just doing something random with BYOME gives me some real magic.
Do you capture the output of BYOME as Audio or via Presets/Automation? Which approach works the best for you with the BYOME – committing to audio as fast as possible or saving as presets, so you can quickly apply the setting to other elements?
I use BYOME in a few ways. I like to add it directly as an insert and really warping the sound I`m working on to get something new. But also I`ve been using it to get some cool delays and reverbs on vocals just placing it on an AUX track and blending it in.
At first glance, there seem to be so many possibilities, a bit like using a modular system - what was your first impression? And did you dig right into it, or did you first study the manual?
There is a lot to learn about BYOME, but what I love about it is sometimes just playing around not knowing what you will get. I`m pretty comfortable working around it and it’s actually pretty easy to use but I love being unpredictable and making mistakes to get crazy sounds!
On what do you like to use the BYOME the most, drums, chords, etc. ?
I’ve been using BYOME on synths and vocals. It really can help create some awesome special effects.
How will you be using BYOME in your future productions?
I'm definitely going to and have used BYOME on some future Paragon Kits which are my custom drum kits and samples that I make. I also keep it in my template as an FX send so it probably will be popping up more and more in my future releases.
So which of our plugins are essentials for you when it comes to your productions and why?
I LOVE using the Black Box on my drum bus. I`m not sure I could live without that plugin. It gives so much life and power to my drums. I also love the Shadow Hills Compressor, I`ve gotten some of the punchiest kicks ever with that thing, its incredible.
Tell us about your future projects, what's up next for you?
I have a couple artists I produced on Atlantic records coming out this year. I also have a few new Paragon Kit’s dropping this year that I`m using BYOME with on my site shop.mickschultz.com
Thanks a lot Mick, we`re honored to get your support!
Thank you!