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Personal Statement
I have over 15 years of experience meeting the needs of industry clients as a self-employed music producer. During this time I have been involved in all aspects of production, re-mixing, sound design, engineering, and programming. Through my studio experience with diverse production teams, I offer a positive, proactive and intuitive skill set and am able to anticipate the needs of those around me.
My experience running a Parliamentary office in The House of Commons re-enforces my ability to manage-up as well as delegate in a pressured environment, working with individuals who have complex needs. I developed the ability to creatively problem solve through an understanding of Departmental Protocols and diplomacy.
Personal Statement
I have over 15 years of experience meeting the needs of industry clients as a self-employed music producer. During this time I have been involved in all aspects of production, re-mixing, sound design, engineering, and programming. Through my studio experience with diverse production teams, I offer a positive, proactive and intuitive skill set and am able to anticipate the needs of those around me.
My experience running a Parliamentary office in The House of Commons re-enforces my ability to manage-up as well as delegate in a pressured environment, working with individuals who have complex needs. I developed the ability to creatively problem solve through an understanding of Departmental Protocols and diplomacy.
Background
At the age of 10 I taught myself to program in BASIC on a Sinclair ZX81 and I had a short, 1k game published in a magazine when I was 11. I progressed to a BBC Micro and then an Amiga, always pursuing personal, small, games programming projects. This led me to my Degree subject in Computer Systems Engineering which covered all aspects of the field from Programming in C, Pascal and some 680x0 to analogue and digital electronics.
Musical career
Throughout secondary school my interest in music grew and when I was 16 I started to teach myself to play an electric guitar. While at University I started to experiment with sequenced music on an Amiga running a tracker (Octamed) using it to augment live instruments and provide backing (even during live performances). When I left University, I returned to London and formed an industrial band. During this time we recorded demos at Mute Records. Influences at the time varied from Nine Inch Nails, Einsturzende Neubauten and Metallica to electronic music such as the Prodigy, Nitzer Ebb and early techno. This led me to develop a deep interest in ‘sound design’ and the power of ‘sounds’ ...and production as a whole.
In 1995 the act I was in called “The Next Generation” signed a deal with EMI and the first single went Top 10 in Japan and the following album went Top 20. On the back of this, I exercised the production skills I had learned by doing numerous remixes for artists including Banco De Gaia, Temple of Sound (former Trans Global Underground) and Fun<Da>Mental. I co-wrote and produced the theme music for the television series “From The Edge” for BBC2. I also produced tracks of my own and for other artists. I did the Sound Design and Programming for the Slava “Ave Maria II” album being produced by Chris Cameron (George Michael's keyboard player) for JVC Records. During this time I assisted in several studio ‘builds’ and also built my own studio from the ground up, from specifying and acquiring the equipment all the way down to soldering the wiring looms. I also service and repair my synthesizers (both analogue and digital), outboard and the mixing desk myself.
All of my own projects have involved sound design in some way shape or form – from synthesis of musical sounds and instruments to the creation of samples, loops, textures and effects.
Parliamentary Career
In 1997 I started working part-time as a Research Assistant for the former Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Alan Williams MP. Over the next 10 years I assumed greater responsibilities and in January 2007 I left behind my musical career and went full time, taking over the running of both the Westminster office in the House of Commons and the constituency office in Swansea and overseeing 2 other members of staff. By this time Mr Williams was the Father of The House (the longest serving MP in the country) which brought with it certain additional responsibilities. He was also the Honorary Secretary of the British American Parliamentary Group which regularly meets with members of the U.S House of Representatives.
My duties included handling all correspondence and casework, liaising with Government Departments including the Prime Minister’s office, the various Ministries and Committees and Groups such as the Liaison Committee and British American Parliamentary Group. I also had to deal with various Public Bodies, Private Companies and Embassies in the execution of casework. I would handle all telephone enquiries including Ministers and other Members of Parliament, Government Departments, Public Bodies, Constituents in need of help and handling television / radio / newspaper journalists and the press. I assisted in seeing the passing into Law of Mr Williams’ second Private Member’s Bill “The Emergency Services (Protection) Act”. It is very uncommon for a Private Member’s Bill to successfully pass into Law. I managed both the House of Commons office and constituency office's needs from assisting with contracts right down to stationary supplies.
Business Startup
In June 2010 I managed a business start-up, commercialising an invention I had which would have revolutionised a section of the computer / data security field. I coded a “proof of concept” prototype and took the project through business planning while a patent application was being considered. I had secured £½ million of start-up investment funding. Unfortunately I learned that I was not able to secure the patent and without its protection the project was no longer commercially viable.
Game Developer
In July 2012 I began coding a cross platform, multi-player, social game for mobile (Android and iOS). Project included interfacing with Facebook, the Google Play Store, Adverts and featured a real-time, messaging system. I have been responsible for all game design, coding, composition and sound design. The only tasks which have been outsourced are graphics / artwork. This project is nearing completion. Parallel to this I have also been working on a second, small, cross platform mobile project aimed at younger children (or more appropriately, their parents) Additionally I have been involved in the composition and sound design for some of the Asobitech "1UP" series of games - a challenge to make a game a week for a year. I have also fulfilled their audio needs for several game jams we have entered, the most recent being the EGX Rezzed 2015 where we came 3rd overall, the King Games Jam 2015 - where we won the public vote and Ludum Dare 2014. All the audio assets had to be conceptualised and completed in a very short time frame - often less than 24 hours.
Other skills and interests
Playing Guitar (27 years), Computer Games, Board Games, Music, Karate, Snowboarding, Surfing, Skateboarding, Movies, Science Fiction, Travelling, Cars / Driving (I hold car and motorcycle licenses) and a daily Gym visits.
[email protected]