Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Milchev.
Ben, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was still a kid, to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I used to answer with “pilot!” because I wanted to travel the world. Then, I grew a little and I was playing basketball almost everyday, so I wanted to play in the NBA. And then, life kinda sneaked in and I started getting into web design and programming and mechanical engineering and fashion and you name it: I was intrigued and interested to learn about it all. However, alongside all of those phases in interest, the only constant in my life was music.
I was born and raised in Skopje, Macedonia. I started my formal music education when I was about seven years old, I was classically trained in piano, and I hated music because of it. Little did I know, that by the time I got to high-school, I’d be playing the bass guitar in three different bands, one of which a cover band and two alt-rock bands which were a part of the underground scene back then. We played gigs all over town, some festivals out of the country and we were pretty popular among our peers, but we wanted some good quality recordings of our music and we wanted to do it ourselves, so life sneaked in again and it led me to a music production and sound engineering degree at Berklee College of Music. During my time at Berklee, I was surrounded by music 24/7, and I was fortunate to be mentored by Susan Rogers (Prince’s engineer) and Sean Slade (Radiohead producer) among other incredible mentors who selflessly poured fuel onto my passion for music. Three years later, I’d seen most of what Boston had to offer in terms of music, so I decided to move to LA.
I landed in LA with seven huge bags of gear and personal items and no one to call. I had already decided on what and where I wanted to work, so I sent an e-mail to Larrabee Studios and got an entry-level gig there a week later. I wanted to learn how to mix songs like the pros and with Manny Marroquin in one room and Jaycen Joshua next door, I knew that was the place I needed to be. I worked there for about six months before I was given the opportunity to start assisting in recording sessions with Jessie J, Kid Ink, Kuk Harell, Mixed By Ali and many others. It wasn’t long before a spot opened up on Jaycen Joshua’s team and I was hand-picked to join. During my time with Jaycen, I got to work on records for artists like The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, G Eazy, Ella Mai, Nicki Minaj, Rosalia, Ty $ and many many others.
Today, I work as a freelance mixing and recording engineer, and I’ve also just started my own music production company focusing on writing songs and artist development.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s definitely been a bumpy road, although I feel like I’ve managed to overcome most obstacles fairly well. The biggest struggle I’d say is that all of my family lives back home and often times I miss their presence around me, but also, the fact that I am an international person living in LA adds an extra layer of hoops and hurdles to jump through. Even though, in my opinion, the prices for one to live in this city are set very high, I think there’s no other place I’d rather be when it comes to being fulfilled and supported creatively. Besides, if it were easy, everyone would be successful (whatever successful means).
Please tell us about your work.
I work as a sound engineer and a music producer. I specialize in vocal production and I help artists express themselves creatively and musically. I focus to stay true to who they are as an artist, what they want to achieve and say with their music while at the same time remain accessible and relatable to as many people as possible. I work with artists and songwriters alike (often they are the same person) and I take their vision and idea and I do my best to mold it into a top-notch and fun product.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, I don’t think I would change all too much because I’m happy with what I’ve achieved so far and I think that I am headed in the right direction. Of course, looking back there are certain moments that could’ve gone smoother had I had more experience, but that’s just a part of the process in my opinion. The only thing I would do more of is to actively play music with people and try to learn to play as many musical instruments as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://benjimakesmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjimakesmusic/
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