recording ~ editing ~ mixing ~ mastering

Listen Now

recording ~ editing ~ mixing ~ mastering

Listen Now

about

Darrenizer. aka Darren van Niekerk.

Mix Engineer, Recording Engineer, Producer.

Guitar Player, Singer, Shaker/Tamborizer.

Dad.

I am an engineer, producer, musician operating from the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Owner/engineer here at Iron Tulip Audio Production Services and Senior Engineer at The Sonic Temple Recording Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My love for the process of capturing, creating and molding music in it’s many forms and my itch for the chaos than can reside within it keeps me going.

Digital Game

Mixing is my bread and butter these days. I created Iron Tulip Audio in 2016 to allow me to continue my career in a scaled back form that would balance better with transition to stay-at-home Dad. Mixing mostly in-the-box lets me maneuver around my home schedule while still being able to deliver quality mixes to my clients. A small collection of analogue goodies lets me bridge the gap, especially when I feel the need to push the envelope a bit with compression or dirt.

Analogue Rules

While light tracking/overdubbing capabilities will be made available in the near future (with Covid's cooperation), much of my recording work has and will continue to take place here @The Sonic Temple in Halifax, NS. Since 2003 I've built my career in this facility. My deep respect for human interaction in a purpose-built facility with classic analogue equipment was nurtured here, and continues as my compass whether I'm here, home or abroad.

SERVICES

~ mixing ~

Mixing is the main menu item here, and is mostly done in-the-box in Pro Tools 12 with various analogue bits and bobs to embellish here and there. Recalls are achieved digitally so revisions are generally unlimited, within reason of course. Check the credits below or jump to the Listen section. If you like what you hear, contact me and we can chat about what I can bring to your next project.

~ mastering ~

Mastering of your tracks with ITA is facilitated largely via partnership with Noah Mintz @ The Lacquer Channel in Toronto, Ontario. Through my years at The Sonic Temple I grew to trust his judgement and greatly value his input on so much of my work, it seemed a natural fit. Lower-budget projects may be facilitated in-house by myself, should the need present itself while we discuss your project.

~ editing ~

While I try to make a point of leaving things as real as possible, we still have the tools to fix what needs fixing. There's also an argument for style, and if that's what you're looking for then I have the means to provide. Time correction within Pro Tools, pitch correction facilitated via Celemony Melodyne, snugging up vocal layers, drum samples with Slate Trigger and so on. I pride myself in making things feel as tight as necessary while making sure the listener has no idea I was there.

~ recording ~

I am able to directly facilitate booking at The Sonic Temple in Halifax, NS as engineer for your session. Small remote recordings can be ventured into as well (currently unavailable pending full release of Covid restrictions and pending vaccinations). Plans are underway to provide small recording capabilities here at ITA headquarters, so stay tuned!

recording ~ editing ~ mixing ~ mastering

recording ~ editing ~ mixing ~ mastering

about

Darrenizer. aka Darren van Niekerk.

Digital Game

Analogue Rules

SERVICES

~ mixing ~

~ mastering ~

~ editing ~

~ recording ~

discography

Social