My name is Erik (Tarekith to most people), and I run Inner Portal Studio, a Seattle studio focused on provide mastering and mixdowns for electronic musicians around the world. In addition to over 13 years of experience working with other producers to help them master and mix their own productions, I have been involved in many different areas of the electronic music scene over the last 20 years, including:
- Beta-testing for some of the largest musical instrument manufacturers in the world, including Audiofile Engineering, Access, E-mu, Ableton, Presonus, and Roland.
- Performing my own music live and DJing frequently, from small bars and art galleries, to Chicago super-clubs and large outdoor festivals. I was once picked as a Shure “Future Sound Of Chicago” DJ, and have had numerous mixes and live shows featured on some of the most popular online radio stations like Frisky Radio.
- Writing and releasing my own music, first on international labels like Ritmic, Virus B-23, and Working Beats, and now as an independent producer on Addictech.com, iTunes, Amazon, etc.
- Writing music for major television advertising campaigns, for companies like General Mills.
- Being a part of one of the largest production companies in the Midwestern United States at one time, putting on everything from small local club nights, to large 3000+ person underground parties.
- Spending two years as one of the live sound engineers for the Decibel Festival in Seattle.
All of this experience helps me not only create masters that translate on a wide variety of sound systems, but also enables me to understand exactly how important every song that I work on is. Not only from the perspective of the musician who created it, but also from the perspective of the club owner, the commuting car listener, the party-goer, the live sound techs, and the DJs who ultimately will buy and play this music for others.
My goal in mastering is simple, I want to correct any mistakes an artist may not have been aware of in their recordings, in the most transparent way possible. It’s your song, not mine, so I make sure that every track I work on retains the feeling and sonic signature unique to that artist. To this end, I focus exclusively on using the best tools available from the following manufacturers:
