While music called to Grammy-nominated mixing engineer and producer Tiago D’Errico from a young age, it was performance rather than production that came first. “I fell in love with production after a band I was in got the chance to work on a record with Roy Thomas Baker,” he says, referring to the storied producer whose credits include records with The Rolling Stones, Queen, and Journey. “He’s a genius, and just watching him work and seeing the way he thinks about making a record was fascinating. I was asking a ton of questions throughout the process, and in a way he became my mentor.” Baker epitomized an old-school approach that D’Errico found illuminating. “Everything was cut to tape, and he was making all the decisions on input,” he recalls. Eager for more opportunities and perspectives, D’Errico landed an internship with another industry luminary who exposed him to a very different style of production from Baker: Rudy Maya.
“Rudy was Rihanna’s producer, and working with him was the complete opposite of Roy,” he says. “I got to see how he works in the digital domain to get that pop sound.” With a deep appreciation for the production styles of each of his mentors, D’Errico long sought a way to build a hybrid setup for his own studio that would allow him to bring together the digital and analog worlds. After years of searching, he finally found the centerpiece that he needed: the Flock Audio PATCH XT digitally controlled analog patchbay.
Prior to acquiring the PATCH XT, D’Errico had garnered significant industry credibility for his mix work, which became the focus of his enterprise. “For the past 8 years, 95% of what I do has been mixing only,” he says. Although he has retained a collection of prized outboard hardware throughout his career, industry changes began to impact his ability to utilize his favorite outboard in his mixes. “The speed of production was getting faster and faster in the industry, so I had to deliver mixes faster, too,” he says. “Unfortunately I started relying less on the outboard gear that I loved for years because of that. I just couldn’t have the speed and recallability that I needed. That’s why the PATCH XT blew my mind.”
Flock Audio Inc. is a pro audio manufacturer based in Kelowna, Canada, founded in 2017. The company is best known for its PATCH System Series, which is a Digitally controlled, 100% Analog Patch bay routing solution for professional audio environments. For more information on Flock Audio and its products, visit the company website at flockaudio.com.
