Jamie Ellis

Mixer, Finisher, Producer

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2 Reviews (2 Verified)
Jamie Ellis on SoundBetter

I will do everything to help your music sound first-class with top flight mixes and (if required) additional production, greatly enhancing the emotional engagement of your audience with your songs. With 20+ years industry experience, I've worked for The 1975, Florence + The Machine, Veronica Fusaro, Plan B, Jordan Mackampa, Paul Epworth + more.

I have many years of industry experience, from playing in a signed band to assisting on sessions for major artists like Florence + The Machine. I have produced for The 1975, Jordan Mackampa, had a UK #21 album (The Rifles); 2 top 5 albums in France (Nolwenn Leroy's Gemme: gold status), Switzerland and Belgium,. I have also mixed for TV, including HBO Max/Amazon Prime's docuseries 'Curse of The Chippendales'. I have had my music used on international campaigns including Levi's and Intel.

I love making clients' music shine; be it from a mixing, production or compositional standpoint. As more artists swerve the traditional A&R/label structure and self-produce, the demand for a professional to 'finish' the tracks is higher than ever. I will make your tracks breathe, injecting them with energy and industry-level mixing with additional production and a really exciting, dynamic mix. Typical work can include working on the drums to get the best samples and spatial placement; reworking existing 808s; editing + tuning vocals (either with Melodyne or Autotune); finding better software instruments from my huge library including Native Instruments and Arturia.

My speciality is mixing your music to sound analog and expensive by using the best plugins available, including my full UAD rig and Acustica plugins, with access to an SSL Origin when required.

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Jamie Ellis
  • Callum McIntyre
  • Nolwenn Leroy
  • The Rifles
  • The 1975
  • Callum McIntyre
  • Buster Shuffle
  • Heavenstamp

2 Reviews

Endorse Jamie Ellis
  1. Review by Leon R.
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    Jamie is a world class producer. He has skills in multiple areas that for most folks don't cross over in the areas of production, engineering, instrumental skill and overall sense of what is "radio-ready." I'm so happy with this song. I have had this song kicking around for SO LONG and I know its big, I just have not found anyone who "got it" until Jamie. Jamie has the magic and is just generally a great cat to speak with. I hope to do so much more work together man!

  2. Review by Ryan G.
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    It was a pleasure working with Jamie. His communication was brilliant throughout the mixing of my project and he worked with me to make sure the vision I had for the song was just as I imagined. Alongside all of the great mixing work, Jamie was tremendously helpful at providing many pearls of wisdom - answering any and all questions I had about the whole process. Would highly recommend!

Interview with Jamie Ellis

  1. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  2. A: I think the sonic gap between the two has pretty much closed. But the workflow is very different! I love the tactility of a console and outboard, it teaches you to use your ears, not obsess over numbers and working visually. But the ease of digital, coupled with the vast sonic improvements in recent years makes that medium win over analogue, for me anyway.

  3. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  4. A: I made a record with French superstar Nolwenn Leroy. With the A&R conspicuous by their absence, I effectively A&R'ed the record and pieced together the demos (some were just voicenotes) to create a sonic world that was a British and much more programmed update on Nolwenn's traditional Celtic-folk sound. I programmed and played a lot on it with the artist only involved towards the end. It was intense but a huge learning curve. The record went gold and sold over 100,000 records in France alone.

  5. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  6. A: I am developing a young pop artist who reached out to me because of my 1975 credits. Plus I am mixing a stable of neo-soul/r'n'b artists produced/co-written by a friend of mine.

  7. Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

  8. A: Charlie Westropp, Matt Urchin and Lorenzo de Feo are all fantastic producers.

  9. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  10. A: To work with them until they are 100% happy. I don't want anyone to compromise.

  11. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  12. A: Every song/artist is unique, bringing with them a different vibe, emotion and set of challenges.

  13. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  14. A: I tend to be the one asking the questions to ensure I fully understand what they want and what they're about. The more I know about a client, the better I can tailor my work to their needs. So it's a very hard question to answer!

  15. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  16. A: That I can make something sound expensive when it's a terrible recording!

  17. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  18. A: 1. How quickly do you need this turned around? 2. Do you have reference tracks to guide me? 3. What are you looking to achieve together? 4. Can you give me some context on you and your career aspirations?

  19. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  20. A: You get out what you put in. Good communication is essential, plus ensuring you know exactly what you're looking for, especially as so much of the work on here is done remotely. If we work together, then I will really appreciate well labelled and edited stems which don't require too much fixing!

  21. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  22. A: Laptop, Neumann TLM103, UAD rig, Focal monitors and a power generator!

  23. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  24. A: I started out 20 years ago playing lead guitar in a major label band, with lots of effects pedals! I then assisted Paul Epworth on records from Florence + The Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires and others. At that point I moved over into Production, working with The 1975, Jordan Mackampa, Kawala, The Rifles, Veronica Fusaro

  25. Q: How would you describe your style?

  26. A: I'm a fan of solid low end and won't be afraid to augment the drums with well-chosen samples! As a mixer/finisher, I'm pretty hands-on. If I don't like your 808s or a synth patch I'll look to replace it with something similar but better, with the intention that the client won't notice but will just say "I love what you've done with the synths" 😂

  27. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

  28. A: Arctic Monkeys - I feel they have lost their way on recent albums, although I appreciate their thirst for trying something new. I would love to marry that sense of forward motion with the raw talent in the earlier songwriting.

  29. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  30. A: Always listen to the artist because they have the ultimate say. Get them to focus on what they want to achieve and feel emotionally (ideally without technical jargon) and then translate that information into a set of decisions. But also try never to work backwards as it's soul destroying! Finally, educate yourself on the fine points and symptoms of Demoitis!

  31. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  32. A: It changes a lot, but genres I often work on are singer/songwriter, modern r'n'b, indie rock and soul/neo-soul. But I'm honestly comfortable working in most genres as it's ALL about the song / feel.

  33. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  34. A: Hard to pick one, but I would say getting the rhythm tracks to sound exciting...they are the foundation of the house (aka the mix) after all! I also specialise in getting an analogue / console sound from plugins in the box.

  35. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  36. A: Hopefully my sense of taste from listening to almost every genre of music over the past 30 years! I will always out musicality first: the digital workflow is just a bunch of tools; it's what you do with them and how they serve the song and artistic vision that counts.

  37. Q: What's your typical work process?

  38. A: Listening to the reference/mix stems/DAW project (with a coffee) to get a sense of where I want to take the song. Because those first few decisions will set out the framework for the emotion and vibe of the finished master. Then I go into 'audio maid' mode and do any problem-solving: fixing before mixing.

  39. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  40. A: I sold all my outboard to embrace the flexibility and instant recall of ITB mixing. I adore the analogue sound of UAD and Acustica and have tons of their plugins. Focal and Avantone monitors routes from my Apollo 8; UAD Satellite; Pro Tools and Logic with over 1000 plugins and an array of unusual software libraries and literally millions of samples (although I probably use only 50 haha).

  41. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  42. A: Timbaland! His genre versatility and approach to creating the drum sounds in his head with his voice are inspiring. Johnny Marr from The Smiths for his journeyman approach to always moving forwards in his career: from 80s indie to film scoring with Hans Zimmer!

  43. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  44. A: I am a finisher/mixer. In a landscape where so many talented artists do so much themselves, my job is to take the track over the finish line with additional production (could be changing parts, redoing synths, arranging etc) and then mixing the track so it's release-ready, as well as often mastering it too.

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Veronica Fusaro, The 1975, Jordan Mackampa, Chippendales, Fushia

I was the Mixing Engineer on all, Producer on two tracks in this production

Terms Of Service

A mix will take a full working day.
Additional production/mixing can take longer.
Smaller jobs (editing, tuning) can be turned around within 24 hours typically.
I usually allow 2-3 mix revisions.

Gear Highlights
  • Full UAD setup (Apollo 8 + Octo Satellite)
  • TONS of plugins (inc Acustica)
  • Pro Tools & Logic X
  • Sonarworks Reference
  • Focal Solo 6s
  • Genelec 1031A
  • Brauner Phanthera
  • Shure Sm7b
  • 1982 Fender Concert
  • various guitars + pedals.
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