Mixing and Mastering

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

A: I am especially proud to have mixed and mastered the two latest EPs of "Da Yawn" music project. One is named "Pralaya," and the second one is set to be released at the end of fall 2023. Da Yawn is a music producer who blends his vast experience in classic Indian music and modern electronic genres to create complex arrangements. He combines traditional Indian instruments played live with samples and synths. In addition, we have the amazing vocals of Prateek Narshimha and percussion performed by Zuheb Ahmed Khan, who are among the best Indian musicians I know. As a result, we have complex and amazing songs that are very challenging to mix. However, after dozens of iterations, we often reach a point where there is nothing left to polish.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently, I mix singles and EPs for my clients and am looking to gain more recognition through SoundBetter. In my free time, I write scripts and produce videos about the Native Instruments Maschine and Komplete ecosystem for my YouTube channel.

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

A: Mazel Tov is an amazing hip-hop music producer. We worked together for several years at my studio before we had to leave our homeland and settle down in different countries. I highly recommend him: https://soundbetter.com/profiles/249737-mazel-tov

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: In my music production journey, I never followed the trend of worshipping analog equipment. Instead, I focused on learning about mixing in the box, Universal Audio's emulations, and other modern techniques. My approach was to understand what analog gear does to sound, how it alters it from a physics and acoustic perspective. I realized that analog equipment is essentially a form of saturation, non-linear processing, and transient management. With this knowledge, I concluded that I can emulate its effects without having to buy it. Rather than having a "gear-oriented" mindset, I shifted to a "what sound do I want to achieve" thinking. This approach has made me happy with the results I am able to produce.

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

A: My promise is to do everything I can to create the best possible version of their song. I will highlight the best parts of the production, hide any unpleasant parts of the source records, and make their song ready for publishing with pride and confidence. I promise to listen, to hear, and to treat your track as my own song.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I enjoy working with people who are more talented musicians than me. When I mix music that I sincerely like, it feels like a dream job. Blending their musical production talent with my mixing skills often results in amazing outcomes that would be impossible to achieve separately.

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

A: Typically, I am the one who asks questions about source files, deadlines, and reference tracks. Some specific questions I receive are "Can we make a voice sound deeper?", "Can we emphasize a specific part of this instrument between 43 and 45 seconds?", "Can we make the sub-bass a bit softer?", and so on. My answer is almost always "yes, we can", unless I have intentionally made specific decisions. In that case, I explain my vision and we discuss it again. Ultimately, the client decides. I cannot recall any standard repetitive questions; usually, the questions are just reviews.

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

A: A mixing engineer's job is to make a poorly produced track sound good, or turn a well-produced track into something amazing. However, the mixing engineer's role does not involve finishing the production or adding the "final touch" to it. All the creative effects and unusual features in the song should be invented by the music producer. If these features are impossible to create during the production stage, they should be explained to the mixing engineer. Sometimes, I voluntarily add production features during mixing, but it should not be expected in every mix. It's important to note that bad source material will always be bad source material. While I am capable of advanced audio restoration techniques, even "magic" has its limits.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: - Is your production really final? - How many days do we have? - How far can we stray from the sound of your demo while mixing? - Should we maintain your own style or emulate a reference track? - Can I choose the reverbs and delays for your track myself? - Do you need mastering? - Are you aware of my refund policy?

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

A: Please make sure that you have completed your music production before moving on to the mixing stage of the process. Mixing can improve the sound of your song, but it is not intended to add new production features unless you pay for them separately.

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

A: My M1 MacBook with all libraries pre-installed, iLoud MTM studio monitors, Apollo Twin audio interface, Ableton Push and my Electric guitar.

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

A: I started making electronic music using Cubase SX 3 in 2009 when I was 18. In 2012, I became interested in mixing and started taking personal lessons from my first teacher, who was also a friend. Over the next ten years, I read specialized literature, took online classes, and communicated with dozens of music producers at my own studio, which I ran from 2017 to 2022 before leaving my country to find a new home. In the last decade, I have released nearly 20 albums, EPs, and singles as the artist Tamko. I have worked with many amazing vocalists and musicians, recorded singers at my studio, created video voiceovers, and designed sound. I am so passionate about mixing and music production that I have my own educational YouTube channel and regularly review DAWs and plugins. My lessons on Native Instruments Maschine have the most views in this topic in my native language, which is not English.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Gentle, careful and caring.

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

A: I dream of working with Ramsey since she creates the kind of music I like and aspire to create myself. I believe that we could make an amazing team, especially since she's not yet so popular as to be completely unreachable. I would also be thrilled to create at least one arrangement for Sevdaliza and Stormzy.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The teacher of my teacher once said, "During the mixing process, there will always be a point where further actions will not have an impact on the artist's popularity. Stop there.” I always follow that rule and advocate this idea to my clients. This is very important because it saves time and money for all parties involved, and as mentioned earlier, it does not affect the artist's popularity.

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

A: As a mixer, I usually work with instrumental electronic music, world music, indie pop, and modern rap. As a music producer, I mostly create chillout, downtempo, and experimental electronic music, with or without vocals. Of course, I can easily blend my mixing and producing experiences.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is not giving up on complex mixes. Sometimes customers feel that something is not right, but they can't explain it with technical terms. I always make changes to the mixes until we find "that one" sound. My second strongest skill is actually the opposite: my ability to stop. Check out the question "one music production tip" to learn more about it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Lots of compression and saturation...just kidding. From a technical standpoint, I always bring clarity and audibility to each instrument and the overall mix. From an emotional standpoint, I bring a sense of a "finished", "polished", and "ready-to-release" song. When working with customers who have their own strong vision, I bring my ability to listen, which helps me convert their emotional ideas into my technical knowledge. When working with clients who trust my style, I bring my 14 years of music-making experience to become a part of the production and act as a co-writer. Sometimes, while mixing, I add small features to the production that clients often enjoy.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I always ask clients to send me a multitrack without delays and reverbs applied. If those effects are important for the project, I may ask for screenshots or presets of the plugins used. For Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, and Native Instruments Maschine, I may also request the source project. After that, I ask for a final demo of how the client envisions their project and at least one relevant reference track. Then, we typically have two choices: some clients want their mix to sound exactly like the reference track, while others prefer to stick to their own demo. My goal is to understand which type of customer I'm working with. Next, I try to find out if my client knows my mixing style and completely trusts my taste, or if they want me to be more of a "hands-on" assistant to finish their own vision. I can fulfill either role, but it's important to establish this from the beginning.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I've gone through complicated setups with Apollo 8, several pairs of studio monitors, the Sonarworks audio calibration system, and many other overly complicated things. But after years of experimenting, I've settled on just one pair of calibrated iLoud MTM speakers, astonishingly flat Shure SRH1840 headphones, and an Apollo Twin X Quad. And I'm happy with that. I know my system, know my sound, and I've found that less is more. I also use Ableton Push and few different midi-keyboards for production.

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

A: Whenever I check out new audio systems, headphones, or visit a new studio, I start by listening to a few songs from Submotion Orchestra's "Kites" album. It's an absolute masterpiece of mixing and mastering. Then, I switch to a few songs by Infected Mushroom and Exotic Animal Petting Zoo. After these tests, I usually start to understand my environment. Speaking of music inspiration, I adore Massive Attack, U.N.K.L.E., Phaeleh, IAMX, and Plan B. In the hard music genres, In Flames, System of A Down, and All Shall Perish are my everything. My favorite classic artist is Sting. To mention a few young names, Sevdaliza, Stormzy, and Ramsey are great.

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

A: As someone who collaborates with indie musicians, I often receive vocal files recorded in less than ideal conditions. Even vocals recorded in professional studios can have unique nuances that require special attention. My main task is to work with challenging vocals, making them sound professional and rich without losing any of their unique character. The second most common type of work I do is mixing complex arrangements, where many instruments can mask each other. I always try to make each one as audible as possible.