James Keeley on SoundBetter

I started out as a musician and grew to have a passion for the creation process whether it's writing, recording, or mixing. Coming from a musical background and playing in bands I understand how it feels to hear your music come to life after a recording or mixing session. I want the people I work with to feel that same sense of accomplishment.

James Keeley ("Jimmy") grew up in Hollis, NH playing in bands as a guitarist and songwriter during his high school & college years. He graduated from UMass Lowell in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Sound Recording Technology. He then moved to Los Angeles to work as a Runner at The Record Plant where he would become an Assistant Engineer a year later. After gaining several years of experience as an engineer at The Record Plant James has been credited with working on multiple platinum and gold records by artists like Khalid, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Kane Brown, & Justin Bieber. James is also known for producing & co-writing music for various independent & small label artists. He has garnered placements in film and TV with "Strangers" by Carr, which was featured in an episode of The Bold Type, and "Shampoo" by Carr, which was featured in the movie After Ever Happy. James was also a finalist for the Folk category in the 2023 John Lennon songwriting contest for his song "Brightest Ghost."

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Credits

Discogs verified credits for James Keeley (2)

Mariah Carey, Khalid (16), Kirk Franklin
Kane Brown
Justin Bieber
Foals
Various

2 Reviews

Endorse James Keeley

by Britt Iwaasa
Verified
James Keeley IV has been incredible to work with. I am so happy with our finished product and can't wait to start work on the next. James was so attentive to every detail, really understood what I wanted, and worked on my song with the same intent that I did. Perfect experience.
by Chazz Rogers
Jimmy Keeley simultaneously maintains a patience necessary for getting and adjusting a good performance, and an efficiency that swiftly processes an artist’s requests and returns meaningful revisions. As someone fairly new to tracking and mixing just from a musician’s standpoint, I could not have asked for better understanding during the recording process. My critiques and concerns never fell on deaf ears. Jimmy was very obliging in educating me on the steps he was taking along the way, as well as any random question about production I threw at him.

Interview with James Keeley

Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: As a musician and producer I tend to have more musical mixes than some engineers. I have a good sense of what instruments should be highlighted and I mix to support the production and songwriting while still achieving a full and clear mix.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Once I have the latest reference of the track and all the stems needed to mix I'll check all the files to make sure the files match the reference and then I'll ask about the direction the artist wants the song to go in during the mix process. This could include sharing references by other artists or simply discussing the important elements of the track.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a hybrid mix setup with an Apogee Ensemble as my interface, I'll run sounds through guitar pedals or my LA-2A or Purple MC77.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Scotty Desmarais. Great person, great engineer, and has tons of experience.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. There are certain things you can't capture in the digital domain, but the flexibility of a digital setup allows work to get done faster, allows for fast mix revisions, and consistency
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise you'll be happy with your final product no matter how long it takes to get there.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love the process and the reactions I get from clients when they really enjoy a mix or get surprised by a weird mix decision I made and end up loving it.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: A big misconception with mixing is that it is simply a technical job, but in reality it is both extremely technical and extremely creative when done professionally.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Who are some of your biggest musical influences? What's your favorite album or song? What music do you like that's come out recently? What do you know about mixing? How do you record your music?
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: In terms of mixing I'm inspired a lot by Manny Marroquin, Ryan Hewitt, Tom and Chris Lord-Alge, who have mixed some of my favorite sounding albums from the early 2000's when I started really getting into music.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I mostly work with artists as a mix engineer and producer offering creative feedback, and ultimately mixing their songs until they're completely satisfied. On occasion I have been asked to play or add additional instruments to productions to enhance the music after the initial recording.