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We’re teaming up with some of the most esteemed producers, engineers and mixers in the game who are lifting the hood behind their biggest hits.

In the latest episode of #TheMakingOf, Bainz sat down to chat with us about his creative process by breaking down the mix of T-Shyne – ‘Fighting Demons’ (feat. Young Thug). Bainz broke down some of the workflows and techniques he brings to most of his sessions, as well as what’s unique to this track and how he approaches maximizing what is already great about the track, and how he incorporates so much analog gear into his mixes.

Huge congratulations to Bainz who was nominated for two Grammy Awards at Sunday night’s 65th Annual Awards Show.

Bainz was in contention for ‘Best Rap Performance’ for Gunna & Future ft. Young Thug’s ‘Pushin P’ and ‘Best Rock Album’ for his work on Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Mainstream Sellout’.

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TRANSCRIPT

My name is BAINZ, we’re at my studio in LA, this is my mix room and we’re going to actually jump into a song called ‘Fighting Demons’. This song has Thug and T-Shyne on it, it was actually on T-Shyne’s album.

I kind of wanted to show you guys the way I work and a couple of the workflow things that I tend to do in most of my sessions.

Alright, let’s dive in. So we’ve got the stems over here, the instrumental stems, and my vocals down here, I have my 808 over here as well, you can see the amount of like automation.

And what that is, is basically it’s to make room for the attack of the kick, the song is very 808 driven, but that kick punches through, I’m just gonna play the section so you can kind of see going into the hook a little bit. The 808 still feels really big. And I kind of tend to push those exciting things.

Let’s jump into the vocals. Because I’m using analogue gear, I have this hidden folder here called printed vocals. And it just shows you that the stuff that I ran, into is not really much it’s committing the autotune, these are multiband, clean-up things, that’s what the Dedger, is the spectral shaper does that, Soothe does that.

Let’s see what’s going on on the hook. This is a little bit of verb under there tucked in with the main vocals, I’m just gonna solo just that section.

In the mix, it doesn’t have to be too crazy, just those couple of things like I want a little more bounce over there. Because I use so much analogue gear on my mix bus and stuff like that I have the software called Session recall. And it’s just an image of my settings that I copy, every time I open up a session that a couple of things I’m using, I can recall them real quick. And this is kind of what it looks like.

So there, I have the Fearn on this makes the VT-5 boosting the highs of there. So I just go, you know, make sure that everything over there matches real quick. And this has been the biggest lifesaver.When you use so much analogue that it adds variables and that you need to take into account and just make sure that you’re on top of that.

A lot of my friends stay in the box and they do it. It helps me get to where I’m going a little faster. And it’s manageable. A lot of the things have hardware recall, and like software’s like this, like I’m not going crazy. The way I’m doing it definitely takes longer, especially when you’re printing stems, but I can hear an audible difference. And that’s enough for me.

LISTENTO just lives on my template, it’s always on, I have it on my Master Tracks. That’s the last thing if I need to check with this 808 that I’m pushing so much it’s going to sound like on a small speaker, I have it right there. And all I got to do is open this up. Lets play it from the hook. Another really cool thing I do is I don’t even need to let it stop playing. I’ve got my air pods right here

And just like that, you know it’s in the headphones. When I’m done with this, I can walk to my car, I put the air pods back on back in their case. Now I’m connected. If we were in my car be connected to my car without even thinking. You know that’s that’s what it is. It’s it’s convenience and ease and just time-saving.

When I got done with this session with T-Shyne’s vocals, I sent him a link and he was at his studio and he was you know, either making revisions or approving it or just listen to it.

You know, they want to be part of the process. There are times when I don’t want to bounce it and send it because I don’t want them to live with it. Because I’m not done yet but I can send them a link. When we got done with the song he was really happy, streamed it live and signed off on it. We just worked really well together.
“I don’t know if any of us were expecting things to shoot into the stratosphere the way that they have. I’m so so grateful to have been a part of this.” – Jesse Ray Ernster

We’re teaming up with some of the most esteemed producers, engineers and mixers in the game who are lifting the hood behind their biggest hits.

In the latest episode of #TheMakingOf we catch up with Grammy Award-winning mix engineer Jesse Ray Ernster. Jesse gives us an access-all-areas look at the mixing process for Doja’s chart-topping album ‘Planet Her’, describing it as “a game of small subtle tweaks”, embellishing and lifting the impact of the record with small, precise decisions.

Jesse was nominated for five Grammy Awards at last night’s 65th Annual Awards Show, including nominations for ‘Record of The Year’ for his work on Doja Cat’s ‘Woman’, ‘Best Global Music Album’ for ‘Love, Damini’ by Burna Boy, alongside three participation nominations for his work with both Doja Cat & Burna Boy.

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TRANSCRIPT

“So they had the beat sounding a certain way. They have stacks of vocal sounding a certain way, as well as her vocal effects. So a lot of the sound of the record that you hear now was already embedded into that when I received it. There were just a couple of opportunities to just embellish and just add impact.

It’s a game of just small subtle tweaks, the finished vocal that you hear on the masters or on the radio, if not a vocal running through 10 busses and chains of plugins. And with this effect feeding into that, no, absolutely not. It’s an EQ and a compressor, a delay and a reverb all doing very, very little.

She has a controlled delivery, an impeccable mic technique and great tone and the mixers job is to just leave it alone and don’t do too much because it doesn’t need it.

It’s so incredible to see the impact that these recordings have had on other human beings and the culture as a whole and this album and the single, it completely took off and took all of us by surprise.

I don’t know if any of us were expecting things to shoot into the stratosphere the way that they have. I’m so so grateful to have been a part of this.“
We’re teaming up with some of the most esteemed producers, engineers and mixers in the game who are lifting the hood behind their biggest hits.

In the latest episode of #TheMakingOf, Teezio give us an access-all-areas look into the process for mixing the opening track to the album’ ’Till The Wheels Fall Off’, featuring Lil Durk and Capella Grey.

The song touches upon Brown’s relationship with God and very personal challenges in his life, so it was vital Teezio matched that intimacy and depth within the mix.

Teezio takes us through his vocal chain for Chris, the importance of reductive EQing, as well as how he co-mixed the track with his collaborator and close friend, Bainz, by using Audiomovers.

Huge congratulations to Teezio who was nominated for multiple awards at last nights Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Album for his work on Chris Brown’s ‘Breezy’.

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TRANSCRIPT

I want to show you guys a mix session for a song called wheels fall off, which was the first song on the breezy album with Chris Brown. Let’s just jump right into it.

let’s start from the top mix template. As you can see, I’ve delivered this record, obviously, it’s out. So these are the deliverable prints up here. We’ve got my busing my drum buss bass bus, music bus, which sort of everything feeds, which feeds my outboard gear and comes back, we have all the drums here you can see kick, snare rim, down here, we have the 808 in the bass, which in this case, actually, it was two basses on top of each other, I had processing happening on each individual bass, and that processing started to sort of go against each other, and it kind of made the two basses not sit with each other.

So I had to make a decision to inactivate all that and create a bus for both basses to feed and sort of try to treat that as one whole bus with everything on it. That I feel like is a moment where I was put out of my comfort zone, right and I had to do something that normally wouldn’t do.

Music down here you’ll see in pink, which is pianos keys, couple of vocal chops, and then we’re getting into the vocals, these are Chris’s leads for the verse, sort of the part where he says free one and slime, which is here at the top of this verse.

So I’ll show you the EQ, which is a pro-q 3 and you can see I’m shaving off 120, I’m sort of getting all these bad frequencies and just notching them out. Some of these are pretty deep. I mean, you’ve got over a DB cuts, a lot of my E cueing is reductive I don’t, you’re not going to see me adding too much with these sort of EQs.

To make things brighter, you can just reduce low end to make things lower end-y you can just reduce high end, everything has an opposite and equal reaction.

That’s sort of my cutting process with him to cut everything down. Then I take this UAD pultec EQP-1A and I’ll do a 10k boost. And that sort of just opens up that air on his vocal. From there, I’ll limit the vocal or not limit but put it through this 1176 limiting amplifier, which is just a compressor.

After that I bring in this neutron taking away that bottom end in his vocal and allowing the clarity to shine. After that I put the limitless on there, which is a limiter which sort of pushes everything more forward into your face, which people like that sort of intimacy you can have with the vocal.

Once that happens when you push the vocal forward, you’re gonna get things that again start to come out of the vocal, which is where I re-attack and I put a soothe plugin on there.

So we’re having a good amount of reduction. But again, this is all in part of smoothing and cleaning it up. There’s that and I ended off with this C-2 Compressor which I’ll show you again, my reduction is I mean, it’s pretty, it’s a pretty high reduction. Let’s get down here to nine so we can see exactly, I’m doing five DBS of reduction, which is a lot on the compressor.

But when you hear this record again, sonically this record is very in your face, it’s very aggressive. It’s sort of a dark record. Subject-wise it’s sort of a dark record as well, in more r&b type of sound record that Chris might do, there might not be five DBS of reduction, they might be a little more dynamic.

I love mixing for what it needs. I don’t like doing some Well, that’s how I’m supposed to do it. I do it that way every time. That’s not always the case. music isn’t black and white. It’s very grey, as great as it can get.

We’re getting down to more stacks. These are hooks, there’s a choir sort of singing to the wheels fall off. It sounds like a big group of people. That’s what these vocals are.

And then we’re coming down to Durk. So when I got this record, Chris did his parts. We said let’s get Durk on it. We hit Durk. Durk gave us the verse. So that’s when I hit Bainz. And I said, Hey, Bainz, can we can you mix this with me?

So we can call mix it blah, blah here and he knew the whole subject and everything of what was going on. So I sent him the vocals. He makes it we used Audiomovers for him to play back to me. Okay, it sounds dope. Yeah, I think it sounds dope, I’ll make it sit in my mix. Cool. So he sends me back, these vocals which are mixed on his end.

So when he got to me, the vocal had to sort of adjust it and sort of take out some frequencies to get it to sit right within my whole process, I’m more or less just kind of squeezing him into the pocket rather than reducing his dynamics and sort of sitting him in, right.

So this is the last compressor This is the ChikenHead. What that is, is actually a plugin compressor that in real time, sends the audio out to the box, converts it to audio, runs it through like real compressor channel, and then re converts it back into digital all simultaneously in one.

So it’s a crazy I mean, he’s won the tech award, like three years in a row already. Like DSP is on another level. And this is on every record. It always is my finisher. It’s sort of what takes it and glues it and glues it right. It’s like something being flush, right? Like the vocal is more flush with the mix and it doesn’t sound like it’s sticking up. So that’s sort of what this compressor does. And that sort of seals everything off.

And then from there, we’re done right like the mix is done and we’re ready to send it off to the artists for approval. That’s it.
“You can do it in a plugin form, but it’s always cool to have the real thing” — Analog In The Digital

Almost every piece of hardware out there has been modelled and turned into a plugin, often many times over. But how many of us have ever used the real deal to compare?

For his #AllStarMixTrick award-winning producer and songwriter Matthew Genovese, better known as ANALOG IN THE DIGITAL (Diplo, PRETTYMUCH, Cailin Russo) offers a tip on how you can get started working outside of the box, and developing your own signature sound.

Matt has built a career sourcing and using the real analog hardware made famous by his favourite recordings on modern productions and here he shares a great place to get started.

Follow the #AllStarMixTricks hashtag for more tips and tricks from the best in the biz.

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TRANSCRIPT

“My #MixTrick, which is really more of a recording trick is recording your own echo chamber.

Most people these days when they want to reverb, they use a plugin. In 1950 they didn’t have plugins or digital reverb units of any kind.

So they would just set a speaker up in the room and just send a signal from the console out to the room and there would be a microphone in there and it would pick up the signal from the speaker reverberating around in the room and that would be your echo chamber or your reverb.

I knew that they used to do that in the 50s and I knew that I had a bathroom, so I tried it and it ended up being really good.

Mine has a pretty long decay and it’s pretty light which is nice doesn’t get too bassy it’s really good for everything drums but it’s really good on percussion or tambourines because it kind of gives it a good splash and a long tail.

You can do it in plugin form, but it’s always cool to have the real thing.”
“It took me so many years to get away from the high fidelity, crystal clean mixing mentality.” — Jesse Ray Ernster

The “less is more” approach has never been more appropriate than in our latest episode of #TilYouMakeIt with award-winning mixing engineer Jesse Ray Ernster (known for his work with Doja Cat, UMI, and Burna Boy).

To become a great mixing engineer, you want to reach the point of unconscious competence – where you’re no longer weighed down by precision but can instead take a light touch, concentrating on the creative vision you hear for the track.

Jesse’s mindset now is to “refine and optimize what they [the producer/artist] have built”, fulfilling their desire for the track.

This means opening up the client’s DAW session, keeping everything intact and working to understand what they want for the track.

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TRANSCRIPT

“I think that most producers, they don’t really want you to fuck up their song. They built the song a certain way for a reason. I just, I’m refining and optimising what they have built. Imposing less of my ego and my taste has been fulfilling more of the desires that they have been wanting.

It took me so many years to get away from the high fidelity crystal clean mixing you know, mentality. Because so many engineers have that it’s just like, Oh, I know I need to eat you it perfectly. There can’t be rubbing. There can’t be frequencies colliding with each other and oh my gosh, that would be a travesty.

No, the imperfections are, this is why they built it. So you know, I’ll get in there and optimise. But I have been just opening their Ableton session or the logic session FL and really just doing it that way, keeping everything intact, all of their plugins, definitely doing way less than before.

I think I’m getting booked a lot more now by respecting what they did.“
#WhereIWork is where we visit the sacred spaces of producers, songwriters, engineers and artists to uncover how the world’s biggest records come together.

When we recently caught up with Bainz, go-to mixer and engineer for artists such as Young Thug, Gunna and YSL, in his room at Crosby Recording Studios, we knew what we had to ask:If a fire broke out in your studio and you could only save three pieces of gear, what would you save?

Bainz’s response: the Fearn VT-5 EQ Tube equalizer which he uses on “all his mixes”, the Burl Bomber analog-to-digital converter and his Bricasti digital reverb unit, one of things that he feels sets his mixes apart.

What would be the three pieces of gear you would save?

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TRANSCRIPT

“Buildings and fire running out the door with three pieces of gear.

Right off the bat, the Fearn VT-5 EQ, it’s a tube equaliser. It’s got eight tubes in there, and it’s just an amazing sounding piece of gear. I use it on all my mixes so I’m not leaving without it.

I also really liked the Burl Bomber. It’s just something about the way it clips in the way I can push my mixes a little more. I just I’ve gotten used to working with it. And that’s one thing I feel like I’m really lacking when I’m in the box.

And third thing, maybe the Bricasti. The Bricasti is just t. It’s one of those things that sets me apart. I really like it.”
“All the big artists I’ve got to record with, came from working with him (Young Thug). So that’s how it really happened for me.” — Bainz

There’s no secret formula that will guarantee that you get your “big break” in music, but there are things you can be doing to increase your chances.

Networking and surrounding yourself with the right people is paramount, and multi-platinum recording and mix engineer Bainz (Gunna, Young Thug, YOUNG STONER LIFE RECORDS) knows this all too well.

In our latest #TilYouMakeIt episode, we hear how Bainz became a household name in the Atlanta rap scene by becoming the go-to mixer and engineer for Young Thug and his label Young Stoner Life Records.

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TRANSCRIPT

“I started working with thug. Thug is the Atlanta scene. All the big artists I’ve now gotten to record with through working with him. So that’s that’s really how it happened for me.

It’s actually crazy. I’d never been to Atlanta before working with Thug. I only started going there a few years into my time working with them.
And when I went there, everyone was so friendly and so welcoming, and everyone knew who I was just off of working with them.

And I was like, Oh, I like this. I’m kind of low-key famous here. I like this because like, there’s just this crazy like, community over there. And everyone is just so friendly and everyone works and everyone’s in the studio.

With people playing games, playing playstation, people recording in one room, you know, after a certain point, it just feels like you’re with family and you’re hanging out and you’re working towards the same collective goal.”
“They’re blown away that this technology exists.” — Matthew Genovese.

Audiomovers epitomizes what producer/songwriter Matthew Genovese is all about — “analog in the digital”, as it allows him to stream all his analog gear, digitally, to anywhere in the world.

Client and A&R feedback are received and incorporated in real-time on a call, meaning everyone involved in the record is on the same page, even if they are on different continents.

When Matthew first came across Audiomovers by word of mouth from fellow producers and mixing engineers, he quickly realized how much time it would save him.

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TRANSCRIPT

“It’s still at a point where some people don’t know about it. And when I bring it up, they’re like blown away that this technology exists.

Audiomovers is a definition of analogue and digital because I can stream all my analogue gear digitally to somebody overseas.

I feel like I heard about it through other producers and mixing engineers using it. And I just realised how much time it would save me.

It’s also widely used with A&R’s, Record Labels and Publishing companies because everybody can listen at the same time across the world.
So I can have the artist at home and the publisher at their office.

And we can all be listened to the same stream at the same time, all on a video call giving feedback to one another and we’re all on the same page.

Sometimes, a client will hear some sort of noise or something very specific.

There was like a digital pop in a song I was working on once and so I was able to just come in here and solo things until we’ve pinpointed exactly what it is and I can fix it.

It was just something that I would have never been able to do without Audiomovers.”
“You can’t fake that!” – Matthew Genovese (Analog in the Digital)

#TheMakingOf is where producers, engineers and mixers lift the hood on their biggest hits, taking us behind the stems within the original sessions. Up next – Writer, Producer, Mixer and collaborator extraordinaire Matthew Genovese.

Introducing Former Blondes: the passion project shared by Genovese and Kiki Halliday, a songwriter and artist based out of Nashville. In this instalment of #TheMakingOf, we explore how upcoming single ‘Pretty Little Thing’ came to be, taking a tour of Matt Genovese’s makeshift echo chamber in the process.

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Timecodes:

Intro: 0:00

Exploring Matt’s Reverb Chamber: 0:35

Microphones used: 1:23

Spring Reverb on Vocals: 2:39

Making mix revisions remotely: 3:42

Using LISTENTO with clients: 4:27
Leadership, confidence, understanding, and most importantly, musical talent, are all must-have qualities for a producer.

But what is the *most* important thing FOR a record producer to be able to do?

According to !llmind (Drake, Jay Z, Beyoncé), “fulfilling the vision for the artist as best as possible, while contributing my creative energy into the project where it’s appropriate”.

In this episode of #TilYouMakeIt, the renowned producer, songwriter, and educator explains that it’s his role is to help the artist realize their full potential, and in turn, create something that thousands of people will sing along to.

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Full Transcript:

“If I’m a producer and I’m producing one song, that might be, you know, one little portion of it. But when you’re overseeing an album you get to really paint with all the colors.

As a music producer, I’m mindful of my job. My job is fulfilling the vision for the artist as best as possible while contributing my creative energy into the project where it’s appropriate and to create something that we know could hopefully go crazy when you perform it.

Right like? Like if this is something you can sing or rap to 10,00, 20, 30, 50,000 people and everyone signs along to it. Then like, I helped do my job. That’s always going to be the goal for me.