Clean Up in Aisle #5
I just wet my pants. OK, maybe not. but if pants wetting wasn't so messy and gross and socially unacceptable, I would have just done it as a matter of principle. There are moments over a long career (14 years so far doing major label work), when you know your working on something very special. Now, I know what your thinking "isn't every project special Ken???" Well, yes, but there are those few extra super special career moments. Tonight i started a mix that is one of them. Big artist, probably gonna be a big single. Great song. Pop record with all live instruments, drums, bass, tons of guitars, and the London Symphony Orchestra!!! God you gotta hear these strings by themselves. This is a career moment.
Lets take a stroll down memory lane of a few previous "career moments". In no particular order of importance, not even cronological order, just stream of conciousness order......
- The first major label song i ever worked on that got released. Color Me Badd "Time and Chance"
- First Platinum Record "The Jason's Lyric Soundtrack", also a #1 album
- Engineering for Butch Vig when he produced the Soul Asylum "Let Your Dim Light Shine" album. He had, at the time, recently produced Smashing Punpkins "Siamese Dream" and Nirvana's "Nevermind" albums and was arguably one of the biggest producers alive. I did two and a half weeks of engineering on that album. Andy Wallace mixed it, and i got to sit in occasionally and watch Andy mix. Both Butch and Andy are two of the coolest guys I've ever worked with in the music industry.
- Mary J Blige "Share My World" album. I recorded and mixed "Seven Days". The first time i heard Malik Pendelton sing a reference vocal to the song i knew i would be a big hit. I could not believe my ears. It became even sweeter when George Benson came in to play guitar on it. he might be the only person I've ever recorded that I was completely awestruck. That man breathes music more effortlessly than air. Working with Mary J for the first of very many times in my career was no small event either. And the album went on to chart #1, sell triple platinum, and catch a Grammy nomination. My first of 13. "Seven Days" was a pretty major hit as well.
- "Black Butterfly". You've never heard the version i mixed. The world was cruely robbed of it thru record company politics. Remember the "Belly" soundtrack? The single was SUPPOSED to be a cover of "Black Butterfly" performed by Mary J, Kelly Price, and Tyrell Hicks. J Dub produced it, and it had live drums, live bass, guitar, keys, a full orchestra, and a full choir. It was one of the most amazing songs I've ever gotten to mix, and competing record company politics kept it from being released. what a shame.
- Recording and mixing an album for David Byrne of the Talking Heads. and i got to play on a couple songs. When people ask me "whats your favorite project you've ever worked on?" That record might be the winner.
- I've gone head to head with some of the biggest mixers in the industry. times when they mixed the same song i did, and the record company had to choose which mix to use. I've won a few, I've lost a few. I am definitely not saying for a moment I'm better than these guys, but as the saying goes, on any given Sunday, anyone can win. My mixes have beaten Tom Lord Alge, Chris Lord Alge, Mick Guzowski, Manny Marroquin, and Brian Malouf to name a few. These guys are truly some of my favorite mixers in the world, and overall I'd say all of them are probably better than me, but not on those days. In all fairness, I've certainly lost a few mixes too. Some you win, some you lose. I try hard to win them all though.
- 8 Grammy nominations in one year (2005 Grammy's), including 2 of the 5 Album of the Year nominations. I won two of the 8 nominations, but not record of the year. F'n Ray Charles. I was robbed. it hurt. I'm not over it :-)
- Plenty of artists I've worked with that i definitely knew would be career credits. Tonight is one of them, if i can nail the mix. I have a feeling i might be going up against one of the aforementioned mixers. Some others that i was doing backflips when i got the calls were Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Soul Asylum, Usher, Aretha Franklin. Man that list could go on. I so love what i do, and i so love having the privledge to make my living with music. I still get very excited over landing projects, big and small. You might be surprised. OK, my ears are now well rested. Back to my mix!!!
-Ken
Lets take a stroll down memory lane of a few previous "career moments". In no particular order of importance, not even cronological order, just stream of conciousness order......
- The first major label song i ever worked on that got released. Color Me Badd "Time and Chance"
- First Platinum Record "The Jason's Lyric Soundtrack", also a #1 album
- Engineering for Butch Vig when he produced the Soul Asylum "Let Your Dim Light Shine" album. He had, at the time, recently produced Smashing Punpkins "Siamese Dream" and Nirvana's "Nevermind" albums and was arguably one of the biggest producers alive. I did two and a half weeks of engineering on that album. Andy Wallace mixed it, and i got to sit in occasionally and watch Andy mix. Both Butch and Andy are two of the coolest guys I've ever worked with in the music industry.
- Mary J Blige "Share My World" album. I recorded and mixed "Seven Days". The first time i heard Malik Pendelton sing a reference vocal to the song i knew i would be a big hit. I could not believe my ears. It became even sweeter when George Benson came in to play guitar on it. he might be the only person I've ever recorded that I was completely awestruck. That man breathes music more effortlessly than air. Working with Mary J for the first of very many times in my career was no small event either. And the album went on to chart #1, sell triple platinum, and catch a Grammy nomination. My first of 13. "Seven Days" was a pretty major hit as well.
- "Black Butterfly". You've never heard the version i mixed. The world was cruely robbed of it thru record company politics. Remember the "Belly" soundtrack? The single was SUPPOSED to be a cover of "Black Butterfly" performed by Mary J, Kelly Price, and Tyrell Hicks. J Dub produced it, and it had live drums, live bass, guitar, keys, a full orchestra, and a full choir. It was one of the most amazing songs I've ever gotten to mix, and competing record company politics kept it from being released. what a shame.
- Recording and mixing an album for David Byrne of the Talking Heads. and i got to play on a couple songs. When people ask me "whats your favorite project you've ever worked on?" That record might be the winner.
- I've gone head to head with some of the biggest mixers in the industry. times when they mixed the same song i did, and the record company had to choose which mix to use. I've won a few, I've lost a few. I am definitely not saying for a moment I'm better than these guys, but as the saying goes, on any given Sunday, anyone can win. My mixes have beaten Tom Lord Alge, Chris Lord Alge, Mick Guzowski, Manny Marroquin, and Brian Malouf to name a few. These guys are truly some of my favorite mixers in the world, and overall I'd say all of them are probably better than me, but not on those days. In all fairness, I've certainly lost a few mixes too. Some you win, some you lose. I try hard to win them all though.
- 8 Grammy nominations in one year (2005 Grammy's), including 2 of the 5 Album of the Year nominations. I won two of the 8 nominations, but not record of the year. F'n Ray Charles. I was robbed. it hurt. I'm not over it :-)
- Plenty of artists I've worked with that i definitely knew would be career credits. Tonight is one of them, if i can nail the mix. I have a feeling i might be going up against one of the aforementioned mixers. Some others that i was doing backflips when i got the calls were Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Soul Asylum, Usher, Aretha Franklin. Man that list could go on. I so love what i do, and i so love having the privledge to make my living with music. I still get very excited over landing projects, big and small. You might be surprised. OK, my ears are now well rested. Back to my mix!!!
-Ken
posted by Protools Mixing at 3:58 AM
2 Comments:
Je ne comprend rien du tout, mais j'ai pas beaucoup cherché. La traduction et moi..:p Pourquoi c'est pas ecrit en francais. Moi, j'adore la musique surtout mixé, j'en compose parfois grace a de vieux logiciels. Et j'aimerais savoir ou l'on peut trouver de véritable logiciel de pro pour mixé. J'arrive quand même a donné un bon son, mais j'avoue que de temps en temps j'ai du mal et ca prend du temps. Mais bon...
Cha yé, j'ai m'blogg a MI pour ca.
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