Auld Lang Syne - 2005 Recap
Another amazing year is about to pass, and my eyes and thoughts are looking ahead now to 2006 with all the excitement of Christmas morning.
2005 was a building year for me. Yes, with as far along in my career as i am, I am no where near as far as i will go. I spent alot of this year building my pop and rock mixing clientel. Urban mixing is typically what I'm known for, and I love mixing hip hop, but about half of my time is spent working on pop and rock, and I love those genre's too. Some pop artists I've gotten to mix for this year are Jeannie Ortega, Nick lachey, O.A.R., Jason Mraz, Samantha Jade, Jeannie B, JC Chasez, and I even mixed a Christmas song for the Cheetah Girls. 2006 will see much more pop mixing.
2005 has also been a production laden year. E-dro has been the main focus, and will wrap up soon in January. Small Town Sleeper has seen some great opportunities this year and will hopefully have a label release out in 2006. Its been a long road, with alot more pavement in front of us, but Small Town Sleeper has the talent to go all the way, keep an eye out.
Grammy's were a big part of 2005. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, i was nominated by name for 2 of the 5 "Album of the Year" nominations, (Usher & Kanye West), but the award went to Ray Charles. ugh. I did win Grammy's in 2 other categories, not a bad year at all. The 2006 nominations just came out and i caught 7 nominations this year. (4 with Kanye, 1 with Common, 2 with CeCe Winans). My role on the Kanye album was small, but i was on there. I'll take my nominations with a smile. CeCe Winans is probably the most rewarding. I've worked on 8 Grammy Nominated and winning albums out of my own studio, but this year was the first time a single that I mixed out of my own studio got a Grammy Nomination (CeCe Winans "Pray"). That feels like a landmark.
2005 saw a TON of equipment upgrades at the studio. I now have three rooms. 2 for programming and production, and my main room for mixing. I did a full HD Accel 4 upgrade this year, with more plugins than anyone should be allowed to own. All three systems run Logic and Pro Tools, and i invested heavily in sounds and virtual synth's this year as well. My most recent upgrade is the SPL Mix Dream, and analog summing box for digital mixing, and I've got a Lexicon 960 on long term loan, as well as my old EMT 140 plate. One of the most important "equipment" upgrades has been in staff. I have the best staff in the world, bar none.
2005 saw LOTS of travel. London 3 times, Italy twice, and the Cayman Islands, Los Angeles, and several other US destinations. Most was work related, but i did take some time to enjoy the year. 2006 looks like another big travel year as well, though I dont yet know where I'll take a vacation. Thinking about Estonia, Poland, and Russia, but who knows.
It was another good year for album releases. The Game, Kanye West, CeCe Winans, Common, Cassidy, Memphis Bleek, Rhymefest, and Cheetah Girls to name a few. I'm sure 2006 will be another rewarding year. Speaking of rewards, my alma mater, Berklee College of Music, chose me as their "Distinguished Alumni of the Year" this year, geeez, talk about an honor. So many talented people have attended that school, its a little unreal to be singled out.
I've now got to prepare for my New Years eve, and I'll continue to reflect on how lucky I am to have the career I do, how fortunate I am to have the team of people i have surrounding me. I have an incredible manager, great staff, a deeply talented pool of songwriters and beatmakers to collaborate with, and last but not least a wonderful client list spanning 6 continents.
In 2005, I mixed for clients from South Africa, Columbia, Germany, France, England, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Isreal, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. I know i'm forgetting someone, sorry about that!! What a great year.
I'll be thoughfully considering what my new years resolutions are and i'll probably post some of them soon. I hope all of you across the world have a very Happy New Year, and I wish all of you a very successful and musical 2006!
-Ken Lewis
2005 was a building year for me. Yes, with as far along in my career as i am, I am no where near as far as i will go. I spent alot of this year building my pop and rock mixing clientel. Urban mixing is typically what I'm known for, and I love mixing hip hop, but about half of my time is spent working on pop and rock, and I love those genre's too. Some pop artists I've gotten to mix for this year are Jeannie Ortega, Nick lachey, O.A.R., Jason Mraz, Samantha Jade, Jeannie B, JC Chasez, and I even mixed a Christmas song for the Cheetah Girls. 2006 will see much more pop mixing.
2005 has also been a production laden year. E-dro has been the main focus, and will wrap up soon in January. Small Town Sleeper has seen some great opportunities this year and will hopefully have a label release out in 2006. Its been a long road, with alot more pavement in front of us, but Small Town Sleeper has the talent to go all the way, keep an eye out.
Grammy's were a big part of 2005. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, i was nominated by name for 2 of the 5 "Album of the Year" nominations, (Usher & Kanye West), but the award went to Ray Charles. ugh. I did win Grammy's in 2 other categories, not a bad year at all. The 2006 nominations just came out and i caught 7 nominations this year. (4 with Kanye, 1 with Common, 2 with CeCe Winans). My role on the Kanye album was small, but i was on there. I'll take my nominations with a smile. CeCe Winans is probably the most rewarding. I've worked on 8 Grammy Nominated and winning albums out of my own studio, but this year was the first time a single that I mixed out of my own studio got a Grammy Nomination (CeCe Winans "Pray"). That feels like a landmark.
2005 saw a TON of equipment upgrades at the studio. I now have three rooms. 2 for programming and production, and my main room for mixing. I did a full HD Accel 4 upgrade this year, with more plugins than anyone should be allowed to own. All three systems run Logic and Pro Tools, and i invested heavily in sounds and virtual synth's this year as well. My most recent upgrade is the SPL Mix Dream, and analog summing box for digital mixing, and I've got a Lexicon 960 on long term loan, as well as my old EMT 140 plate. One of the most important "equipment" upgrades has been in staff. I have the best staff in the world, bar none.
2005 saw LOTS of travel. London 3 times, Italy twice, and the Cayman Islands, Los Angeles, and several other US destinations. Most was work related, but i did take some time to enjoy the year. 2006 looks like another big travel year as well, though I dont yet know where I'll take a vacation. Thinking about Estonia, Poland, and Russia, but who knows.
It was another good year for album releases. The Game, Kanye West, CeCe Winans, Common, Cassidy, Memphis Bleek, Rhymefest, and Cheetah Girls to name a few. I'm sure 2006 will be another rewarding year. Speaking of rewards, my alma mater, Berklee College of Music, chose me as their "Distinguished Alumni of the Year" this year, geeez, talk about an honor. So many talented people have attended that school, its a little unreal to be singled out.
I've now got to prepare for my New Years eve, and I'll continue to reflect on how lucky I am to have the career I do, how fortunate I am to have the team of people i have surrounding me. I have an incredible manager, great staff, a deeply talented pool of songwriters and beatmakers to collaborate with, and last but not least a wonderful client list spanning 6 continents.
In 2005, I mixed for clients from South Africa, Columbia, Germany, France, England, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Isreal, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. I know i'm forgetting someone, sorry about that!! What a great year.
I'll be thoughfully considering what my new years resolutions are and i'll probably post some of them soon. I hope all of you across the world have a very Happy New Year, and I wish all of you a very successful and musical 2006!
-Ken Lewis
posted by Protools Mixing at 12:44 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you Ken!!! I have learned a great deal in 2005 just from reading about your daily adventures!! Full Sail never really prepared me for the expereiences I encounter in the field, but your Blog acutually helps me navagate the maze. Thank you for being so kind to take time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions, it truly helps. I wish you and your a very happy New Year and I will look forward to whats ahead in 06. Congrats on the nomanations!!!
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