A good mix engineer. It is universally accepted that a good mix engineer is one who enhances a piece of music while respecting/retaining the artistic vision of the ‘raw’ material. To respect the source material though, one must legitimately understand it. It is important to note, people who listen to a piece of music, don’t have to understand it to appreciate it. The people who work on said piece of music DO however need to understand it. Just as people who walk over a bridge, don’t need to know how the bridge stays up, the people who built it DO.
Music product is different than art. Music ‘Product’ is easily understood, with it’s strict predictable simplified formulas that have been repeated for decades on end. Music ‘Art’ however does not stay in those boxes and is NOT easily understood. In fact, many times, do to the delicate balance and nuance involved, it’s arguably impossible for anyone, outside of the original author, to sufficiently understand it. This is why in reality, engineers can only successfully mix music ‘Product’ with predictability. They usually can not mix ‘Art’ without changing it significantly enough to violate the definitions of what makes a good mix engineer in the first place.
What use is it? So what good is a mix engineer to an artist, if there’s good chance said engineer will spoil their art? In a world where the perceived value of music is mostly in it’s production polish (mixing/mastering), music artists are at a great disadvantage. If they let a mix engineer work their material, they risks loosing their artistic vision and money along with it if/when the mix fails. If they don’t get an engineer, they are forced to do it themselves to get that polished ‘loudness’. Loudness a lowest common denominator culture expects. With the time, cost, gear, experience and reputation mixing requires, it is a tall order for most artists.
Un-mixing. When a mix engineer does not understand a piece of music, their tools often become counter productive. Instead of bringing together the piece, their attempts actually undo the sonic fabric holding it together conceptually. What you often end up with is less listenable than the raw track. To add insult to injury, the artists usually pays the bill regardless. After all, engineers can’t be expected to make no money just because a project failed. Unlike artists who are routinely expected to suck it up, take the loss and live on nothing. Ironic considering the artist brings a much more critical piece of the project to the table, mainly the actual MUSIC.
The blame. Not always but often enough, artists take the blame when mixing a piece of ‘Art’ fails. The piece is dubbed “inaccessible to audiences” or “too esoteric to mix”. This is the language engineers, technicians and executive producers use, when their formulaic genre based approach fails. Done with or without malice, it is what happens when art proves it’s self beyond the comprehension of those who pride themselves on the “handling of the arts”. In reality, it’s all too often the mishandling of the arts. Many mix engineers are very cool people and quite talented within their field. It is their place in regards to art that is greatly misunderstood, both by themselves, the industry, and the audience alike. Similar to believing test driving or painting a car, makes you the one who designed it.
In summation. Like so many aspects of the music world, much of the profession of mix engineering is in denial. Though some unique engineers can tune into an artist’s vision to an extent, they are too far and few to be a realistic representation of the profession. People flocked to hear music millennia before mix engineers were even an idea, let a lone a profession. It is only an artificially dumbed down consumer industry that renders them indispensable. With out the controlled atmosphere of trend-mongering corporatism, they would easily find themselves out of work. Audiences are given the illusion of desiring the loudness and polish engineers can provide. When in truth, like constantly eating too much salt, they are simply numb from too many years of superficial production techniques, forcing composition to take the back seat.
Long time composer/production engineer. Apparent pioneer of the "Nontoxic music movement". This site features a wide variety
of original non-apologetic musical exploration. Made from the mind & heart. Art as an extension of the human spirit, not corporatism. Herein is sonic material for the adventurous & discerning multimedia project creator, as well as open-minded listener....more
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