The Loudest

I don’t know much about mixing records. It’s a dark art full of multi-band EQs, side chain compression, transient shaping, and the many choices of reverbs and delays.

But I know one thing.

Not everything can be the loudest.

The snare and guitars and synths and vocals and thumping bass can’t all be the loudest.

At any given moment in a song the mix engineer has to choose what the rest of the mix is revolving around. There are a lot of essential elements and instrumentation that need to be part of the underlying mix in order to support the thing main thing.

Because if you try to make everything the loudest, nothing is the loudest.

As a metaphor it holds up for lots of other applications.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

After The Complaining

After the complaining. After the hypotheticals and what-ifs. After all the blaming and deflecting.

Who has a good idea?

The good idea is the best way to complain.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Low Budget Energy

A low budget plus excitement and drive equals a great vibe.

No time to dwell. No time to pick apart. No time to slow down.

We have to go and we have to go now. The budget is running out!

Of course this is beautifully portrayed in the making of an artists first record. No money, all heart, overflowing passion.

That low budget energy is hard to recreate by throwing money at it.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

When You Really Need It

When you need the thing, it helps if you’ve done it before.

Creativity

Compromising

Speaking clearly

Patience

Confrontation

Giving a compliment

Receiving a compliment

Apologizing

Grace

There will come a time when you really need it. So it’s best to start now.

»» Don’t wait until you really need it to try it for the first time. Although if that’s where you find yourself, dive in.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Talking Artists

Artists can talk. Artists love interviews. Artists love talking about their songs, being asked about their melodies and lyrics and creativity.

Because artists know that as long as they keep talking they can hide within the words.

Because artists know that the music itself is fully exposing. No more hiding. The music is the thing. The centerpiece of it all.

Most artists can talk their way into their music coming off the way they want it to come off…but then what do the songs have to say about it?

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple