I've been a recording and mixing engineer since 1982. When I started out, there were no schools for audio recording or mixing. I went on instincts from being a musician since I was 4 years old. I find the best recording engineers are musicians. So much of working with the musician in the studio is psychological that you need to have a LOT of empathy to get a great take. Working with musicians is sometimes like nursing a wound. It needs a lot of care and attention -- especially in what you say during a session.
Mixing, on the other hand, is often done when the musician isn't in the room (or much of the time). For Blue Coast Records, I don't think any musician has been present for the mixing session. That gives me full opportunity to listen and go deep into the passion of the music. It's very personal. I get to sculpt the words and performance with little interruption.
I hate working alone. Patrick has been a great studio mate for allowing me to not have to learn the physical side of digital. I have to only speak the language for him to execute. I operate the board, make analog adjustments to levels, create environments from effects, and use slight eq if needed.
With the lockdown and no recording, it's easy to get caught up in daily activities running the business, organizing and doing admin work. Lately, we've been able to partition off 2-4 hours of mixing each day. That allows enough time to get a few songs done, remix as needed and stay in the 'groove' of sound for awhile. When the session is done, there's a sense of calm. Those few hours of deep listening and concentration has meant a lot during these troubling times. I hope the same is true for you and your "music time".
