Mixing lesson at Studio Moskou

Mixing lesson at Studio Moskou (Thurseday, 13 January 2022)

Today I had a mixing session at Studio Moskou in Utrecht together with co-student Jan Schinkel (trumpet player), under supervision of Silvia Vermeulen, owner and main sound engineer. In the 3-hour session we were expected to mix two songs sitting behind a large mixing desk for setting the balance and panning, and to do a minimum bit of equalizing. The mixing desk was interfaced with AVID Pro-Tools (a DAW).  At the very final stage we added in some reverb and/or delay. Thus, no compression or other tools were used.

I choose the song Broken Man (atmospheric electronic pop) for this speed mixing session. This is a song that you can find at the Cambridge Music Technology multi-track website. Listen to the song [here].

It was not easy at all to mix an unknown song, on an unfamiliar mixing desk, with another DAW that I normally use. However, at the same time, it forced us to make mixing decisions purely based on what we hear and mostly only using volume and panning. Although our final mix was very far from an end-stage, we learned a lot in the process. For example, some considerations to panning specific parts to the left or right, or to think about the important elements in the song and ensuring that these stay sufficiently upfront in the mix.

Nice studio, experienced tutor, good atmosphere……..helped in making a next small step in my listening and mixing skills.