Give me a break

You know what’s the most boring kind of mix in the world to me? One where the voice or focal instrument is out front in the same place 100% of the time.

I get super bored! I’m a pretty quick study, you know? I bet you are too; most people who are into music are pretty sharp. And so after a minute or so, I’m like “Okay, I’ve got it. … sooooo … what’s changing? Where’s the interest? What are we doing here?”

What I do to help with this is to subtly manipulate the listener’s relationship to the vocal / focal instrument over time.

If the vocal is always in the same position relative to the rest of the mix, as listeners we don’t have to do much; it’s a fairly passive, spoon-fed sort of listening experience. Which means that we’re not necessarily engaging as much as we could be. It’s a lost opportunity.

But if I push the vocal out front in certain moments, and then I pair that with pulling it back a bit in other moments, what that does is it keeps the listener engaged and involved! When you pull the vocal back a bit, it forces the listener to lean in a bit more — i.e., it forces them to become less passive and more active in their journey through the song.

And what happens when you force a listener to be more active? By definition, you have created a more engaged listener. Because you’re making them do some of the work!

It’s perhaps the one way that you can manipulate someone that’s actually healthy for everyone involved.

The listener gets to have a more interesting journey, that they get more out of — and the artist gets to have their ideas land in a deeper and more long-lasting way. It’s an indisputable win/win.

Creating the outcomes we want — jamie