approach

“Also being a musician, I tend to bring some of that that artistic sensibility to my mixing. Obviously, it’s all about getting good sounds, with anything sub-par in that department you really won’t get far. But what makes a finished song stand out is the emotional impact it has. Does the chorus hit you in the heart, the gut or the head? Does that awesome little detail pop in just the right way? Does the song feel ‘yours’, in the million different ways a well written, well produced and well mixed song can? That’s where the magic happens.”

AK mixes a multitude of genres; He is as comfortable with modern pop, hip hop and electronic styles as with acoustic instruments and rock bands. His style is developed from coming up in “handmade” musics, with acoustic drums, guitars, amplifiers, microphones and the likes, which makes for a certain approach and style with the more programming based musics of today. Having learned to appreciate the inaccurate nature of acoustic instruments has nurtured a certain type of mindset when it comes to mixing, no matter how ‘in the box’ the source might be. “I’m always looking for a way to make it all sound alive together, to make the song feel like you’re ‘in it’”.

As for gear selection, AK’s mixing style is what is called “hybrid”, employing both the characterful magic of vintage analog gear, and the accuracy, speed and creativity of plug-ins in the digital domain. “To me, it’s all about what you want to hear. A lot of the time I’ll even do something counter intuitive, like get vintage-style sounds with plugins, and use analog gear to polish a very clean and hi-fi sounding part. Other times I’ll go the traditional route, and use analog gear to just impact some character on a ‘digital’ sound.

Sometimes the joy of turning a physical knob is what makes you get a sound ‘there’, sometimes the speed of digital is what you need.”

On occasion, AK will also produce bands and artists. “I like to bring the same sort of thinking to both producing and mixing; We’re trying to create something that evokes emotion. When I’m mixing I go between detail view and big picture view, so make each part sound it’s best while fulfilling its role in the greater whole perfectly. Producing to me is very similar, it’s about capturing a sound and performance that sounds great, and adds something that enhances the song as a whole, but in a more free, creative phase. Less rules, more fun, basically!”