Project Studio Expo 2015 (AES 139th Convention) Supporting Resources For Download!

Trafficker: 'My Father Never Loved Me'

A blues-rock mix which involved extensive editing, some salvage work for the live drum recordings, and a couple of additional triggered and programmed layers.

Tommy Allen (Trafficker): "The guitars sound great and the energy from the drums is amazing. I’m surprised how deep the kick and bass come across on my Avantone Mixcube — love it! Thank you, Mike!"

Magician's Nephew: 'Symphony Of Silence'

I recorded in this heavy rock band in their tiny basement studio (where the ceiling was so low I couldn't stand up straight!) and then edited and mixed it in my own studio.

Magician's Nephew: "LOVE IT!!!!!! Awesome sounds. Thank you! We’re really pleased with the results. Great to work with you again!"

Bobby Nobody: 'Stitch Up'

Here I worked extensively with the band to enhance the basic band arrangement with various edits and additions, as well as requesting a few new overdubs from them to help fill out the mix sonics.

Sam Brox (Bobby Nobody): "Sam Brox: "Mike is a legend. I'm ecstatic with the results, and even more so with the blueprint it's given me for my future mixes. Cheers Mike!”"

Hannes Keseberg: 'Focus'

Careful editing and automation were critical in maximising the clarity and energy of this busy arrangement, while subtle drum layering and parallel processing helped inflate the mix sonics.

Hannes Keseberg: "I haven’t stopped smiling since I first played the mix! It’s so upbeat and powerful… just what I had in mind when writing the song."

The Laminar Flow: 'Headspace'

A generally well-recorded rock production, but many decisions about the tone of multi-miked guitars had been deferred and tuning/timing issues were undermining the overall impact of the band.

Phil Stunell (The Laminar Flow): "I sat in with a band for a jam evening this week and I was asked to play them the song -- the reaction was not the usual polite smiles all round but a genuine jaw drop! Thanks for all the hard work."

Young Griffo: 'Facade'

A multitrack that demanded careful attention to phase interactions, snare sustain, and long-term dynamics, but automation and master-buss processing were also vital to the final mixed sound.

Paul Craig (Young Griffo): "This mix is outstanding -- we all listened to it and were blown away by it! Natural warm vocals, 'live' sounding guitars, a grinding bass tone, and punchy-sounding drums... Mike's done an amazing job!"

North To Alaska: 'All The Same'

This emo-rock single required extensive editing of drum MIDI data, guitar timing, and vocal tuning, as well as guitar/bass reamping and layering to achieve a suitably powerful-sounding end result.

Ollie Wright (North To Alaska): "I really, really like the new mix! It sounds 10 times as big as the original, and everything's a lot crisper and tighter. The track sounds more solid, with a much bigger and more epic ending than before. It's such an eye-opener!"

Johnny Lokke: 'Promises & Lies'

Classic heavy metal in the vein of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Here I focused a good deal of effort on improving low-end clarity and delivering a consistently powerful vocal tone.

Johnny Lokke: "Everything gels together, while at the same time you can hear every instrument clearly, which is what I could never achieve! I love the vocals -- they're now really strong and clear, while maintaining a bit of roundness to them instead of being brittle."