My journey in the music industry began in
1998, where I started as a songwriter, producer, arranger, recorder, and mixer.
Over the years, I have gone through every process involved in producing a song except
for playing instruments. It wasn't until 2002, when I was involved in the production
of an entire album, that I discovered my love for mixing. The feeling of
manipulating sound to fit my artistic vision was something that resonated
deeply within me, and ever since, mixing has occupied
the majority of my attention.
To hone my skills, I've gone through
various processes that every professional mixing engineer has gone through over
the years, including constantly buying and selling various pieces of equipment.
Although I didn’t have any formal precedents to learn from, I relied solely on
the conclusions I got from my own ears. Thus, I was able to avoid being misled
by others. However, it is actually the brain that governs the ear, and because the
brain does so, preferences arise and evolve over time. So, even though most
people used to think my mixes to be very much my own, my style has quietly
changed as I incorporated some mainstream styles and traits into my mixes.
While on the other hand, I've never
compromised my personal perception of sound in an effort to make my music
"fit in." I've also created versatile mixing techniques during this
process. Basically, if the client doesn't request anything specific from me, I
complete the task in my own manner, and if they do, I can always make it sound
the way they want it to sound.
I consider that one's personality and the
style of music they make are connected and cannot be separated. Just as
different countries have their distinct music styles related to their national
personalities, every person has their own unique style. For instance, I can't
be a mild lamb who never attempts to offend anyone, and because my character
has never been particularly soft, my music will always be more or less about
the pursuit of strength. And I'll turn that pursuit into a sound that is
elastic or tough for some music that doesn't call for a lot of strength. However,
I’m not able to create a soft, mushy sound because it goes against my nature.
I've never believed that people should
alter who they are for the benefit of outside conditions. My opinion is that
humans originally bring their nature into play and may then run into a brick
wall, but this is a crucial turning point. While some people will go on to
succumb to the external, wear out their nature, and extinguish the light in
their eyes, others will learn to find the ideal location in the external
environment for their nature to thrive, allowing them to further develop and
embrace their nature. I firmly believe that happy people are those who can
express their nature to the fullest.
Throughout my life's journey, sound has
been that Garden of Eden for me where my nature survives and grows. My career
in mixing has also allowed me to experiment with new tools and techniques, thus
opening door after door to new opportunities. From the initial days of just using
analog equipment to later using a hybrid of digital and analog equipment; from
the early days of insisting on a hardware-only mindset to now fully mixing in
the box. Each change has brought me more possibilities and joy.
Devices and plug-ins are another means for
me to realize these possibilities. However, I can say that I have no brand
loyalty to any devices or plug-ins. I choose devices that sound good to me and provide
more sound options. If this brand produced a device that I thought was
interesting today, I would purchase it. If I find a better-sounding device in
another brand the next day, I'll probably trade the one I have now for another.
To me, these devices or plug-ins are just tools that help me realize different
sound possibilities, and they serve me, not the other way around, I don't have
to be loyal to them. And these possibilities are the stepping stones to my growth.
Everyone is free to make their own sound choices, provided that they open their
mind and listen with their ears.
More possibilities sometimes bring more
questions, but in my view, life is a never-ending search for answers. There are
stages in life where we are not even aware of the questions that will guide us
to the answers we want, but for most cases we know what the questions are and
all we need is to move towards that direction.