What I offer at Angel Hair Audio
Mixing
Mixing is an emotional process with an emotional result.
Sure, it's technical. And sure, there are components that are subjective. But it is also an art, and art is emotional. There's no way in hell a song has never made you cry, laugh, sulk, grieve, or make contorted faces. I guarantee one factor in that emotional response is how it was mixed.
My aim with a mix is to achieve a state in which the recording reflects the essence of the composition. This demands effectively conveying the artist's envisioned end result, seamlessly weaving each element into the others to achieve a pristine outcome.
Mixing is also a creative process for me. I use effects and layer elements in ways that contribute to the piece beyond just carving space and sound-sculpting. Occasionally I will do some production work in the mixing stage without it being a full-on production job.
And I will mix in the style that caters to your sound. Shiny and polished, gritty and harsh, detailed and intimate, punchy and confrontational, psychedelic and dizzying, analog and warm, cold and digital…whatever the music needs.
Mastering
Mastering is an utterly essential process that requires me to understand the music (and what it's asking for) on a deep level. It is an intuitive process that is remarkably nuanced. If you thought mixing was detail-oriented, try mastering.
It is the last step in any musical output. It is the final boss in quality control. It is the send-off into the ether.
In this stage, I take single audio files (songs) rife with all kinds of textures, timbres, and compositional evolution, and then refine them, balance them, polish them, tie their shoes & button their jackets. I dial in the rest of the tone and dynamics, essentially putting the finishing touches on your tracks to bring out the last bit of presence and power.
And then I pour it into your soul so you can pay it forward to your listeners. Sometimes it's not that dramatic, but sometimes it is.
Mastering gets your music publish-ready for it's intended media formats: streaming platforms, digital downloads, vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music videos, minidiscs, floppy disks, mono lathe cuts, or whatever else.
Music Production
With my production help, I'll come up with ideas you may not have thought of on your own, and expand palettes tastefully (or distastefully, if that’s your thing).
I can add and edit drums, bass, guitars, synths, and do wild things with sound design and manipulation to make things more effective, interesting, poignant. Or I can simply create brand new songs from scratch, whether it's for a video game, a movie, or for you to sing over.
And naturally, I'll get your ideas materialized so you can finally hear what's in your head. New melodies, reharmonization, drum loops, unique patches and sound libraries, glitch chaos, ambient passages, weird textures, experimental interludes, stimulating dynamic shifts... you name it.
As a long-time songwriter, I can work with you with your composition and arrangement. But I'm also happy to keep my grubby hands off all that. Music producers are often stereotyped as being control freaks who push artists into territory they don't resonate with. But I have no interest in this. I am working with you, not instead of you.
We all know how it feels when your works of art reflect back at you a magnified version of how you feel and where you’re coming from. If you get that feeling from your final product, chances are listeners will as well.
It is such a shame that so much of the music being made out there is published without being properly produced, mixed, or mastered. So as a trained audio professional, and a musician who has made plenty of music that has weirded a lot of people out, you can be confident I can fix that for ya.
So if you want your work of art to end up a strong, lucid, well-engineered production, send me a message to request a quote or book a call.