INDIE INSIDER
MIXING THROUGH
THE PANDEMIC
By Michael Raine
While not affected to the same devasting degree as the live music sector , the recording industry has not been immune to the ongoing pandemic . Unique obstacles and uncertainty continue to challenge studios , and producers and engineers have been forced to rethink how they approach their work with artists .
With this in mind , Canadian Musician reached out to a few acclaimed producers / engineers to find out how they ’ re adapting and how they feel about the foreseeable future for the recording business .
OUR PANEL :
PHOTO : HEATHER POLLOCK
JASON DUFOUR is a Torontobased , Juno Award-winning mix engineer known for his work with July Talk , The Trews , Donovan Woods , and more .
KR MOORE is a producer and the senior engineer at Sandbox Studios in Toronto who has worked on acclaimed records by Snotty Nose Rez Kids , The Sorority , and others .
RYAN WORSLEY is a producer , engineer , and songwriter who owns Echoplant Recording Studios in Port Coquitlam , BC . He has won WCMAs for Producer and Engineer of the Year and was nominated for Engineer of the Year at the 2020 Juno Awards .
JILL ZIMMERMANN is a recording engineer working primarily out of Jukasa Studios in Ohsweken , ON . She has collaborated with artists including Alice Cooper , Three Days Grace , Alexisonfire , and July Talk , as well as decorated producers like Bob Ezrin , Gavin Brown , and more .
CM : Some studio owners , producers , and engineers have said the pandemic has helped them streamline their processes . What are the pros and cons that you ’ ve experienced in this regard ?
DUFOUR : I think the ability to have Zoom sessions and video chats along with streaming audio is a huge plus in this current situation . I ’ m not sure this would have been doable or accessible for everyone , say , 10 or 15 years ago .
My good friend , producer / writer Michael Sonier ( Noah Cyrus , Maggie Rogers ) recently had some great things to say on this topic : “ You keep it moving . Zoom is not my favourite way of making music but you do what you gotta do and make it work . And it has its ups , like it ’ s much easier to connect with a lot of artists across many different areas and time zones . It makes for some cool combos . I ’ m here in Toronto , someone is in L . A . or New York , and the artist is in London , U . K . But what is missing is the energy and vibe of the room . For me , I feed off of the energy of the room . You still get a version of that from Zoom , but it doesn ’ t compare .”
MOORE : Definitely the pro that I ’ ve found is being able to work more around my own timeline . When I ’ m in the studio , the session is happening right then and there . Right now , people just send me their files or their songs to get mixed and mastered and I can kind of just lay out my day the way I want to … Also , it gives me more time to really sit down and tweak things a little more so there ’ s a lot less back-andforth when I do send the final files over . I ’ ve also found a couple of ways to actually stream high-quality audio . So , there ’ s times when I will actually do a live mix remotely and that has opened up a whole new world for me .
10 CANADIAN MUSICIAN