Feature
It’s never been easier to collaborate. Here’s why you should...
Electronic music makers have a bit of a reputation for being solitary creatures. The phrase “bedroom producer” is often used to describe modern, laptopbased music makers, and it’s a term that suggests a somewhat lonely image of creativity; the solo musician hunched over a screen with just their music gear for company.
This is a bit of a misnomer though. Electronic music is an inherently sociable artform, designed to be consumed in communal environments, and a quick scan of the latest dance charts and playlists will make it evident just how many great tracks are a product of artists working together or remixing one another.
Even if it’s not done in person, modern communication technology makes it easier than ever to collaborate remotely. Doing so can be a great way to break through creative roadblocks and broaden your musical horizons, but it’s also a way for artists to open up new revenue streams. By opening yourself up to working with others, you’re able to provide your services to other musicians and producers who might lack your skills. This could mean creating synth sounds or playing an instrument as a session musician, or offering up your mixing capabilities to help another artist mix their latest track.
This is a process that goes both ways though. As well as being able to provide support to others, collaborative tech means you can plug holes in your own skillset too.
Over the following few pages, let’s take a look at some ways to make collaboration go more smoothly; from how to tactfully and effectively go about mixing another artist’s work, to a few ways to optimise your next collaborative session for maximum creativity.
HOW TO …approach mixing another artist’s track
Imagine a scenario where you’ve been hired to mix another artist’s track. What should you do to prepare in advance and have this process go as smoothly as possible? Here are some tips to keep your workflow efficient and moving forward
THE FIRST THING you’ll want to do is to ask the artist for a few references before you start working so that you can get on the same page sonically. This is going to be much more helpful than using adjectives that you might have different meanings for. Words can only go so far.
Most importantly, communicate with the artist about what they’re looking for with the final mix. If there are any tracks that have effects that are crucial to the feel of the song, ask for those effects in both dry and wet versions. Ideally all the stems are bounced without any master bus processing so that you can do your own bus processing in the final mix. There’s no point in spending time recreating effects that the ar
