What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about mixing while creating Living Ghost?
If you have a project with 400+ tracks, just send it to someone else to mix to preserve your mental state.
Teasing!
Though, once again, I must thank Zhengxi Zhang for refining my demos of “Intro,” “Preybirds (Watcher Song),” “Butcheress,” and “Wildfire (Gone, Gone, Gone) / Death Song” beyond what I could do in the refines of my dorm + the time restraints I have being a student (you can blame Econ 101 and other math classes for having this EP come out a year later than I planned!)
The real lesson I’ve learned is that each song’s mixing and production has an “ugly phase” – where the frequencies rub the ears in just the wrong way, where the percussion doesn’t hit like you want, where the bass leaves your ears ringing, but you swear it still isn’t strong enough. What I always keep in mind – as I’m holding onto a demo I’m ashamed to send off, and the deadline creeps closer and closer – is that it’s gotta get worse before it gets better.
Don’t be discouraged when your first “rough mix demo” pass sounds worse than the unmixed or unproduced version. Sometimes you need to redo the whole thing, but at least now you know what the song absolutely should not sound like. It may be long and difficult, but as you slowly learn how the tools and techniques improve your track’s character, it’ll get better.
Pro tip from Rabbitology: Sometimes a good project takes time. Sometimes a good project takes no time at all. Each mixing and production process is different, and trust it no matter what path it takes. Don’t try to rush, don’t try to take it too slow.