Back in the Studio, With Intention
A professional sound is an intentional sound.
A few weeks ago I got back into a professional studio for the first time in a while. Not for a client, not for OF•TMRW. For my music.
The session was with a mentor of mine, an engineer with over 30 years of experience. Usher. Jay-Z. That kind of resume. The sole purpose was to learn and to work on my sound.
Before I got there I did something I’d never done before. I put together a playlist of the music that I plan to reference for my upcoming project(s). Think like a moodboard but for an album. I typically let the production determine where the music goes. This time I wanted to know where I was trying to go before I got there.
For the first three hours we didn’t record anything. We just listened. Songs from the playlist through a pair of ADAM Audio monitors in a room that was acoustically treated specifically for how sound travels through that physical space. Every room sounds different because it is different. I didn’t always understand that.
song: phonzz - tomahawk
In between the playlist I started playing some of my own songs.
They held up. The songs were good. But something was off and I could hear it clearly on those speakers in that room. So I asked him directly — why do some songs sound professional and mine sound DIY?
song: jvon.world - AMERICA’S FAVORITE (OG mixed / mastered version)
His answer was simple. Because they are.
Quality music sounds expensive because it is. The production might be pulling from an analog synth that costs more than my rent. The vocals recorded on a Neve console, mixed on an SSL. And the budget didn’t stop at the music either, the rollout matched the quality of the recording. Every touchpoint intentional.
Me, for the last three years I’ve been self producing on my phone. Using the Koala sampler app. Or finding random YouTube type beats to get idea off with Certt. By nature that produces a DIY sound.
He made a distinction that stuck with me. It is possible to have professional DIY sound but not the other way around. Mac DeMarco has professional DIY sound. Even MIKE and Chief Keef have a professional sound that leans DIY. But it comes from being intentional about when you use what, not from defaulting to whatever’s in reach. A professional sound is an intentional sound.
So that’s the shift. For my next project I’m being intentional from start to finish. The right people, the right rooms, the right decisions at every stage. I'll be documenting the process here.
