A New Year's Message & Reflections on the Craft
​Happy New Year to everyone! I am so thankful to see another day; it serves as a reminder that every passing second is a gift to be cherished.
​Roots at Studio One
​I’d like to introduce the song "Hang on Natty" by Sugar Minott. This was among the very first tracks I recorded and mixed at Studio One. In the photo, I have Clement "Coxsone" Dodd on my left, and on my right is Mr. Dodd’s right-hand man, Bim Bim.
​Bim Bim was the one who showed me my first steps around the studio and taught me the fundamentals of engineering. While many people claim that King Tubby taught me, they are simply repeating hearsay with no truth behind it. I can truthfully say that Bim Bim taught me more than "The King"—and that is the honest truth.
​The Philosophy of the Mix
​I once conducted a study with a group of musicians in the studio. I allowed each musician to set the levels for their own instrument based on what sounded "good" to them:
​The Drummer turned the drums up until they drowned out the bass.
​The Bass Player turned his levels up until the drums disappeared.
​The Rhythm Section did the same, overpowering the foundation of the track.
​The Vocalist insisted the vocals were the only thing that mattered, cranking them up until the music was buried under what I call "verbal garbage."
​The Reality of Mixing:
Mixing music is about a blend. No single instrument is more important than another; they each play an intricate, essential part in the whole. This experience taught me a vital lesson: I cannot always defer to the artist or musician when it comes to technical matters.
​Artistic performance and technical engineering are two different talents. However, when these two talents work in harmony, they can achieve "scoring gold."