Your music is real, and you’ve gone deep to bring it into the light. You’ve had moments of catharsis, moments of horror, and probably more than a few moments of doubt.
I’m here with fresh energy to help carry it the final mile.
I’ve spent a decade learning, often the hard way, how to do that as a mixer. I’ve learned the best thing I can do is to really listen to you, understand your vision, and construct a roadmap for whatever it takes, together, to get there.
If your music is raw, tender, moody, strange, or hard to describe… good.
Emotive Mixes for Musicians Who Feel
I don’t have a formula, and you don’t want me to. Feel is everything. It’s about recognizing when something needs to be adjusted and when it doesn’t. It’s about knowing when to cling to ideals, and when to abandon them. It’s about when to show restraint, and when to lean forward and embrace the chaos. When we approach a song like that, there’s no way to go through the motions, no way to force a song into a box. It naturally highlights the things that matter; the things that make you unique.
My mixing approach is also collaborative: together we’ll explore the energy, sonics, textures that help your song come to life. Like a story, we’ll understand who the characters are and how to portray them with dimension. I’m confident you’ll find it more fun and fulfilling than getting a cryptic email with a wave file and an invoice. It’s a whole lot more like working with a friend than some random person, secretly wondering if they actually care.
It’s less about making a track sound like everything else. Sure, we exist in the context of a broad artistic tradition, and there may be external sources of inspiration to draw from. But it’s more about making it yours.
If you’re curious how that sounds, you might get a feel from the player below, but be warned - each project carries a unique approach. That’s kind of the point. If you’re listening for a recognizable sonic instagram filter slapped on, you won’t find it.
Mixes that that treat your song like it’s alive. (Because it is).
“Jon takes an approach as if he’s the artist. He is very easy to work with and try anything. He took my song to a new level.”
Mathias Noise
“Jon brought our vision of the song to life! It was an amazing experience because of his skillset and character.”
Echoplay
“Amazing communication. Jon’s opinions and advice are really good, he actually cares. He’s very understanding and easy to work with.”
Rising Sons
More about me and my style
Well, you’ve made it this far into the manifesto. Seems like you’re still interested. So it’s probably worth reinforcing: I’m not trying to be your engineer, I’m trying to be your ally. While I usually work quickly, getting your project “in and out” isn’t my mindset. I believe what we do matters, but how we do it also matters. You’re not just a number to me. I’m not interested in the pursuit of “radio-ready” or “industry-quality” (also, wtf do those even mean), I’m interested in the pursuit of making something genuinely cool with you, my new friend. Something that makes your friends say “whoa, you MADE this?” and your rivals say “whoa, YOU made this?”… If that takes 30 minutes, a couple weeks, a year, fine with me. If you’re new to me, you probably haven’t heard me say this yet, but it takes what it takes.
A few other distinct things about me:
As a mixer/producer/musician/songwriter/misfit/quaker/DIYer/poor person, I thrive on the nuance that comes from embracing contrasts. High and low, gnarl and clarity, bombast and tightness, congestion and simplicity, decay and rebirth. It’s a vibe that seeps into every mix I do. One collaborator referred to my style as “simultaneously cleaner and more distorted” than his roughs. But even so, my approach is anything but cookie-cutter. I hold a deep spiritual respect for The Process™ (not a real trademark, I just wanted that to seem official), a collection of interesting tools, and the sound of real performances and real rooms.
Because your music is complex with a lot to express, my hybrid workflow is tailored toward nimbly keeping a broad range of sounds and textures at our fingertips. Kinda like having a lot of colors ready on the palette - all with the goal of supporting the song with the most dimension and depth. But again, it’s about knowing when something needs that and when it doesn’t. And also not just how to adjust something. Anybody can watch a youtube video on that (even though that tip is probably a straight jacket). I’m not slapping stuff on to tell you it’s “cooler” because it’s “analog”.
I’m pulling out my hair, and pulling out every stop, to help your music feel like a thing. Although somehow I do still have a lot of hair.
xoxo, JPG
