EPISODE 13: Denis Kosiak is a GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum producer, engineer, and mixer who is known for his work with Khalid, Alicia Creti, and Sinead Harnett.

Please check out his website here: https://www.dkmep.com/

In this stream we follow Denis and watch how he approaches mixing a session for artist Anthony Russo.

Our panel includes Anthony Russo and JFTR's Chief Engineer, Matthew Cerritos.

@deniskosiak
@anthonyrusso
@mattholomue

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0:00 Denis/Anthony introductions
0:35 Song background/Anthony’s writing process
2:20 Rough mix playback
4:40 Denis’s mix template explained
6:27 Denis’s template playback
8:45 What Anthony is looking for in this mix
11:37 How Denis’s engineering style developed
13:25 What Anthony looks for in engineers and why Denis stands out
17:35 Mixing begins
18:24 Processing the lead vocal (Josh Gudwin’s Magic Flow, Weiss DeEss, Neutron Exciter/EQ, EchoBoy)
23:55 In-depth vocal editing (removing clicks & breaths, adding fades)
26:41 Denis’s process for editing vocals explained
28:03 Denis’s advice for artists recording their own vocals
30:23 Josh Gudwin’s Magic Flow plugin explained
32:25 Mixing the bass (Pro Q3, Decapitator, clip gain rides, Pro C2)
37:35 Mixing in the kick with the bass
38:12 In-depth kick editing
40:30 Trackpad vs. Trackball
42:29 Anthony wowed by JFTR amenities/Shoutout Graham Cruser
43:53 Denis on the importance of kick, bass and vocals to a good mix
44:49 Continuing to mix the kick (Bittersweet Pro, T-RackS One, Neutron Transient Shaper)
47:50 Adding the rest of the drums
49:40 Playing with stereo vs mono on the hats
52:05 Mixing the bridge bass (Pro Q3, Valhalla UberMod)
53:25 Further processing the drums (Neutron Transient Shaper, Mäag EQ4, PanMan)
56:27 Editing the percussion tracks
59:37 Cutting the final hook
1:01:27 Denis’s master chain explained
1:02:26 Denis’s template further explained: routing folders
1:03:54 Denis explains his rationale for fine detail editing
1:04:59 Kick transient shaping explained
1:05:59 More drum mixing
1:07:21 Putting FX throws on the lead vocal (Echoboy/Echoboy Jr, Little Microshift, Valhalla VintageVerb)
1:11:47 Revisiting some processing on the lead vocal and bass
1:13:53 Putting a reverb send on the keys (Valhalla Room)
1:17:30 Why Denis mixes quietly
1:18:50 The logic of loud mixing
1:22:15 Denis’s FX throw process explained
1:23:29 Aborted attempt at re-processing the lead vocal
1:24:54 Manual de-essing explained
1:26:14 Manually de-essing the lead vocal with clip gain
1:33:17 Re-balancing the drums
1:34:12 Further processing the lead vocal (Spectre)
1:35:15 EQing the keys
1:36:20 Dynamic EQ on the lead vocal (Neutron)
1:37:43 Drum Bus processing (Waves SSL Comp)
1:39:08 Editing the hi hats
1:41:30 The D.W. Fearn VT5 hardware EQ explained
1:44:02 How JFTR deals with an unexpected power surge…
1:45:29 Next steps for this mix/Moritz arrives
1:47:13 Hardware! Using the VT5 and Hazelrigg VLC-1 EQ on the synths
1:54:50 How Denis knows when it’s time to take an ear break
1:55:53 Denis’s gain staging process explained
1:58:35 Further processing the keys (Neutron, VLC-1, UAD Fairchild)
2:04:41 Discussing the tail length of the kick
2:06:09 Adding space to the keys (BABY Audio Spaced Out, Dytronics Cyclosonic Panner)
2:08:20 More keys processing with software and hardware
2:12:15 How the team deals with an unexpected Pro Tools crash
2:13:07 Hazelrigg hardware explained
2:14:38 Committing the hardware inserts
2:17:54 Adding even more sauce to the keys (Goodhertz Wow Ctrl 3)
2:20:00 Fine tuning the EQ on the drums and bass
2:21:43 Parallel compressing the bass (Mike Dean Gainstation 2, Little Microshift)
2:23:55 Fine tuning EQ on the vocals and keys
2:25:35 EQing the backing vocals with software and hardware
2:30:24 Denis’s EQ process explained
2:31:49 Further EQing the BGVs
2:36:04 Spacing out the BGVs
2:39:31 Why Denis keeps some sends on vs off
2:40:36 Master bus processing (JST Clip)
2:41:53 Processing and editing the adlib tracks
2:46:27 Final mix tweaks and metering
2:48:34 EQing the master bus
2:51:01 Final lead vocal tweaks
2:52:54 Bouncing the mix/final playback
2:54:56 Boosting the loudness
2:57:20 Final remarks from Denis and Anthony about the mix
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