Sometimes in creating music, there’s a moment when it’s time to let go or “kill your children” I, of course, don’t mean any literal human slaughter, but rather abandoning a piece that you’ve been working on and as my old mentor would say,
“That dog ain’t never gonna hunt”
There can be many reasons for this and it can cause all manner of conflicted thinking when you think “Yes, but I’ve invested so much time (and sometimes money” in this track, surely we can keep it alive?” I’ve had material that’s gone all the way to being mixed and mastered, but then its never going to be released. Soemtimes it doesn’t fit with an existing project and sometimes there can be too many problems with other musical contributions to the extent its no longer worth spending time on it and its better to just move on!
Working with like minds and the importance of definition
A very well-respected producer recently told me that a major problem with some artists is that they will say what they don’t want, but can’t commit to what they actually want in a mix. This can mean spending a crazy amount of time revising and tweaking tracks, like a plane circling overhead but never actually landing. This is why its far better to work with individuals who appreciate the value of editing and the need to make decisions. As my producer would say “The best mix is the one that gets released”
Trust the producer “to produce the sound”
There’s great value in reasoned discussion and debate, and at times agreeing to disagree, but ultimately somebody has to make a decision, especially when you are funding a project. That’s why a great producer is essential to produce the record”
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Otherwise, you could spend a lot of money with little reward. In Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, he talks about making “The River” and how they burned through a huge amount of money trying to mix the tracks, only for Bob Clearmountain to take one track and totally nail it in a fraction of the time. That’s because he knows how to “produce music”, and the band didn’t have that level of skill. Springsteen famously broke down in tears after realising weeks of gruelling work on the mixes “sucked,” leading to severe creative exhaustion before they finally nailed the
Work with professionals
I’m lucky to have access and to work with a great producer and many superb artists. To date, we’ve recorded eight albums which cover a wide range of music. Rarely have we had to “kill any children”, so the time and money investment has produced some work I’m really proud of. All of those involved have been more interested in creating great music than “being right” or insisting that there’s only one way to mix and master an album. As an artist, it’s of course essential to listen to ideas and not become too fixated on your original plan, but ultimately somebody has to make the final decision on what lives and dies in terms of the release. It’s a fascinating process and at times equally inspiring and challenging!
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