One of the things about EDM is that there’s a different kind of finesse involved in its creation from what a great many of the industry veterans are used to, where manipulation of the sound is encouraged and celebrated, and distortion is viewed as simply a byproduct of that manipulation.
That’s the antithesis of most mix and mastering engineers that don’t deal in EDM, where in their world distortion is something to be avoided. In fact, getting impact from the rhythm section without it is almost revered.
As my buddy (and mixing legend) Dave Pensado recently expressed to me, “We’ve (mixers) been too concerned with sonic quality, and it’s hurt mixers when it comes to EDM as a result.” It should be noted that Dave is one of the few mixers who does a fair amount of EDM, so he can speak with some authority on the subject.
Is this trend going to kill the market for mix and mastering engineers? Probably not. When it comes to music made by real instruments instead of samples and loops, it takes a great deal of expertise that only comes from experience with that type of music. I have a friend who creates fantastic electronic music, but is hopeless when it comes to either recording or mixing real instruments (especially the drums).
In many ways, it’s apples and oranges, but EDM is an ever-growing musical genre that now dominates the music business. As Aaron Ray, a principle in the management company The Collective said last week during a talk that I attended, “EDM has decimated rock. It’s now an entirely different business.”
The point of this post is to open up the eyes of those in our business who may be a little too tied to the past way of doing things, since there’s a whole genre of music that’s mostly ignoring you. In the end, we’re all in a service business and the client is still king.
It’s great to have principles, but if you hold them too tightly, you might find yourself not working as much as a result. If a client wants something that violates your aesthetic sense, in today’s world, you might consider suppressing your arty urges and give them what they want, because there’s a whole group of people right behind you that are more than willing to do just that.
Bobby Owsinski is an author, producer, music industry veteran and technical consultant who has written numerous books covering all aspects of audio recording. For more information be sure to check out his website and blog.