Would your idols approve?

Years ago I saw a stencil on a busy commuter street in Norwich that helped influence a design idea I had in the studio several years later.

Like a lot of creative work, writing and mixing new music is filled with decisions and hesitation. Some decisions are technical, some are personal and the hesitation surrounds either. If you write, mix or produce you’ll recognise them:

– How is that producer getting that sound?

– How much compression should I apply to this?

– Are my speakers set up right?

– What EQ should I use on this?

– Do I need to buy new headphones to get this right?

– How can I make this more original?

– Is this awesome?

– Is this awful?

To help provide answers to an endless string of questions one night whilst stuck in a rut on a mix, I visualised a stencil I could spray paint on my studio wall:

Jimi Hendrix was one of my heroes growing up, and referencing his approach anchored my ideas and helped me to make better decisions at a quicker pace. Suddenly my choices became bolder and more original too. For static guitar parts, I created panning trails that swung the sound between the left and right speakers. For bass guitar, I added vintage fuzz and alongside some other amends, I saw my mixes transform with sounds that I was excited about.

It worked for my mixes, could it work for yours too? Definitely worth a try next time you get stuck.

@seagersound

Here’s the track the idea helped me with: