Mixing Lady Marmalade Issue 16
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Mixing Lady Marmalade David Pensado’s mixing credits read like a US top 20. Richard Buskin gets a blow by blow account of how to mix perfect pop. ince trading in his life as a successful musician, Pink – and then there was Missy doing little sweetening David Pensado [pictured left] has forged a repu- things like “yeah”, “mm-hm” and so on, which I made tation as a mix engineer of the highest calibre. sound like a radio voice and scattered throughout the Among his credits are records by Destiny’s song. Then, at the end of the song, you actually hear Child, Christina Aguilera, Coolio, Sisqo, Jessica Missy calling out everybody’s names. Simpson, Mel C, Boyz II Men, Tevin Campbell, Janet But all up I had probably 40 or 50 vocal tracks. They Jackson and Brian McKnight, and has recently been were recorded pristinely – the whole recording was enjoying chart-topping success with his mix of Lady pristine – but when you’ve got that many tracks the diffi- Marmalade – the first single from Moulin Rouge’s sound- culty of mixing is having to spend between 500 to 600 track, featuring the vocal contributions of Aguilera, Missy minutes listening to all of them. Elliot, Pink, Mya and Lil’ Kim. RB: Were you making hand-written notes? Having previously worked on Christina Aguilera’s DP: Well, that’s why it becomes difficult, because in order eponymous debut album, as well as on the productions of to mix you’ve got to have all of the elements in your head Rockwilder, Missy Elliot and, for the past 11 years, Ron so that you can pick and choose. If you don’t, then you’re Fair [pictured to the right of Christina Aguilera], it wasn’t not doing a great job as a mixer. In this case it took me a surprising that Pensado was asked by these three co- day just to memorise what I had. producers to mix their hip hop-flavoured remake of the Patti LaBelle classic. Putting Flesh On The Bones RB: So along with the instrumental tracks on top of the Diva City vocal tracks, how did you work your way through all RB: The recording features five vocalists. What were the material? you presented with? DP: Like any mix I do, I built my own outline mix that DP: Well, there were lead, backing and ad lib tracks by lets me know my major elements and what I’m really each of the four principals – Mya, Kim, Christina and trying to sell. With this particular song I had some of the 36 best female singers working today as well ballad. I knew the song would get a as one of the top five producers – Rock- lot of airplay, and so I wanted stuff wilder is just at the top of his game – so in there that you could discover the what I tried to do was outline the shapes twentieth time around. without colouring them. On a normal song RB: But mainly you wanted to that usually takes me about an hour, to an blow people away with it. hour and a half, but on this song it took me DP: Yes, the first time you heard it I about a day and a half. And, to compound just wanted you to go, ‘Damn it, that matters I didn’t have all of the vocals when snare and kick are loud. Man, I never I started. I had the bulk of them, but I was knew Pink could sound like that’. I still getting ad libs as I was mixing. wanted people to have that initial Having built my little skeleton mix I then reaction, and then after they’d seen knew the sonic direction that I wanted. I the video and had those images knew the main part just had to be in your burned into their brain, they’d be face, I knew the cowbell had to be in your interested in listening to the song and face, I knew the kick and snare had to hurt have something to sustain that you. I had such strong singers that, if any interest. One of the things I like doing element in the mix sounded wimpy, they as a mixer is having different layers wouldn’t be getting the right support. I like that, where you can hear it and therefore needed an aggressive track to go to different depths. A lot of people support the aggressive vocals, and at the who listen to my records don’t pick Mixing same time I also wanted each singer to up on the extra layers and the sub- Mixing have her own unique space. I didn’t want tleties, and that’s okay because I’ve the song to sound the same from start to got plenty there to hit them over the finish – so you’ll notice some sections head with, but I think the ones who where the cowbell is louder, for example. take the extra time to look for that Meanwhile, every chorus that follows a stuff find that it’s worth it. singer, her vocals are the loudest in that RB: You’ve used a SSL 9000J for Lady Marmalade background section, and then at the end I this mix. What role does a console just let everybody go for it. There are a lot like that have to play in these of subtle things like that which were very aims? time consuming, but when you know you’re DP: Given that the automation of going to have that kind of high profile that console is probably the most record it’s fun to do that type of stuff, intuitive and user-friendly of any I’ve partly to show off and partly to enhance ever run across, it really helped me the song. to blend the vocals. The 9000 allows RB: So you’ve got your outline, and me to be somewhat chameleon-like, rough shapes drawn in, what next? where I can tailor my mix to the par- DP: I then started to add broad swatches ticular producer style or artist style, of colour – the backgrounds and the main so I’m not limited to one or two or parts – while for the little detailed parts I three configurations. I knew the had nuances on organ, guitar and percus- producers liked a sound that wasn’t sion which allowed me to tailor each all digital and not all analogue. Also, section to the personality of the singer. If if I have to stop and think about a you were dressing for a formal event, those console then I’m affecting my cre- little things would be like your handker- ativity, but the beauty of the 9000 is chief, your cufflinks and your cummerbund. that its technical sophistication The main elements of the song pretty actually makes it simpler and less much flowed from start to finish, and the intrusive in the creative process. only elements I had to work with in order to provide scene changes every eight bars Dynamic Hypnotics were those little accents. RB: Having put together most of I wanted the song to be somewhat like a the song’s elements, what did you sledgehammer and not too finessed, while do next? at the same time repeated listenings would DP: Well, then I had to build in the accustom you to the hard elements and dynamics. In other words, I didn’t enable you to discover the finessed have the luxury of having a drummer elements. I didn’t want the finessed push the choruses or a guitar player elements up front, like they would be in a getting happy and loud. Every kick 37 drum and every snare was recorded at the exact same to differentiate the vocals? level, and so what I did was to add some other kicks and DP: Well, I like bringing a vocal up on three or four snares of my own that helped me to change the tonal faders. One fader will put the information through a real qualities of the drums as the song progresses. I put each hi-tech chain – so I’ll be using all plug-ins on that particu- kick and snare at its own level as if I was playing it live. lar fader. Then I’ll take the same exact vocal and run it The kick drum that I received from Rockwilder was through an all-tube chain, so when my singers get kind of incredible, but I just felt like I could use that extra octave loud and shrill and screechy I’ll pull up the fader that has below what he gave me – that sub which vibrates your rich harmonics on the tube stuff; while on the breathy, soft body. So, I added that component, and I felt that I could parts of the singing I’ll pull up the fader with the hi-tech get a little more attack, like the sound of a live drummer. stuff. Sometimes I’ll also pull up both. I’ll just sit there If you think about it, in a live with different combinations performance, the harder the on these faders, and each drummer hits the kick drum, word will have its own the more attack you hear, so character and flavour in the choruses I raised the depending on what I think attack a bit to give the sounds best. Then I’ll take impression that the drummer my effects, like reverbs and was hitting harder, providing delays and choruses, and that thud which makes you those are on separate faders, so angry when it comes from so each word will have its a car that pulls up next to own individual effects.