alexevansblog2

Alex Evans

Behind every hit is a mix engineer that hears those bits the producers don’t. We caught up with acclaimed mix engineer, producer, and Ten87 stalwart , Alex Evans after a particularly hectic month of mix work to hear the stories behind his favourite mixdowns.

We sat down with grammy nominated mix engineer Alex Evans to hear his favourite mixdowns he’s worked on and the stories behind them.

Foreign Beggars – Standard ft Rag’n’Bone Man & Bangzy

“2 2 Karma” LP
Par Excellence, 2018

‘I started out as a professional engineer by working with Foreign Beggars. Way back in 2006. I knew my way around Pro Tools so I started recording all the tracks and features they had come in. [This] was the springboard to me meeting new artists and working in different genres. A favourite mix I did for them was “Standard” Featuring Rag N Bone Man. This was a really fun mix to do. It was a bit of a party atmosphere in the studio. There were quite a few people in the room and I did it about 2 in the morning. It was one of the late, great Ebow Grahams favourites too so it has a special place in my heart.’

Basement Jaxx – Never Say Never

“Junto” LP
PIAS, 2014

“A turning point in my career was working with Basement Jaxx. The song Never Say Never was the lead single from the Album “Junto” which I mixed in 2014. The process of mixing this album was unlike any other I’ve worked on. I spent two months in their studio, working with them. The album was being put together whilst I was mixing it and I could hear “Never Say Never” being made in the other room, when I was working on other tracks. I could tell it was a big one. The setup I used was Logic (which I’n not a big fan of) into an SSL AWS 900 (which I am a big fan of). The SSL adds so much depth to the mix I find. I did this mix over night in the course of about 3 days. Simon and Felix had a habit of changing the arrangements during the day so It evolved while I was working on it. The song achieved a Grammy Nomination for Best Dance Recording and #1 on the billboard dance chart.”

Goldie – Inner City Life [2017 Rebuild]

“Inner City Rebuild and Burial Remixes” EP
Metalheadz, 2017

”Another legend I’ve had the honour of working with is Goldie. When I met him I was working with Ben Verse from Pendulum at the time who Is a friend of Goldie’s and one day he came into the studio. I’d wanted to meet him for a long time as I’d been into Drum and Bass since I was a kid. In fact the first vinyl I bought was “Inner City Life” I think I was about 11 or 12. Ben played him some tracks we were working on at the time and Goldie liked the sound of them so he gave me a tune to work on. It was “Inner City Life”. Goldie and James from Ulterior Motive had essentially remade the classic to sound identical to the original. When listening to the vocal as an acappella, it was pretty poor quality. Goldie sourced the original DAT recordings. So I rebuilt the vocal from the takes to match the original version and as close as I could, replicated the effects used. I’m really pleased how it came out. I felt a lot of pressure to get it right as it’s probably one of the most important tunes in Drum & Bass.”

Thaiboy Digital – Legendary Member ft. Bladee, Yung Lean, Ecco2K

“Legendary Member” LP
Year0001, 2018

”This album was a favourite of mine to work on. Year0001 approached me a couple of years ago to do some masters for Yung Lean. When I first heard of him I wasn’t convinced immediately but after watching a few of his videos and learning about him more I was really intrigued. I think he’s a genius and ahead of his time stylistically. So when they asked me to mix one of their artists “Thaiiboy Digital’’s album I was hyped. Also Gud is one of my favourite producers. I still listen to this album regularly which isn’t the case with most of the things I mix. I end up over analysing everything…”

KESH – not gaan out

Single
TENNNN, 2020

”Kesh has been a style icon for years. I was a fan of her imagery and artistry from back in the Myspace days. I met her at Shy Fx’s last album launch and she talked about her music and contacted me to work together. The first track she released was “not gaan out” which coincidently (or not) landed at the start of the first lockdown we had. Her music style is as interesting as her imagery. I’m a big fan of making music building a strong mental image and taking you on a journey. I approach mixes very visually in my head. I always see the music being played somewhere and try and make it fit in to that aesthetic sonically. “Not Gaan Out” is the perfect example of that. It takes you to a trippy, dark place in your head. Kesh and I are currently working on new material. Which I’ve been producing as well as mixing as part of a new production collective I’m part of. The next release will be out very soon.”

Nolay – Corn

Single
Self Released

”I’ve been listening to Nolay for many years. We first worked together when she featured on a track I recorded for NoNames from Foreign Beggars. We’re back in the studio together now and the work rate is so high. This track was so much fun to record and came together very quickly (recorded, mixed, mastered, video shot and released in under 24hrs) We had so much jokes recording it. (sorry Trillary) The energy and straight up force that Nolay has is unmatched. She’s too cold. She’ll also be a very familiar face very soon. But that’s all I will say on that subject.”

You’ll be sure to hear more of Alex’s sonic fingerprint in the future no doubt – until then have a gander at Alex Evans’ Twitter, Instagram and website.

For info on how to join Alex as a member of our community be sure to get in touch here

At Ten87 Studios we offer long term studio hire and day hire music studios. Each recording studio is acoustically treated and sound proofed to optimise any type of audio recording and music production. We are home to a large community of musicians, producers, engineers and audio professionals working in the music industry. Our main day hire studio is a world class tracking facility equipped with the best in recording studio gear, instruments, outboard and backline. We’re based in Seven Sisters, Tottenham with easy transport links to the city centre – ideal for anyone looking for a London recording studio.