Episode 106 - Jon Castelli
Show Notes
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 106
Dec 20, 2022
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 84
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Jon:
I never had the intention of being a mix engineer. I wanted to be the recording engineer. I did it out of necessity because the project had no budget.
Originally I was mixing very tight, with fast attack times. Think Serban or Chris Lord-Alge.
Then my mentorship with Tony Maserati taught me how to slow down the attack time and keeping things loose and letting it groove.
Now I’m heading back into the space where things are much tighter and controlled.
Matt:
Tastes change too, when it comes to mixes. It’s natural to adjust your style to respond to these changes over time. That’s where the interest comes from.
Jon:
My SZA mix for Low sounds different from everything else on the record, but it works. That’s what I want. For it to feel like me, but to still work for the record.
I want to lean towards the approach that I couldn’t help but do.
Q: How do you agree on payment and terms for a project when working with your homies?
Jon:
My manager Nathaniel knew as soon as I got the call to do the SZA mixes.
He didn’t reach out to make a deal until I’d delivered all of the mixes that were going to be considered for the record.
Rob, SZA’s engineer and producer called me up six days before the album was delivered to do the mixes.
Three days ago I was told that I am no longer mixing a project that I am six songs deep on.
The team made one of the producers explain it to me. Nobody on the team has contacted me.
Now my manager is on that trying to settle a deal for compensation.
I’m hurt about how the business went down because I love where the direction is going, but I received no feedback on the record.
I probably handled it wrong by not setting terms with the artist’s team sooner, before any conflict came up. That’s mostly on me.
I lean towards solidifying the business early on, if possible, but never be too firm on that too early when you’re excited about working on the project.
I did a SZA mix on spec because SZA didn’t know my work and they wanted to make a case to her.
I rarely do this, but I was down to do that for her.
Matt:
For those without a manager or who are working with local artists, you’re going to run into these challenges no matter what level you’re working at. You can still have troubles about getting compensated.
Depending on who the call comes from it will dictate how quickly I will get my manager involved.
Some people I work with and trust will get an immediate “yes” from me because we have a long relationship built on trust. It’s always a pleasure.
For people who are industry friends, the first thing I’ll often say is “That sounds great, send me the music and I’ll loop in my manager.”
This tends to legitimize the interaction from the beginning so that everyone can be on the same page about the business.
Having a manager legitimizes the process of business and takes it off your plate so that you don’t have to think about it.
Jon:
This is true, but it doesn’t protect you from the emotional sting of a deal going sour.
I’m not worried about getting screwed over. I’ll still get paid. I’m more worried about the relationship.
Reflections On the End of the Year
Jon:
I haven’t used any outboard gear on SZA. The project was moving too fast.
Things were changing all of the time and I didn’t have time to worry about recalling settings and re-bouncing.
I don’t want to have the anticipation of having to re-do so much work influence the next steps in any project. So I’m simplifying.
I’m selling my Unfairchild because I’m not using it all of the time. It’s a great piece of gear. I want it to go to a good home where it will get used. I’d use it more if I was tracking these days.
If I don’t use a piece of gear on every mix, it doesn’t belong in my rack.
Having to deal with so much outboard was getting in the way of me being quick and meeting the quick turnarounds of the artists I work with.
Dale Becker: “If you’re getting no notes on a mix you’re not challenging the artist or listener enough.”
When I mix a song with gear it takes time because I really have to be thinking about gain-staging so that I don’t overcook the tubes and make the sound too mushy and kill the transients.
So now I usually only do the hardware when I think the song could really use it.
The gear is there to be cared for, but you can’t just throw it on without taking care.
Having a Nomadic Lifestyle
Matt:
It’s been very challenging, but that’s part of the reason I’m doing it, because it takes me out of my comfort zone.
That said I am excited to be in a single place for 3-4 months.
I’m excited to have all of my gear in one place where I can produce a completed record in the course of a day.
The biggest thing I’ve been missing in the last 15 months is a consistent place to work where everything is dialed in and ready to go.
Jon:
If I had an imperfect room I’d work with the Tonal Balance Control plugin from Izotope.
I could see that my low end is off the charts on that meter.
You can import curves for your favorite songs. I’ve imported 24k Magic because I love the sound of that mix.
It gives you a quick visual benchmark to tell where you relate.
One thing I don’t like about it is how Ozone will allow you to make the EQ curve of your mix conform to that curve. That sounded awful to me.
I like having it as a benchmark that I can compare against, but I wouldn’t try to conform to the curve slavishly.
Matt:
If you start mixing with your eyes and following the meters to make your decisions you’re going to get in trouble. If you have a problem to solve they can help you identify what needs fixing, but otherwise don’t follow them too close.
Q: Do you feel impostor syndrome at this place in your career?
Jon:
Sure. I just lost a gig where I was 6 songs deep. That gave me pause.
I felt uncertain about the heavy reverb on SZA’s Low.
Matt:
Peter Asher says he feels it every time he makes a new record.
95% of the time I’m working on stuff I don’t know how I’m going to get there. But I do know that I have a process to follow and if I keep working at it I’ll get there and end up with a good sounding result.
Jon:
Sometimes having someone giving feedback in the room is a great asset that keeps me from getting overwhelmed or in my own head. Usually my collaborator will be satisfied with a mix change before I am and that tells me that I can leave it be.
It’s pretty noticeable to the people who know me best that the creative control I relinquish in mixing manifests in other parts of my life, like cooking or writing poetry.
I want to relinquish creative control in my mixing work and allow the collaboration to happen. I’ll make up for it in other places in my life.
