Mason on mixing and studio life

For Mason, rather than being two discrete parts of the production process, the mixing and composition stages in house music are intrinsically linked.

“I think in house music, sound is almost part of composing, you know? Pop music is a bit of a different job, but in house music, how you EQ something, how you compress it, changes the whole vibe of a track. At the end of the day, it’s just a one-loop or a-fewloops thing anyway, so I do think the mixing part is pretty creative. And it’s endless, it’s not right until it’s right – just keep on tweaking, keep on tweaking, keep on tweaking… until at some point everything falls into place. And that process can take ages sometimes…

“I’m working now on something that is taking ages. I just keep on tweaking it, but it’s like a puzzle: there’s always a solution for it. Sometimes, if you’re mixing for a day and it’s still not right, at some point you’ll need to take a step back and think, ‘OK, maybe it’s the musical ingredients’.

“Some drum patterns can clash a little bit and you can mix as long as you want, but it’ll never be as good as if you go back and change the notes or whatever. So I do try to not be too rigid and only stay in mixing mode, but also always keep the possibility open to go back and change ingredients.”

Over the years, Mason’s appreciation of the mixing process has changed.

“In the past, it always felt a bit like a necessity, mixing: ‘OK, I’ve done the music thing, now I need to mix it’. That’s changed a little bit. I see mixing as more of a craft – like an iron welder or whatever – while writing music is more creative output, but every year you get a little bit better at it. I always used to feel like I was a really crap mixer, but now I think I’m somewhat decent and getting better every year.”

One thing that’s not changed over the years, though, is Mason’s insistence on mixing his own tracks, rather than hiring in someone else to do it for him.

“I guess it’s different if you’re David Guetta and you’re making more of a pop record, but if you’re a house producer, it’s always much better to mix it yourself and even, if possible, master it yourself, so you keep everything under your control and in your style.”

Flying solo

Having been in the business for a decade and a half, and being relatively prolific in his output, Mason is very disciplined when it comes to spending time in the studio.

“I do a normal work day in the studio: I go in at 9 and come back at 5 or something, and I just see it as a real job now. Some days are more creative than others, but I’m in there every week day.”

With such a tight regime in place, though, he also appreciates the need to take a break to recharge the creative batteries.

“I think it’s good to get out, for sure. I run a lot – for me, that’s a good way to get out of the dark studio and get a bit of fresh air and outside time. And I have young kids, so I’m also spending a lot of time on that. It’s always good to leave a track and pick it up again a week later, too – that always gives you new energy and new ideas.”

Then, of course, there’s the fact that Mason is a solo artist, spending most of his time alone in the studio. Is that a factor in the working day that he enjoys?

“There were a few years where I was working with somebody else, but the last five years I’m alone again. I’m so much faster on my own! You don’t have to discuss every hi-hat and find compromises, which you’re always doing if you’re working together with somebody; you need to find that middle ground that you both like.

“It’s always great to work with other vocalists and artists in that sense, but as a producer, I’m pretty comfortable on my own, apart from the fact that you can become a little bit isolated. But that’s a problem all writers and artists have, in all sorts of disciplines.”

“In house music, how you EQ things can change the whole vibe”