November 25, 2025 • 16 mins
What if the fastest way to a better mix is caring more about the human, the song, and the signal path than the plugin chain? We pulled seven moments from our 2025 conversations that changed how we write, record, mix, and master, and stitched them into one practical, heart-first guide you can use on your next session.
We start where great records begin: with the singer. Rich Bozic, a professional vocal coach, shares why physical comfort is essential for sound design, encompassing layers, a calm seat, a dialled-in headphone mix, and planned breathers to manage fatigue. Then we zoom out with Dan Giffin, who reminds us that composition beats the perfect kick. His three-touch rule snaps you out of tweak loops and keeps momentum high, while a top-down approach to mixing preserves the vibe you loved in production.
Next we clean up the myths around digital audio with Ian Stewart’s crystal-clear take on sample rate and the Nyquist theorem. You will understand why 48 kHz often hits the sweet spot for modern workflows, how aliasing and imaging appear, and when oversampling actually matters. We carry that clarity into big, emotive mixes with Drum X Wave and Brian Skeel: translate vision to buses first, let guitars and synths complement rather than collide, and make size breathe with arrangement, not brute force.
We also unpack the creative blind spots Michael Oakley calls out, how you can become “noseblind” to your own work and why feedback before the third rewrite can save songs. And we wrap with Eric Mitchell on mastering restraint: distortion as salt, not a main course. A little saturation wakes the record; too much smears it. Forget the viral “crank it” tips and listen for blur as much as for bite.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Marc Matthews (00:24):
You're listening to the Inside the Mix podcast
with your host, Mark Matthews.
Welcome to Inside the Mix, yourgo-to podcast for music
creation and production.
Whether you're crafting yourfirst track or refining your
mixing skills, join me each weekfor expert interviews,
practical tutorials, andinsights to help you level up
(00:45):
your music and smash it in themusic industry.
Let's dive in.
Hey folks, welcome to Insidethe Mix.
A big welcome to new listenersand of course a big welcome back
to the returning listeners aswell.
This episode is part two of mytwo-part series highlighting my
favorite moments from 2025.
As I mentioned in part one, dogo listen to the episode if you
(01:08):
haven't done so already.
In 2025, I've had the pleasureof sitting down virtually and
chatting with some amazing mixedengineers, mastering engineers,
producers, artists, andeverything in between as well.
Now I wish I could includeevery guest that I've had on the
podcast in 2025 because there'sbeen golden moments in all
(01:28):
those conversations.
But I just want to extend athank you to those guests and
you, the listener, as well, forbeing part of the podcast and
promoting the podcast, comingback every week and listening to
me chat with people from allacross the world as well, which
is amazing.
And I need your feedback,folks.
Click the link in the episodedescription and help me shape
the podcast in 2026.
(01:50):
It's a two-minute survey.
Let me know what's working,maybe what isn't working, what
you want to see more of, or youwant to see less of, or rather
hear rather than see.
And you can also share yourmusic win of 2025, and I will
share that on episode 227, soyou can get a shout out on the
podcast, and you'll get linksfor you and your music put in
(02:15):
that episode as well.
So people can find you andlearn more about you as an
artist.
So please do click that linkyou've got until the end of
November to submit your win andfeature on the podcast at the
end of this year in 2025.
Now, as I mentioned in partone, the reason this episode
matters is because most people,and I do this in particular,
like to look back at theprevious year and reflect on
(02:36):
what went well and maybe whatcould be improved.
And in this episode and theprevious one as well, so this
two part series, we areunpacking insights that help
artists mix and produce songsfaster, mix smarter, and stay
creative for longer.
So let's dive into the firsttop moment of 2025 in this
episode.
So this moment comes fromepisode 194, which is titled I
(03:00):
Asked a Pro Vocal Coach How toPrepare a Singer for a Recording
Session.
And it features Rich Bosic ofthe Facial Ears podcast.
In this episode, we chat aboutuh tips for remote vocal
recording sessions, how torecognize and manage vocal
fatigue, microphone selectiontips, and how to optimize the
headphone mix for singers.
(03:21):
And in particular, this momentis where Rich is talking about
how singers are high maintenanceand uh how he says, let's just
get that out the way.
So we're talking about singersbeing high maintenance in this
episode.
So it may sound like a sweepingstatement, but bear with me,
have a listen and check out theepisode because there are some
(03:42):
gold moments for vocalrecording.
And this is episode 194.
Oftentimes singers are highmaintenance, all right?
Rich Bozic (03:48):
So, like, well, let's just get that out of the
way.
Singers are high maintenance.
So you want to be like, youwant to encourage them, dress in
layers.
Uh so if you get cold, you canput your jacket on.
If you get too hot, you can youcan take off some of the
layers.
Uh, because all of this fphysical comfort is a big deal
with singers, um, because wecarry our instrument with us
(04:08):
wherever we go, right?
So dressing in layers.
So uh having a place for themto set their stuff down and
maybe to sit down and relax.
Because sometimes uh we gottagather our thoughts, like we're
about to sing, and we gottagather our thoughts.
We need a moment to just chillfor a second.
So having a comfortable chairnearby or a seating area, having
access to a restroom if theyneed to step uh uh aside and
(04:30):
kind of pray in a room bythemselves before before the
recording, things like that.
Marc Matthews (04:36):
The second top moment of 2025 is taken from
episode 181, which is titled CanAI Really Revolutionize Music
Production?
Music Industry Insights andTips with Dan Giffen of the
Ableton Live or the AbletonPodcast.
And uh in this we discussexploring Ableton's creative
workflow, optimizing AbletonLive for live performance, and
(04:59):
music career lessons and advice.
And in particular, the momenttaken from this episode is where
Dan is talking aboutcomposition beating mix every
time, which I'm a fan of, realfan of this.
So this is episode 181 with DanGiffen.
Dan Giffin (05:16):
When it comes to like mixing, things I've really
learned is like it's more abouthow it makes you feel than just
trying to get your kick drumperfect or whatever.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah.
I've heard some really shittymixes, and those are some of my
favorite songs because theenergy's there, because the
music just hits, it's a goodsong.
The composition is well made.
(05:37):
So I'd say composition beatsmixes every time.
But I think that if you canhave a great composition in a
great mix, that's like a that'sa big selling point, and that's
gonna be a song that hits thehardest.
But I'd say, like, in the endof the day, if you're playing
with it more than three timesand you don't know if it's
better or worse, then just likeyou're fine, move on.
(05:57):
Because I've gotten lost in thesauce of just tweaking the same
thing over and over.
So that's my golden rule.
If you touch it more than threetimes, you still don't know if
it's better or worse, it's fine.
Marc Matthews (06:06):
The third top moment is taken from episode
203.
What actually happens when youchoose a sample rate featuring
Ian Stewart?
And uh, I love having havingIan on the podcast.
He's been on the podcast a fewtimes because his technical
knowledge knows no bounds.
Um, some really insightful,in-depth stuff here.
So we discussed what is audiosample rate and how does it
(06:29):
work, understanding the Nyquisttheorem, why 48 kHz is the best
sample rate for today, andaliasing and imaging in audio
and everything in betweenreally.
This was a two-parter, so uhepisodes 203 and episode 204.
And in this particular uhmoment, Ian is discussing, or
rather telling us, describingwhat is sample rate.
(06:52):
So this is taken from episode203 with Ian Stewart.
Ian Stewart (06:56):
So when we record digital audio, right, when we
want to get something from amicrophone, for those of you
that are just listening, I'mpointing to my microphone, and
we want to get it into a file,we have to do a bunch of
conversion.
And part of the process is, youknow, if back in the old days
when we used tape or othermediums, right, that it was just
a voltage that came out of themic, went through a preamp, and
(07:16):
that voltage would get storedmad magnetically on a tape.
But when we go digital, we haveto measure that voltage and
store it as a value.
And because we can't do thatinfinitely fast and
continuously, we kind of take asample, we we measure that
voltage a bunch of times everysecond and save that.
Then we say, okay, the voltageis this, and we save it as a
(07:39):
value, as a digital number, andwe move on to the next sample
and say, Oh, now the voltage isthis, and we save that.
And so the sample rate justtells you how many times every
second you're taking thatsample.
Marc Matthews (07:50):
The fourth moment of 2025 is taken from episode
215, which is titled How to Mixa Wall of Sound That Still
Breathes with Drum X Wave andBrian Skiel.
So Drum X Wave is Jay Cali.
And in this episode, uh we talkabout uh translating vision to
mix, building big vocals, uhvocoda usage, guitars with
(08:12):
synths, synth choices and sounddesign, top-down workflow, and
advice for indie artists aswell.
There's loads in this episode.
And uh the moment taken fromthis is where Brian is
discussing top-down mixing thatstarts with emotion.
So this is taken from episode215 with Brian Skeel and drum
X-Wave, X aka Jay Cali.
Brian Skeele (08:36):
So when Jay and I first started on this track to
go back a couple conversations,I would send him like whips.
So he asked me, Hey, can can wedo extra guitars?
Can we do extra production?
I was helping him beef up likethe drum samples and you know
get some more body out of someof these you know synth bases.
And so we'd be, you know,sending stuff back and forth,
like, hey, how do we like thevibe on this?
(08:56):
That's production.
I'm not looking for luffs, I'mnot looking for everything to
really come together.
I am mixing a little bit as Igo, uh, just to save myself some
hassle further down the line.
But once I mentally move fromproduction is finished, we're
now on to the mix, that's when Istart top down.
Because I'm mixing as I go, theflavor is already there.
(09:17):
We're just getting everythingto play nice together.
Marc Matthews (09:20):
The fifth top moment of 2025 is taken from
episode 207, which is titled HowMany Drafts Does It Take to
Finish a Track Featuring MichaelOakley, who's been on the uh
podcast a few times now.
Always a pleasure chatting withMichael, uh, specifically
because he's a fellow NewcastleUnited fan as well.
And in this episode, we discussdrafting songs and getting
(09:41):
feedback, how mood affectscreativity, reworking without
losing the spark, soundselection and reuse tips, and
mapping musical ideas in yourDAW.
And in particular, this momentis where Michael is discussing
how don't overthink a song untilthe third rewrite.
Compelling, right?
(10:01):
This is episode 207 withMichael Oakley.
Michael Oakley (10:05):
It's a little bit like you know when you spray
aftershave and then and thenafter 15 minutes you can't smell
it anymore because you'vebecome noseblind.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And it's like that, it's likeyou you start to become it's a
myopia takes over and uh youcan't hear it anymore.
And so what you need to do isget someone else.
I mean, I I like someone elseto come and listen and give me
(10:27):
feedback because they usuallygive me an observation that I
haven't considered, or theybreak that myopia.
Like most recently, I wasworking on a track and I really
liked the drums.
I thought the drums soundedreally nice, and then I took it
to John Kunkel, and he said hesaid, those drums don't work.
The kick and the snare do notsound like they they really
(10:48):
belong in this world.
Marc Matthews (10:50):
The penultimate moment of 2025 is taken from
episode 188, and it's titled Allthe Damn Vampires, Davy
Oberlin.
What makes an 80s synthwavecover cover truly authentic?
And uh that cover in particularis White Snakes Is This Love,
one of my favourite songs of alltime, which is the reason, one
of the reasons I invited Davy onbecause I was like, I've got to
(11:12):
chat to him about this becauseit's amazing, and I absolutely,
absolutely love it.
And in this episode, we talkabout from metal to synthwave,
musical evolution, breaking downthe cover process, vocal
production techniques, andworking with Andy James on
guitar.
And the moment I've taken fromthis is Davey talking about
working with Andy James on histracks.
(11:32):
So this is episode 188 withDavey Oberlin, All the Damn
Vampires.
Davey Oberlin (11:37):
Andy is on one of my favorite all the damn
vampire songs I've ever writtencalled Carolina Lies.
So he plays the solo on thatsong.
We were we were actually out ontour together, and he was I
hadn't been tracking guitar oranything on cubase.
Like I just wasn't confident.
And then I saw him working withit, he'd bring his Kemper in
and he'd be tracking on Cubase.
And I'm like, dude, like what'syour process?
(11:58):
And so he he helped me getmyself set up to uh basically
track instruments again in a wayI hadn't been doing for years.
I came home, I wrote like ninesuper heavy songs, like very
like typo negative, catatonia,like just like you know, moody
stuff.
I'll send you a I have aprivate link for that.
I'll send you a little bit of achannel.
Yeah, yeah, please do.
It was like the first thing Idid when I got home.
So I was like, all right, likethis is killer.
And Andy also loves synthwave.
(12:20):
So if we'd be in the dressingroom getting ready, you know, we
were doing all this Metallicashows, so we'd be at the
stadiums and we'd have like themidnight playing, you know, as
as our warm-up music while we'regetting ready, just doing
push-ups, whatever.
Charlie and Andy lovesynthwave.
Marc Matthews (12:32):
And here it is drum roll, please, the final top
moment of 2025.
And it's taken from episode182, which is titled, Are You
Using Digital Distortion Wrongin Mastering with Eric Mitchell?
Had Eric on the podcast before,always a pleasure chat with
Eric because he comes with somegreat ideas, some amazing stuff,
very insightful.
And we discuss avoidingdistortion, pitfalls in
(12:54):
mastering, exploring tools fordigital distortion, and analog
versus digital mastering and thedebate therein.
And the moment taken from thisis where Eric is discussing and
talking about mastering isn'tbalancing, it's avoiding digital
distortion.
Again, very intriguing.
So this is taken from episode182 with Eric Mitchell.
Eric Mitchell (13:17):
I feel like saturation and distortion to me
is kind of like salt in food,right?
Like most food needs a littlesalt to wake up the flavor, but
you can very quickly and veryeasily over salt your food,
right?
And so, like the thing withdistortion is it's kind of
almost like blurring an image,right?
(13:39):
So it's like if you have thissignal that's very crisp and
pristine, the more distortionyou add to it, the more smeared
and blurry that gets, right?
Because it's adding all theharmonics, it's filling in all
the space between the theoriginal lines that were so
clean.
And so we talked about thislast time too, like the the in
(14:00):
2025, this abundance of like badaudio advice on the internet,
and you know how many Instagramvideos you'll be fed where
somebody's like, you want hugesubs?
Throw on the distortion andsaturate your whole mix and
crank the look, like likethere's so much bad advice.
Marc Matthews (14:16):
And that's it.
That is the two-partercomplete.
That is all, well, now 14 topmoments of 2025.
So seven in this episode andseven in the previous episode.
But I want to know what's yourfavorite podcast moment on
Inside the Mix of 2025?
Send me a message, click thelink in the episode description
and send me a message.
(14:36):
What is, let me know yourfavorite podcast moment of 2025,
and I'll feature it on episode227.
And whilst we're on that topic,don't forget to click the link
in the episode description andshare your feedback.
What do you want to see moreof, or rather hear more of, on
the podcast in 2026, and alsoshare your win and feature on
the podcast in episode 227,again, like I just mentioned.
(14:59):
And you've got until the end ofNovember to share your win of
2025.
So click that link, fill inthat feedback survey, and at the
bottom there, just put yourmusical win, and I'll feature it
in episode 227, as I mentioned.
So a big thank you to everybodyagain who has been part of the
podcast.
I say again because I mentionedthis in part one, who has been
part of the podcast, not only in2025, but also in the years
(15:21):
from 2000 and I think it was2021 I started.
Yeah, it was 2021.
Everybody who's been part ofthe podcast, and also, of
course, of course, you thelistener as well, who keep
coming back every week andlistening to me chat with some
amazing people.
You are the reason this podcastpodcast keeps going.
So a big, big thank you to you.
Now, the next few episodesleading up until Christmas,
(15:41):
because uh we are approachingthe festive season, season, if
not in it already, I'm going tobe sharing some of my favorite
podcasts.
So I've reached out to myfavorite podcasters and they've
kindly allowed me to almost takeover their RSS feed, or they're
taking over my RSS feed.
So they've shared their topepisodes with me, and I'm going
to be playing those episodes foryou.
(16:02):
So each week is going to be anew podcast.
Uh one of my favorite podcasts.
I'm not no spoilers, I'm notgoing to tell you who or what
podcast, but you'll find outstarting in the next episode.
So join me then.
You're listening to the Inside the Mix podcast
with your host, Mark Matthews.
Welcome to Inside the Mix, yourgo-to podcast for music
creation and production.
Whether you're crafting yourfirst track or refining your
mixing skills, join me each weekfor expert interviews,
practical tutorials, andinsights to help you level up
(00:45):
your music and smash it in themusic industry.
Let's dive in.
Hey folks, welcome to Insidethe Mix.
A big welcome to new listenersand of course a big welcome back
to the returning listeners aswell.
This episode is part two of mytwo-part series highlighting my
favorite moments from 2025.
As I mentioned in part one, dogo listen to the episode if you
(01:08):
haven't done so already.
In 2025, I've had the pleasureof sitting down virtually and
chatting with some amazing mixedengineers, mastering engineers,
producers, artists, andeverything in between as well.
Now I wish I could includeevery guest that I've had on the
podcast in 2025 because there'sbeen golden moments in all
(01:28):
those conversations.
But I just want to extend athank you to those guests and
you, the listener, as well, forbeing part of the podcast and
promoting the podcast, comingback every week and listening to
me chat with people from allacross the world as well, which
is amazing.
And I need your feedback,folks.
Click the link in the episodedescription and help me shape
the podcast in 2026.
(01:50):
It's a two-minute survey.
Let me know what's working,maybe what isn't working, what
you want to see more of, or youwant to see less of, or rather
hear rather than see.
And you can also share yourmusic win of 2025, and I will
share that on episode 227, soyou can get a shout out on the
podcast, and you'll get linksfor you and your music put in
(02:15):
that episode as well.
So people can find you andlearn more about you as an
artist.
So please do click that linkyou've got until the end of
November to submit your win andfeature on the podcast at the
end of this year in 2025.
Now, as I mentioned in partone, the reason this episode
matters is because most people,and I do this in particular,
like to look back at theprevious year and reflect on
(02:36):
what went well and maybe whatcould be improved.
And in this episode and theprevious one as well, so this
two part series, we areunpacking insights that help
artists mix and produce songsfaster, mix smarter, and stay
creative for longer.
So let's dive into the firsttop moment of 2025 in this
episode.
So this moment comes fromepisode 194, which is titled I
(03:00):
Asked a Pro Vocal Coach How toPrepare a Singer for a Recording
Session.
And it features Rich Bosic ofthe Facial Ears podcast.
In this episode, we chat aboutuh tips for remote vocal
recording sessions, how torecognize and manage vocal
fatigue, microphone selectiontips, and how to optimize the
headphone mix for singers.
(03:21):
And in particular, this momentis where Rich is talking about
how singers are high maintenanceand uh how he says, let's just
get that out the way.
So we're talking about singersbeing high maintenance in this
episode.
So it may sound like a sweepingstatement, but bear with me,
have a listen and check out theepisode because there are some
(03:42):
gold moments for vocalrecording.
And this is episode 194.
Oftentimes singers are highmaintenance, all right?
Rich Bozic (03:48):
So, like, well, let's just get that out of the
way.
Singers are high maintenance.
So you want to be like, youwant to encourage them, dress in
layers.
Uh so if you get cold, you canput your jacket on.
If you get too hot, you can youcan take off some of the
layers.
Uh, because all of this fphysical comfort is a big deal
with singers, um, because wecarry our instrument with us
(04:08):
wherever we go, right?
So dressing in layers.
So uh having a place for themto set their stuff down and
maybe to sit down and relax.
Because sometimes uh we gottagather our thoughts, like we're
about to sing, and we gottagather our thoughts.
We need a moment to just chillfor a second.
So having a comfortable chairnearby or a seating area, having
access to a restroom if theyneed to step uh uh aside and
(04:30):
kind of pray in a room bythemselves before before the
recording, things like that.
Marc Matthews (04:36):
The second top moment of 2025 is taken from
episode 181, which is titled CanAI Really Revolutionize Music
Production?
Music Industry Insights andTips with Dan Giffen of the
Ableton Live or the AbletonPodcast.
And uh in this we discussexploring Ableton's creative
workflow, optimizing AbletonLive for live performance, and
(04:59):
music career lessons and advice.
And in particular, the momenttaken from this episode is where
Dan is talking aboutcomposition beating mix every
time, which I'm a fan of, realfan of this.
So this is episode 181 with DanGiffen.
Dan Giffin (05:16):
When it comes to like mixing, things I've really
learned is like it's more abouthow it makes you feel than just
trying to get your kick drumperfect or whatever.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah.
I've heard some really shittymixes, and those are some of my
favorite songs because theenergy's there, because the
music just hits, it's a goodsong.
The composition is well made.
(05:37):
So I'd say composition beatsmixes every time.
But I think that if you canhave a great composition in a
great mix, that's like a that'sa big selling point, and that's
gonna be a song that hits thehardest.
But I'd say, like, in the endof the day, if you're playing
with it more than three timesand you don't know if it's
better or worse, then just likeyou're fine, move on.
(05:57):
Because I've gotten lost in thesauce of just tweaking the same
thing over and over.
So that's my golden rule.
If you touch it more than threetimes, you still don't know if
it's better or worse, it's fine.
Marc Matthews (06:06):
The third top moment is taken from episode
203.
What actually happens when youchoose a sample rate featuring
Ian Stewart?
And uh, I love having havingIan on the podcast.
He's been on the podcast a fewtimes because his technical
knowledge knows no bounds.
Um, some really insightful,in-depth stuff here.
So we discussed what is audiosample rate and how does it
(06:29):
work, understanding the Nyquisttheorem, why 48 kHz is the best
sample rate for today, andaliasing and imaging in audio
and everything in betweenreally.
This was a two-parter, so uhepisodes 203 and episode 204.
And in this particular uhmoment, Ian is discussing, or
rather telling us, describingwhat is sample rate.
(06:52):
So this is taken from episode203 with Ian Stewart.
Ian Stewart (06:56):
So when we record digital audio, right, when we
want to get something from amicrophone, for those of you
that are just listening, I'mpointing to my microphone, and
we want to get it into a file,we have to do a bunch of
conversion.
And part of the process is, youknow, if back in the old days
when we used tape or othermediums, right, that it was just
a voltage that came out of themic, went through a preamp, and
(07:16):
that voltage would get storedmad magnetically on a tape.
But when we go digital, we haveto measure that voltage and
store it as a value.
And because we can't do thatinfinitely fast and
continuously, we kind of take asample, we we measure that
voltage a bunch of times everysecond and save that.
Then we say, okay, the voltageis this, and we save it as a
(07:39):
value, as a digital number, andwe move on to the next sample
and say, Oh, now the voltage isthis, and we save that.
And so the sample rate justtells you how many times every
second you're taking thatsample.
Marc Matthews (07:50):
The fourth moment of 2025 is taken from episode
215, which is titled How to Mixa Wall of Sound That Still
Breathes with Drum X Wave andBrian Skiel.
So Drum X Wave is Jay Cali.
And in this episode, uh we talkabout uh translating vision to
mix, building big vocals, uhvocoda usage, guitars with
(08:12):
synths, synth choices and sounddesign, top-down workflow, and
advice for indie artists aswell.
There's loads in this episode.
And uh the moment taken fromthis is where Brian is
discussing top-down mixing thatstarts with emotion.
So this is taken from episode215 with Brian Skeel and drum
X-Wave, X aka Jay Cali.
Brian Skeele (08:36):
So when Jay and I first started on this track to
go back a couple conversations,I would send him like whips.
So he asked me, Hey, can can wedo extra guitars?
Can we do extra production?
I was helping him beef up likethe drum samples and you know
get some more body out of someof these you know synth bases.
And so we'd be, you know,sending stuff back and forth,
like, hey, how do we like thevibe on this?
(08:56):
That's production.
I'm not looking for luffs, I'mnot looking for everything to
really come together.
I am mixing a little bit as Igo, uh, just to save myself some
hassle further down the line.
But once I mentally move fromproduction is finished, we're
now on to the mix, that's when Istart top down.
Because I'm mixing as I go, theflavor is already there.
(09:17):
We're just getting everythingto play nice together.
Marc Matthews (09:20):
The fifth top moment of 2025 is taken from
episode 207, which is titled HowMany Drafts Does It Take to
Finish a Track Featuring MichaelOakley, who's been on the uh
podcast a few times now.
Always a pleasure chatting withMichael, uh, specifically
because he's a fellow NewcastleUnited fan as well.
And in this episode, we discussdrafting songs and getting
(09:41):
feedback, how mood affectscreativity, reworking without
losing the spark, soundselection and reuse tips, and
mapping musical ideas in yourDAW.
And in particular, this momentis where Michael is discussing
how don't overthink a song untilthe third rewrite.
Compelling, right?
(10:01):
This is episode 207 withMichael Oakley.
Michael Oakley (10:05):
It's a little bit like you know when you spray
aftershave and then and thenafter 15 minutes you can't smell
it anymore because you'vebecome noseblind.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And it's like that, it's likeyou you start to become it's a
myopia takes over and uh youcan't hear it anymore.
And so what you need to do isget someone else.
I mean, I I like someone elseto come and listen and give me
(10:27):
feedback because they usuallygive me an observation that I
haven't considered, or theybreak that myopia.
Like most recently, I wasworking on a track and I really
liked the drums.
I thought the drums soundedreally nice, and then I took it
to John Kunkel, and he said hesaid, those drums don't work.
The kick and the snare do notsound like they they really
(10:48):
belong in this world.
Marc Matthews (10:50):
The penultimate moment of 2025 is taken from
episode 188, and it's titled Allthe Damn Vampires, Davy
Oberlin.
What makes an 80s synthwavecover cover truly authentic?
And uh that cover in particularis White Snakes Is This Love,
one of my favourite songs of alltime, which is the reason, one
of the reasons I invited Davy onbecause I was like, I've got to
(11:12):
chat to him about this becauseit's amazing, and I absolutely,
absolutely love it.
And in this episode, we talkabout from metal to synthwave,
musical evolution, breaking downthe cover process, vocal
production techniques, andworking with Andy James on
guitar.
And the moment I've taken fromthis is Davey talking about
working with Andy James on histracks.
(11:32):
So this is episode 188 withDavey Oberlin, All the Damn
Vampires.
Davey Oberlin (11:37):
Andy is on one of my favorite all the damn
vampire songs I've ever writtencalled Carolina Lies.
So he plays the solo on thatsong.
We were we were actually out ontour together, and he was I
hadn't been tracking guitar oranything on cubase.
Like I just wasn't confident.
And then I saw him working withit, he'd bring his Kemper in
and he'd be tracking on Cubase.
And I'm like, dude, like what'syour process?
(11:58):
And so he he helped me getmyself set up to uh basically
track instruments again in a wayI hadn't been doing for years.
I came home, I wrote like ninesuper heavy songs, like very
like typo negative, catatonia,like just like you know, moody
stuff.
I'll send you a I have aprivate link for that.
I'll send you a little bit of achannel.
Yeah, yeah, please do.
It was like the first thing Idid when I got home.
So I was like, all right, likethis is killer.
And Andy also loves synthwave.
(12:20):
So if we'd be in the dressingroom getting ready, you know, we
were doing all this Metallicashows, so we'd be at the
stadiums and we'd have like themidnight playing, you know, as
as our warm-up music while we'regetting ready, just doing
push-ups, whatever.
Charlie and Andy lovesynthwave.
Marc Matthews (12:32):
And here it is drum roll, please, the final top
moment of 2025.
And it's taken from episode182, which is titled, Are You
Using Digital Distortion Wrongin Mastering with Eric Mitchell?
Had Eric on the podcast before,always a pleasure chat with
Eric because he comes with somegreat ideas, some amazing stuff,
very insightful.
And we discuss avoidingdistortion, pitfalls in
(12:54):
mastering, exploring tools fordigital distortion, and analog
versus digital mastering and thedebate therein.
And the moment taken from thisis where Eric is discussing and
talking about mastering isn'tbalancing, it's avoiding digital
distortion.
Again, very intriguing.
So this is taken from episode182 with Eric Mitchell.
Eric Mitchell (13:17):
I feel like saturation and distortion to me
is kind of like salt in food,right?
Like most food needs a littlesalt to wake up the flavor, but
you can very quickly and veryeasily over salt your food,
right?
And so, like the thing withdistortion is it's kind of
almost like blurring an image,right?
(13:39):
So it's like if you have thissignal that's very crisp and
pristine, the more distortionyou add to it, the more smeared
and blurry that gets, right?
Because it's adding all theharmonics, it's filling in all
the space between the theoriginal lines that were so
clean.
And so we talked about thislast time too, like the the in
(14:00):
2025, this abundance of like badaudio advice on the internet,
and you know how many Instagramvideos you'll be fed where
somebody's like, you want hugesubs?
Throw on the distortion andsaturate your whole mix and
crank the look, like likethere's so much bad advice.
Marc Matthews (14:16):
And that's it.
That is the two-partercomplete.
That is all, well, now 14 topmoments of 2025.
So seven in this episode andseven in the previous episode.
But I want to know what's yourfavorite podcast moment on
Inside the Mix of 2025?
Send me a message, click thelink in the episode description
and send me a message.
(14:36):
What is, let me know yourfavorite podcast moment of 2025,
and I'll feature it on episode227.
And whilst we're on that topic,don't forget to click the link
in the episode description andshare your feedback.
What do you want to see moreof, or rather hear more of, on
the podcast in 2026, and alsoshare your win and feature on
the podcast in episode 227,again, like I just mentioned.
(14:59):
And you've got until the end ofNovember to share your win of
2025.
So click that link, fill inthat feedback survey, and at the
bottom there, just put yourmusical win, and I'll feature it
in episode 227, as I mentioned.
So a big thank you to everybodyagain who has been part of the
podcast.
I say again because I mentionedthis in part one, who has been
part of the podcast, not only in2025, but also in the years
(15:21):
from 2000 and I think it was2021 I started.
Yeah, it was 2021.
Everybody who's been part ofthe podcast, and also, of
course, of course, you thelistener as well, who keep
coming back every week andlistening to me chat with some
amazing people.
You are the reason this podcastpodcast keeps going.
So a big, big thank you to you.
Now, the next few episodesleading up until Christmas,
(15:41):
because uh we are approachingthe festive season, season, if
not in it already, I'm going tobe sharing some of my favorite
podcasts.
So I've reached out to myfavorite podcasters and they've
kindly allowed me to almost takeover their RSS feed, or they're
taking over my RSS feed.
So they've shared their topepisodes with me, and I'm going
to be playing those episodes foryou.
(16:02):
So each week is going to be anew podcast.
Uh one of my favorite podcasts.
I'm not no spoilers, I'm notgoing to tell you who or what
podcast, but you'll find outstarting in the next episode.
So join me then.
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