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Mix Style - Purely a function of repetition?
Naahhh...mix style is a function of VISION: The vision the mixer has of the overall effect the mix will have on the audience.
Mix style is the realization of possibilities: What does the song want to be? Can you mix it so it's more than just a boring old "song," and more like a little aural movie? A work of musical art, or musical theater? Something compelling that takes the listener to another place?
I think great mixers do this: They envision the song as more than a recorded ensemble of musicians, and take it to the realm of fantasy. They create an alternate reality for the listener, and envelope the listener in the world of the story the song is telling.
A good and noble song has a life of its own, beyond melody and harmony and rhythm, beyond the musicians' interpretations of their individual parts. These elements are essential, but they are not the sum of the song. The players only see their parts, and play their parts (hopefully well). But there's a bigger picture, and that's where the mixer comes in.
The mixer should understand the story behind the song, and let that understanding guide his/her development of the atmosphere, background, and narrative of the mix, so that story is the "star" of the mix.
The mix should be like a "screenplay" of the story behind the song. The lead vocal track is the narraration, the main dialog. The backing vocals are the supporting characters. The orchestration provides scenery and mood, the rhythm section establishes the tempo; and vice-versa often.
A great mixer stamps the mix with a "QUALITY," not a "sound." A great mixer gives the song the life that the song wants, and casts that mix as a slice of life, a living work of art that exists in the realm of time and is timeless in its spirit and its reality.
In order to do this, the mixer must understand, appreciate and empathize with the trials and tribulations that the songs he/she produces are communicating. Drawing on life experiences, conversing with the songwriter, riding the subway and soaking up the vibes of the times...these are ways the mixer can submerge him/herself in the dramatic action that inspires truth in a mix.
Truth...how "true" is the mix? Ask yourself...and answer hard, painfully hard: How True Is This Mix?
Gear won't give you truth, but it might help. Formulas might help guide you. Having quality co-workers will most definitely help. But when the artist has something serious to say, something REALLY true, we have to fall back on something really true to communicate that to their audience:
Intention.