Mixing
Rugged
Keziah Jones
Song : Rugged
Duration:1h33 Subtitles: English, Spanish
Description
Step inside Red Bull studios NYC to witness analog purist Russell Elevado mix a song from scratch! Using a SSL 9000 J-series console and an arsenal of fine outboard equipment, the fabled engineer crafts an all-analog mix of 'Rugged' by the artist Keziah Jones. Starting from the beginning of the mix process, Elevado explains his initial patching, comments on his choices for particular gear, and demonstrates his approach to getting an initial balance. He then elaborates on his methods and dials in on EQ, parallel and direct compression, re-amping, effects, and more. While mixing, he sheds light on a variety of areas including the benefits of analog summing, creative tape effects, impedance, and transformers. Upon finishing the mix with final EQ and level automation, he enlightens us to why he avoids the common practice of master buss processing.
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12 minStarting patches for drums, bass, & vocals, compressor comparison, low end EQ, phase
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11 minDrums & bass – parallel & direct compression, EQ, chain orders, summing to mono
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18 minVocal & guitar – EQ, compression, re-amping, vari-speed, echo, impedance, transformers
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10 minHorns – group blend & compression, analog vs. digital summing
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15 minClavinet & BV – spring reverb, tube compression, clip gain in Pro Tools
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14 minBV effects, horns reverb & EQ, lead vocal compression, fader snapshot, automation pass
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10 minVocal EQ automation, feelings about the project, reasons for no mix buss processing
Five-Day Seminar in Paris
Join multi-Grammy winning engineer Russell Elevado for a five-day production seminar in Paris from January 25 to 29, 2027.
Russell recorded and mixed D'Angelo's Voodoo and Black Messiah, two albums that shaped the sound of modern soul and both winners of the Grammy for Best R&B Album. At Rue Boyer Studios, he will work through his process from tracking to tape to mixing on the console, and show how that sound is built, decision by decision.
In addition to his work with D'Angelo, Russell has recorded and mixed for The Roots, Erykah Badu, Common, Al Green, Jay-Z, and Keziah Jones.
Over four decades he has worked with a musically diverse list of artists including Jon Batiste, Angélique Kidjo, Alicia Keys, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Tom Misch, and Xênia França, whose Em Nome da Estrela won the Latin Grammy for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album. He has engineered more than fifty full albums across a discography of over 100, and won five Grammy Awards.
This is not a nostalgic look at vintage gear. Over five days, Russell will focus on analog thinking: committing to sounds, working within limits, and trusting your ears. Designed for working engineers and producers across all genres, the seminar shows how to bring that approach into any workflow, whether on tape, on a console, or in a hybrid setup.
About Russell Elevado
Russell Elevado is a recording engineer and record producer based in New York City. Recording and mixing contemporary R&B artist D'Angelo's critically acclaimed Voodoo earned him a Grammy Award in 2000. Voodoo is now considered a classic of the genre and paved the way for the neo-soul movement. Elevado's "old school" engineering techniques and preference for mostly vintage equipment gave the album a sound reminiscent of a classic soul or funk record but with a fresh approach, fusing hip hop textures...
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12 min
Starting patches for drums, bass, & vocals, compressor comparison, low end EQ, phase
-
11 min
Drums & bass – parallel & direct compression, EQ, chain orders, summing to mono
-
18 min
Vocal & guitar – EQ, compression, re-amping, vari-speed, echo, impedance, transformers
-
10 min
Horns – group blend & compression, analog vs. digital summing
-
15 min
Clavinet & BV – spring reverb, tube compression, clip gain in Pro Tools
-
14 min
BV effects, horns reverb & EQ, lead vocal compression, fader snapshot, automation pass
-
10 min
Vocal EQ automation, feelings about the project, reasons for no mix buss processing