Mixing / Production

Paul White shows you how to get that massive dance sound. Additional material by Mike Senior.

Gates are far more than just problem-solvers for reducing spill and noise. They can be used to add punch to drum sounds, put rhythmic interest into sustained parts or even as mixing automation.

Producer and engineer John Leckie is renowned for his work with English pop legends such as John Lennon, The Stone Roses and Radiohead. Recently, however, he left behind the comforts of Abbey Road to record one of Africa's best-known singers on location in Senegal.

The world is full of manufactured pop bands, but the innovation of the TV show Popstars is to turn the manufacturing process itself into entertainment. Sam Inglis talks to the producers behind the resulting smash hit single.

Paul White reveals that there's much more to gating than you might think.

The standout track from Dido's debut album No Angel is known to millions as a TV theme, and is now a smash hit single in the UK. Sam Inglis talks to Pascal Gabriel, who co-wrote 'Here With Me' with Dido and his colleague Paul Statham, and programmer James Sanger, who helped to shape the final version.

Over the last 30 years Tony Platt has engineered and produced albums by some of the biggest names in music, from rock to reggae. Tom Flint talked to him about his days at the pioneering Island Studios, his work with the legendary producer Mutt Lange and his vision of the future.

What's the connection between Madonna and Stockhousen? Sam Inglis meets a producer who puts the 'art' into chart music...

Last year's best-selling UK single came not from Westlife or All Saints, but a pre-school kids'TV series. Sam Inglis asks its composer and producer how they turned the theme into a hit.

Sam Inglis meets the production crew behind one of the year's biggest garage tracks.

Wedding Present frontman David Gedge and engineer/producer Steve Albini are both brutally loud guitar-based alternative music — so what would happen when they collaborated on an album influenced more by Serge Gainsbourg than the Stooges? Tom Flint investigates...

Elizabeth Parker is one of Britain's best-known composers of music for television, and is renowned in the business for her ability to complete projects to the tightest of deadlines. Sam Inglis visits her unique personal studio to find out how she does it...

One of Britain's leading experts in orchestral arrangement, David Sinclair Whitaker has worked on everything from the original version of 'My Way' to hits by S Club 7. Mike Senior finds him still going strong after more than 35 years in the music business...

Sam Inglis catches up with man behind one of the year 2000's biggest dance hits, and hears about a tangled web of remixes, bootlegs and licensing deals; not to mention the most bizarre synthesizer on the market today...

Paul White further explores the secrets of successful compression, and explains how to use advanced techniques for mastering your mixes.

Paul White looks at different gain-control elements and their effect on audio.

In the final part of his short series on pushing back the boundaries of effects processing, Paul White explores many different applications of audio filters, as well as exploring the possibilities of granular synthesis.

Can an Englishman's home be both his castle and his studio — or is it better to keep business and pleasure apart? Jay Kay of Jamiroquai clearly feels that building his own facility has paid off. Sue Sillitoe heads for his Chillington studio in Buckinghamshire to find out more...

The studio business has seen huge changes in the last 10 years, and the equipment, techniques and fashions that were cutting-edge in the early '90s are often redundant now. Mike Senior meets a producer and engineer who, having made it to the top then decided to take a five-year break and is now back with a vengeance.

David Gray's album White Ladder has become one of the most successful UK chart albums of 2000, a breakthrough spearheaded by top five chart single 'Babylon'. Engineer/programmer and co-producer Lestyn Polson tells Tom Flint the story behind the song.

Newcastle-based engineer Dave Maughan, like many SOS readers, runs a small commercial studio based in his own house — where he recorded one of the year's most acclaimed albums. Sam Inglis hears his story.