When the Mix Becomes Part of the Music: Promise shines through the mix

A mixing engineer’s work is frequently invisible to the final consumer. The less obvious, the better. There is nothing wrong with engineers who favour subtlety, but let us have a look at how the mix engineer made some crucial decisions that impacted the listening experience in the records “Bajeola” and “Dance”.

Promise Taiwo Oyeladun, a Nigerian UK-based songwriter, producer, and sound engineer, is one of those mix engineers who believe that the mix should be a part of the music, not the music’s owner. Promise’s engineering is visible in tracks like “Bajeola”, ‘Melakusi‘ and “Dance”, providing the recordings with the needed amount of separation for all sounds to be clearly heard while keeping the energy and fullness of a typical African music mix.

As for the particularities of the mixing in “Bajeola” and “Dance”, I would say that they are both brilliant but stem from different directions. “Bajeola” manages not to clutter the production with excessive sounds, resulting in a greater degree of clarity and separation. It is important to note that less is more when mixing a track, and the ability to define clarity and spotlight a particular part of a song is often overlooked. On both tracks, her skill and experience is visible as the vocals and the instrumentals sit perfectly in the mix.

“Dance” utilises the necessary fullness and power of an African music mix, and the mix engineer manages to maintain the density and energy of the production while isolating the sounds so that the listener can understand what music they are listening to. The key takeaway here is that the engineer did not force one aesthetic to shape both songs. On the contrary, they utilised the mix engineering skills to the extent needed for the production of each recording.

I think it is rare to find such a mix engineer who understands that the production values should serve the music and not dictate it. More often than not, one can see a mix engineer who does not interfere with the song arrangement and vocals, only enhancing the sounds so that they are pleasing to the ear.

Either way, Promise Taiwo Oyeladun managed to showcase her talent on the two tracks perfectly, proving that technical brilliance can be used for musical purposes.