Mixing Music | Music Production, Audio Engineering, & Music Business

In this solo episode, Dee Kei gets honest about something nobody in the audio world really wants to say out loud — talent is the most common thing in this industry, and it's rarely what separates the engineers who are thriving from the ones who are struggling. After years of working alongside incredibly gifted mixers who can't keep the lights on, and watching others with average ears build sustainable careers, the pattern is clear: the gap isn't in the DAW.
Dee breaks down the real reasons talented engineers stay stuck — from waiting until they feel "ready," to undercharging out of insecurity, to treating their craft like a hobby instead of a business. He talks about the trap of being busy without being strategic, what it actually takes to build a referral pipeline, and why isolation might be the most career-limiting thing a mixer can do.
This one is a mindset episode, but it's also practical. Every point has a fix — and none of them require you to get better at mixing.
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HIRE DEE KEI
HIRE LU
⁠HIRE JAMES⁠
Find Dee Kei and Lu on Social Media:
Instagram: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu @JamesParrishMixes
Twitter: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu
The Mixing Music Podcast is sponsored by ⁠Izotope⁠, ⁠Antares (Auto Tune)⁠, Sweetwater, ⁠Plugin Boutique⁠, ⁠Lauten Audio⁠, ⁠Filepass⁠, & ⁠Canva⁠
The Mixing Music Podcast is a video and audio series on the art of music production and post-production. Dee Kei, Lu, and James are professionals in the Los Angeles music industry having worked with names like Odetari, 6arelyhuman, Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole, Benny the Butcher, carolesdaughter, Crying City, Daphne Loves Derby, Natalie Jane, charlieonnafriday, bludnymph, Lay Bankz, Rico Nasty, Ayesha Erotica, ATEEZ, Dizzy Wright, Kanye West, Blackway, The Game, Dylan Espeseth, Tara Yummy, Asteria, Kets4eki, Shaquille O'Neal, Republic Records, Interscope Records, Arista Records, Position Music, Capital Records, Mercury Records, Universal Music Group, apg, Hive Music, Sony Music, and many others.
This podcast is meant to be used for educational purposes only. This show is filmed and recorded at Dee Kei's private studio in North Hollywood, California. If you would like to sponsor the show, please email us at ⁠deekeimixes@gmail.com⁠.

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In this episode, Dee Kei breaks down how he actually thinks about mixing vocals — and it's probably not what you'd expect. Before touching a plugin, an EQ, or a compressor, the most important step is understanding the intention behind the song. Is it a club banger or an intimate bedroom record? A polished pop vocal or something raw that's supposed to feel that way? Dee explains why blindly applying mixing techniques without reading context is the number one mistake engineers at every level make.
From there, he dives into the fundamentals: how low-mids shape intimacy versus energy, why most beginners over-de-ess their vocals, when heavy compression works in your favor and when it fights the song, and how vocal placement in the mix is determined by the density and genre of the track. He also gets real about something not enough people talk about — the rise of intentionally "rough" sounding mixes that are racking up streams, and what that means for how you serve your clients.
Whether you're a bedroom producer mixing your first song or a working engineer looking to sharpen your instincts, this episode will shift how you approach every vocal session.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!
⁠SUBSCRIBE TO YOUTUBE⁠
Join the ‘Mixing Music Podcast’ Discord!
HIRE DEE KEI
HIRE LU
⁠HIRE JAMES⁠
Find Dee Kei and Lu on Social Media:
Instagram: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu @JamesParrishMixes
Twitter: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu
The Mixing Music Podcast is sponsored by ⁠Izotope⁠, ⁠Antares (Auto Tune)⁠, Sweetwater, ⁠Plugin Boutique⁠, ⁠Lauten Audio⁠, ⁠Filepass⁠, & ⁠Canva⁠
The Mixing Music Podcast is a video and audio series on the art of music production and post-production. Dee Kei, Lu, and James are professionals in the Los Angeles music industry having worked with names like Odetari, 6arelyhuman, Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole, Benny the Butcher, carolesdaughter, Crying City, Daphne Loves Derby, Natalie Jane, charlieonnafriday, bludnymph, Lay Bankz, Rico Nasty, Ayesha Erotica, ATEEZ, Dizzy Wright, Kanye West, Blackway, The Game, Dylan Espeseth, Tara Yummy, Asteria, Kets4eki, Shaquille O'Neal, Republic Records, Interscope Records, Arista Records, Position Music, Capital Records, Mercury Records, Universal Music Group, apg, Hive Music, Sony Music, and many others.
This podcast is meant to be used for educational purposes only. This show is filmed and recorded at Dee Kei's private studio in North Hollywood, California. If you would like to sponsor the show, please email us at ⁠deekeimixes@gmail.com⁠.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Episode 376 of the Mixing Music Podcast, Dee Kei shares a solo episode covering a wide range of topics that have been on his mind recently, from sleep and creativity to parenting, education, faith, and the psychology of pursuing music.
He reflects on how sleep affects patience, decision-making, relationships, and creative work, why teaching is a completely different skill than doing, and how balancing rules with freedom applies to both parenting and artistic growth. The conversation then expands into bigger questions about faith, cynicism, self-limiting beliefs, and the importance of maintaining hope in an industry that often feels uncertain.
This is a thoughtful and highly personal episode about creativity, perspective, and learning how to move forward without becoming trapped by fear, certainty, or negativity. 

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In Episode 375 of the Mixing Music Podcast, Dee Kei and James break down a tier list for client acquisition in the music industry, inspired by a video from Panorama Mixing and Mastering. They discuss what actually works for getting mixing and production clients, what sounds good in theory but rarely converts, and why repeat clients and word of mouth still dominate almost everything else.
The conversation covers networking events, Instagram outreach, YouTube, educational content, spec mixes, referrals, local music scenes, label relationships, free work, websites, paid ads, and cold DMs. Along the way, Dee Kei and James share personal stories from their own careers, including what helped them grow, what failed completely, and how different strategies change depending on your city, pricing, and stage of career.
The bigger takeaway is that most successful audio careers are built less on “hacks” and more on trust, consistency, relationships, and staying active long enough for momentum to compound. This is a practical episode for mixers, producers, and engineers trying to figure out where to actually spend their time and energy. 
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!
⁠SUBSCRIBE TO YOUTUBE⁠
Join the ‘Mixing Music Podcast’ Discord!
HIRE DEE KEI
HIRE LU
⁠HIRE JAMES⁠
Find Dee Kei and Lu on Social Media:
Instagram: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu @JamesParrishMixes
Twitter: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu
The Mixing Music Podcast is sponsored by ⁠Izotope⁠, ⁠Antares (Auto Tune)⁠, Sweetwater, ⁠Plugin Boutique⁠, ⁠Lauten Audio⁠, ⁠Filepass⁠, & ⁠Canva⁠
The Mixing Music Podcast is a video and audio series on the art of music production and post-production. Dee Kei, Lu, and James are professionals in the Los Angeles music industry having worked with names like Odetari, 6arelyhuman, Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole, Benny the Butcher, carolesdaughter, Crying City, Daphne Loves Derby, Natalie Jane, charlieonnafriday, bludnymph, Lay Bankz, Rico Nasty, Ayesha Erotica, ATEEZ, Dizzy Wright, Kanye West, Blackway, The Game, Dylan Espeseth, Tara Yummy, Asteria, Kets4eki, Shaquille O'Neal, Republic Records, Interscope Records, Arista Records, Position Music, Capital Records, Mercury Records, Universal Music Group, apg, Hive Music, Sony Music, and many others.
This podcast is meant to be used for educational purposes only. This show is filmed and recorded at Dee Kei's private studio in North Hollywood, California. If you would like to sponsor the show, please email us at ⁠deekeimixes@gmail.com⁠.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hey Y'all. It's Dee Kei.
Sorry for the lazy announcment episode with no real content. I'm moving and stressed out. I just want to knock this out and it's eating all my time. I'll be back with regular content next week. Thank you for your patience!

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