Adrian Janicki

Mixing and Recording engineer straight out of Poland, This month SoundGym Hero is @Adrian Janicki.So how long have you been on SoundGym? 

 

I've joined around July 2016 so we're coming to two years - quite a long training. But for the first few months I kept on forgetting about Soundgym, cause I had installed Mr. Soundman (does someone remember this app?).

What was your first connection to music?

My first connection with music was at my grandparent's home - they had a piano. My grandmother always said that I play really sad tunes, so therefore she tried to broaden my musical taste by buying me music - from classical music to some punky stuff, but nonetheless I didn't go to any music school. 

Did you get an official Sound/Production education?

In my late teen years I really started to get more into music, so the next level for me was going to some school that would teach me something in that direction. Eventually I am a sound technician.

Tell us about your projects and what you do?  

Right now I mostly a mix engineer and from time to time I record someone. This gives me a lot of time to sit by myself but to be creative at the same time, but have a possibility to enhance vision on some projects from the beginning - not just make the recording sound good. I'm mixing mostly rap nowadays, but from time to time something more out of the box will come.

Who have been the biggest musical influences for you?

THE BIGGEST influence is definitely OutKast. I listen to their records close to 20 years now and still find something to be inspired from. The palette of sounds and ideas on their discography is enourmous - from strict sampled rap beats ("Two Dope Boyz"), and soulful ballads ("Liberation") to blues and swing tracks (listen to "Love Hater") but at the same time had really big hits. And it's still mindbending for me to have harmonica solo on leading single from rap album.

Have you made music today?

No, I have not. But I mixed some.

What have you been working on lately?

I recorded two albums for two underground rappers from my city and mixed another album for another one. (there's no info about that albums yet, so I don't know if I can say anything).

Tell us a bit about your workflow at the studio?

My studio workflow is really straightforward because I do all ITB with mouse and keyboard and two sets of monitors to reference. I had bigger things in mind in recent years, but I must have recall mixes at really different time, because I switch projects many times, so outboard is not really for me. But I had some thinking about Bettermakers EQ and compressor, cause their totally digitally controlled, fully recallable via plugin. Maybe in the future...

Any habits you have before starting a session?

Recording - just checking is everything working and talk with the artist to make them comfortable recording. It's good to build relation with the artist, so they feel a bit more relaxed when recording.

Mixing - always the same template and looking for some reference for track. Sometimes I meditate before to have peace of mind.

What is one of your favorite production technique?

I don't know if it's good to call it technique, but I had recently acknowledged the power of dynamic eq to have some really consistent mids without sacrificing the tone - mainly vocals, but it works on everything.

One Free plugin that you recommend?

IT'SREALLYHARD, but I will go with... TDR Kotelnikov because there is one in every mix I did for last 12 months. Really good sound without any sound printed in it and it can work on everything but it's my go-to submix compressor. 

Which 3 plug-ins you can't live without?

FabFilter Pro-Q2, Waves RCompressor, Waves Desser 

What does the future hold for Adrian Janicki in the music industry?

 

Sometime ago my friend started a music label called More & More Records and I take over the technical side of it so right now I'm trying to serve my best not only as an engineer, but also to be executive producer, A&R and everything in between. Sometimes it's fun, sometime it's working around the clock to make something work. I mostly would like to go as an engineer full time, but as Master Yoda said "Patience you must have".

Last question, What is your favorite SoundGym Feature and why?

It changes from time to time, but I've grown to appreciate the lobby and read any tips for getting better and help others much as I can.  

  

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