#21 Work-Life Balance | With Special Guest Leslie Brathwaite

Stokes Sound

Podcast Summary

In this episode, we bring you Leslie Brathwaite, 18x Grammy Award-Winning Mix Engineer, to talk about work-life balance.

Leslie’s credits include Pharrell Williams, Outkast, Björk, TLC, Jay Z, Madonna, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Akon, T.I., Monica, Michael Jackson, Cher, Mary J. Blige, 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G. Beyonce, Jack Harlow, David Guetta, and Cardi B. He holds GRAMMY Awards for Best R&B performance by Duo or Group - Brandy and Monica, The Boy Is Mine (1999), Best R&B Album – TLC, FanMail (2000), Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group – TLC, No Scrubs (2000), Best Rap Album – OUTKAST, Stankonia (2002), Best Urban Contemporary Album – Pharrell Williams, GIRL (2015), and Best Pop Solo Performance – Pharrell Williams, Happy (2015).

Today, you’ll hear about how Leslie manages his day-to-day life on the go, how he mixed Cardi B’s WAP in the back of his truck, the productivity boost of working from home, how mixing is like surgery, how overthinking can unravel a mix, the pressure of working with A-listers, the revision process, Leslie’s non-template approach, learning from other mixers, how Leslie got to where he is now, the narrowing production quality gap, getting credit for the work, networking and competition, the function of management, and the three things that Leslie wishes he’d known earlier.

Episode Timestamps

• [01:06] A bit about Leslie.
• [02:33] Leslie’s day-to-day.
• [05:20] Mixing Cardi B in the back of a truck.
• [07:54] Productivity working from home.
• [13:01] Mixing like surgery.
• [14:32] Overthinking.
• [21:04] The pressure of working with A-listers.
• [22:32] The revision process.
• [27:19] Stress vs success.
• [30:22] Working without templates.
• [31:45] Leslie’s mix bus.
• [32:30] In-the-box limitations.
• [34:55] Learning from other mixers.
• [39:20] Transitioning from recording to mixing.
• [42:30] Learning is learning.
• [45:58] The production quality gap.
• [52:14] Minimal processing on the mix bus.
• [55:20] Hearing a record that he’s mixed.
• [60:10] Mixing credits.
• [61:53] Would Leslie’s approach be different now?
• [64:27] Competition.
• [65:56] Having a manager.
• [68:33] What Leslie wishes he’s known earlier.

Notable Quotes

• “If you’ve got the right tools, you can mix records on the go.”
• “As a professional, you have to be able to do your job, no matter the content.”
• “Everybody has the tools now.”
• “The people who need to know will find out.”
• “Never give up.”

Connect with Leslie

Website:Leslie Brathwaite.

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