01Mix
Get the song right first.
- We build the record around your vocal.
- Tuned by hand, cleaned up before anything gets added.
- You hear passes as we go. No big reveal at the end.
A mix you've already signed off on.
Hand-tuned vocalsPro-QLA-2AEchoBoy
How we make records
Finishing the song is half the job.
Most studios hand you a WAV and wish you luck. We stay on it: the mix, the content, the rollout, and every round after, until the numbers move.
Ayush Basu, founder and engineer · with Sam Suen, artist and engineer
The record.
Where every studio starts. Get this wrong and nothing after it matters.
02Master
Make it hold up everywhere.
- Mastered for streaming, not a loudness war.
- Checked in the car, on earbuds, and on a phone.
A master that sounds right wherever it plays.
Most studios stop here.
This is where we keep going.
The rollout.
Content, release, pitch, and as many rounds as it takes for the song to get heard.
03Shoot
One day, a stack of clips.
- Shot in one batch while the master settles.
- Performance takes, the hook from five angles, the in-between moments.
Weeks of posts from one good day.
04Edit and test
Post, watch, keep what works.
- We cut the clips and post them before the song is out.
- The ones people stop for go to the main grid.
- The rest get retired, and we learn from them.
A grid built on what actually worked.
Test
Main grid
Test05Release kit
Ready before the song is.
- Cover art, lyric video, and lyrics, done early.
- Website updated, every link in place.
Release week is posting, not scrambling.
Site updated06Pitch
The emails are already written.
- Curators, blogs, and the people who backed you last time.
- Pitches drafted and templated before release.
They go out the day it drops, not a week late.
Release day
- To
- Playlist curator
- Subject
- New single from [artist], out Friday
Hey [name],
You added [last single] last spring, so you're the first person we wanted to send this to. [Song] is out Friday. Private link below, plus the lyric video if it helps.
[link] · [lyric video] · [press photo]
07Run it back
Again, until the streams move. Then the next one.
- Numbers not there yet? Another round: new clips, new angles, another push.
- When they are, we start on the next record.
Then we do it all again.
See a full rollout: Sam Suen
Questions
What artists ask us first.
Do I have to do the whole process?
No. Plenty of artists just want the mix and master, and that's fine. The rest is there when you want it, and it's the same team either way.
What do you need from me to start?
Stems exported from bar one, named plainly, plus two or three songs that sound like where you want this to land. That's enough for a first pass.
How long does it take?
A first mix is usually back inside 48 hours. A full rollout, from shoot to release day, typically runs a few weeks, depending on how much content we're making.
Do you work with artists outside Atlanta?
Yes. Mixing and mastering are remote by default. Shoots and studio time happen here in Atlanta.
Start with one song.
Your first mix is $50. We'll tell you honestly what the song needs, and if the answer is a re-record, we'll say so before you pay for anything.
Want the gear and the history of recorded sound? That lives in the CTRL·A toolkit, our open creative library.
