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Larrabee Studios is one of those mysterious places in North Hollywood where if you aren’t in the inner circles of the music industry, you will never find it. Most recording and mix studios go incognito so they can service high profile clients without becoming landmarks on the maps of the stars. And who would blame them with such talent as Christina Aguilera, Kid Cudi and Whitney Houston all in this very room within the last week.

The reason a string of the most notable names in the business grace these halls is audio mixer Manny Marroquin. He’s won 4 Grammy’s (Mary Mary, John Legend, Kanye West and Alicia Keys) and been nominated for countless others. One year he had 3 out of the 5 records up for Record of the year, losing to the compilation Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? However, when you talk to Manny you get the distinct sense that he’s not in it for the accolades. In fact he keeps those coveted trophies in a corner of his bedroom and he’s gifted them, 2 each, to his two boys. “They really belong to them, everything I do is for them.”

What Manny is in it for is the art of it. When an artist like Duffy, from the UK, has a hit and they want to break her in the USA, they call Manny. Maybe its something you haven’t given a lot of thought to, but all countries have a certain flavor, a sound that popular culture gravitates towards. Manny knows how to dial in that sound, and spit out a hit. He explained the challenge of this process like this, “The client writes this great song, and then gets the best producers to record the best sounding record. So you have all these elements that the client has been living and breathing for maybe a year or more. And its already at this level of quality; it’s their song, their baby. I get it and usually have about 12 hours to re-think it.” As you can imagine, it doesn’t always go well. But that’s the art of it. The Audio Mixer is a talent unto himself. He isn’t just adjusting levels and tweaking knobs, he’s re-inventing the song, re-imaging its core, and generally tasked with making it something magical. “Its the most fulfilling when the client hears my mix and is moved beyond anything that they had imagined. A few times I’ve actually had the client in tears. But you know, in a good way.”

Its passion, integrity and ambition that has driven Manny to where he is today. He had the same start as a lot of Audio Engineer Wannabees, a runner in a studio. After 2 or 3 months of bugging the studio manager for a chance to assist a session, lady luck smiled down on him. One of the second engineers (the assistant to the mixer) didn’t show. The manager asked Manny if he knew the room well enough to handle a session. Enthusiastically he said he did and a career was born. Of course, he was lying. He knew a little but certainly not enough to run a session on a million dollar mixing board with a high paying, high profile client. So he did the only thing he could think of in that situation, he told the client the truth. He said, “I have to be honest, I’m not really great with the technical stuff in the room, but i promise you this, you will never have a better assistant than me.” Again, Manny has always had a way with the ladies, and luck struck a second time. The Engineer agreed to let him have a go, and not only did Manny excel, the engineer asked for him every time he came in. Eventually Manny became a staff engineer, meeting and working with some of the most dynamic producers in the industry.

In the music biz, it really is all about who you know. And in Audio engineering, “you’re only as good as your clients last hit”. So it stands to reason if you work with the best, you grow to become the best. Even if its a precarious balance, a mixers art is hearing what hasn’t been played yet. Its a lonely life, staring at the same 4 walls, mixing board, and patch bay every day. But if you have passion for music, every mix is your best effort, every day you start fresh and re-invent yourself in the process.

Audio engineers are the unsung heros of the airwaves. Next time you are really feeling a song, and the beat and the breaks are just rocking your soul, take a minute to check out who mixed it.

Words and photos by Barbie Brady

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