What Happens When Dave Pensado and MixedByAli Get In The Same Room? You Learn.

“Hard work overrides talent when talent ain’t working”

I met a mixing virtuoso during the filming of Dave Pensado’s show Pensado’s Place:

Mixing god Derek “MixedByAli” Ali.

He’s the beautiful mind behind the mixing board for instant classics like Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City—His discography is staggering.

Make What You’ve Got Work

I have to admit that I was totally in awe! The fanboy in me came out. My humble level jumped to 1000 real quick.

Ali was approachable, open-minded and down to earth about his work.

He’s just like you and me. He got his start the same way we did. He learned in the same way most of us did. And he’s a reminder that we all grind everyday for our craft.

“That was the beginning: a cheap interface—forgive me for saying this but—cracked plugins ’cause I couldn’t afford plugins, and a hundred dollar mic and we just made it happen.”

Catch the entire Pensado’s Place episode below and find out everything I learned from MixedByAli (oh yeah, our co-founder is on the show too, but he’s not as cool).

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Rory Seydel is a musician, writer and father who takes pleasure in touring the world and making records. Creative Director at LANDR.

@Rory Seydel