Choosing a Mixing Engineer for a Shoegaze EP or Album
Choose a shoegaze mixing engineer by listening to relevant work, checking exactly what they did on it, and discussing how they would preserve the guitar textures you already love. For an EP or album, agree on the sound across the whole record, the revision process and the scope of the quote before booking.
The useful question is what happens when the guitars, voice, bass and drums all play together. Does the music still have the movement and detail that made you want to record it? Can the engineer explain what they hear in your rough mix, and which parts they would protect?
Give each guitar layer a reason to be there
For Tapetown engineer Rasmus Bredvig, shoegaze mixing starts with how the guitars sit together: their layering, the way they are compressed and the nuances that survive inside the combined sound. Adding another guitar can strengthen an arrangement, but stacking parts without intent can also work against it.
His description of the target is physical: guitars that seem to poke holes in your speakers, but with a pillow behind the impact. They bite, yet you still want to lean into them. Shaping the EQ while pushing the compressors is part of finding that balance.
That is a useful conversation to have with a prospective mixer. Which layer carries the chord? Which adds movement, or a particular edge? What does the quieter part contribute when the louder guitars arrive? Ask how the engineer would judge those relationships in your recording. A fixed number of guitar tracks or a preset chain cannot answer those questions for every band.
Listen to a portfolio with that in mind. Follow one guitar through a busy section, then listen to the whole band again. Do the small changes still matter? Does the chorus gain something when the arrangement opens up? Density can be the intention; it should still feel intentional.
Listen for compression that keeps the music moving
For Rasmus, compression is also part of the movement of a shoegaze mix as a whole. It can shape the pulsating feeling that seems to run ahead of you and pull you along. The aim is to keep that momentum alive, so the music retains its strength through the dense passages instead of becoming static.
That gives you another way to listen to an engineer’s work. Follow a passage through its build, its busiest moment and its release. Does it keep drawing you forward? Then ask how they would approach movement in your own song. The answer should relate to the performance and arrangement you have sent.
Lo-fi shoegaze can have that movement too. Rasmus describes that direction as involving a less-is-more approach and decisions about levels: allowing some parts to sit further inside the sound than they would in a more hi-fi mix. Tell your mixer which details should emerge and which should stay partly buried. A softer or less exposed sound can still have purpose and strength.
Use DIIV and Slowdive references to explain a particular sound
“We like DIIV and Slowdive” starts a conversation. A specific track and a short note make it much more useful. If you bring DIIV’s Deceiver or Slowdive’s Souvlaki, identify the section that matters and what you want the mixer to notice: guitar weight, vocal distance, the way a rhythm stays present, or the change between a restrained passage and a dense one.
You might write: “At this chorus, we like how the guitar sound grows around the voice. We want that feeling of scale, while keeping the attack in our own playing.” That is an example brief, not a rule about either record.
DIIV and Slowdive are listening references here. The Tapetown work you can assess is identified below with its own recording and mixing credits.
Bring your rough mix too. Mark the parts you are attached to, including pedal effects, feedback, distortion and balances that may look unusual on paper. The mixer needs to know which details already belong to the song.
Hear relevant work, then read the credits
Catch the Breeze: Glow
Glow, by Catch the Breeze, is a released album recorded at Tapetown in Aarhus. Its official credits name Rasmus Bredvig for engineering and mixing, Emil Thomsen at ET Mastering for mastering, and Catch the Breeze for writing and production. It was released in March 2018.
The band describes the album as drawing on shoegaze, post-punk and art rock, recorded over two live sessions in 2017. That makes it a relevant starting point for a band that wants to hear how an entire record holds together. Listen across several songs as well as to individual guitar sounds.
Independent coverage adds another perspective. The Obelisk’s feature on “Paper Lanterns” discusses the album’s texture, depth, melody and human feel. Those are observations about the finished music; the album credits show who contributed to it.
For every portfolio example, check the version, engineer and role. “Worked with the artist” alone does not tell you whether someone recorded, mixed or mastered the music you are hearing. A live-session credit also needs to be identified as such when you are comparing it with a studio album.
Talk about vocals, rhythm and the whole record
Guitar tone is only one part of choosing a mixer. Say whether the vocal should feel close, distant or partly absorbed into the guitars, and whether that should change between sections. There is no need to choose a single vocal position for every song just because the record is called shoegaze.
Ask how the bass and drums will support the guitars, particularly in the densest passages. Then discuss the EP or album as a sequence: which songs should feel connected, which should be smaller or more exposed, and where the biggest moment belongs.
If you want to begin with one song, ask whether that can be agreed as a paid first stage. Pick a track that represents the decisions the project needs. Confirm what that stage includes and how it would lead into the rest of the record.
Agree on the scope before you book
Send a rough mix, two or three annotated references, the number of songs and your intended release date. Ask for a project quote that makes these points clear:
Who will mix the record, and who will handle mastering if it is included?
Is any editing or additional production needed before mixing begins?
How will feedback be collected, and what revisions are included?
What files will you receive, and are instrumental or other versions included?
What is the schedule, and what happens if the scope changes?
You do not need a technical vocabulary to give useful feedback. “The guitars lost the bite I liked in the rough mix” gives an engineer something to investigate. Add a timestamp and explain the feeling you want to recover.
Common questions
Can Tapetown mix a shoegaze EP recorded elsewhere?
Yes. Tapetown offers remote shoegaze mixing. Send a rough mix and a short description of the project first, so we can discuss the recordings and what they need.
Should I remove guitar effects before sending tracks?
Tell the mixer which effects are part of the sound before preparing exports. Keep those decisions audible in the rough mix and agree on which processed tracks and dry alternatives are useful. Avoid stripping away the texture you want someone to preserve.
Does a mixing credit also mean a mastering credit?
No. They are separate roles. Glow is one example: Rasmus Bredvig engineered and mixed the album, while Emil Thomsen mastered it. Ask who is responsible for each stage of your own project.
Tell us what must survive the mix
Tapetown works with shoegaze and related alternative music from Denmark, including projects sent remotely. Our shoegaze mixing page explains the service.
Send a rough mix, tell us which records you love and describe the guitar details you do not want to lose. Include the number of songs and your release plans, and we can discuss the right next step for your EP or album.
