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Eric Hutchinson’s ‘Pure Fiction’

Nick Radovanovic mixed Eric Hutchinson’s infectious new pop album in Skies Fall Studios

Photo: JUCO

Nick Radovanovic mixed Eric Hutchinson’s infectious new pop album in Skies Fall Studios (Kenosha, Wisc.; skiesfall.com). Though the project seemed daunting at first, Radovanovic says it fell into place pretty naturally. “He basically said, ‘Here are the songs, do your thing,’” the engineer says. “When I opened up the first song, ‘Tell the World,’ the session had 98 [Pro Tools] tracks! Twenty-five of them were drums and percussion. I thought, there is no way there will be room for all these tracks in this mix. But as I dove into it, every new element complemented the next.”

“Tell the World,” an anthemic-sounding song that pokes great fun at the way people only Facebook-share the good times, features elegant layers of vocals, horns, acoustic guitar strumming, drums and hand-claps. “What is incredibly special on these songs is the diverse range of instrumentation,” Radovanovic says. “One song will have wailing trumpets and a saloon-type piano; the next will have a huge string section and a drum line.”

Radovanovic monitors on Focal Twin6 Be’s and works mainly inside the box. “The song ‘I Don’t Love U’ starts with a dirty acoustic guitar, but when I first opened the session, it was actually a clean acoustic,” he says. “I wanted to make it pretty nasty from the get-go. This song just calls for it; it’s a rocker. [McDSP’s] FutzBox was my go to plug-in, not only for the guitars, but also for vocals and drums. It can be used on pretty much anything if used tastefully. Another super-useful plug-in that I used on this record is the [Waves] C4 Multiband Compressor. Eric’s vocals loved this thing. He has a lean, soaring voice. [The C4] brought out that air that really makes it shine and pop through a mix.”

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