Multi-Grammy-nominated Mix Engineer Dan Malsch Mixes Ghost's New Skeletá Album on Solid State Logic Duality Pro-Station console

Working in Stockholm put Malsch in closer proximity to singer and principal songwriter Tobias Forge, the driving force behind Ghost, who would periodically visit IMRSV to makes notes and approve mixes. “I will get the overall sound of a mix within a few hours, but for me a mix is a full day,” Malsch says. “Then, usually, there are revisions. Tobias would come in to listen, and I might have three or four songs ready for him to hear.” After offering some mix notes, Forge, who produced the album under the pseudonym Gene Walker, would be ready to hear the next song. “With my assistant, Basma Jabbar, we could recall a session quickly.”   

He also comments, “Basma was a lifesaver. She knew the console really well and would help me with my recalls. We were doing 16-hour days, and she would keep me laughing and make sure that I had food. She's an unbelievable assistant.” 

The new album, its production, sound and songwriting evocative of some of the slick, polished hard rock of the 1980s and ‘90s, suited Malsch’s sensibilities. “I'm a very clean mixer,” he explains. “I figure, if a track is there, you should be able to hear it, so you have to have space for everything. I'm also very, very basic with what I use; I like to use the same reverbs over and over again. I do a lot on the board. It’s not just a big summing mixer. If you look, every channel will have EQ, and a lot will have compression - I love SSL Channel Compression for smoothing and enhancing sources” 

Indeed, he continues, “If I wasn't using compression on the console, I'd be using an SSL plug-in. There’s no console in my Atmos mixing room, so I use the official 4K channel strip from SSL. I use SSL plug-ins all over the place. I'm a creature of habit, and I know how to get what I need to get with SSL gear.” In Soundmine’s A room, he adds, “I have two UF8 eight-channel controllers and a UF1 DAW control centre. I mix in stereo in the Atmos room a lot, too, but since there's no console, I need to buy another set of controllers to get the workflow I’m used to.”