Denis Kosiak on Mixing for Khalid, Tate McRae & Why Great Vocal Production Is All About Restraint

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In this episode of Producer Points, Justin sits down with Denis Kosiak -- a Grammy-nominated mixer, producer, and vocal producer whose work shows up consistently across some of the biggest records in pop. Credits include Khalid, Billie Eilish, Marshmello, benny blanco, Halsey, Tate McRae, Ed Sheeran, ZAYN, and more. What stands out is how consistently great the work is across different artists and genres. This man just makes good choices -- and he's one of the very few people Justin would ever fully trust to touch a vocal.

🎶 Song deep dives:

• "Look At Me" by All Day Project -- working with Korean pop artists remotely, the production approach, and navigating A&R notes
• "Don't Come Back" by Tate McRae -- how he got the gig, the vocal chain, handling a vocal that can be harsh if not done right, and the mix bus secrets behind one of her biggest records

🎛️ We explore:

• Growing up in Philly, moving to LA at 19, skateboarding to internships, and working his way up through Record Plant
• How running into Khalid at Record Plant led to working on his album six months later
• Shifting between mixer brain, producer brain, and vocal producer brain in the same session
• His philosophy on vocal production -- getting performances vs. fixing them, and knowing when to stop
• Vocal compression stacking, tuning speed, and why the capture matters more than the processing
• Plug or Unplug: oeksound Soothe2, FabFilter Pro-DS, Soundtoys Little AlterBoy, Wavesfactory Trackspacer, UADx Studer A800, CLA Vocals, real 1176

🔗 Follow & Listen:
Denis Kosiak: @deniskosiak
Justin Gammella: @justin_gammella
Producer Points: @producer_points
TikTok: @producer.points
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