Instagram story viewer> @howardwillingmix> Posts

Howard Willing

@howardwillingmix

2.9K

followers

118

following

Mixer,Engineer,Producer
LA/Nashville
Good music, good people 🐻

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

This past Saturday, April 30th, in the early morning hours, Katie and I lost my lovely sweet ginger boy, Henri.

Henri was more than a cat - for me he was a loving best friend, a loud purring stomp monster that squawked to go for walks every day. Once his harness was on we would walk our neighborhood and he would squawk at people, children, and other animals and walk over to them. He knew more of the neighbors than I do.

He loved sitting on his bench, making biscuits, chewing grass, smelling flowers, ribbons, and tele time. Henri enjoyed life with a smile, happiness, and optimism that made me - well he just made me happier. He greeted everyday with a smile and the enthusiasm that it was a great day.

He was my sunshine.

Buddhist say life is like a flash of lightning in the summer clouds.

His sweet and gentle soul has given me more than I can ever repay.

Our home is so quiet without your loud purring and magows.

I’ll miss you, love you, and will never forget you buddy. by @howardwillingmix

250

48

4 years ago

If you like that Dusty/Motown vibe with a bit of Beach Boys - you’ll love this song.

A few things about it:

It was the first one we started working on for the album. It is also Katie’s original demo vocal; we tried to beat it but, well, this girl can sing so the vibe was there in its creation.

Thank you to all the wonderful musicians on it!

#newmusic #mixengineer #singersongwriter by @howardwillingmix

26

2

7 days ago

A week delayed but Katie’s album is finally released.

I’ve done a lot of albums over the years. I’m proud of them all, but this is one of my personal favourites. There isn’t a musical moment, note played or sung that I would change.

Thank you to every musician on this album. We are grateful for all your hard work.

Thank you, Tim. Thank you for listening to Katie and me and understanding the vision. Thank you for your hard work, revisions, suggestions, and friendship.

Thank you Ryan. Great mastering can go overlooked but not this time.

A huge thank-you to everyone who supports independent artists! This album would not, could not have been made without any of you.

Finally, thank you to Katie. You wrote a fantastic album. Sincerely great songwriting. Thanks for taking my suggestions on any rewrites, redoing, re-demoing, and doing the work. Trust is an overused term, but thank you for trusting me 🐻.

Last thought - you don’t have to buy but please share and stream!

#newmusic by @howardwillingmix

37

7

15 days ago

Welcome to the Nashville On The Rocks family, Howard Willing!!
Producer, engineer, mixer and the guy behind the scenes on records from some of the most iconic artists!! This episode we’re getting into the real work behind the music. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside the studio, how records come together, or what it’s like working behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in music, this episode is for you!! Episode 36 with Howard Willing drops this Thursday 9/24!!
@howardwillingmix
.
.
.
#howardwilling #nashvilleontherocks #nashvilleproducer #nashvillerockscene #rockpodcast taken in Underdog Studio -Nashville by @howardwillingmix

74

7

24 days ago

Last pre-release single from Katie before the album on 9/24.

Pre-order links for the album are on her page

You’re not buying so why not support an independent artist, pre-order and download and while you’re at it, maybe find another artist to help!

Thanks to the ever wonderful Vic and Mark for their groove, Tim for a great score, Todd, Sam, Steve on trumpet, Erik Gratton on flute and all the string players!

This track is inspired, for me, by Bacharach and shows like Playboy After Dark, a tv series that ran in the late 60’s - They had amazing guests and musical performers but IIRC, Hef came out in a smoking jacket, everyone had a scotch - definitely a swinging time.

#newmusic #mixengineer by @howardwillingmix

50

8

a month ago

New single from @katiecoleofficial

This one was a bit of a challenge but came out wonderfully with the help of all the amazing musicians and especially the orchestra.

Please go to Katie’s page, share and stream. In fact do that for all the real independent artists!

Produced, recorded, and mixed by me 🐻

#newmusic #mixengineer #singersongwriter by @howardwillingmix

66

5

3 months ago

This song was the one I felt encapsulated the entire album, or at least the one that showcased what we could achieve given the restraints we had.

I had envisioned the track as a Bacharach cut - grand and languid, in the style of all those Dionne and Dusty hits.

The initial track was cut at Blackbird with Katie’s demo tracks - we cut drums and piano/rhodes. Todd sprinkled some acoustic in and Mark did his best Joe Osborn.

Tim wrote a fantastic arrangement and it didn’t hurt that he had actually worked with Burt; he knew we wanted to be referential but unique - the arrangement changes and moves, throwing back to those great, classic compositions; French horns, oboes, flutes, and strings, moving and creating a lot of ear candy. This was the second song of the initial three we did and man did the players deliver.

We cut the lead vocal and like all of these songs I was relentless on Katie. She’s a fantastic vocalist and understands direction really well. We argued a bit about background vocals and found a common ground.

Days later I was sitting working on the track and it wasn’t right. I couldn’t tell you what it was - the parts were there, track, orchestra, and vocals - but it was off. This is where having an artist trust you is immeasurable.

It was the drums. I don’t know why, but I could not get them to settle. The playing and tone was great but not giving me the colours I wanted to see from the track. I had a session with Vic and asked him if he’d give it a try - short story - nailed it; a little sprinkle of Sam marking off electric chords and done.

I’ll add that I was wary of mixing this song. A lot of moving parts and things to bring in and out of focus. Luckily it went smoothly and each time I hear the opening verse, it gives me all the colours of a sunrise...

Got to add that this, as with almost all of Katie’s songs, is all her writing. No co-writes or doctoring. Just a lot of hard work!

#newmusic #mixengineer #recordingengineer by @howardwillingmix

39

8

4 months ago

Share and like on her page - help support all and any independent artists doing what they love. by @howardwillingmix

41

5

5 months ago

This song. @katiecoleofficial has her “behind the song” on her page, and mine isn’t far off.

We demoed the song and knowing the album would tilt a certain way, decided to try to keep it as a piano ballad. Booked Blackbird and cut the piano with Tim - some rejiggering and after about 6 takes, landed on something that we all liked.

Katie and I went back and forth as we weren’t sure how many songs we could cut with the orchestra. Finally, we asked Tim to write an arrangement of a time, specifically the 50’s (think Trotter and Nelson Riddle, but really the idea of timeless) - the song had to be seen to come from any era. Tim wrote a great chart, and with a few tweaks, we had a mock-up.

About a month before she went on tour we cut the orchestra. With a good amount of dynamic changes and on-the-fly tweaking brilliance from Tim, Katie was happy, and knowing this song is about her mum made it an emotional session. It was a good way to end for a few months.

With Katie back from tour and back to work, I had problems with the song. It was the piano. I tried acoustics, maybe an electric, and then decided I loved it with just Katie and the orchestra. I tried to convince her that was the way to go, but…

Katie’s mum had passed while she was on tour, and the song became even more personal - holding onto things that were there before she left us became important - and Katie wanted the piano.

With some time left over after a session one night, Tim went out with just the instruction of doing the most minimal, marking off the chords vibe, no real rhythm. What you hear is his literal first pass. In the breakdown 3rd verse, he was just sort of remembering the song again - and stopped playing. Like a pro, he came back in, cued off the orchestra, and finished the take.

We recut the vocal, and the only regret I have is her Mum didn’t get to hear it - and Sally would have been kind and said it was nice, but she preferred when Katie rocked more. by @howardwillingmix

36

1

5 months ago

4 years gone. Miss you buddy. by @howardwillingmix

61

8

6 months ago

New song from @katiecoleofficial upcoming album.

Sometimes the easy ones are the hardest and I grappled with the heart of this one - its home is early 70’s and I usually dislike retro for a default as it can seem lazy. We worked on this and tried various way to contemporize the song as I loved the melody. Short story is I didn’t understand it until I embraced what the song was (with Katie telling me I was wrong (she was right!)) and leaning hard into that musically.

Take a listen and please stream to support - also Katie has a mini blog on each song if you click her links.

Thank you to the band - swipe through for full credits!!! by @howardwillingmix

73

11

7 months ago

Friends and followers,

2 years of writing, orchestration, and hard work have us here. This song and the coming album is something Katie and I have lived and breathed and what we have created, we hope you will hear, is uncompromising in its vision.

Tim - thank you could never be enough. You’re the best.

Todd - we started this with you - thanks for all your patience and talent.

Thank you to the orchestra for all your talent.

I’ll quickly ask you to please seek @katiecoleofficial out, and stream, share, buy to help support her (and others). We all know indie artists are getting squeezed, AI is prevalent, and music is diminished. Supporting artists like her pays for studios, assistants, musicians, and all the others that make an endeavor like this possible.

hw
🐻

#newmusic by @howardwillingmix

46

13

8 months ago