Words & Music is pleased to extend its helpful “how-to” series for our members, “The Breakdown,” into the realm of short, question-and-answer videos.

 In this episode, former SOCAN A&R Representative Racquel Villagante talks with Toronto-based mixing and mastering engineer Jason Dufour, who worked as an assistant at the legendary Phase One, and was later hired as staff engineer at Revolution Recording. Jay has since gone independent and is quickly joining the ranks of the industry’s elite. Dufour has mixed consecutive No. 1 singles for July Talk, and won Recording Engineer of the Year at the 2017 JUNO Awards for his work on their Alternative Album of the Year-winning release Touch. Known for his relentless work ethic, creativity, and meticulous attention to detail, Jay has dedicated his life to the art of mixing records.

Our question this time is, “What’s the most common challenge for mixing engineers?”