DAW Mixing & Muse

“We just finished shooting the Bernie Grundman project at his Hollywood CA facility” says Jonathan Kagi, Creative Director for Kagi Media “our time together was really fun and we are very excited about the footage we acquired!”

About Bernie Grundman: Bernie Grundman is one of the most prominent names in Mastering worldwide. He has been directly or indirectly, by his studio staff of engineers, behind hundreds of gold and platinum recordings. He has personally mastered some of the industry’s landmark recordings, such as: Carol King’s “tapestry”, Steely Dan’s “Aja”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Prince’s “Purple rain”, and Dr. Dre’s “the Chronic”. In addition He has worked on albums by a veritable who’s who of the music industry, such as: The Carpenters, Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, The Doors, Joe Cocker, Joni Mitchell, Burt Backarach, Jackson Brown, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Supertramp, Procal Harum. Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac, Janet Jackson, Quincy Jones, Outkast, Ludicrous, Mos Def, Mary J. Blidge, Lucinda Williams, Jack Johnson & Macy Gray.

Bernie has also given lectures, workshops and seminars in Germany, Sweden, Japan, U.C.L.A (University of California Los Angeles), AES (Audio Engineering Society), and for NARAS (National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences). He has been recognized for his [...] Continue Reading…

“We shot the new Phil Tan movie, at Silent Sound Studios (silentsoundstudios.com), Soapbox (soapboxstudios.com) and Jermaine Dupri’s South Side Studios in Atlanta GA” says Jonathan Kagi, Creative Director for Kagi Media “Each facility offered unique services that fit our various target goals for the production. How many different ways can you mix a song? You’ll find out!”

About Phil Tan: Phil is an Atlanta, GA-based music/audio engineer. He is a 2-time GRAMMY Award recipient, as mixing engineer for Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi” (Best Contemporary R&B; Album, 2005) and Ludacris’ “Release Therapy” (Best Rap Album, 2006). Some of the producers Phil frequently works with include Jermaine Dupri, StarGate, J.R. Rotem, Polow da Don and The Neptunes. Among the artists on Phil’s list of credits: Usher, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Leona Lewis, Ne-Yo, Snoop Dogg, Janet Jackson, Enrique Iglesias, Jordin Sparks, Gwen Stefani, Anthony Hamilton, Ciara, Outkast, Jay-Z, Lionel Richie, Nelly, Sean Kingston, Alicia Keys, Jesse McCartney, Joe, TLC, Kelis, Monica, Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin, Bow Wow, Jagged Edge, and Da Brat. Sales of albums and singles sold in the US with Phil listed in the credits as a mixer, engineer, remixer or producer total over 220 million. Phil has mixed [...] Continue Reading…

“The shooting of RPM with Alvin Speights has wrapped and we are entering post production!” says Jonathan Kagi, Creative Director for Kagi Media “We take a song written and performed by Grammy-winning artist Debra Killings and then re-cut various tracks, add a LIVE GOSPEL CHOIR (soooo awesome!). Combine the new tracks with Debra’s own lead and intricate background vocal arrangements as Alvin performs his mix magic for the final cut.

RPM stands for Record, Produce and Mix…so lets do it!”

About Alvin Speights:

Alvin Speights has mixed hit records for an almost endless register of A-list producers and multi-platinum recording artists. His mix production magic can be heard on releases by India Arie, Outkast, TLC, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Goodie Mob, JT Money, Keith Sweat, Boyz II Men, BeBe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Jagged Edge, Monica and many others.

Alvin has mixed numerous successful major motion picture soundtracks, recorded, mixed and/or remixed for just about every major label in the music business, and over twenty-five of the music industries top producers, including Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Outkast & Goodie Mob, Darryl Simmons, Shannon Sanders; and many others who are his recurring clientele. Regardless of how demanding the project, through his own exceptional and distinctive approach, [...] Continue Reading…

“Tommy’s career reads like a classic” says Jonathan Kagi, Creative Director for Kagi Media “His musically-ingenious craftings and intrinsic business acumen are perpetually spun with the engaging Italian verve that makes Tommy such a motivating guy. Having just shot some new footage with Tommy at his California studio, we are on track to look closer than ever before at the man and his creative adventures.”

About Tommy Tallarico: Tommy is a veritable video game industry icon. As one of the most successful video game composers in history, he has helped revolutionize the gaming world, creating unique audio landscapes that enhance the video gaming experience. [...] Continue Reading…

“In addition to his remarkable talents as a Mastering Engineer, Bernie is an engaging communicator” says Jonathan Kagi, Creative Director for Kagi Media “our recent pre-production discussions have culminated into an exciting energy surrounding this new project”.

About Bernie Grundman: Bernie Grundman is one of the most prominent names in Mastering worldwide. He has been directly or indirectly, by his studio staff of engineers, behind hundreds of gold and platinum recordings. He has personally mastered some of the industry’s landmark recordings, such as: Carol King’s “tapestry”, Steely Dan’s “Aja”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Prince’s “Purple rain”, and Dr. Dre’s “the Chronic”. [...] Continue Reading…

“Uncovering how Phil operates has been an awesome experience” says Jonathan Kagi, Creative Director for Kagi Media “We’ve got some excellent old school / new school stuff brewing in this new documentary that is going to be absolutely top-class — Just like Phil! Details available soon!” [...] Continue Reading…

Announcing the production of RPM with Alvin Speights! RPM is shaping up to be an awesome documentary and we are working hard to exceed that grade.

RPM Homepage: kagimedia.com/rpm

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The recently released Hustle Harder XXL DVD (Kagi Media) showcases Shayman at his most intimate and professional. Focused, incessantly joking, and often stoned, he pulls beats together, takes meetings with label heads (and gives them tons of shit), strikes deals, and gives studio tips during the course of the DVD, making Hustle Harder XXL is one of the few films to expose the genius at work without losing that which retains the interest of both serious producers and casual fans.

Hustle Harder XXL acts as a great portrait of a man with experience. Rejoice in the DIY work ethic and bag a copy of this. [...] Continue Reading…

From selling beats to superstar rappers like 50 Cent and Lil Scrappy, to revealing the gory details of “street promos” created to hype HBO programs, D’s hustle seemed to know no bounds.

Hustle Harder XXL…the inspirational hard swaggering exercise it was no doubt meant to be, with even the scenes of Shayman cursing out unknown associates on the other end of a mobile phone appearing as ballsy rather than shockingly inappropriate.

- Josh Glazer

Kagi Media releases production course + music biz hybrid with Disco D

Kagi Media, producer of pro audio training products, like the wildly popular Mix It Like A Record, has released HUSTLE HARDER XXL, a music production course on DVD plus “in the trenches” music business documentary taught by multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Producer/DJ David Shayman aka Disco D.

HUSTLE HARDER XXL was created by Shayman and Kagi Media and captures Shayman producing music for diverse genres and markets, negotiating deals, selling beats to major artists, developing various product brands and flying around the world as a headlining D.J. [...] Continue Reading…