David Reitzas' entries on mixing Ayu songs in L.A [+do it again and November]

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by David Reitzas

Just finished mixing another 2 songs for my new favorite singer, Ayumi Hamasaki. The songs are “Do It Again” and “November”.
Another great experience!!
When I mix, vibe is very important. I have my studio set up with lots of colored lights, neon, and lasers. But when Ayumi enters the room, she magnifies the vibe 100X over!
The only sad part is that she loves the mixes right away. I need to figure out a way to get her to stay longer

Link to entry and photos: http://reitzas.com/?mainFrame=%2Fwp%...mi-hamasaki%2F

Originally Posted by David Reitzas

Life is good!

I’ve been working hard mixing an incredible project called “Dandy” for famous songwriter Andreas Carlsson. I’m 4 weeks in with about another 2 weeks to go. Incredible!

So last week I get a call from the coordinator for Ayumi Hamasaki asking if I was available to mix a song. At first I said no because I was too busy, but I managed to adjust my schedule to work on my day off to do the song “Seven Days War”. Ayumi came in to hear the song and loved it! I jokingly said, “Let’s do another one” and the next thing I know, they asked if I could mix “Virgin Road”. The only time available that I could do it was after a full 12 hour day of mixing my current project. So last Monday at 12:30 am, I slept on the studio couch for 3 hours and then woke up to start mixing Ayumi’s 2nd song. Fueled on adrenaline only, I mixed until 2p on Tuesday afternoon until Ayumi came in to listen to the mix. She loved it and we said our goodbyes. Then I was off to another session at Capitol Records where I recorded and mixed a 16 piece band for the “Stand Up To Cancer” telethon that aired last Friday on all the major networks. It was a 39 hour marathon session- the kind of work I haven’t done since I was in my 20’s. But I made it and I am so honored and proud to have been able to do these songs for Ayumi. The best news is that they are being released as her 49th and 50th single on September 22, and September 29th. If these singles reach the top of the charts, she will break previous records held by Seiko Matsuda for havoing 24 consectutive #1 songs on the Japanese charts. Keep your fingers crossed.

Source: http://reitzas.com/wp/index.php/2010/09/ayumi-hamasaki/

Sounds like he had fun! He also went to another forum and posted this message:

Greetings from Los Angeles everybody!
You will absolutely love "Seven Days War" and "Virgin Road".
How do I know?
I mixed both of these songs for Ayumi and I am very proud of the way they sound.
She is an incredible singer and she sounds amazing on these songs.
Please enjoy and help them to become #1 hits.
Thank you!
Dave
http://www.reitzas.com