Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeline Leavitt.
Hi Madeline, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved music. I grew up singing and performing every chance I got, from talent shows to choir, musical theatre and even a cappella groups. I even took voice lessons and practiced technical voice for an hour every single day. As much as I loved singing, I wasn’t sure that was the career path meant for me. I ended up taking a songwriting course my Freshman year of college and had an overwhelming feeling of just knowing I had to do something with music, but I wasn’t sure what. I found a major called commercial music where they included everything from engineering to performance and began to look into audio engineering more and more. One day, I came across an article that was titled “There are so few women in engineering, they didn’t even bother to count.” I was sold. I knew this would be my way in. I started looking into different engineering programs, and I settled on one at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. I figured I might as well just dive into it and be where I knew I wanted to end up anyways.
After my 6 month program, I got a job as a runner at Larrabee Studios. I was the first girl they had hired for that position in almost a decade, so I knew I had a lot to prove. They didn’t even have any polo’s that actually fit me because they were all men’s sizes. There, I met Jaycen Joshua-one of the greatest mixers ever. I knew I had to work for him, so one day I cornered him in the kitchen and told him my plans to work for him. He gave me nothing but encouragement and stated how the industry needs more women. I followed Jaycen to Sphere studios and began shadowing his team.
While I was shadowing Jaycen, I also met a great vocal producer-Kuk Harrell. He invited me to help jump-start his new studio and in return allowed me to shadow a few sessions. I fell in love with vocal production and knew I had to do it. It was the perfect combination of the lifetime of vocal skills I worked on and the engineering which I had grown to love.
After almost two years of shadowing Jaycen, he offered me a full-time job working for him. I was ecstatic to officially be a part of the team. While I was there, I had the opportunity to start vocal producing an artist that Jaycen introduced me to. He eventually invited me to also co-mix that artist’s EP with him. I spent months honing in my skills and fine-tuning my ears until I became extremely confident in my skills. Then the craziest thing ever happened. I posted a TikTok of me vocal producing and it blew up. It got me so much exposure that I had to decide to quit working for Jaycen so I could take full advantage of the growth my personal career was making.
Leaving that job was the scariest thing I had done since my initial move to LA. I am now a full-time freelance mix engineer and vocal producer. I am so grateful to Jaycen and the rest of his team for being so supportive all those years and allowing me to be where I am now.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Pursuing a career in any creative field is never a smooth road. When I first moved to LA, it was hard because I didn’t even know what I didn’t know, and I didn’t know who I didn’t know. There have been many lonely moments and periods of time where I felt like I was plateauing. It definitely didn’t make it easier joining the 2% of women in the field and all the challenges that come with being in any male-dominated industry. However, these challenges were never roadblocks to me. They were simply obstacles that allowed me to become stronger, better and more determined.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in mixing and vocal production. I believe that my years of being a musician and naturally having a creative ear, paired with my years of learning all the technical aspects have given me all the tools I need to accomplish a great mix and recording sessions. For vocal production, I pride myself in being extremely fast in Pro Tools so my clients never have to skip a beat and for having a great ear for harmonies and vocal composition. I also understand people really well and I know how to make an artist comfortable, in addition to providing technical vocal techniques that help the artist portray their story and vision in the most authentic way.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I truly had an amazing childhood, but I would have to say one of my favorite memories was getting to play my grandparent’s grand piano every time we visited. Whenever I wrote a new song, I would gather my whole family and perform it for them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixed_bymj/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mixedbymj
Image Credits:
Carly Sharp
