
Behind the techniques of Hans Zimmer's GRAMMY-winning engineer Alan Meyerson | UNSUNG
UNSUNG - the Audiomovers PodcastShow Notes
For Episode 10 of the UNSUNG podcast MixedByJocelin and Mirek Stiles were joined by the legendary Alan Meyerson in Los Angeles at the revered Just For The Record Recording Studios.
The 2x GRAMMY-winning mix engineer has mixed and recorded the scores for some of the biggest movies in the world. His credits include Interstellar (2014), Lion King (1994), Dune: Part One (2021), Dune: Part Two (2024), The Dark Knight (2008), Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), Shrek (2001), Inception (2010), Gladiator (2000) and many, many more.
Outside of his work as a scoring mixer Alan worked on some very successful records in the 1980s from the likes of New Order, Cameo, Etta James, and Bryan Ferry.
Our family at Abbey Road are also over the moon to welcome Alan into the faculty at the recently announced Abbey Road Institute LA. He joins Rafa Sardina (who will launch the LA campus), Barry Rudolph, John Boylan, Vanessa Garde and many more.
In this episode Alan talks about his musical beginnings, discovering the studio, working on jingles for TV and Radio commercials, his early career as an engineer in New York, hanging out with John Lennon at the Hit Factory, losing his studio at Larrabee to Dr. Dre, meeting Hans Zimmer, imposter syndrome, turning 64 at Abbey Road, the Brass from 'Inception' (2010), how he approaches a mix, working on film scores vs game scores, mixing in surround, music budgets in film and selling his analog gear.
➡️ Follow Alan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alanmeyersonmusic/ ➡️ Hear some of Alan’s work - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0OooELYcsSh90cWyVgDQUo?si=iQj3tQhOT1mippJF-H2Abg ➡️ Learn more about Audiomovers - https://shorturl.at/1Tpv5
Timecode: 0:00 Intro 0:16 Musical Beginnings 1:03 Discovering the “Studio” 1:15 Alan’s first internship at a studio 3:40 Alan’s first job as an Assistant Engineer at Counterpoint Studios 6:32 Joining The Hit Factory 6:48 Joining A & R Recording studios 6:54 Going freelance working on jingles for TV & radio commercials 9:30 Working as a mix engineer in Pop and R&B 14:54 Alan gets to work on his first film 15:23 Meeting Hans Zimmer 16:07 Thinking about Leaving the Music Business 16:48 Working relationship with Hans Zimmer begins 17:07 Moving into Score Recording & Mixing 19:12 Imposter syndrome 20:29 Alan at Abbey Road 22:30 Turning 64 at Abbey Road 23:48 Alan’s appreciation for Session Musicians 24:59 Flow state 25:30 Brass from the Inception score 26:29 How Alan mixes Brass 28:40 Hans Zimmer’s iconic sounds 30:28 Feedback sessions with Hans 32:00 When the film inspires the character of the mix 34:05 How Alan approaches starting a mix 34:49 Alan’s mixing template 35:40 How Alan does automation 36:40 Delivery requirements for scores in 2025 39:47 How Alan uses Audiomovers 42:44 Mixing in 7.1.4 45:53 Working with the Sennheiser AMBEO Cube 48:53 Dynamic music of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 50:06 The difference between working on a film score vs a game score 51:42 Music budgets in films 53:48 Quick-fire round 55:16 Alan on compression 56:14 Does Alan Meyerson use analog gear? 57:00 What advice would you give aspiring engineers?
UNSUNG is a weekly show exploring the untold stories and creative processes behind the music we love, from a cast of globally acclaimed record producers, studio engineers, songwriters and composers.
UNSUNG honours the real stories, and the truth behind the music that shapes our lives. It's a podcast by music obsessives, for music obsessives. Join us.
UNSUNG is a podcast from Audiomovers. Audiomovers is part of the Abbey Road RED family and our software LISTENTO is used by over 90% of recording sessions at the studio, as well as on countless GRAMMY-winning records and Billboard 100 hits.
Alongside LISTENTO, Audiomovers creates a suite of groundbreaking pro audio software tools designed to help music makers collaborate.
#podcast #alanmeyerson #hanszimmer #inception #mixing #engineering
More from UNSUNG - the Audiomovers Podcast
In this episode of UNSUNG, UK producer Eight8 takes us inside the making of “No Introduction”, Central Cee’s album opener from Can’t Rush Greatness. He explains why the track needed to feel rooted in UK drill—and how he followed that instinct to reshape its sound.
The latest episode of UNSUNG welcomes Multi-platinum, Grammy award winning engineer and producer Dyre Gormsen, who joins Audiomovers hosts for an in-depth conversation about his career, the evolution of spatial audio, and his work across recording, mixing and mastering.He looks back on his journey from Copenhagen’s live music scene to building a career in London, including engineering Jason Mraz’s We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. and receiving his first Grammy nomination. Dyre shares how the record came together organically, why working without the influence of Jason’s previous material helped shape its sound, and how that project became a major turning point in his career.Together the team dive deep into Dolby Atmos and the changing possibilities of spatial music, from becoming an early adopter of the format to approaching Atmos mixes for established records.
The latest episode of UNSUNG welcomes acclaimed mix engineer Will Lite, who joins Audiomovers hosts for an in-depth conversation about his career, his work across UK rap, and the process behind shaping records for artists including Potter Payper and Digga D. Will shares how his long-running work with Potter Payper developed from an early mix into a trusted creative relationship, including the intense process behind projects such as Training Day 3 and Thanks for Hating. He breaks down what it takes to deliver records under tight deadlines and collaborate remotely while maintaining a consistent sound across an entire project. Together the team dive deep into Will’s approach to mixing vocals, from meticulous vocal cleanup and analogue-modelled processing. He explains why he prefers shaping sound by feel rather than relying on what he sees on screen, how he approaches compression and EQ, and why speed, repeatability and trusting your ears are essential when working at the highest level. ➡️ Learn more about Audiomovers – https://audiomovers.com UNSUNG is a podcast from Audiomovers exploring the untold stories and creative processes behind the music we love. #Will #PotterPayper #DiggaD #MixEngineer #UKRap #AudioEngineering #MusicProduction #Mixing #Mastering #Audiomovers #UNSUNGPodcast 00:00 | Late nights in the studio and new artist sessions 02:15 | Finding the balance: music, lifestyle, and fishing 03:05 | Cycling through East London and local life 08:00 | Early projects and lessons from the industry 10:31 | The headache of copyright and sample permissions 10:55 | Reflections on album mixing and track appreciation 15:13 | My approach to the collaborative production process 16:42 | Creative synergy and working with Potter Payper 17:33 | Remote workflows: how I collaborate with Louis 23:13 | Adapting your mix when technical challenges hit 24:51 | Meeting tight deadlines without losing the vibe 25:07 | Balancing modern quality with a classic legacy 26:20 | Favorite collaborative tools and mixing techniques 29:49 | When communication breaks down in production 30:05 | The nightmare of mixing from WhatsApp voice notes 36:06 | Unconventional sessions and "impossible" mixing hurdles 37:04 | Navigating the social side of music collaboration 38:37 | Using AI and stem splitting to save a mix 42:07 | Creative "hacks" for difficult engineering problems 43:25 | The struggle with plugin updates and compatibility 46:47 | A deep dive into my go-to vocal chains 47:51 | Advanced vocal processing techniques 51:38 | Why I use analog gear and the Goldclip plugin 54:24 | Building the perfect mastering chain 55:18 | Are plugin subscriptions actually worth it? 57:19 | Analog warmth vs. the speed of digital workflows 01:00:00 | Hardware innovations and the future of total recall 01:01:24 | Starting the mix: drums first and audio cleanup 01:03:08 | Quick fire: favorite gear and studio picks 01:05:25 | Learning to trust a mix on headphones 01:07:25 | Choosing the right headphones: does magnet size matter? 01:08:57 | Moving beyond British rap and exploring new genres 01:10:31 | Essential advice for breaking into the music industry
The latest episode of UNSUNG welcomes acclaimed recording and mix engineer Bainz, who joins hosts Jocelin and Matt Soczywko for an in-depth conversation about his career, his long-standing creative partnership with Young Thug, and the process behind mixing some of the biggest records in hip-hop. Bainz shares how years spent recording, mixing and travelling with Young Thug have created a unique level of trust and creative understanding, allowing him to instinctively know what an artist wants from a record. He also reflects on building a career behind the scenes, working under intense deadlines, collaborating with other leading engineers, and why being in the room when a song is created can make all the difference when it comes time to mix. Together they dive deep into Bainz’s approach to vocals, from clip gain and detailed vocal cleanup to controlling harshness and keeping every word upfront and intelligible. He breaks down his hybrid mixing setup and the systems that allow him to move quickly across huge projects without sacrificing creativity. The conversation also explores working with artists including Young Thug, Lil Baby and Jordan Adetunji, collaborating with engineers across major records, mixing remotely with Audiomovers, analogue versus in-the-box workflows, the importance of maintaining an artist’s signature sound, working closely with mastering engineer Joe LaPorta, and why trust, relationships and collaboration remain at the heart of making great records. ➡️ Learn more about Audiomovers – https://audiomovers.com UNSUNG is a podcast from Audiomovers exploring the untold stories and creative processes behind the music we love. #Bainz #YoungThug #MixEngineer #AudioEngineering #MusicProduction #HipHop #RecordingEngineer #Mixing #Audiomovers # UNSUNG Podcast Timecode: 00:00 Going to NAMM vs. being on NAMM 02:50 Working so fast there's no time to talk 06:14 The relationship is the ultimate cheat code 07:43 I would still do this if I wasn't getting paid 08:36 Why you need to be in the room when inspiration hits 10:08 Does being there for the creation give your mix an edge? 12:20 Handling messy files and endless track counts 14:48 Adapting to Atmos and the remote mixing reality 15:24 My hybrid setup: mixing with the real deal gear 18:57 Breaking down my master mix chain setup 20:41 How to get vocal clarity without making it sound clinical 24:10 Streamlining my workflow using a Stream Deck 25:26 Custom quick keys that save my creative momentum 25:54 When session prep becomes a massive teamwork puzzle 28:16 Thriving under intense pressure for major label records 31:22 Dealing with crazy parallel album deadlines 32:20 Knowing when to stay in your lane as an engineer 33:48 How modern technology is changing studio collaboration 36:52 The Miami session crisis: mixing in an unfamiliar room 38:17 Using Audio Movers to bridge cross-system sessions 42:05 The specific tools I use for vocal processing 43:26 Strict template boundaries and managing client feedback 45:15 Using reference tracks and working with mastering engineers 48:54 Quick fire round: studio essentials and gear picks 50:06 Starting a pro audio lifting team in the studio 51:04 Gym stories, ego lifting, and who won on bench press 51:20 Where to find more and wrapping up the episode
The latest episode of UNSUNG welcomes Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, acclaimed engineers, producers and authors of the legendary book Recording The Beatles, for a fascinating deep dive into the recording techniques, technology and untold stories behind some of the most influential music ever made.