Johnny Hallyday announced his upcoming album, *Rester Vivant*, set for release on November 17. A project of this scale inevitably requires a killer team, and for the occasion the Belgian singer surrounded himself with top-notch talent, including Bob Clearmountain (Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones), Don Was (The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, John Mayer), and Frenchman François Gauthier. This sound genius, who has also worked with Christophe Maé, Christophe Willem, and Michaël Youn, gave us a fascinating interview.
How did you get into sound?
I’ve wanted to do this since I was very young—it started when I was 11. I had been playing the violin since I was 5, and later I was drawn to big mixing consoles. I first got my high school diploma and did 3 years at university because my parents didn’t want me to do a “junkie job.” I then joined the 3iS (Institut International de l’Image et du Son) for 3 years and got an internship at Studio Mega 12 years ago. By chance, an assistant position opened up, and since my internship was going well, they hired me. I spent years as an assistant, then gradually started getting small engineering sessions. At that time, the role of Pro Tools engineer emerged because the older engineers didn’t want to touch it, so assistants who mastered Pro Tools moved up quickly. You’d have the engineer, the assistant, and the Pro Tools engineer. That was a big step toward becoming an engineer. I was lucky to work with Yvan Cassar, who is brilliant and pushes people to give their best. He first hired me as a Pro Tools engineer, then as a full engineer.
How do you approach Pro Tools?
Technology bores me quickly. To me, a computer is a tool, and I want it to work without me thinking about it. I don’t know how a console works and I don’t want to know. Like all tools, it shouldn’t hinder artistic creation. It has to be fast and efficient—the goal is to find the quickest ways to edit so the brain isn’t bogged down with tasks.
Have you noticed Pro Tools evolving since your early days?
It has evolved tremendously. If you put me in front of Pro Tools from ten years ago, I’d find it to be a terrible software. But since everything evolves gradually, you adapt to the updates. There weren’t nearly as many shortcuts before. The arrival of version 11 was a real revolution with 64-bit. I mix entirely within Pro Tools without external hardware, and mixing in Pro Tools is about adapting to the machine. I’m paid per track, not per hour, so it’s in my interest to be efficient without sacrificing quality. Plus, wasting time makes it harder to stay focused. Why does mixing in Pro Tools take longer than on a console? On a console, everything is spread out and more direct. In 64-bit, the gap is smaller. On a console, EQs and compressors are right under your hands and you don’t change them every two seconds. In Pro Tools, you have to dig through menus. A console is more instinctive—you go back less on your decisions. In Pro Tools, you see numbers for volume or pan, and it’s hard not to align them to round numbers. Pro Tools is faster and helps you focus on essentials. For effects, I have a base template: when I start mixing, I have five muted effect sends on all tracks. I open a UAD console strip (SSL E Series 4000, Harrison, or API depending on the source) on every track, whether I use it or not. That means I need a powerful system to keep everything running smoothly while staying fast.
So you prefer mixing in the box?
I don’t want to mix on consoles anymore. I love it, but you can’t jump between tracks as easily. If one day I’m tired or not in the mood to mix, I can go home or just do technical tasks like session prep. If I want to finish early or work late into the night, I can. In a studio with a real console, I’d be forced to mix—even poorly—because the client pays by the hour. Doing recalls takes hours to rewire, and it never sounds exactly the same. In my own studio, I can mix alone for 3 days, then have the producer come in with fresh ears to give feedback. This is only possible if I can reload tracks exactly as I left them. Whatever you might lose in sound quality, you gain in musicality. People buy music, not sound.
So for you, it’s possible to make a great album mixing in the box?
Of course. Making a great album isn’t about how it’s mixed—it’s about how it’s recorded and which musicians are recorded. Instead of spending money to rent a studio for mixing, I’d rather spend it on hiring great musicians, engineers, and a good recording space. I can fix many things, but if I get an album recorded with average musicians in a living room with one mic, I can’t work miracles. Even mixing in the box, I still use a summing mixer and Bricasti reverbs.
What’s the main quality of a good mixer?
It’s about making music. When we mix, we put part of ourselves into it, but we must never forget we serve the music, the producer, and the artist. You can love your work and think it sounds amazing, but if the producer or artist doesn’t like it, it’s worthless. Their name will be on the record, not yours. Our job is to translate their artistic vision. Sometimes it’s tough to let go if you feel you created something incredible that they didn’t want, but that’s the rule.
What’s your go-to vocal chain?
Usually it’s a Neve 1081 preamp and a Teletronix LA-2A limiter. For the mic, you have to test—it usually takes me an hour to find the right one. What works on one singer won’t necessarily work on another.
Which mic did you choose for Johnny Hallyday?
The reissue of the Telefunken ELA-M 251.
You’re an avid user of Universal Audio UAD plugins. What do you like so much about them?
To me, they’re the only plugins that truly make music. It feels just like turning a knob on a console.
Which ones are your favorites?
There are many! The SSL E Series 4000 strip, the Harrison 32C strip, the Neve 33609 compressor, APIs, the Shadow Hills compressor, tape emulators (which are insane), the EP-34 Tape Echo, the Brainworx BX EQ (absolutely killer), the Maag EQ, the 140 and 250 reverbs, and the Ocean Way room processor—incredible!
Is there an album you mixed that you’re especially proud of?
The latest one, always!
Have you had any particularly memorable sessions?
For the last Johnny Hallyday album, we went to Los Angeles and I worked with producer Don Was. He’s one of the best in the world, but with him, everything is simple and relaxed. You work in a constant positive energy—it puts everyone in a great mood, and in the end the results are better.
What advice would you give to a sound engineer just starting out today?
If you don’t know it’s going to be hard, quit right now. If you do know it’s going to be hard, remember—it’ll be even harder than that.
