Alex Tumay is an American audio engineer and DJ from Atlanta, Georgia. Notably, he has collaborated with prominent figures in the hip-hop scene, such as Future, Kanye West, Young Thug, and Drake. He was even awarded a Grammy for his engineering work on Childish Gambino’s song “This Is America.” After learning about Logic Pro from a friend, he became interested in music and eventually decided to pursue audio engineering as a major in college. Following his graduation with a bachelor’s degree in recording arts, he was hired as an intern at Atlanta’s Maze Studios.
When mixing, he starts his project with an EQ, compressor and de-esser, and this is pretty much all he uses throughout. A technique he uses with EQ is he heavily boosts the mid-frequencies in order to pinpoint the harsh, boxy elements of the vocal, and then slightly dips it down, making it sound less abrasive and warmer. He puts emphasis on not mixing ‘visually’, but points out that you want your vocal to sound less controlled, and to reach every area of the spectrum. In summary, he demonstrates that everything should be mixed by ear and you should focus on your intention. This will help create a mix unique to you, since only you know what you want. Another piece of advice Tumay gives is to try and get the sound you want using the fewest amount of plugins as possible, emphasizing simplicity. You should focus on aspects like EQ, compression and limiting instead of effects, and whether to mix in mono or stereo.
When listening to the ‘Savage Mode’ album by 21 Savage, I noticed that the vocals, mixed by Tumay, were usually very quiet but eerie. In order to achieve this signature sound, Tumay purposely drowned his vocals in reverb as they were already very gritty and harsh. Through this, he was able to tap into a ghostly sonic environment, lying in the deliberate softness of Savage’s vocals. Although each album he works on is ‘100% different’, he clarified that his process always begins the same. The mix editor explained that because he receives the tracks at the end of the process, he listens to them repeatedly to get a sense of the direction the artists are taking. He then makes notes on moments in the songs, certain points in the hooks where a certain effect might be good.
Alex Tumay (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Tumay (Accessed: 22 May 2025).
Alex Tumay explain how he mix vocals (2020) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/uuBwr1OxqhY (Accessed: 22 May 2025).
Alex Tumay explains how to make industry mixes (2022) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_EsLThCCISU?feature=share (Accessed: 22 May 2025).