Derek Ali

Derek Ali
Background information
Born November 1, 1989
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s) Mixing engineer
Years active 2010s–present
Website www.engineears.com

Derek Ali (born November 1, 1989), better known by his moniker MixedByAli, is an American mixing engineer. His career began in Los Angeles in the late 2000s recording and mixing for Top Dawg Entertainment artists Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, SZA and more recently Bas, Nipsey Hussle, Snoop Dogg and many others.

In 2018, he invented an online mixing program and community for mixing engineers called EngineEars which is aimed at teaching upcoming engineers techniques that will improve the quality of mixes they create and provide a world class mixing access to artists remotely.

Technique

Ali mixes "in the box" (without the use of analog gear) when working with certain audio effects, such as vocals. However, he credits a mixing console for his "crispiness". About using hardware, Ali says: "If you have the gear, I suggest you use it. How I look at this way of mixing is I feel like you're inside the computer."

About 80% of his time spent mixing is in mono, which is a method he learned from Dr. Dre.

Awards

Ali has been nominated for the Grammy Awards 6 times and has won twice.

Nominations

Wins

Discography

Mentors

Though Ali was introduced to mixing DAWs like Pro Tools by Punch and Dave Free, his most notable professional teacher is Dr. Dre whom he served under as an intern.