Marroquin, who credits his success to the adaptability of his engineering approach, has worked with a wide variety of artists – including 2Pac, Rhianna, Maroon5 and Whitney Houston, among many others.
“I don’t mix one genre, and I’m very proud of that because I can go from Kanye West to John Mayer, which are completely different genres,” says Marroquin, who jokes that he can mix anyone from LeAnn Rimes to Busta Rhymes. “Understanding artists and how they think, almost being one step ahead, it’s important. I like to stay true to the artist’s style. If I’m mixing Kanye, I want it to sound like Kanye. I don’t really have a sound or a style, I almost don’t want that because I don’t want to be pigeon holed into ‘that’s your style.’ I go for whatever the artist’s vision is and I try to adapt to that.”
As a mixer, Marroquin says there are a few paths that can be taken to achieve the balance he’s accomplished. “One is coming from the engineering side, another from the production side, then from the artist’s side,” he explains. “I try to be a balance of left brain-right brain. I feel like there’s engineers that only use their left brain and there’s engineers who only use their right brain. To be able to have a combination of those two is great.”
Along the way, however, Marroquin learned one very vital lesson. “I stopped listening to anything after it leaves here (the studio), because I was always disappointed,” he says. “That used to keep me up at night, so I adapted to ‘once it’s done, it’s done’ and I have no control over it. What that taught me is that quality time is important. If you’re mixing for an hour, make it the best you can. That’s good advice for anyone; for example, if you’re a dad for three hours, be the best dad. Quality time, so you don’t have to go back and regret any of your decisions.”