Who is Mixerman?
Mixerman is the professional alias of Eric Sarafin, a gold and platinum-award-winning record producer, mixer, engineer, and author who has spent decades working at the highest levels of the music industry.
His career spans both the traditional era of major recording studios and the modern landscape of independent production, giving him a rare perspective on how music-making has evolved over time. Known for his blunt, no-nonsense approach to studio work and creative decision-making, Sarafin has built a reputation as someone who values musical vision over technical perfection.
Throughout his career, Mixerman has worked with a wide range of internationally recognised artists across different genres. His credits include acts such as The Pharcyde, Ben Harper, Tone Loc, Lifehouse, Barenaked Ladies, Amy Grant, and Foreigner, among many others. These collaborations helped establish him as a respected figure in both the recording and mixing worlds, earning multiple gold and platinum awards for his work in the studio.
After more than two decades based in Los Angeles, he later relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, where he continues producing and mixing records from his own studio while running his publishing activities.
Beyond his technical achievements, Mixerman is widely known for his writing about the realities of the recording industry. He adopted the name “Mixerman” as a pen name for a series of books and articles focused on recording, producing, and mixing, often combining practical advice with satire about studio culture.
His work began with The Daily Adventures of Mixerman, originally an online diary documenting a chaotic major-label recording session, which later became a book, audiobook, and eventually a dramatised podcast. The story gained significant attention within the professional audio community, attracting a large readership when it first appeared online.
Today, Mixerman remains an influential voice in music production education. In addition to producing records, he continues to publish books and share insights through podcasts, interviews, and online content aimed at helping musicians and producers navigate both the creative and psychological challenges of the studio. His career represents a blend of hands-on studio experience and candid commentary, making him not just a successful producer, but also a storyteller and educator whose work documents the often chaotic reality behind professional record-making.
Here’s example of a great podcast appearance he made on Recording Studio Rockstars, episode 544.
Recording Studio Rockstars – E544
A great way to understand who Mixerman really is—and why The Daily Adventures of Mixerman resonated so strongly with engineers and producers—is to hear him speak in long-form interviews such as his appearance on Recording Studio Rockstars (episode 544). In that conversation, Eric Sarafin is introduced as a gold- and platinum-selling producer, mixer, and engineer.
What makes the interview especially relevant to The Daily Adventures of Mixerman is how closely his production philosophy mirrors the themes of the original diary. During the episode, Sarafin emphasises that great records are built on arrangement, balance, and how instruments naturally interact, rather than on plugins, presets, or loudness targets.
He also discusses ideas such as musical masking and the importance of the midrange, reinforcing his long-standing belief that emotional impact comes from musical decisions rather than technical tricks. This perspective helps explain why his writing about chaotic studio sessions feels grounded in reality—it comes from someone focused on the song first and the technology second.
That same mindset sits at the heart of The Daily Adventures of Mixerman, which began in 2002 as an anonymous online diary documenting a major-label recording session involving a bidding-war band, an infamous producer, and an apparently limitless budget.
Hearing Mixerman speak today reveals that the humour and frustration in the story were never exaggerated for effect—they reflect genuine studio dynamics that producers still recognise. The modern podcast version, presented as a dramatised audio series with narration, music, and performances by well-known engineers, preserves that original insider perspective while making it accessible to a new generation. Together, the interview and the diary show the same core identity: Mixerman is not just a storyteller about the recording industry, but a working producer whose practical experience shaped one of the most candid accounts of studio life ever published.
Here’s an example of a tune he mixed (very well indeed, I might add) by an Australian band called Mammal, referenced in the podcast episode above.
The influence of Rage Against the Machine is clear sonically and stylistically, although the songs aren’t of the same calibre, a point he constantly makes throughout The Adventures of Mixerman, and the RSR podcast – it’s always all about the tune!
The Daily Adventures of Mixerman | Related Pages
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