From the music studio to the UCLA classroom, Erik Madrid shapes both fresh tracks and young minds.

The 2005 alumnus has worked as a Los Angeles-based freelance music mixer for the past 15 years. He worked on vocalist Ledisi’s album “The Crown,” released April 2025, which recently received two Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance for the featured single “LOVE YOU TOO.”

“You’re working often in the same space using similar tools that you’ve put together, but the songs always change,” Madrid said. “That’s the challenge. I love that. I love proving myself. I love doing a mix and basically show you why you should hire me, show you why I can work with you.”

The Oakland native said he was always involved in music growing up, from piano lessons to the school band. In college, a hobby producing for a small radio show in Santa Monica led to an internship with producer Quincy Jones’ son, he said. Although the internship did not materialize into a career, Madrid said staying in LA was what got his foot in the door of the music industry.

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He said he later worked at Westlake Recording Studios in Hollywood for two and a half years before working under producer Manny Marroquin, with whom Madrid said he mixed around 1,000 songs. However, he said he transitioned to freelancing after realizing the toll working 100-hour weeks for six years had taken on his social life. Some of his featured mixes include songs on Jazmine Sullivan’s two-time Grammy-winning “Heaux Tales,” Khalid’s “American Teen” and most recently, Ledisi’s “The Crown.”

“It’s always exciting to work with somebody that you’re inspired by,” Madrid said. “Sometimes you just have to hope that when you put it out at the end that people receive it well. That was the exciting part too, is that it was received really well when it came out.”

Music producer Jacques “Joc” Pierre – known for his work with artists such as Teedra Moses, Wale, and Tank and the Bangas – worked alongside Madrid during the making of “The Crown.” He and Madrid met a year and a half ago through Ledisi and have worked together since then, Pierre said. He said Madrid’s taste is spacious and added that Madrid’s ability to make sounds work in harmony while ensuring no elements compete with each other is like a breath of fresh air.

“To be a mixing engineer, you have to have really good ears, but Erik takes it a step further,” Pierre said. “He doesn’t just listen to the music. He listens to the artist. He listens to the producer. That level of attentiveness is really special.”

For the past two years, Madrid has mixed up his own life by lecturing at UCLA. He said he always saw his life turning toward education and considers UCLA the best option for the beginning of his career as an educator. One of his courses, Music Industry 188: “Analog Mixing in Digital World,” is an introduction to mixing with an added business component and occasionally features guest speakers, he said.

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Audio engineer Migui Maloles was one of these guest speakers. Maloles said he met Madrid over a decade ago, just as his mixing career began in LA. He added that seeing Madrid in a teaching role was fitting, as he served as a great friend and mentor to Maloles.

“When I first moved to LA, he was one of the first guys I reached out to … because I was looking for some guidance on navigating the business down here,” Maloles said. “I’m super grateful for Erik, because he’s not only been a great friend, but he’s been super helpful and almost instrumental in helping me catapult my own career.”

Madrid said that in order to get where he is today, preparation had to meet opportunity. Being a strong mixer is an increasingly important skill to get your music noticed, he said. Due to this, he said that above all, he wants to instill perseverance in his students. As for himself, he said he is interested in expanding his curriculum beyond the current fall and spring offerings, and he hopes to continue teaching for years to come.

“It (the class) filled a need,” Madrid said. “A lot of the students have an interest in getting better at mixing because it doesn’t matter what role you have these days, whether a producer, a songwriter, an artist or whatever, your mixes have to stand out. … So I’m excited about that. I’m excited where the program can go.”