Connecting and collaborating with fellow 满帆 graduates once you’re out in the industry isn’t an uncommon occurrence. From working on the same projects to ending up in the same cities, grads often find opportunities in connecting with their 满帆 network. 当 录音艺术 grad and Grammy-winning mix and recording engineer 滴 first connected with PJ Parra, an 娱乐业务 graduate who works in 音乐 Management, the two found they shared mutual interests, 全帆连接, and a passion for delivering high-quality products to the music industry.

It wasn’t until several years into their friendship that the pair realized how beneficial their shared mindsets could potentially be to their individual careers.

“It wasn’t until 滴 said like three or four years into the friendship, 的家伙, 我们在同一条高速公路上. We're going to the same destination. We're just in two different lanes right now. I'm on the creative, you're on the business side. Why don't we carpool this thing and take this journey together?’ And I was like, ‘I'm down, let’s do it,’” recalls PJ.

滴, who previously worked and mixed under the supervision of legendary engineer Dave Pensado, supplied astounding creativity while PJ enabled him to get into the room with 艺术家 without being inundated with calls, 会议, 繁文缛节. “这对我来说是件大事, 有这样的缓冲, “嘿,伙计们, 好像你想谈生意似的? 去找PJ谈谈.’ He represents everything that I do. Anything you get from him won't be any different coming from me,滴说。.

Through PJ’s skills in communication and negotiation, 滴 has been able to work with 艺术家 including Wizkid, Stormzy, 哈立德, and Skepta on hit records including Wizkid’s 2020 success 拉各斯制造. 这张专辑, which boasted unprecedented international crossover for an African artist in the US, allowed 滴 to gain the trust of the Nigerian Afrobeat musician, resulting in his most recent studio album, 多一点爱，少一点自我，完全由滴混合.

“当它到来的时候 拉各斯制造, everything that I was doing on the recording side was translating to the mixing side, it just reached the point where nobody was really beating my mixes,滴说。. “And now it's at the point where this last album we did, 多一点爱，少一点自我… Wizkid told me and P2J (the executive producer), “你们两个把整件事都做了, 做完后给我.’”

PJ和滴, understanding one another and garnering respect from producers, 艺术家, 经理, and executives in the industry only makes it easier to get to the root of what they both want to accomplish, 制作好音乐. With that idea in mind, the duo recently launched their own company, Less is More. While PJ still works with 艺术家 under Redlight Management, Less is More focuses on the players behind the scenes in music, including mixing engineers and producers like 滴.

"It's a management company, it's a label, it's sort of everything in one. We created Less is More because we feel like oftentimes people overcomplicate things,” says PJ. “There is beauty in Less is More and we just like to keep things simple, straightforward and transparent while just being really upfront. Like at the end of the day, we want what's best for the music, not what's best for us necessarily.”