Jacquire King: 4-Time Grammy Winner Who Produced Adele 21, Kings of Leon & Foo Fighters

Jacquire King has been producing and mixing records since the late 1980s. He’s won four Grammys and worked on some of the defining albums of the past two decades—Adele’s “21,” Kings of Leon’s “Only by the Night,” Foo Fighters’ “Wasting Light,” Mumford & Sons’ “Babel.” The common thread? Records that sound polished but still feel human.

Career and Philosophy

King started as an assistant engineer in the late 1980s and worked his way up. He’s mixed everything from rock to country to pop, but his approach stays consistent: make the listener feel what the artist felt.

“My job is to make sure that the listener feels what the artist intended them to feel.”

King prefers capturing live performances over heavy digital editing. Even with all the tools available now, he’s focused on keeping the human element intact. Perfection is less important than emotion.

The Tools of the Trade

Hardware

Neve 8068 console - King’s main mixing desk, known for its warm, full-bodied sound.

Tube-Tech CL 1B & Universal Audio 1176 - Two very different compressors. The CL 1B is smooth and musical, the 1176 is fast and aggressive.

Teletronix LA-2A - Classic optical compressor, particularly good on vocals.

Lexicon 480L - Legendary digital reverb from the 1980s. Still sounds better than most modern plugins.

Neumann U47 & AKG C12 - Vintage tube microphones that capture warmth and detail.

Plugins

FabFilter Pro-Q 3 - Surgical EQ with a clean interface.

Soundtoys Decapitator - Adds saturation and warmth to digital recordings.

UAD Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ - Plugin emulation of classic Neve hardware.

Waves CLA-76 - Digital version of the 1176 compressor.

Valhalla VintageVerb - Modern reverb plugin that actually sounds vintage.

Mixing Techniques

Parallel Compression - King blends a heavily compressed version of a track with the original. This adds energy and density without crushing the dynamics. He uses it heavily on drums and vocals.

Mid-Side Processing - Separating the center and sides of the stereo field lets King create width without making the mix feel disconnected. Works particularly well on guitars and synths.

Analog Summing - King routes his Pro Tools mixes through analog summing gear to add warmth and cohesion. It’s subtle, but it makes digital recordings feel less brittle.

Subtle Saturation - Small amounts of harmonic distortion help glue tracks together and add richness. King doesn’t overdo it—just enough to make digital sources feel more analog.

Dynamic EQ - Instead of cutting a frequency all the time, dynamic EQ only cuts when that frequency becomes problematic. This preserves the natural tone of the instrument.

Manual Vocal Riding - King often rides the vocal fader by hand instead of relying entirely on compression. It’s more work, but it keeps the vocal performance sounding natural.

Room Mics for Depth - Drum room mics capture the sound of the kit in the space. King uses them creatively to add dimension without making everything sound distant.

Layered Reverbs - Instead of one reverb on everything, King uses different reverbs for different elements. This creates depth without turning the mix into mush.

Subtractive EQ - King cuts frequencies more often than he boosts them. Cutting creates space for each element without adding harshness.

Tempo-Synced Effects - Delays and modulation effects locked to the song’s tempo keep everything rhythmically cohesive.

Notable Discography

Kings of Leon - “Only By The Night” (2008) - Won the Grammy for Best Rock Album. “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” were inescapable.

Adele - “21” (2011) - Won Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Rolling in the Deep.” One of the best-selling albums of all time.

Foo Fighters - “Wasting Light” (2011) - Recorded entirely to analog tape in Dave Grohl’s garage. King’s mix balanced the raw energy with clarity.

The Killers - “Battle Born” (2012) - Arena rock that still sounds intimate in places.

Mumford & Sons - “Babel” (2012) - Won the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The banjo and acoustic instruments have serious depth.

Miranda Lambert - “The Weight of These Wings” (2016) - Double album with emotional range. King’s mix kept it cohesive across 24 tracks.

Kings of Leon - “WALLS” (2016) - King’s third album with the band, showing how their sound evolved over a decade.

John Legend - “Darkness and Light” (2016) - Polished R&B production with live instrumentation.

Awards

Grammy Wins

Best Rock Album (2009) - Kings of Leon’s “Only by the Night”

Record of the Year (2012) - Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”

Album of the Year (2012) - Adele’s “21”

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (2013) - Mumford & Sons’ “Babel”

Notable Nominations

King has been nominated for multiple additional Grammys, including Record of the Year for Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” and Best Engineered Album for Buddy Guy’s “Blues Singer.”

Other Recognition

Music Producers Guild Award - International Producer of the Year (2013)

ASCAP Awards - Multiple wins for hit songs

Platinum and Gold certifications - Too many to count across his discography

Mixing Approach

King’s mixing philosophy comes down to a few core principles:

Emotion over perfection - A slightly imperfect take with real feeling beats a technically flawless one that sounds sterile.

Analog and digital together - Modern tools are powerful, but analog gear adds warmth and character that plugins still can’t fully replicate.

Serve the song - Every decision should enhance the emotional impact. If it doesn’t help the song, it gets cut.

Less is often more - Subtle enhancements let the original performance shine. Overdoing it usually makes things worse.

Depth and dimension - Careful use of reverb, delay, and panning creates a three-dimensional space where each element has its place.

On Music and Mixing

King has talked extensively about his approach to production and mixing:

“The best mixes are the ones where you don’t notice the mix at all - you just feel the music.”

“A great song will always shine through, no matter how it’s recorded. But a great mix can elevate a good song to greatness.”

“In the digital age, it’s easy to forget that music is made by humans. My job is to preserve that humanity in every mix.”

“The space between the notes is just as important as the notes themselves. Sometimes, what you don’t add to a mix is more important than what you do.”

“A mix should be like a great photograph - it captures a moment in time and preserves the emotion of that moment forever.”

“The best producers and engineers are like great actors - they know when to take center stage and when to step back and let the artist shine.”

“Music is a conversation between the artist and the listener. As a mixer, I’m just trying to make sure that conversation is as clear and impactful as possible.”

Influence

King has mentored a lot of younger producers and engineers through interviews, workshops, and masterclasses. His emphasis on musicality over technical perfection has shifted how a generation of mixers approaches their work. Instead of chasing the perfect compressor settings, they’re learning to ask whether the mix serves the emotional core of the song.

If that philosophy resonates, Spike Stent works from similar instincts — adaptability first, no imposed signature. Different discography (Stent’s credits lean more pop and electronic), same core idea.

Conclusion

King’s four Grammys and ridiculous discography speak for themselves. But what sets him apart is his consistent focus on emotion over technique. A great performance with a few imperfections beats a sterile, perfect one every time.

If you’re learning to mix, King’s work is worth studying. Listen to how “Rolling in the Deep” builds tension, how the Foo Fighters album sounds raw but clear, how Mumford & Sons’ banjos have depth without drowning in reverb. Those choices aren’t accidents—they’re the result of someone who understands that mixing is about serving the song, not showing off your gear or your skills.