KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — It was a welcome moment for Kuching-born sound mixer Alvin Wee when he was awarded with the Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing award at the 58th annual Cinema Audio Society (CAS) awards in Los Angeles, US. 

The 34-year-old outstanding work as the scoring mixer of the sound mixing team for the hit Disney animated feature film Encanto. 

Wee dedicated the win to those like him, fuelled by passion to power through despite limited access to tools and technology. 

"Because like my friends in the States or UK or Australia, it’s easy for them to get a hold of all these music technologies like recording software and everything. 

"But for me, from Kuching, I remember when I was growing up, I wanted to buy a music production software called LogicPro and I remember having to wait for two months for the CD to arrive and this was before download was a viable option. 

"So yes, I dedicated this win to those with lack of access, where technology doesn’t come by so easily, where there’s no recording studio and there’s no composers,” Wee told Malay Mail.

Wee shared how being a Malaysian helped him in his journey through the years.

"I truly believe to be successful in what you do or to be unique enough to stand out in a crowd, you have to bring your own experience through the process. 

"Growing up I was taught to always be friendly, always be respectful and always be understanding of everyone’s point of views and to be appreciative of people. 

"Also, the collaborative nature of Malaysians themselves. We have a lot of patience, we have a lot of care, and I would bring that into the studio. If anyone has any questions, I try to help them out, bit by bit,” Wee said. 

For Encanto, Wee said there was a little more to the process. 

With Columbia as the animated film’s background, Wee read and watched countless documentaries and articles on Columbia’s history as well as how their culture influences their music. 

"Basically, you have to immerse yourself in the culture. For the mixing process, I’ve read about how the Africans were brought to Columbia influenced their music.

"And I also read how the music was played based on different locations around Columbia like the ones living by the beach, on the mountains or in the rural areas. 

"This is very important because if you know about their background or the way it influences their music, then you can make better decisions on how the music comes out.” 

Wee said he also got pointers from Colombian musician friends as well.

As the scoring mixer, he was responsible for the music, background songs, underscores and the compositions of the soundtracks made by the composer.

Since its release last year, Encanto has been making waves around the world as the animated feature film has received more than 20 award nominations including for the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. 

Apart from Encanto, the Berklee College of Music graduate has worked on blockbuster films like No Time To Die, Mulan, Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle as well as the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick. 

He has also contributed to famous video games such as PUBG Mobile X Arcane Collaboration, Resident Evil XII and Kingdom Hearts 2.5. 

On upcoming projects, Wee shared that he is currently working on a few including a Netflix kids show, a Dreamworks TV show and a documentary on late American rapper, Xxxtentacion.

The annual CAS Awards aims to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work and achievements of production and post sound mixers on the year’s most impressive movies and series.

The award is also a notable precursor to the Academy Awards especially in the sound editing and mixing category.