Audacity: Fixing loud and broken mic audio on mix tape

esprade

New member
So I've got a tape from a club session that's giving me a real
challenge. The music levels are actually quite good, the tracks play with nice clarity, but the mic audio is way too loud and distorted, sounding grainy and far too intense for quality listening. How do I isolate the mic vocals, reduce volume and restore clarity without severely distorting the backing tracks? I've been messing with the equaliser and have found the ranges where the mic is at, but I can't get rid of the grit and grain of the vocals. The track is very loud but low in db, it doesn't peak unless I amplify the track to 0db, after which it hits the red. Any advice is appreciated.
 
Might not be your thing but here it is anyway:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gIvO9MQS4Z4

All I need to do is clean up the mic a bit but got no idea where to start. If you open it up in audacity the wave form is actually pretty level. I'm thinking I need an "anti leveller" or some other specific plugin. I've tried adjusting bass and treble, tried using the EQ, only enhanced a dozen tracks or so with reasonable success but this one has me stumped.
 
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