AES Student Blog

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? Where and what do you study? What audio field are you in? What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start?

I am from Rome, Italy, but I currently reside in Boston, where I am studying Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College Of Music. My passion for audio goes back to a small fisher price cassette recorder with a toy microphone, just a game as a young kid. Then around 14 years old, at Christmas time, we recorded a family version of U2’s “With Or Without You” on my cousin Fostex recorder; I played bass on that, but the machine captured my attention in a important way!

Are you a musician yourself? What instruments do you play and in what musical context?

I am a bass player and I like playing reggae, funk and other groove-oriented music.

Tell us about the production of your submission. What is the story behind it? What was it inspired by? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry? 

Last year at the NYC convention is when I first learnt about the recording competition, and when I found out that nobody from my college had submitted an entry, I thought it was wrong and I put myself into making that happen.

My production started last may in Boston, and exactly the last day I was in town before going back home for the summer! My friend and saxophonist Axel Hachadi asked me to engineer his record and I was suddenly captured by his talent and the outstanding musicianship of the band.  We did a 6hours session that day, and right after the last take, I wrapped up and ran to the airport! 

I then worked on the mix in between my summer travels, working in the box and on headphones. Finally, coming back to Boston in September I’ve had the chance to sit down in my workstation at home, and I refined the final version and did the edits.

What was your most significant/funny/inspiring experience as an audio engineer? 

The most significant experience for me as an audio engineer happened this past summer: with a Tascam Dr-680 and four microphones I took and adventure to Ghana, in West Africa, and recorded traditional folkloric music in a field recording setting. I am still processing all the experiences that came from this trip and the joy of working with those incredibly talented people who connect music with their own lives in a much stronger way than in our occidental society.

Accidents happen: What was your biggest mistake in a production and what did you do to redeem the situation?

I fell in love with the singer I was working with. (Old story, I guess). So I had to tell myself to focus on the work first, and in the most professional way. We finished the song, and of course the love story didn’t work out! (Old story too).

What’s your advice for engineers who are just starting out?

I am starting out myself, so I don’t know that I can give advices to anybody. I think that establishing a trusted and human relationship with whomever you are working with is important, and always putting the music in first place, and not let the engineering be in the way. These are my main point of focus.

Tech talk: What are your favourite pieces of equipment (microphones, outboard, plugins), and why?

I know this might be controversial, but I am a huge fan of dynamic microphones. The Shure SM7b and EV Re20 are on the first place of my black Friday list.

As far as outboard gear, this is where I dream expensive: the TLA-100 chained to the Pulteg EQP-1A in their various combination, is my favorite chain for Bass, Electric Guitar Vocal, horns and just about everything, if I had enough of them ?

Can you name one or multiple of your favourite recordings or productions and tell us why you like them/what you like about them?

I’ll name five, but not in any particular order:

Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire  for the roughnes of the sounds, but what a great energy that was captured!

Miles Davis Quintet – Kind Of Blue  for making the world Jazz come up in every single listener’s mind

Brotherly – System for stretching the boundaries of home made production

Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball  for the vocal production.

Muse- The Resistance  because it was tracked in Italy, on beautiful Lake Como

What do you like about the AES? How does it help you to become a better and more successful audio engineer?

AES is where I want to be at. I am only at my second convention, and I am already amazed by all the great things Ive seen, and more importantly the people I’ve met. Everyone there has made history of recorded music. and yet you get to talk to each other as a group of peers or friends who are sharing a common passion.

Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 137^th AES Convention in Los Angeles!

My favourite experience about AES Los Angeles was riding on the highway and looking at the California sun on the way to the convention, which made my be sure of what the next step will be, once I will be out of college.
On a more specific note, meeting and chatting for a minute with legendary Bruce Swedeen has definitely been the highlight of my trip. I felt like I had a grandfather in audio engineering and that was precious.

What is your favourite frequency?

60Hz. No Question Asked.

What do you do when you’re not in the studio or doing anything music related?

I am in the “Curva Sud” of the Olympic Stadium in Rome following my favourite soccer team, AS Roma.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I don’t want to know now. Many other great things will happen and  I am curious to discover them as I progress. If I had the magic wand, though, I would be in my state-of-the-art studio overlooking the Coloseum, recording some of the best international acts in a unique and breathtaking setting like only Rome can offer.
Now, back to work to make this happen!

Could you provide us with some closing comments?

I just want to say how grateful I am to have been shown the “AES way” early enough in my music production and engineering path. At AES I’ve found some great friends, amazing people and a unique environment that is a powerful resource for learning, networking and building your own carreer. A big part of this is also represented by the Student Delegates Assembly, which I want to thank again for making all of this happen! Until the next one!

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