TALKING SHOP

AMIRALI

Iranian-born, London-based producer Amirali first made a name for himself in the earlier half of the last decade, releasing a cluster of infectious, synth-driven club tracks into the world with his Crosstown Rebels-released debut LP, In Time. After a stint of relentless touring and DJing, he took an extended break in order to reinvigorate his music making. This December sees him return with a fresh outlook and new LP, titled Trial & Error. We caught up with him to talk studio sessions and creativity.

When did you start making music?

“I’ve been into music my whole life. I’ve been playing the piano since I was about five, I had several piano tutors over the years and played classical pieces. I was into making music even before getting into electronic music – but also in my early years I was exposed to the raw electronic sounds of Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre to name a few. Growing up I started listening to bands like Massive Attack, Portishead and Depeche Mode, and I was immensely influenced by them. I moved to Toronto when I was about 15, and it was then that I began showing an interest in making electronic music.”

Tell us about your studio…

“I just built my new home studio in London. I’ve been living in this place for over a year now and I love my studio space. Last year when we got this flat, I converted our loft into a fully functional and soundproofed studio. I still need to install some acoustic panels but the room is already sounding great.

“I enjoy using both hardware and plugins; they go hand in hand. The plugins are evolving a lot, and it also depends on what type of sound you’re going after. The quality of sound you get from plugins now, whether using an effect or a soft-synth, is a lot better compared to even five years ago.

“I use plugins more for processing and they are always at my fingertips. I use a variety of UAD and Waves plugins; you can get great results with them if you really dig into them and learn how to use them properly. It all depends on what you are using them for and how you are using them. Of course, I do appreciate having hardware around, so you’re not always juggling with the mouse and looking at the screen of your computer. It’s all about keeping the right balance between the two as you can definitely benefit from both.”

What DAW do you use, and why?

“I have been using Ableton Live for the past 12 years now. I was using Cubase before, but I can’t even think about switching to another DAW. Ableton is super interactive and easy to use, the best thing about it is that you can put down your ideas into it so quickly and the flexibility it gives you is just phenomenal.”

What one piece of gear in your studio could you not do without?

“Probably my Prophet-6, because you plug it in and it just sounds bigger than anything else, the richness and texture it gives you is on a different level, it’s a beast.”

What was your latest studio buy?

“I recently got this amazing plugin called soothe2 from oeksound, which was recommended by a friend of mine. It’s a dynamic resonance suppressor. It basically picks out the problematic resonances on the fly and applies reduction automatically, so you get a smoother, more balanced sound and saves you from having to notch out the frequencies by hand. It’s faster to set up and more accurate than any dynamic EQ.”

What dream bit of gear would you love to have in you studio?

“That’s a tricky question... maybe a Neve console?”

When approaching a new track or project, where do you start?

“There’s no rulebook for me when I’m in the studio”

“It’s different each time, there’s no rulebook for me. Sometimes it starts with a melody or harmony, or it could simply be a bassline or a hook. There are also many times when I just press record and start jamming for half an hour, playing with the piano or a synth, and then manipulating the sound and going crazy with it.”

What are you currently working on?

“I’m releasing a lot of material this year, 18 tracks in total. I just released a neo-classical EP called Sokoot which means Silence in Farsi; it was a collaboration with the brilliant soloists of Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and with my good friend Jakob Eisenbach. I’m also releasing my second studio album, Trial & Error which is going to come out on my own label, Dark Matters on November 24th. I’m also planning on releasing a mini album for hopefully early next year.”