Interview with Aria Konishi
(photo credit: Pacifique Vuillemin)
One of my favourite bands since starting the blog has got to be Mount Kōya. I was also fortunate to interview the band for their upcoming album album, Teien. During the interview, it was mentioned that Aria Konishi, the band’s bassist, mixed, mastered and engineered the band’s releases from 2020 starting wih the EP, Slow Ocean Motion. I was already impressed by the quality of the production, as well as thinking it made the band even more independent and involved with a member taking on the role.
It was during the interview with Sunday,June that I discovered Aria mixed the album, Sun Glitter and Other Reflections, and it made me wonder what other recording projects outside of Mount Kōya he was involved in. He sent me the Spotify Playlist - Songs Engineered and/or Mixed By Aria Konishi and, not only is it filled with excellent discoveries, it cemented my status as a fan of his work. Whilst looking for music videos for the article, I also created by own YouTube playlist with his involvement. The links to the playlists are also at the end of the article.
I would like to thank Aria for taking the time to reply to my questions about his journey on the other side of the mixing desk.
Background
Tell us about yourself (musical background, in which bands are/were you in)
I’ve been in music most of my life actually. I started playing cello at the age of seven because I didn’t want to play violin like my sister. I played for 14 years, until I got my non-pro certificate from the conservatoire of Lausanne for cello & solfège (music theory). Parallel to that, I was introduced to the electric bass and started playing by myself. We formed a high school band called Sonic Ravens with a couple of friends and made great friends along the way.
In 2018, we started Mount Kōya as a way of assuming a new path, through psych-kraut-rock, and we had so much fun playing all around Switzerland. Met some great people and supported bands that we idolized like Holydrug Couple or Minami Deutsch.
I briefly participated in a band called La Pause that had this really cool French touch vibe. I’m currently playing for The Last Wolf; he has some really cool blue-country-soul tracks, and I’m really happy to be able to interpret his music with him during concerts. Some other things are in the works but it’s a little early to talk about them! Already so many moments which I’m grateful for!
Some of the albums and EPs Aria has worked on
How many artists have you worked with? How many albums/EPs/singles have you worked on?
Gosh, I haven’t really kept a count on how many bands / artists I’ve worked with. I should be rounding up to around 20 by now. I’ve had the pleasure of working on some pretty cool stuff. My close mates Olympic Antigua trusted me to mix their first EP, and that ended up on Netflix. I engineered and recorded Fomies - Melting Seas and we tracked that on tape! Sunday,June’s Sun Glitter and Other Reflections was a super discovery. The song, Summer Without You was nominated at this year’s m4music Demotape Clinic. I also got to develop a great friendship through this collaboration. There’s also a promising father & son duo called BLUE BLUE SKY and there is a new Swear I love you album in the works as well..
The journey
How did you start with mixing/recording/engineering?
I’ve always been keen on puzzles and such. When I started playing with others in high school, I was really intrigued by how we could make our own records. One of our mates had bought the iPhone 3Gs and we just started recording track-to-track in a cabin in the Alps. Good times… I was the most interested in the production part so I ended up “mixing” it and that was that. Then we started using cheap audio interfaces (which , in 2011, wasn’t so cheap for the shit quality it was) and bought SM57s. I guess it all snowballed from there!
Tell us about your studio?
It’s really just a room with very damp acoustics, making it perfect for recording just about anything. I have a more “old-school” approach to sound. I like having people play together when they can. To me, it just makes sense. The mojo is there and musicians can support each other. I also like to “work” the sound before tracking, so really think about mic placement and EQs before going for the first take. I’ve done live rooms à la Motown where all the players are in the room and sound bleeds to every mic. I prefer a hybrid approach, using the power of our modern tools and mixing it with older techniques and mediums. I guess that might contribute to how my recordings sound. I’ll let the listeners decide that…
What have been your highlights so far?
Ah man, highlights! I think I’ve been really lucky and have had nothing but highlights. Every time you finish a project and a couple of months later you receive an LP or the link to the masters or whatever… Man, what a feeling! It’s so cool that I get to accompany so many talented musicians and help them immortalize their art. So yeah… only highlights!
How does a collaboration normally work? Who contacts who? What sort of work is involved with the artist? (Eg just working in your studio? Going to their studio? Setting up the equipment and recording/working in another location?)
I’m still working around my day job schedule, so I can’t really have walk-ins for now. Usually, a client contacts me via email, Instagram, or phone, and we start a discussion about what they are looking for and how I can accommodate it. I like to have a meeting in person before the studio so we can exchange ideas. I can really get a feel for their energy and how I can match that with my work. Usually, artists send in demos recorded with a phone; it doesn’t need to be clean. Then on recording day, we really get down to business. I start with mic placement for drums and have some one-on-one time with the drummer for his soundcheck. Then I move on to bass, guitars, synths, etc. My main focus is on the first couple of takes to have a really strong drum track so that he doesn’t get too tired too quickly, doing take after take.
As a bass player, I’m always looking out for the drummer!
How do you feel when a project is finally complete (and the music is released)?
I talked about this earlier, but yeah.. The feeling is great! When the artists are satisfied and we had a great time working together, it’s really what counts. And it has to be fun for everybody, right? I love discovering new music and getting to meet so many talented musicians. I hope to meet so many more!
Past/future:
Anything you would have done differently? -Any tips you would like to give to those who want to mix/record/be an engineer and are starting off? Any plans for the future?
For now, I don’t really have anything that I feel like I would have done differently. I started with humble surroundings, and I feel like I have learned from those limitations. I feel like all the rest is up to life. You play the cards you’re dealt, and by now, I’ve gotten a quite nice mic locker and things. But again, gear is gear. I think it’s more important to know how to use even the simplest of gear. So for those looking to start, just get used stuff and get the cheapest SM57 you can find. Practice over and over and try new things, learn new techniques. You can always get new gear, but even a U87 can sound bad if you don’t use it properly!
For future plans, I’d just like to be able to continue my career and upsize accordingly. But I am not looking to have a high-end studio or anything, I wouldn’t know how to upkeep it! Also, doing more and more live shows has been really ear-opening for me. It’s a complete other skillset and a nice challenge I’m up for! Time will tell what it has in store for me.
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