IRKO

Up for the Challenge

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hey Michael! Thanks for having me! My name is IRKO, I’m the music industry’s most beloved bow-tie-wearing mixing engineer. I grew up near Venice, Italy but I have been in the United States for 15 years. Music took me around the World and I have been very fortunate to have worked with artists like Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Sia, Pitbull, Jay-Z and many many more.

How long have you been in the music industry?

I opened my first studio in 98 but my very first days in Music were way before, the exact timing has been lost to time itself but I think it’s safe to say it was the mid nineties.

Where did you learn your craft and how long did it take you?

I went to audio engineering school in Italy. During that time I was able to learn all the basics of sound and the experience put me in the right direction to grow my career. My formation years were far from complete after graduating as my huge passion and interest for Hip Hop music made it very necessary to learn tools and techniques conclusive to achieving the results I was after, some of them were not taught in a classroom. So it took a while but I got it eventually!

What was your first project?

My first projects were probably a bunch of beats that I would make using samples, these tracks were eventually used by local artists for their projects. They probably sound very silly if we heard them today

Who were some of your mentors when coming into the industry?

In the beginning days I had one OG engineer in Italy who I followed briefly, he helped me with gear and studio stuff. Then I partnered up with another teacher from school, he helped me with running the business and most things Pro Tools. Then, in the US, I learned many things from different people but if I was to point one out I’d say that Tony Maserati taught me how to communicate with clients.

What genre of music do you listen to during your down time and why?

Now I listen to a lot of instrumental music, it’s perfect for reading and cooking and such. But when I’m on my cleaning mode you better believe I’ll blast some boom bap!

Who was your first well known client?

Jay-Z for sure. I was involved in the engineering of ‘Kingdom Come’. What a time!

Describe a time when you were required to think on your feet. How did this go?

During studio time, even more so recording sessions, the talent might be ready to rock and time is of the essence. I found myself countless of times trying to figure out a buzz or a noise while having tens of channels open. That’s when you have to think QUICK on your feet. A good, trained and effective crew helps a lot to solve these kinds of problems.

Can you name a list of artists you have worked with?

Sure! Besides the previously named artists, I have mixed for Mac Miller, Swizz Beatz, Jennifer Lopez, Black Thought, Portugal The Man, Joey Badass, ScHoolboy Q, Rick Ross, Killer Mike, Kevin Gates, Pusha T, Tory Lanez, Juicy J, 21 Savage, Eric Bellinger, Dave East, Kid Cudi, Big K.R.I.T., Ty Dolla Sign, Kash Doll, Fabolous, Common, Redman, Talib Kweli and a lot more

Describe in detail to our reader what you do when it comes to the music scene.

To simplify things, the producer makes the beat, the artist writes a song to it, they record everything, now the song exists and it gets passed to me. At this point the song is brilliant but the sound is that of a Honda civic, after I spend a day on it it’ll sound like a v12 Lamborghini! Now the song not only is catchy but it’s also sonically competitive with everything else that’s on the charts. So my clients now have that extra juice to get a plaque!

Describe a time when you had to work with a difficult client. What did you learn?

Studio situations can be difficult some times but I have noticed that it usually boils down to communication. I do my best to set expectations clearly and deliver more than anticipated

Describe a time you made a mistake. What happened?

Mistakes (or as I call them chances to learn more) happen all the time, even more so at the beginning of careers. In my line of work a typical situation is to over do things, use too much level on this or that element of the song. Or not running mixes through strenuous tests, or not setting up the business side of things very well. But you learn from those situation and make sure they never happen again!

What would you regard as the most challenging part of Sound Engineering?

The most challenging part of sound engineering is that we all hear differently and we all have different speaker and different settings in which the speakers are, this all makes sound very unique, it’s a moving target. But you know what? I would not have it any other way!