Location: Livorno, Italy
Member Since: August 5, 2012
Tracks in Portfolio: 35 (click here to hear all tracks)
Tracks we Like:
The Interview:
High profile projects or clients you have worked for?
I would say no “high profile” clients yet, but many interesting multimedia projects, videogames, websites and a couple of theatrical soundtracks which have been very gratifying and fun to create.
And being also a seller on various music marketplaces you really never know exactly where your music is actually being used 🙂
Primary instrument?
Piano and synths. I can also sing, even if I do it mainly in my albums and less on the music I create as soundtracks. I can also play a bit of drums, which I usually do when I need a more “human touch” in my rhythmic parts (mainly electronic percussions and pads), and a couple of chords on the guitar (but I would not call it “playing” actually).
Favorite music-making piece of gear or software you currently use?
As DAW I usually work with Logic (even if I am also using Ableton Live a lot lately). I own so many software plugins I have lost track I think, but I mainly use Native Instruments stuff, Camel Audio Alchemy, Pianoteq, and Spectrasonics Trillian for the bass parts. As for the gear.. I love my Nord Stage keyboard and my Access Virus Ti (even if sometimes it drives me crazy with some of its software bugs).
Piece of gear or software you wish you owned?
I usually spend my spare money on sample libraries (such as 8DIO or East West products) so I would say maybe a giant bundle with everything released by them. Or some awesome analogue synth like anything by Moog or Dave Smith would make me drool as well!
Film score or song you admire? Why?
I am not a big fan of big/epic orchestral scores (Hanz Zimmer style) so I am more into intimate and experimental soundtracks in the style of Cliff Martinez, Clint Mansell or Thomas Newman. I also love Japanese composers like Hisaishi and Kawai a lot.
Music education background?
I have been studying piano since the tender age of six but I never actually graduated (at some point I have been led ashtray by electronic and rock/metal music, so I started feeling uneasy and out of place in such orthodox and poorly stimulating places like music conservatories here in Italy). I also attended a course in Electronic Music Production at SAE (London) in 2006.
Memorable “Aha!” moment during your musical education?
I don’t remember any particular epiphanies… I remember learning piano as a very gratifying but
also slow and daunting experience (…not speaking of music theory, which is very useful but unavoidable and fun as a series of math lessons).
Most embarrassing music-related moment?
Luckily none I can remember… I always feel a bit nervous when performing live (alone or with my bands), but it usually ends up quite nicely, so I would not call any of those moments embarrassing…just stressful maybe 🙂
If you had a time machine and could record or perform once with any artist, who would it be?
Maybe some classical composers like Mozart or Beethoven… just very curious to meet them. Or
maybe I would go back just to be present during the recording of some of my favorite albums, like the Alan Parsons’ or the Marillion’s ones (just as an observer maybe.. I am not worthy!).
Moment you first knew you would be a musician?
I don’t know… it seems something you understand to love since childhood, from the first moment you clang your cutlery on the glasses during launch time. So the problem is not knowing when to “be” a musician or a composer but when to “work” as one. Unfortunately it always sounds like something so fragile and unstable (especially nowadays) that scares you most of the time… but you need to believe in it 200% if you want to achieve something. I only wish I have believed in it sooner in my life, so to lose less time with other stuff.
Advice you would give to a younger family member interested in a music career?
As said before… believe as much as you can (and as fast as you can!) in yourself and in the
possibilities of a career like this. Keep updated on the technology and on the styles. Listen to the
other composers’ works, always with a mind (or ears) open to learn something new every day. And do what you like most… music is art and it needs inspiration more than everything else.
Five songs or albums you’d take with you to a desert island?
Difficult choice… at the moment I would say:
Fates Warning – A Pleasant Shade Of Gray
Anathema – A Natural Disaster
Pain Of Salvation – The Perfect Element
Marillion – Brave
and maybe a “best of” of Alan Parsons or Vangelis.
If you could master another instrument, what would it be?
Definitely violin. Even if I think it would be better for me (and for my music) to learn how to
play guitar properly.
Favorite time of day to work in your studio?
Usually in the afternoon, or even in the late evening (in the morning I am usually too busy answering emails, doing some public relations or waiting for the coffee to wake me up)
Any studio collaboration you experienced that stands out in your mind? Why?
I am usually a “solitary guy”, but I have played in some bands
before (like the metal-prog band Icycore)… and I loved every moment spent with
those guys rehearsing or recording our albums (and I still think that together
we produced a couple of masterpieces).
What are your best, or even favorite tracks? Why?
A very difficult question… there are tracks I am more proud of (especially from a production point of view). The ones I love most maybe are those created for my solo albums, which are often more experimental and “artistic” (you don’t have to care for example if they do not sound enough positive or useful for advertising, etc..). Among the ones I created for the music marketplace I would say:
What tracks of yours enjoy the most success in other libraries?
Some of my best sellers are: “Becoming”, “Little Wings” and “Understanding” (…not surprisingly three piano-only songs). On the more electronic/heavy side I would say “Killing The Machines” is the one which sold most.
Big thanks to Andrea Baroni for taking the time to do this interview and make his music available for licensing on MusicRevolution.com.
______________________________________________________________________________
Mike Bielenberg is a professional musician and co-founder of http://www.musicrevolution.com, a production music marketplace with over 21,000 tracks online where media producers, video producers, filmmakers, game developers, businesses and other music buyers can license high-
quality, affordable royalty-free music from an online community of musicians mbielenberg@musicrevolution.com.
