Federico Chiesa Interview

Special Feature

Hailing from Italy, but now living in New York City, Federico Chiesa, known to his fanbase as OORA, is an ambient electronic musician who adroitly straddles the worlds of independent artist and social influencer while remaining authentic. No, you won’t find Federico making YouTube videos about Logic Pro shortcuts, or banging his fists together and answering questions to Hoàng Read’s The Magic Bomb on TikTok. Federico is part of a vibrant group of electronic musicians who specialize in creating lush and emotional soundscapes, often improvised, and then discussing their gear and workflows in detail.

Chiesa’s weapon of choice is Instagram where he has over 30,000 followers and is verified, but has branched out to YouTube, Twitch and Facebook. What differentiates Chiesa from your typical boisterous, hyper-video is how he brings you into his music making world. I hate to use the Mr. Rogers analogy, especially since 80% of our readers will unfortunately have no idea who that is…but there are some parallels. Chiesa is a calming presence who tends to over—light his videos, blanketing the viewer in a soft white glow. Then there’s his voice. Slow, thoughtful with just enough of an accent to keep you engaged, yet never overwhelmed when he delves into the technical bits.

FutureMusic sat down with Chiesa to learn more about his background, workflow and how he’s leveraged social media to his advantage in a healthy and organic manner.

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FutureMusic: Thinking back – was there a decisive event or decision that got you to where you are at this moment?

Federico Chiesa: It’s hard to pin-point a precise moment. I’ve had an enormous passion for music since childhood, but until recently, I kept it curbed. I had a good career in the photography business, but I was deeply unhappy spending my whole time realizing other people ideas and projects. I took the decision of going part time early 2020, and after that I decided to take the leap and produce music and content full time. While is still a rollercoaster of emotions and doubts, I am happy about what I’m doing now.

OORA

Live Ambient Set

OORA’s new album, Iterations, is out now.

FutureMusic: What inspired you to start making your own music?

Federico Chiesa: After the “Cover or Tribute Band” phase, I always felt that music was a language I could use to truly express myself. Writing my own songs (and now my compositions) felt the only way to truly enjoy this medium. I’m at a point where I believe improvisation is the best way to practice daily: for me the only way to compose a track is to play the instruments and record what I’m doing. I am terrible at building music with blocks in Ableton — I always end up with disjointed loops. Improvisation, especially in a live performance, brings a lot of risk: you never know how your mood will influence the outcome, but to me that is the only way I feel I’m actually playing.

My live sets always start with a clean slate, no sequences or stems have been prepared. It’s an approach that freed my mind and my internal voice. I need to thank Sebastian Mullet for inspiring me with his improvisation ideas, and I recommend everyone to read Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch, a book that blew my mind.
In the end, when I’m playing, I am translating myself, in that precise moment, into music. That’s why I feel the necessity to play something new and different every time, because I am new and different every time I start a new dialogue with my machines.

FutureMusic: You grew up in Italy, how did that shape your music sensibility?

Federico Chiesa: I grew up in Italy, during the 80’s and 90’s. American culture was basically all over Italy. We would only watch American movies and listen to American bands. We would look at the USA as the final destination, the dreamland. At the same time, we lived in a poor country, with a completely different mindset. Everything in Italy is old or ancient, and I guess that influenced me in some ways too. I definitely think my music has some sort of cinematographic quality.

FutureMusic: Having now been in the United States for some time and collaborated with musicians over here, what do you think is the biggest difference between American and European musicians?

Federico Chiesa: Here music is a respected business. Calling yourself a musician is not a joke. Artists here are smarter and know how to make a living from music. In Italy, there is still a sort of stigma about art and career: an artist should create only for art’s sake. To me, this is a very misleading way of thinking. I also think that American musician, especially Rock and Pop, have a more universal appeal. Most Italian music would not translate well in this country.

FutureMusic: So how do Italian artists typically support themselves?

Federico Chiesa: Most indie musicians have a day job. There are some great bands or artists that actually do sold out tours in small to medium venues, but still need to have a “real job.” Luckily in the last decade, in Italy, we had a huge resurgence of indie songwriters and it feels that the “career musician” is becoming more accepted.

FutureMusic: You made the progression from playing heavy rock music to ambient, how in the world did that happen?

Federico Chiesa: I was touring as a singer and guitar player with a pretty active stoner rock band. Really cool heavy stuff. Unfortunately, the momentum resulted in some internal discussion that led to lawyers and that was the end of the fun. After that, I decided not to be in a band anymore and give up music completely. However, one day I bought a synth (a Moog Minitaur) and I discovered a new world. The idea of being a one man band got me excited. Since then, I’ve collected lot of gear and I love spending all my time tweaking knobs and creating tracks. I definitely miss the band days and being on stage, but now I am finally using my own voice without the drama of being in a band.

FutureMusic: Looking back, what were the big benefits of going at it alone, as opposed to being in a one-man-band?

Federico Chiesa: Mostly is not having to justify your artistic decisions. You play what you feel. This of course is both the great and worst part of being a solo act. With a band the clashing of tastes and ideas generates great stuff, and when you have writer’s block you can rely on the others. Doing music alone can lead you to some dark spot sometimes.

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OORA – Studio Gear List

➤ Mixer:
» PlayDifferently Model1

➤ Sound Card:
» UAD Apollo quad

➤ Monitors:
» Adam S2v

➤ Headphones:
» Audeze LCD5

➤ Synths and Instruments:
» Vermona Performer mk2
» Vermona DRM1 MK3
» Roland SH-101
» Roland SH-01a
» Roland JU-06a
» Roland TB-303
» Roland TR-808
» Roland MC-202
» Roland TR-8
» Elektron Analog Rytm MK2
» Elektron Machinedrum
» Elektron Octatrack x2
» Abstrakt Instruments Avalon
» Sonicware Liven
» Sonicware ELZ-1
» Teenage engineering OP-1
» Teenage engineering OP-Z
» Novation Peak
» Make Noise Strega
» Nord Drum2
» Black Corporation Deckard’s Dream
» Wurlitzer 200
» Fender Stratocaster
» Fender jazz bass
» Santa Cruz VJ
» Erica Lxr2
» Soma Dvina
» Soma Lyra8

➤ Effects:
» Fairfield Shallow Water
» Fairfield Meet Maude
» Hologram Microcosm
» Roland Space Echo RE-201
» Benidub Echo
» Benidub Filter
» Eventide Space
» Death By Audio Rooms
» Death By Audio Dream Echo MkII
» Chase Bliss Rooms
» Chase Bliss Dark world
» Chase Bliss Blooper
» Chase Bliss / Merit CXM1978
» Meris Polymoon
» Strymon DIG
» Strymon Blue Sky
» Strymon El Capstan
» Empress Reverb
» Empress Echosystem
» Empress Zoia Euroburo
» Thermionic Culture Vulture
» Overstayer Modular Channel

➤ Controllers:
» Keith McMillen

➤ Modules:
» Qubit Databender
» Qubit Chords 2
» Make Noise Morphagene
» Make Noise Mimeophon
» Mutable Marbles
» Mutable Rings
» Noise engineering Versio
» Make Noise C0ntrl

➤ DAW:
» Ableton Live

FutureMusic: You’ve been one of the big proponents of using guitar pedals to make ambient music, aside from your background as a guitarist, what pushed you in that direction?

Federico Chiesa: I think pedals can shape your sound way better than complex synths can do. In fact, I prefer using a super simple synth (like my Vermona PERfourMER) and place a chain of effects after it. Similar to modular system, pedals allow you to create unique combinations and drop you into unexpected places. The other great thing is that you have to commit and record what you hearing. I am a big supporter of not having presets. I create my sounds from scratch every time. Nothing wrong with embarking on a long sound design session to craft your own preset on something like a Peak or a VST, but then I hardly use it again. The only drawback on using pedals is cable management. I hate cables. I’m thinking of creating a huge patch bay with all my stompboxes connected and wire them in creative ways.

Another fun thing about pedals is that you can experiment in all the wrong ways. When you start with production, they tell you not to put distortion or delay after reverb, instead I love to switch pedal places to mess with the signal chain and see what will happen. It’s just the most exciting and fun way to create sounds for me!

FutureMusic: You’re using a DJ mixer in your rig, what inspired that decision?

Federico Chiesa: The complete lack of electronic music performance oriented mixers! There is a HUGE gap in the market. (Tell us about it! —Ed.)  Only DJ mixers offer a set of controls aimed at live performance, but most of them are too gimmicky or contain tons of digital features I’d never use. When Richie Hawtin designed the Model1, I instantly saw how that would be my perfect mixer. Filter and harmonic distortion on each channel, master filter and EQ, great spacing of the knobs, killer design and incredible sound. Plus all channels are stereo, and all my synths need stereo channels!

Is that my perfect mixer? No, because it is still aimed at DJ’s (and I don’t DJ at all). It doesn’t have direct outs for recording and I’d love to have two more Aux sends, but it’s a joy to use and I can’t live without it. It actually forced me to change my recording habits: I started doing stereo recording of my performance rather than multitrack them to add additional production afterwards. I love this way of creating, favoring the performance over the production. (Another option, especially if you use micro modules, such as Roland Boutique’s or Korg Volca’s, and much more budget friendly, is 1010Music’s awesome Bluebox which is featured in our Holiday Gift Guide. —Ed.)

FutureMusic: You also employ a Reel To Reel tape recorder on your master buss, aside from saturation, warmth and compression, how else do you utilize the deck and what else does this bring to your sound?

Federico Chiesa: Initially, it was mostly used to record pads or atmospheric sounds and then to play it at half speed. Everything you record on tape, and then you play at half speed, sounds great. Now I’m using more as a mastering tool. I record performances through it and get a nice glue and tape compression. It’s a gorgeous tool and super inspiring to use. It works great to give an analog feel to compositions made using VSTs!

FutureMusic: As your home studio evolved, and with the emphasis on live performance, was there anything else that pushed you “out of the box” (computer)?

Federico Chiesa: Mostly the fact that I was using my computer eight hours a day for my day job. Let’s be honest, a computer is an amazing and convenient tool. I love using plug-ins and doing mixing sessions. I still need to have my hands on instruments though. But I love using Ableton Live and I believe that today you can create everything in the box without the need of spending thousands on gear. That said, noting to me is like having an hardware setup that you know perfectly and can play it like an instrument.

FutureMusic: Do you compose anything solely on your computer? If so, what’s your process and workflow?

Federico Chiesa: When I do commercial work, like scoring, I prefer using the computer. There is always a back and forth with clients and using external gear is always too risky and time consuming. When I create using the computer, I stick with few VSTs I know well and try to be a little more experimental to make things interesting. I only need my sequencers for my hardware setup. I can’t use piano roll. At heart, I’m an X0X kind of guy…

FutureMusic: What artist has inspired you the most?

Federico Chiesa: Andreas Tilliander with his TM404 project. He was using only vintage Roland boxes (303. 606, 808, 202, etc.) creating these dubby, slow techno tracks. After listening to him, I decided to buy all the old Roland gear and see what I could do. He has been a great inspiration.

Next, would be Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman stuff, just classic. Still 303 centered.

Lately, I am more into minimalistic composers like Alessandro Cortini and Caterina Barbieri. My favorite 2021 artist is KMRU, his ambient and field recordings are incredible.

FutureMusic: You’ve really leveraged social media to boost your audience – can you discuss how that impacted your life and career?

Federico Chiesa: In full honesty, without Instagram I would not be doing this interview. It’s not a secret that, in today’s world, you need to present what you’re doing in a certain way. I feel creating great music is not enough anymore.
This all depends on what is your goal is obviously because the social game requires a big toll. Time, knowledge, networking…as with any other kind of line of work, you need to learn the many different way you can promote yourself.
Instagram and Youtube gave me credibility with brands and put me in contact with many great artists. I have fans that are huge musicians and that always blows my mind. Through social media, I became part of the community that I always wanted be part of…

FutureMusic: What advice can you give artists like yourself about getting onboard the social media train? Specifically what lessons have you learned and what do you think has yielded the biggest impact?

Federico Chiesa: Be consistent with your posts and quality. That’s about it. You need to post several time a week and have a specific aesthetic. Check all the popular artist on IG, they all have a precise look and they stick with that…
And if you do music, please, don’t upload posts using audio captured by your phone. I record my video on a Canon camera that has a line in, so I send my mixer out directly in camera. In this way, I have both great video and audio quality. Also, be kind with yourself – getting noticed today is way harder than two years ago. Things can be slow and your value is not defined by your following. If I’d start again, I’d probably avoid IG and focus more on YouTube or TikTok.

FutureMusic: As your audience grew, you made the decision to set up a Patreon account and quit your day job. When did you know the time was right?

Federico Chiesa: It felt necessary – one of those life decisions that you can’t avoid. Would I rather spend my time doing what I love, taking huge risks, but being honest with myself and anyone else or keep getting good money in exchange of my whole time? It wasn’t an easy decision, but I knew the answer right away.

FutureMusic: Death By Audio, Chase Bliss, Hologram and Fairfield Circuitry are clearly your favorite pedals, if you could design your own pedal to suit your music, what features would it have?

Federico Chiesa: Oh man, give me a pedal that has the [Death By Audio] ROOMS’ amazing stereo field reverb with the warbliness of Fairfield Circuitry’s Shallow Water, add a couple of shimmery algorithms from Hologram’s Microcosm and the granular looper of the Chase Bliss Mood. That would be my dream.
On a more real life plane, I’d love a Delay + Reverb pedal with real performance in mind, Benidub does stuff that is really close to what I mean…

FutureMusic: How are you mastering your music, both recorded and when you play live?

Federico Chiesa: When I’m ready, I master all of my cassettes and EPs, albums and vinyl with outside mastering engineers. The last album Iterations was mastered by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering in Berlin.
When I play live, I use the OTO Boum at the end of the chain. It glues things together with its compressor and distortion really well. I’d really love to try the Martin Stimming Mastering device!

FutureMusic: With your incredible arsenal of gear, if you could only have five pieces of gear to bring to a desert island – what would you choose?

Federico Chiesa: Easy: Octatrack, Vermona PERfourMER MKII, Roland 303, Empress Echosystem and maybe the Analog Rytm. I guess this would cover all I need!

FutureMusic: The Empress Echosystem? That’s interesting, you don’t seem to use it nearly as much as other pedals in your videos.

Federico Chiesa: I think the Ecosystem gives me lot of power in a simple box! A ton of delay algorithms and some reverb too, basically the bread and butter of may sound. Microcosm would be a great choice for an experimental setup, that pedal does crazy unexpected things, but I would not chose it as my only effects.

FutureMusic: Do you have a “bucket list” of goals you’d like to accomplish with OORA?

Federico Chiesa: Definitely become an established live act. This project was born during quarantine and so far I didn’t have lot of opportunity to play out. I want to play my improvised live set all around the world. My live setup would revolve around the Octatrack as the main sequencer and mixer. Then. I have the Vermona PERfourMER MkII and Avalon as synths, Microcosm and Oto Boum as effect and Shik N32b and Keith McMillen’s K-board as controllers. That’s it. It has to fit a big travel case that I can fly with…

Federico Chiesa’s new album, “Iterations”  is out now.