If you’re a HipHop, R&B or Pop fan, there’s a good chance you’ll find the name of Mixing engineer Irko on the credit list of your favourite records: He’s worked with Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West, Pitbull, Rick Ross, P Diddy, David Guetta and many more.
Growing up in Italy, Irko was one of the early adopters of HipHop, DJing and producing beats out of a small home studio in his parents basement. In this interview, Irko tells us how how made his way from producing HipHop with U.S. soldiers stationed in Italy and $150 in his pocket, to working with the most sought after artists of our time.
“If you want to get ahead in music, it’s about moving into the right direction, not about the speed.”
Irko breaks down 5 of his mixes, including ‘Stay Up’ by Kanye West & 88 Keys, Kevin Gates & Kirko Bangz – ‘Right Now’, Angina’s ‘Up & Down’, Tony Sunshine’s ‘Dance’ and ‘All Your Life’ by Jazz:
“I like to push the boundaries, try to make it sound as bombastic as possible.“
We discuss how to mix energetic, dry and up-front HipHop vocals that sit well in the mix, how to make your 808s work well with the kick, and how to blend organic samples with the beat to form a cohesive sound.
Irko has kindly written a few words to introduce us to this interview:
“As a mixing engineer I naturally get a bit apprehensive when I deliver mixes to my clients. It’s like walking in a room naked. Often who’s checking mixes is the producer and/or the artist, evaluating my work from the perspective of a producer and/or artist. Usually after a few rounds of tweaks they love my mix as they get my vision for how the song should sound plus their touches.
When Warren Huart heard my mixes it was different: A seasoned producer/engineer hears what I have done. Clearly! And asks about it. Haha, that was cool!”
I had a lot of fun with this one, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us Irko!
Songs discussed in this video:
- ‘Stay Up’ – 88 Keys featuring Kanye West
- ‘Right Now’ – David Gates, Kirko Bangz, Ant Bankz
- ‘Up & Down’ – Agina
- ‘Dance’ – Tony Sunshine (Terror Squad)
- ‘All Your Life’ – Jazz (Dru Hill)
I hope you enjoyed this video. Please leave a bunch of questions and comments below!
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing,
SEE ALSO: Polyphia: Making Metal ‘Hip-Hop’
SEE ALSO: SurferEQ by Sound Radix
SEE ALSO: SPL Transient Designer
Warren