Kallaghan is a name quickly appearing on the radars of Electronic Music lovers around the globe; having firmly established himself within the industry as a chart-topping Producer, working with Artists across different genres, Kallaghan is now paving his own way, striking out with an original signature sound that continues to garner him attention. A multi-disciplined Artist, the skills, experience, and expertise that Kallghan brings to each of his creative endeavours appear as a credit to his impressive talents and proof of his unwavering passion for music.
As he joins us to deliver an exclusive interview, we discover more about Kallaghan’s creative approach, diving into his production processes, studio setup and future projects.
Hello Kallaghan, how’s it going?
Bonjour! It’s going pretty well thank you! I am currently on tour with Tchami about to hit Austin, Aspen and Denver this week.
Tell us about your studio, what’s your setup like?
At my commercial studio, I have a Studer 902 vintage with Barefoot Mm27 as my main.
I record a lot of live instruments so I need a bunch of preamps. A couple of 1073 by vintech, some SSL X-racks with two full 4000 channels, some BAE preamps and a couple of Avedis audio and some compressors (CL1-B, 1176, ssl Bus coml). I also have a summing box by SSL.
I have an awesome modular vocal booth by Sorigio acoustic that I can move around in the facility too. I use it a lot.
In my personal studio for my Electronic Music, I run through some BM15A by dynaudio acoustic and a pair of Avantone Cubes. All my studios have Universal Audio and Apogee converters. Komplete, Moog Sub 27, a good 40 guitar pedals that I use as “modular” synths haha, a couple of Gibson and fender guitars and that’s it. I also have an SSL minx with an eq that I love to work on synths.
My on-the-go set-up is based on a MacBook Pro 16 and an Allen and heath CQ12T.
Do you have a go-to DAW?
I use pro-tools to produce and Ableton for my live sessions and Electronic sets –
I have Logic on my iPad if I really need to lay down an idea on the go.
What’s your most used piece of equipment in the studio?
I would say, my Avedis Audio MA-5 preamp. That’s the first most used piece of gear – I use it either when I produce vocals for other Artists like Falling in Reverse or to plugin my Moog sub37 and get thick tones. I always have an MA-5 in my backpack everywhere I go haha.
My second most used piece of gear is my HD-820 headphones, they help me to have a great reference anywhere I go. Absolutely love them.
Do you have any fun stories or anecdotes regarding producing in your studio?
So many great memories.
Back in France, an Irish band I was producing created a wall surrounding the studio with empty Desperados beers hahahaha they didn’t have that type of beer in Ireland they were hooked lol.
What would you say is an essential piece of gear when first starting to build a studio?
Monitors, considering that the room has been acoustically treated.
But to be honest, the vibe is the most important to me. Of course, you need some good pieces of gear but people need to remember they are in a creative space. It has to be a fun spot for the artists and producers. A place where people can create cool content too.
What is the most recent addition to the studio?
I just got an Allen & Heath CQ-12T, the ergonomics are great and the sound is top-notch for such a small device. I am using it for my podcast and for when I’m on the go.
Besides that, a lot of new plugins; I just bought all the Plugin Alliance bundle and I love the fact I can use most of the plugins I have on my universal audio interfaces on the go.
What about your studio space inspires you to create?
I love my Kaws companions haha, I have a bunch of Art by Dalek and Takashi Murikami too. It just puts me in the right mood. My dad is an artist too, so his paintings are everywhere in my life, even tattooed on my arms. His art influences me a lot. You add a bunch of hue lights and you’re good to go haha!
Do you have any plans to add to or expand your studio?
I just sold my studio in Los Angeles and now I am based in Miami. I am opening a creative space including two studios in the facility. A video studio/content where you can film podcasts and also do massive writing sessions with a modular vocal booth. That room is 2000 square feet and has a mezzanine where I’ll be making my own music and content for my personal projects. Next door I am building a commercial Recording studio with a live room and vocal booth.
Both studios will have full streaming service for artists to be able to create content and BTS very easily at no extra cost. The goal is to create a cultural hub with my label Grail Records, including all the music genres I am involved in as a Producer.
It’s a massive project for me but I have a great team, shout out PV, Matt, Garrett and Cyrus.
Can you tell us about what your usual workflow looks like when setting out to produce a new track?
I have a melodic approach and a rhythmic approach.
For a song like ‘Am I Right’, I had the melody and chord progression before writing the Bass House arrangement. I had written that with an acoustic guitar and doing notes on my phone. Then Bryce co-wrote the vocals that I produced. I wrote the entire Bass arrangement post-production.
For a track like ‘Skyfall’ or ‘Wasting Time’ it started with the “riff” baseline idea.
I had samples ready too. I listened to a lot of samples on the go and saved them for later.
For rock tracks like I do for Falling In Reverse, it starts with guitars and drums usually. A song like ‘Coming Home’ was based on guitar progressions and piano melody and then produced from there.
As we close this interview, we thank Kallaghan for taking the time to speak with us, and with such an exciting time ahead, we look forward to keeping up with him as he continues on his ever-captivating musical journey.
Kallaghan Online
Website | Soundcloud | Instagram
