“In writing and producing material for his latest album, Abel and I were in so many different studios and locations, and we were travelling so much, that I did not have a solid reference point. In this day and age and in this music industry it’s all about taste, it’s all about the ideas. But none of that is valuable to me any more at this point.

There was a time when I fantasised about hardware gear, about having this or that keyboard, or monitors with a specific crossover point, or whatever, and spent lots of money buying some pieces of hardware. Instead, I use whatever is available to me. I have an issue saying stuff about hardware, because I don’t want to trick people into thinking that I use this hardware for a specific reason.

But it does not matter.”Īfter another pause, Montagnese unburdens himself fully. I used to use Genelecs, and I really like the Yamaha NS10s. I’m also happy to work with anything for monitors. I have two sets of headphones, but frankly, I don’t mind which I use. When I’m travelling I use the same laptop with a UAD Apollo Twin soundcard. What I use is this: a MacBook Pro, in my studio together with a PCI chassis with two UAD Octo Cards, and the Metric Halo ULN8 soundcard. This elicits a long pause, and the thoughtful reply: He’s also a man who’s happy to answer any question put to him - until I ask what hardware he uses in his studio and on the road. Photo: Keith RichardsonĮngineer, mixer and producer Carlo Montagnese likens his work with the Weeknd to painting - and he’s not afraid to use plenty of colour!Ĭarlo ‘Illangelo’ Montagnese is the musician, beatmaker, producer and mixer who has played a central part in propelling the Weeknd to worldwide fame. Carlo ‘Illangelo’ Montagnese at work on his beloved Cubase.

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