Producing Vocals and Synths: LA Duo Piera Perfects the Blend

For Piera, audio discovery is a driver.

A synth-pop duo, Piera is the hypnotic combo of singer/songwriter/producer Piera Klein and songwriter/producer Micah Plissner. The two wield personal LA studios that allow them to create at a high level, separately or together.

Lovers of big aggressive analog synth sounds, soaring pads, sequencers, digital juice, and sharp beats will be excited about Piera’s new single, “Unraveling.” Factor that in with Klein’s chillingly visceral vocals. Then there’s their experimental approach to reverbs, delays, and more in the mix phase—it adds up to a darkly addictive track.

A2D

According to Plissner, whether a source is analog or digital is not the question. When it comes to how to record modular synths, classic keyboards, or software, there’s just one criteria.

 “There’s no dogma—if it sounds good, it is good,” he says. “Both Piera and I love to experiment with sound and create new worlds. I’ve become really obsessed with it all. If you could see what my studio looked like when we were creating the album—it was a total labyrinth of gear, synths, modules, cables, tape machines, drum machines—all over the place.

“Also, I really enjoy the process of discovering new gear. I’ve found that buying, trading and repairing is an art.”

Go-to synths for Plissner include the Sequential Circuits Pro One, Arp Solina, Arp Odyssey, Korg Monopoly, Korg MS-20, Roland sh-101, Roland Juno 60—and a lot of modules.

“Sonically and personally, we are more excited and inspired when using analog vintage hardware synths and Eurorack modules,” Plissner notes. “Yet digital synths like ESQ-1 and Access Virus made it in there. That’s along with software such as Spectrasonics, Omnisphere, and Rob Papen’s SubBoom bass.”

Micah Plissner’s studio sweet spot.

Risky Mixing: Vocals & Synths

Weaving the vocals and synths together, in both the arrangement and the mix, meant always staying creative.

“What we did was throw parts and sounds in the upper-mids where the vocal has its energy and presence,” says Plissner. “You really have to pick your spots and use it all. We ride the elements, sidechaining is great, along with different usages of reverb and delay to move the parts back and forth.”

Piera Klein sports a stylish songwriting setup.

Piera operates under a clear mix philosophy: “The vocals must win.”

“Some would say, ‘Just arrange the parts to begin with so there’s not a lot of masking,’ and they’re not wrong,” Plissner observes. “But we were really trying to push the envelope there with modular sequences and sound design going right through the vocals. And yes, it took a lot of work and discovery to get what we wanted.”

The Making of the Beats

For Piera, the beatmaking process changes from day to day. “That really depends on the song,” says Plissner. “Sometimes we get the creative juices flowing with a beat that excites us—that’s usually me—and then we’ll write the song.

“But then we also sometimes do the exact opposite: Piera sometimes comes to me with a song almost completely written and partially produced on her rig with a simple beat. Then she asks me to add my magic to get those beats banging and do my thing.

• The kicks come from hardware drum machines stacked and excruciatingly nudged in-phase.
• Snares are usually the same, but more often could be a synth or a sound that has nothing to do with it originally being a snare.
• Hi-hats on this record were recorded live. We really wanted that human feel on the hats.
• Percussion sounds are a journey and very arrangement-based.

“Finding the right type of toms or other percussive sounds could come from any direction as opposed to a specific approach,” Plissner adds. “It just has to feel right in the groove and the song.”

Sync to Picture: Making the Video

Prepare to descend into a stylish rabbit hole when viewing the video for “Unraveling.” Inspired by some of Piera’s favorite visual artists, it’s an enthralling interplay of light, dark, angle, and perspective—plus excellent views of Plissner’s mouth-watering synth setup.

Angles, light, and perspective interplay in the arresting “Unraveling” video. (Photo credit: Cameron Dunbar)

“The music production is quite dense and layered—this actually is not so much reflected in the visual style as it is contrasted, and this was done with intent,” Klein says of the video’s vision. “I wanted to turn the volume up on the internal dialogue by limiting any elements that would distract from the story.

“Instead, the focus was on creating a timeless modern feel within a sound chamber, where light was really the only element at play. Keeping the space minimal and as uncluttered as possible allows the music and lyrics to fill the void and draw you into the story.”

Klein continued, “Master of light James Turrell and the Neo-futuristic architect Zaha Hadid are two of my heroes in the visual realm and always inspire me. The video for ‘Unraveling’ shines a spotlight on the feelings of isolation and loneliness, separation, and the void that’s created in loss…even when it’s at your own hands.

“I’m amazed how wonderfully this came together, in such a short period of time and on such a limited budget. From inception to final cut, we put this together in four weeks. A testament to the talent of all involved and we are extremely grateful.”

Not surprisingly, the sound and vision of Piera emerge from a very deep place. “For me,” Klein says, “creating music, a performance, visuals—all of it—are an expression of some kind of unsettled emotion trapped inside needing expansion, an opening, a safe place to breathe, to unpack the baggage of my humanity.”

— David Weiss is an Editor for SonicScoop.com, and has been covering pro audio developments for over 20 years. He is also the co-author of the music industry’s leading textbook on synch licensing, “Music Supervision, 2^nd Edition: The Complete Guide to Selecting Music for Movies, TV, Games & New Media.” Email: david@sonicscoop.com

Vintage synths abound in Plissner’s studio.

Next rack!

Modular moves play a big part for Piera.

Roland Space Echo en casa.

Another angle on Klein’s production setup.

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