A Chat with Aria (27.09.23)
Performing under the moniker Aria, composer and producer Mariano Schiavlioni has worked with countless greats in the music industry fusing various genres in an ever-changing style. We speak with Aria about his latest single ‘Smile’, music videos, future plans and more.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Aria: It’s everything to me. I began my career by studying the violin at the Conservatory and the classical guitar. Then I made a career as a record producer and music producer of artists in the field of rock music in collaboration with the major English music producers of yesteryear. I feel lucky, as I have undertaken a job that is satisfying for me, which is what I would have wanted.
OSR: You just released your single ‘Smile’. What can you tell us about the song? Is there a theme or backstory?
Aria: ‘Smile’ is a song that expresses joy. I have difficulty composing fun or overly commercial songs, as the intimate side prevails in my compositions, I prefer to write during the night hours. With ‘Smile’, I wanted to break this pattern, managing to create a joyful song containing a danceable Latin rhythm, like a rumba-cha cha, which is not an end in itself as most Latin American summer torments generally are, but something where the musical side still prevails and a stylistic contamination contemplates different musical genres.
OSR: You have a music video for ‘Smile’. What can you tell us about it?
Aria: This music video wants to bring a message of brotherhood and joy among the peoples of the earth through the dance of many people of all ethnicities and ages. Dances of good dancers or simple people who dance from different parts of the world, in their own way the rhythm of rumba and cha-cha. A gesture like dancing brings joy to every heart. The lyrics of this song, despite being a love lyric, express a meaning of strength and union and urges us to find solutions to be happy together.
Dancing has been since the dawn of time a great way to bring people together and bring joy among people. This video belongs to the line and idea of the song ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.
OSR: What was the most exciting and least exciting thing about creating the song and the music video?
Aria: The work of art gives a continuous emotion, from the moment of its conception to its execution. It’s the foreplay that counts, as in love. When the work is completed, the artist moves on to other experiences.
In any case, a song like ‘Smile’ is not created in a short time, but due to its complexity in the arrangement, it requires months of work and travel to different parts of the world. The music video is a less complex art and is created in less time, and it is certainly exciting to shape an idea born by chance and bring it to completion in all its details until it becomes a record.
OSR: What are the pros and cons of working in the music industry?
Aria: Music and musicians in general, the best and most talented ones, are no longer considered by the market. Since record companies have almost completely disappeared since the advent of the internet, profits no longer guarantee adequate sustenance. New artists were once exploited by record companies and complained about this, but at least they could emerge remaining on the market for a long time. Now, it is the artists themselves who have to replace the record company which no longer invests in the artist, with often unsuitable means to guarantee a good level of professional performance and are forced to make musical choices, often banal, in order to meet some small feedback from the market which mainly loves trendy music. With my age and my background, I can afford to oppose all this, trying to create my own music using musical research, as was done in the past.
OSR: As a veteran artist, you have some amazing experience beneath your belt. What was the most exciting experience you had (performance, meeting an industry professional, recording a song, etc.)?
Aria: I believe that having played the piano live for Rai 1 during the broadcast of the Golden Gondola award in the Venice Lido Festival Palace with Erik Carmen’s piece, ‘All by Myself’. The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 by Sergei Rachmaninoff was something that certainly stimulated me.
OSR: Which artist was the most exciting to work with?
Aria: Certainly with the American artists Wess and Rocky Roberts, where in addition to composing I played the piano. I would like to point out that Rocky Roberts’ band represented the best funky RnB sound of those times, making the most of the upbeat accents, such as Earth Wind & Fire, Wilson Pickett and James Brown.
OSR: What advice do you have for new artists in the industry?
Aria: Make the music you like without listening to any of the music present. A look at the music of the past is possible because the future of music, as the art director of Universal in Los Angeles told me, is being made by the groups in the cellar, who are currently experimenting with the new things that will be released in a few years. This should be the line.
Another piece of advice is to go back to vinyl and to analogue recording in a professional studio using the home studio only at the demo level. Vinyl is currently experiencing market expansion and seems to have reached 10% of overall sales.
OSR: Random question: What is something you never vow to eat?
Aria: I hope I don’t have to eat edible insects, crickets, grasshoppers, otherwise it will mean that things will have gone really badly for me. Haha.
OSR: Have you ever seen a movie that you thought was better than the book?
Aria: The Shining by Stephen King and The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.
OSR: Do you have future plans as a musician?
Aria: During 2023, two record releases are ready, a double single of nu-jazz music with a young jazz singer highly appreciated in the New York music circuit, and a crossover album with an international choir made up of 4 American tenors and two sopranos. In February 2024, my LP will be released in collaboration with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Peter Gabriel who provided me with his recording studio in Bath. After which a summer tour is planned in the main cities with a band made up of important international musicians.
Many thanks to Aria for speaking with us. Find out more about Aria on her official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
