Karen Kosowski
Considering her songwriting and production schedule of late , it ’ s surprising that Toronto ’ s Karen Kosowski found the time to answer some questions at all . Lately , the creative veteran has been working alongside Tryon , Leah Daniels , Emma-Lee , Megan Davies , Sons of Daughters , Patricia Conroy , Alee , Bonnie Baker , and many others .
CM : How important is it to your work to be pushing the envelope with gear , techniques , and approaches to recording ?
KK : New approaches and techniques are great for breaking out of creative ruts and keeping things inspired . Often , the process of learning something new results in a new song idea . That ’ s the most rewarding part , and also the best way to really get to know a technique – putting it immediately into practice in a track . I try to spend a little time every week on learning something new . I recently bought a Moog Sub37 and it ’ s amazing . I ’ m having so much fun playing with it .
CM : Can you think of any unique and innovative ideas you ’ ve employed on recent recordings that resulted in a really special sonic moment ?
KK : It ’ s not unique , but I ’ ve found it really rewarding when I take the time to sample my artists singing long tones , often at the end of a vocal session , and then making instruments out of the resulting samples . It gives the track a unique cohesive character when the instruments you ’ re playing are built out of the artist ’ s voice ; no other song will have that same instrument or sound . The result feels both organic and electronic , and I really love that .
CM : How do you ensure you ’ re still pushing the envelope and coming up with new ideas despite often having a plethora of in-demand gear at your fingertips ? Or do you naturally thrive with a simpler set-up ?
KK : Sometimes limiting my plug-in and instrument choices for a given track or writing session can be the thing that instigates a new sound because I ’ m forced to poke and prod those chosen tools a bit more to achieve what I ’ m looking for , which can end up being way more productive than simply getting lost looking through presets . But I ’ m guilty of gear acquisition syndrome as much as anyone . Sometimes I like to jumpstart my creative flow with a plug-in I ’ ve never tried before , or some new samples . Honestly , there ’ s no single way that I approach my set-up ; it ’ s a bit of everything .
CM : Is it important to you to be exchanging ideas with others in your line of work ?
KK : I ’ m a bit shy and hermit-like at times , but I have a few producer friends that I do discuss work with and it ’ s always helpful . Also , my husband is an exceptional bassist , so he understands when I ’ m talking about this stuff , and therefore gets the first earful about everything I ’ m working on and mentally processing – poor guy ! I also find some online communities really useful ; I ’ m a frequent lurker on Gearslutz and Beatport , as well as a couple of Facebook groups for producers .
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