Oora speaks on the process of music creation, live performances and re-location from NYC to Berlin. He also shares his Synth scenes below! Ladies and gentleman: Federico Chiesa aka Oora Music.
Polyend: Hi Oora, you talk a lot about Synths on your channel, but today we want to talk a little about you! Most of our readers probably know you from social media, but what are you doing musically outside of YouTube?
Thanks for asking! It’s actually harder than you’d think to separate the image you build as a content creator from your identity as an artist—it can really get in the way of your creative process.
I try to balance both sides. I create minimalistic, melody-driven music, focusing on exploring the unique character of individual instruments. I’m fascinated by music that evolves slowly yet retains a looping quality—music that goes somewhere without really moving at all.
Polyend: You’ve been based in some creative hubs, with your most recent move from NYC to Berlin. How much do you find your location to be a source of creative inspiration?
Location is hugely important to me. Everything—from my living space to my studio, the seasons, and even the quality of light—affects the music I create. For example, in New York, the clean, sharp light coming through my windows had a big influence on the sounds I gravitated toward. In Berlin, I initially had a basement studio, and that turned out to be one of the darkest, most anxious periods of my life. My music became darker as well. Now, I have a beautiful home studio, and my creativity is flowing with joy again. Berlin, in particular, is an amazing hub for electronic musicians. The ease of meeting and collaborating with other artists here has been incredibly inspiring, something I didn’t experience as much in New York.
Polyend: You played a very nice ambient set at Superbooth two years ago. How do you prepare for live sets?
While I love performing live, the preparation process can be really stressful for me. Coming from a metal band background, I associate performing with playing everything in real time and taking big risks. That mindset makes it hard to embrace a more relaxed or structured approach. For live sets, I usually start with a blank slate and build something entirely new. It’s a lot of work, and I go through cycles of excitement and self-doubt. From a technical standpoint, I like to use a sequencer as the “brain” of my setup (it used to be the Octatrack, now it’s the OXI One). I also select a few instruments I’m very comfortable with and rely on mixers and effects to create live soundscapes.
Polyend: Your performance sounded very clean live, even with all the noise and people in a busy setting. Any tips for making ambient music sound good in a loud, live setting?
It’s all about simplicity. Keeping your arrangements minimal ensures clarity. I follow what I call the “band” rule: no more than four distinct voices or instruments at a time—like drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. This approach keeps things manageable and sonically clean. It’s also important to manage your effects. I always EQ my reverbs and delays to carve out space for the main instruments, ensuring they don’t overwhelm the mix.
Polyend: Now let’s talk about the Synth! You already covered the Synth in-depth on your YouTube channel. Is there anything you’d like us to know about it that wasn’t covered in your video?
I think the instrument’s focus on being played rather than programmed is a winning concept. We’ve seen so many synths that require tons of setup before you can even play a note, and I love how this one prioritizes immediacy. The *scene* concept is particularly inspiring, and the idea of artists sharing their scenes adds a whole new layer of creative collaboration.
Polyend: You made some Synth Scenes that you’ve generously offered to share below. Could you give us a little background info on your scenes? How do you use them, and how do you see others using them?
All my scenes build on the idea of using the *Shift + Pad* technique to hold drones, notes, or sequences:
**OORA_ACID: This features a chord sequence on Synth 1. I lock it in with *Shift + Root Note*, layer an acid sequence from Synth 2, and improvise with Synth 3.
**OORA_AMBIENT: A drone/ambient scene. You can lock notes with *Shift + Pad* to create harmonic progressions on the fly. Synth 3 usually acts as the lead voice.
**OORA_ARPEGGIOS: An exploration of polyrhythmic patterns with varying lengths, creating hypnotic loops.
**OORA_DUB: A dub-inspired scene. Synth 1 provides chords, Synth 2 handles the bassline, and Synth 3 takes care of percussion.
Just have fun experimenting with them!
