Audeze speaks to writer, producer and engineer Arjan Miranda

Arjan Miranda is a songwriter, producer, engineer, artist and guitar shredder, currently working from Circular Ruin Studios in Brooklyn NY.

 "The Audeze headphones let me take full advantage of the studio B room where our speaker monitoring is more limited."  - Arjan Miranda

Here's our chat with Arjan:

Can you pick out any highlights from your work that you're particularly proud of? 

Recording Black Mountain IV produced by my now studio partner Randall Dunn. We tracked everything live to tape at Avast studios in Seattle, always my preference when cutting tracks. Playing guitars on ‘The Viewing’ soundtrack. Directed by Panos Cosmatos, Scored by Daniel Lopatin and produced by Randall Dunn. now streaming on Netflix! Playing the legendary Tompkins Square Park in NY with my punk band called Peace Sign, check out our record ‘Sex Death Power.' Playing bass on the new Squrl record 'Silver Haze', also produced by Randall. Squrl is Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan.

How would you define your main role on most of the projects you work on these days?

Jack of all trades! I have my hand in so many pies. Doing session work as a musician. Writing songs for commercials. Running the day to day at the studio. Composing for a cool snowboard film. Mixing experimental records. Working on film and TV as a card carrying music editor.

How did you get started in music? What kind of music did you listen to while growing up and how has that progressed?

My parents were hippies and had a stellar classic rock record collection. I grew up on The Stones, Bob D, Leonard Cohen, Zeppelin, Dire Straits. Then I got into skateboarding when I was 12 years old, and was introduced to early hip hop, Run DMC, ICE-T, LL COOL J, there was a piano in the hallway of our apartment building where I would trying pick out melodies from music I liked. My grandparents got me a Casio and I started a rap group called ‘Check Mate’.

There was a guitar store next to my Dad’s herbal medicine shop (Hippies!) that I used to hang out in. I got a small inheritance from a relative who passed away and bought my first guitar. My friend Alex was already a pretty good guitar player and would show me stuff. We were learning basic pop punk stuff like Green Day, NOFX, and Screeching Weasel, things that were in skateboard videos. Then my friend Alex introduced me to Iron Maiden and dueling guitars and I was hooked. We started an Iron Maiden influenced punk band called Masters Of Death, it didn’t last long. He went on to play all kinds of other music, I am still chasing the iron maiden punk band.

Can you name any factors that influenced the course of your musical life? Heroes, role models, moments, interactions, etc?

Used record stores, specifically The Turntable in Victoria BC (Still there and still awesome) where I grew up, and a vendor named Ty at the Vancouver flea market (no longer with us). I heard garage days revisited by Metallica and it sent me on a journey of discovering the development of heavy metal. Those guys introduced me to so much proto metal and doom. Flower Travellin Band, Budgie, Sir Lord Baltimore, the list could go on and on. I still discover music and am influenced by digging in record crates for lost gems.

Can you briefly describe a moment of frustration from your past work, and what you may have done to overcome the obstacles? Would you approach it differently now?

Being in bands. It is so hard when you are young to manage those relationships well. I have worked super hard on myself as a person and my new band is just for me and my pals to have a good time and it's very refreshing and fun.

Is there any gear you find yourself turning to most when working on a project? What are some of your favorite tools/instruments recently?

I always need a guitar for writing. We just upgraded the console at our studio to a 32 channel API 1608 which has been real fun. Basically I am a fan of using hardware. I just put together an entire rack on vintage rack synths wired with MIDI and hooked up to a patch bay. It has been really fun.

Do you have any words of wisdom for people who might aspire toward a similar path for their own careers?

Spend a lot of time reading about faith and surrender, not in a religious way. This path is not for the faint of heart, plenty of ups and downs. Also plenty of experiences, travels and friendships that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

How long have you been working with headphones, and how do you typically use them in your workflow?

I have always worked with headphones in the mixing process. I am constantly switching between as many sound sources as possible. So I used them in tandem with my speaker setup for extra reference. With the Audeze LCD-X I will also be premixing sessions.

Do you have any additional comments or stories you want to share?

I love music, it is the best thing on earth and I am so grateful for every experience it has brought me.

How have your Audeze headphones affected your work? Can you tell us what you've been working on with them recently?

Our studio is half mixing for bands and half working on films and TV. I am currently the music editor on a new show for A24 called The Curse. Music editing calls for tons of on the fly edits and in the box quick mixing. The Audeze headphones let me take full advantage of the studio B room where our speaker monitoring is more limited. I can work with ease and make great sounding decisions all while our studio A room is in use with other clients.