Today we’d like to introduce you to Abel Koshy
Hi Abel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started playing drums on Sundays when I was 5 or 6 years old in a small church in Hollywood, Florida. I had a mentor that I looked up who was older than me who was super talented and pretty much anything he did, I wanted to do. So when he played drums, I played drums, when he played keys, I played keys, so on and so forth! Fast forward I ended up playing drums every Sunday while he lead worship at our church.
I had kind of a rough up bringing, and my mentor at the time wanted to make sure I was away from that upbringing as much as possible and had me plugged in at church. In between all of that, I tried to go to some piano lessons to learn some of the basics… well that didn’t last more than three lessons haha.
We moved to Mesquite, Texas in 2011 and I still was plugged in at church but I was between playing guitar and drums at church. In High School, I was more connected to the Indian church community that hosted lots of church events and was able to be a part of a lot of things then. During that time I’ve had such a deep admiration for a church in Redding, California called Bethel! I spent most days skipping homework and putting on a set playing a set with them. I knew about some of the key people that were influential in that culture. Chris Greely and Bobby Strand were two guys that helped shaped that culture a lot sonically! During that season ive admired their work and the movement that I pushed myself to learn a lot about excellence within myself and perfecting my craft to where I would play guitar parts that matched the same thing to some of the bethels live stream that those guitar parts would practically disappear because I played it the same exact way with the same tone. (Essentially in the music world, same source that’s played the same way that goes out of phase). If I knew that I heard myself that I made a mistake and would go back and try to nail those parts. I ended up learning a good chunk of their catalog of music because I loved what they were bringing and how much they were changing the worship culture globally.
Fast forward to 2018, I was still playing at church, I got hired as a music director at a church in Cedar Hill. I was still trying to learn as much as I could as a musician playing drums, keys, guitar, etc. whatever needed to be filled. In 2020 in the height of COVID, there was a need for hire production that the space we were in wasn’t set up for. The previous guy who was overseeing production stepped down from the role and I was asked to step in and find a team to help us upgrade our system and tech. After a few months of finding the right team, I remembered that Chris (who I’ve looked up to for a long time and have admired) ran an Integration Company for churches called Octane AVL. The team at the time were actually guys who have been shaping the production world in my opinion Globally. The Kelch brothers were known for the cinematic broadcast style for video, Liam Monroe was part of that team and did lots of stuff for big names like Dua Lipa and Disney for LED designs and all. They were all part of the team and helped design the new system at the church with Octane. In that whole process I grew close to a lot of them, but one of them specifically, Greg Sanders. He started the company with Chris because he saw a need for the church. Not only did he own the company but he was a senior pastor of a church in Colorado. Me and him connected and we realized that we were similar in so many ways and became a spiritual mentor shortly after. I grew so much in that season in the art of production and as a tech because I didn’t know I was good, but Chris and Greg were like “hey you should mix you’re pretty decent!”. Around 2022, some life stuff happened and Greg was a part of that season. I moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to be part of his church. I grew a lot in that season in my craft as a musician but more than that, as a mix engineer. I learned so much from Chris in that season cause he lived in the same area and just dove in and grinded. I moved back to Dallas in 2023 because I felt like it was something I needed to do. I’ve been doing lots of freelance stuff at some churches and supported them as a musician and as a mix engineer. I got asked to be a part of a lot of church integrations with Octane also!
What was crazy was in May 2024, I get a called from Chris asking if I had my passport and if I’d be open to going on tour. I had no idea with who since he was so connected, and he said to mix Front of House for Bethel Music. It felt like a full circle moment cause I’ve looked up to these guys for such a long time and now I get to be a part of their team. Liam was the lead and brought me in and been doing some stuff with them but also grew a lot of relationships! In March 2024, I decided to go full fledged into mixing whether it was live or in post. I had my studio dialed in. This has been my first year fully being self employed working as a mix engineer working on records with so many people! And it’s been a joy!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road… like I said I grew up in a rough home. Culturally if you’re not a doctor or a lawyer it’s kind of seen as a taboo so to be a person that’s an Indian American fully be in music and making a career of it is hard! But the best thing is, as time went I got to be surrounded by people who are so much better than me that has taught me so much and I’ve gotten better by it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a Musician, Producer, but as of recently mainly a mixer working on projects! I love working on live events but mainly love working and finishing singles and albums for artists and producers! One of my favorite things I’ve been proud of is going on tour for the first time in my life with bethel music (a team I’ve looked up to my whole life and wanted to be a part of)
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think risk taking as mix engineer can be a good thing but also should be done carefully.
My job isn’t to shape the sound of a record and deviate from the vision the producers and artists signed off on. When a client reached out to you, they reach out to you because they believe you can deliver a product that feels pro.
With that being said, i work on a lot of worship church music. It can feel and seem pretty repetitive. I’ve looked up to a lot of pop engineers like Serban Gheana, Manny Marraquin, and Jon Castelli and have heard how they approach some of the biggest songs in the world. My risk has always been taking worship music and having the same sonic standards as some of these mix engineers that do top 40 records in the world!
I’ve held myself to chasing after that because it is truthfully impactful and I know people who reach out to me and the people who would want to reach out would know that if they come to me, it’ll be held to that standard unless the artist and the producer says otherwise! Then you submit to the vision, but you can still at least achieve the same sonic goal!
Pricing:
- Mixes – $600 (7 min song, $50 for every additional minute up to 13:59. Then it counts as two songs)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Abelkoshy.com
- Instagram: therealabelkoshy
Image Credits
Will Parker
Andre Torruco
