We recently connected with Leonardo Cococcia and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Leonardo thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

During my bachelor’s years, I studied jazz guitar performance at Rome’s “Santa Cecilia” Conservatory. At the same time, I began collaborating with artists as a producer, helping create songs. However, it was only during the pandemic that I realized this was something I could do every day, all day long. In March 2020, artist and influencer Livio Ricciardi asked me to produce his debut five-track solo EP, followed by two debut singles in Italian. Bringing so much joy to our lives during such challenging times, this project became a source of inspiration.

The situation required me to quickly acquire new technological skills to lead the project remotely as both a producer and guitarist. Later, we finalized the work in person after lockdown restrictions were lifted—a much-preferred way of making music. That experience motivated me to take on an increasing number of songwriting and production projects, inspired by music’s positive impact on emotions and the collaboration-driven work ethic of the best American songwriters.

The positive reception of the portfolio I built, alongside a technical review of my work, ultimately enabled me to secure one of the two Fulbright Grants in the Arts available in Italy in 2023. This grant allowed me to pursue an MA in Songwriting and Production at Berklee NYC in Manhattan, where I currently reside.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It’s a pleasure to introduce myself! My name is Leonardo Cococcia, and I am a guitarist, producer, and audio engineer from Civita di Oricola, a small town of about 165 people in Abruzzo, Italy. I am currently based in NYC, pursuing my career in music.

My journey with music began when I was 8 years old, learning guitar, which remains my primary instrument. From that early start until 2022, I completed 10 years of formal guitar training, including a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Jazz Guitar at Conservatorio “Santa Cecilia” in Rome. I had the privilege of studying under Fabio Zeppetella, a renowned guitarist and mentor who greatly influenced my approach to music.

During my final years of high school, as my passion for jazz deepened, I also discovered a strong interest in music production. While studying jazz guitar at “Santa Cecilia,” I had the chance to take an inspiring course on electronic synthesizers taught by Enrico Cosimi, a highly regarded music production expert in Europe. With decades of experience, Enrico witnessed firsthand—and even influenced—many of the most transformative developments in the world of synthesizers and electronic music. He encouraged me to keep exploring production, and of course I followed his advice, which eventually brought me to the US.

What I’ve come to realize is that the combination of my backgrounds in guitar performance and music production sets me apart in the industry. This versatility has helped me connect with artists and become a trusted collaborator. I’ve played guitar for shows and projects featured on national press and TV in Italy, while also building a growing passion for studio work. That mix of experiences set me up for exciting collaborations when I moved to the U.S.

Right now, I’m part of William Garrett’s team at Bentley House Studios in Manhattan, an incredible recording and production space. William is a well-known producer who’s worked with artists like Ed Sheeran and Alicia Keys, while being the director of Spotify Singles for many years. Working here has been a dream, and it’s all been possible thanks to the Fulbright Program, which supports my academic and professional growth in NYC.
Through Fulbright, I’ve also been able to perform live as part of my academic training, connecting with artists from all over the world. Those relationships have turned into collaborations for live shows and studio sessions. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and am excited to continue building my career while keeping these connections strong for years to come.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Oh, definitely the idea that there’s a defined “industry standard.”

You know, there’s a trend in the education environment (particularly online) to teach aspiring producers that there’s a standard way of doing things—especially in the mixing world. I remember when I was starting as a producer at around 17, I was gathering as much info as I possibly could from the Internet. Opinions about mixing or production practices seemed really strong. I don’t want to get too technical here, but in short, while everyone emphasized the creative freedom of top producers and mix engineers, there were still areas in the audio world where some practices were described almost as laws, and diverging from them felt like a mistake.

One example is how loud songs should be when released on streaming platforms. There was a time when every DIY producer was releasing really quiet songs because the general opinion online was to never go past a certain loudness limit (achieved through a process called “mastering”) because that’s what the streaming service guidelines and online tips recommended.
But it only takes a brief conversation with someone who masters hit records and actually works at the top of the industry to know that those limits were never really a thing. Many Grammy-winning mastering engineers don’t even look at loudness meters (and probably never did)—they just trust their ears and don’t worry about some technicalities. In fact, some of their practices, which were labeled as mistakes in online communities, result in records that sound amazing.

Everything about making records—from performing to recording, mixing, and mastering—seems about finding the balance between technical knowledge and a completely free personal touch.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is definitely connected to my previous answer.
I always make sure to view the best practices I’ve learned—both as a guitarist and a producer—not as “the way to do it”, but as sources of inspiration. The reason I wanted to come to the US, particularly New York City, was to experience the immense creative and human diversity that drives the industry forward.

All my friends and mentors have strong educational backgrounds, but they truly value openness when it comes to collaboration. Creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable bringing their own ideas to the table is the perfect recipe for a fun and inspiring session—even if nothing concrete comes out of it. What’s really important to me as a producer is building artistic and personal connections: knowing who your go-to bass player is or who can create an amazing string arrangement for that one song.
I am very happy that this shared spirit is bringing great rewards, such as songs I worked on that were featured on Billboard Indonesia and Philippines, respectively with artists Dexter and Pixie Labrador, who signed with Sony very recently.

My goal is to immerse myself in this kind of environment as much as possible—not only to constantly improve my craft with new creative challenges but also to embrace a mentality of collective growth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonardo.cococcia/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-cococcia-4224b3300/

Image Credits

Proudmany (Film) Dhevaaksorn
Julianna Hansen-Fliedner
Kurt Cavan