Mixing & Mastering, Vox-expert

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring out the most important parts of the song, and let the less important parts work as a framing around the main elements. Since I come into the process when the song is already produced I can give it an objective overlook on what needs to be loud and what needs to be soft.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: My promise is to give the client's song the best treatment it could possibly get. I go great lengths to deliver the sound ideal that the client is looking for.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Except for the fact that being able to work professionally with your 'hobby' is totally awesome - my favorite thing about this job must be the first 10 minutes of balancing in a new track with the console faders. There's something very satisfying having the 'power' over a full production and being able to listen to the producers ideas isolated.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: I often get "What is your plug-in chain for that punching kick drum? " My answer would always be; "No magic, only basic EQ, compression and some slight distortion."

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your ideal of sound? What artists are you inspired by? How would you describe the sound you are looking for in a perfect mix?

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Robyn. Because she always deliver well-crafted songs with a production that is always on point. Often times kind of gritty dance beats with polished vocals - that's totally up my alley.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! I typically use analog gear when tracking, while mixing is done 'in the box'. If the flavor is needed I do run mixes through a soft analog compression during final bouncing. This way the 'tone' of analog can be brought into the mix, without having to concern about outboard recalls.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Clients tend to believe that there are special tricks and processing tools that only professional engineers know about. But the actual skills that a client is paying for are years of experience, as well as the knowledge in how to _actually_ use the basic tools within the engineer's toolbox.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always check your production in mono! A very common belief is that no one listens in mono any more. But if you think about it.. Mono is everywhere; club, stores, social media posts, phone/laptop speakers etc. If your production sounds 'too wide to be true', it's probably not. When I mix, I use mono compatible techniques to have the mix as wide as possible in stereo, yet containing the balance when played in mono.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: My room, my speakers, a computer, an audio interface and my beloved U87 microphone. Not even the fanciest of gear would be of use without a perfect listening environment.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I usually work on Hip hop, Trap, Reggae, Dancehall and Pop/Dance. Well, basically any electronic music genre.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is my ability to listen in and pin-point any problems within a production.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I receive a production in multitrack format, I will first off sort all files within the mix arrangement. Secondly I will check all channels for possible problems with phase issues. After this I bring the faders up for the instrumental parts to quickly get an idea of what sounds there are to work with. After balancing the instrumental roughly I will bring in the vocals to get a listening of all the song elements together. After the track level balancing, I will start to address the most noticeable resonant frequencies within the mix, typically the kick, bass line, lower chord instruments and of course the vocals. I start with the largest 'problems' and work towards the smaller, until the full mix sounds perfect without any distracting elements. What I spend most of my time on when mixing is manual level-riding of lead vocals. A compressor and a de-esser works fine to tame the vocal level, but only to a certain extent. This is why I believe this manual work is crucial to a mix.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio and speaker system are designed by Jens Eklund at Resonator Stockholm / Holonor who has also designed for artists like Aviccii and Steve Angello. I chose to go with Jens because of his superb knowledge in acoustics. Within this listening environment I can take on the hardest tasks with little to no problem. Since my room reveals everything sound-wise within a production, I can address any issues very efficiently.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started playing instruments at a young age in the end of the 1980's. When I got my first computer in 1997 I began producing for a hobby, and later moved over to mixing in the mid-2000's. I went from mixing my own songs, to mixing friends songs, and later take in clients. Since my current studio was built in 2015 I have added mastering to my skill set.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is clean with not too much 'effects' going on. I like vocals to be crisp and upfront. The bass should be powerful and the drums should have maintained dynamics. I always work to give the mix a full frequency range, without it sounding 'cold' or 'boomy'.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Typically, I get fully produced and recorded songs track by track from a producer for mixing. A common thing that clients need specific help with is to have the vocals sound clear and the bass and drums to be loud 'hitting' without taking over the mix.