Tord Fjermestad (whoknowswhen) on SoundBetter

Beatmaker, producer and mixer with a passion for modern, upbeat of music of many genres! (Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, R&B, EDM, Funk/Soul, Lo-Fi)

I can offer you instrumentals, beats or backing tracks to your vocals, and/or I can mix your music to a professional quality.

My biggest assets (in addition to making good music) are versatility, adaptability and communication. I love making music of many different sorts and I love helping people realize their creative vision, whatever the mood, style or genre. I also believe good communication is essential to a good product, and I will often be in touch to make sure you're fully in the loop and satisfied with the product.

Whether you need a beat to write something over, or have a fully written song you need music for, I can help either way!

I've been producing for 10 years and I have a Bachelor's Degree in Music Production from BIMM London and have made music that's made it onto BBC Radio 1.

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

3 Reviews

Endorse Tord Fjermestad (whoknowswhen)

by Ari Vogue
Verified (Client)
He is a joy to work with! Super talented, up & coming producer, very reliable, and always kind. Would absolutely recommend to anyone and I hope to work with him again in the near future.
by Mad Welsley
Verified (Client)
Tord was great to work with! He was very thorough in making sure I had all of the files that I was going to need to complete his project, and was very understanding and flexible with delivery time issues. I would definitely want to work with him again!!
by María Paredes
Working with Tord has been a wonderful experience. He is professional, kind, and friendly.
Working with Tord is refreshing due to how receptive he is when it comes to working on new ideas and following a creative process. The thing I love most about working with him is how committed he is to the storytelling of the music. Besides, his work is just fire!

Interview with Tord Fjermestad (whoknowswhen)

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: My example song "Moonlight" by Maria Paredes, where I made the beat and mixed the song. It was a really nice project from start to finish and I'm proud of being able to nail the sound she was looking for and making a really uplifting song!
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I've always got some projects underway, mostly making beats of some sorts for clients. Other than that, I'm also working on an EP for my personal project, which hopefully will be out.... at some point.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I've only worked with vocalists so far on SoundBetter, so I would definitely recommend Ari Vogue to anyone in need of modern, fresh female vocals for their songs!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The fact that I feel like I can make music forever. It's one of the few things where you don't check what time it is and you get stuck in that wonderful flow state because it's so fun.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: The most common question I get is fairly simple: "wait, so if I just have vocals and piano, you can make a full song out of it?". Maybe people except to have to do more of the work themselves, but I pride myself on taking something very basic and turning into something awesome!
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: One big misconception about producers and beatmakers is that they aren't as "musical" as people who play in bands for example. And although your outlook and skillset will differ from "musicians" in some ways, I find production/composition/arranging to require just as much musical intelligence as anything else!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital for me, I just got into the habit of doing stuff "in-the-box". Although I appreciate playing live and having cool gear, most tasks I can achieve in my software and I prefer having a more minimal working space!
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: If I feel that I have something to bring to the table with regards to your music, I can promise a fresh, marketable, banging tune!
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I usually ask what the song is about, and what style/sound they'd like to go for. Most of the time I will ask for some reference material (other songs for example) that exemplify the sound they want.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Having a great idea and a strong vision for your music usually means the collaboration will go well! Even if you only have lyrics and piano for example, as long as you know where to take it and have the passion things will be great!
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: The most powerful laptop known to man, high-end speakers, an electric guitar, a beat pad and a massive keyboard!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started making music for fun in 2011. In 2016 I went to university for Music Production and was introduced to so many new styles of music and ways of doing things. After coming home in 2019 I've then worked on perfecting my craft and collaborating with talented people!
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Building on my days as an EDM producer I take pride in a good flow and interesting rhythms. I'm all about making music that can mean something to the listener, whether that is making them move or connecting emotionally.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Anderson. Paak would be awesome to work with, he's a big reason for me getting into R&B/Soul in the first place, genres I now like a lot!
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: I think new and aspiring producers could benefit greatly from learning more about the "non-production" side of things, stuff like arranging, composition, songwritng and music theory. The technical stuff is fairly easy to learn nowadays, but a song is much more than just the technical bits!
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: In short, modern, upbeat music with a good groove is what I prefer to do. In practice that has usually been Pop and R&B.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Versatility is my strongest skill. I have a passion for all kinds of modern music, so I think blending experiences from different styles can make me well suited for crafting interesting pieces of music.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I can bring fresh, modern, groovy sounds with a good flow to a song, whatever the genre might be!
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I will most often start by laying out an initial idea for the song/beat. At this point it's important to get a good vibe going and make something that moves you straight away. After that it's about laying out the full arrangement so you get a solid draft of the entire song, start to finish. Technical stuff like mixing or more in-depth arrangement tricks comes finally, where I'll take that initial great idea and make it radio-ready!
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I'm currently producing in my home studio, where I'm using professional Yamaha monitors in addition to AudioTechnica mixing headphones for precise work. It's fairly modest, as the only other gear I have is an SM57 mic, a small MIDI keyboard and an electric guitar. But I prefer the minimal setup as you can easily make great music with the right knowledge!
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: My inspirations include: Charlie Puth (big artist who produces his own music) Kenny Beats (produces bangers for others and is also a great entertainer on his own)
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mostly I'll take someone's initial idea for a song, usually recorded as a vocal + simple piano backing track, and make a beat/instrumental in the sound they're looking for. Other times they just tell me what sound they want and I make a beat from scratch!